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RMS Lusitania
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The
British ocean liner RMS Lusitania was
operated by the Cunard Line in the early
part of the 20th Century. When launched in
1906, RMS Lusitania was the largest
passenger ship in the world. Fitted with a
brand new type of turbine engine that
allowed her to maintain a speed of 25 knots,
RMS Lusitania became the holder of the
coveted Blue Riband on her second voyage,
and made a total of 202 crossings of the
Atlantic Ocean. On May 7,
1915, while sailing from New York to
Britain, RMS
Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat
and, after a second unexplained, explosion
sank off the south coast of Ireland. 1,198
passengers and crew went down with the ship,
including 128 Americans. The sinking led to
uproar in the United States.
Why
was RMS Lusitania Built?
Towards the end of the 19th century
Britain's Cunard was losing transatlantic
passenger trade to other companies such as
Germany’s Hamburg America Line and
Norddeutscher Lloyd. Their ships were
larger, more modern, more luxurious and
faster than Cunard’s and between them had
held the Blue Riband since capturing it from
Cunard’s Campania in 1897. Cunard built
Lusitania, and her sister ship Mauretania,
in an effort to compete with these ocean
liners.
How Was the Building of RMS
Lusitania Funded?
Following a request from the Chairman of
Cunard, Lord Inverclyde, the British
Government agreed to loan Cunard £2.6
million to build RMS Lusitania and RMS
Mauretania. The loan, with a low interest
rate of 2.75% was repayable over 20 years.
In return for building the ships to
Admiralty specifications, with a view to
using them as auxiliary cruisers in case of
war, Cunard received an operating subsidy of
£75,000 per annum as well as a £68,000 mail
contract.
Who Designed RMS Lusitania?
RMS Lusitania was designed by
Cunard’s Senior Naval Architect and
Designer Leonard Peskett. Working
from a large model of the proposed
ship that he had built in 1902,
Peskett made improvements such as
increasing the number of propellers
from three to four as well as adding
a fourth funnel. The Admiralty
experimental tank at Haslar,
Gosport, was used to help refine the
shape of the hull. The interiors of
RMS Lusitania were designed by
Scottish architect James Miller.
Where was RMS Lusitania Built?
RMS Lusitania’s Keel was laid down
at the shipyard of John Brown and
Company, Clydebank, Scotland, on
June 16, 1904. The company had to
make considerable adjustments to
deal with the building of RMS
Lusitania including: dredging the
River Clyde, a new slipway, new gas
and electrical plants, a dock
extension, a new crane and other new
equipment and machinery.
When was RMS Lusitania Launched?
After a delay of eight weeks,
RMS Lusitania was launched on June
7, 1906. The naming of the ship was
carried out by the widow of Lord
Inverclyde, who had died eight
months earlier. The propellers were
fitted on launching and six tugs
were used to capture RMS Lusitania
and guide her to the berth where she
would be fitted out.
How big was RMS Lusitania?
At the time of her Launch RMS
Lusitania was the world’s largest
passenger ship. She had nine decks,
an overall length of 787ft with a
beam of 87ft and a height (to her
aerials) of 165ft. She had a draft
of 33.6ft and displaced 44,767 tons
of water. RMS Lusitania was fitted
with twenty five Scotch Marine
boilers, four Parsons steam turbines
producing 76,000 hp and four
propellers. She could reach a top
speed of 28 knots. RMS Lusitania was
able to carry 2,198 passengers and
827 crew. As part of the Government
loan agreement, a secret compartment
was included for carrying arms and
ammunition.
RMS Lusitania Trials
RMS Lusitania’s engines were
tested in June 1907 and the
Builder’s trial began on July 27.
RMS Lusitania reached a speed of
25.6 knots over a measured mile,
however the high speed caused such
bad vibrations in the stern that the
second class accommodation became
uninhabitable. The stern was
remodelled to take in additional
columns which stiffened the stern
and reduced the vibrations which
were being caused by the wake
between the inner and outer
propellers. This vibration was never
fully corrected.
What Accommodation was Available
on RMS Lusitania?
RMS Lusitania had six decks,
from the top deck to the waterline,
available for accommodation. The
first class accommodation could hold
552 passengers and was situated
between funnels one and four on the
upper five decks, the second class
accommodation could hold 460
passengers and was at the stern of
RMS Lusitania behind the aft mast.
Third class accommodation was spread
over four decks at the front of the
ship.
First Class on RMS Lusitania
The first class dining saloon
was the most magnificent of the
public rooms on RMS Lusitania and
was decorated in the neoclassical
Louis XVI style. It was laid out
over two floors and in it's centre
was an open circular well, topped
with an intricate dome. The
remaining public first class rooms
consisted of the lounge, which was
decorated in a Georgian style, a
veranda cafe, a reading and writing
room, and a smoking room. All the
rooms were richly decorated with
luxury carpets, curtains and
furnishings. The six first class
decks were linked by a grand
staircase as well as two lifts.
Cabins varied from one shared room
to assorted en suite rooms and two
regal suites.
Second Class on RMS Lusitania
The second class public rooms on
RMS Lusitania consisted of a dining
room, similar to first class but on
one deck with a smaller balcony and
dome. Other public second class
rooms on RMS Lusitania consisted of
a lounge, a smoking room and a
ladies’ room. They were situated on
segregated sections of the promenade
and boat decks. Second class
passengers were allocated
comfortable, but shared, two and
four berth cabins.
Third Class on RMS Lusitania
Third class on RMS Lusitania was
far better than on most ships of the
time. The third class public rooms
on RMS Lusitania consisted of a
dining room, in the ship’s bow on
the saloon deck, a smoking room and
a ladies’ room. Third class
passengers were allocated berths in
a two, four, six or eight berth
cabin.
When did the Maiden Voyage of RMS
Lusitania Take Place?
RMS Lusitania left Liverpool on
September 7, 1907, to embark on her
maiden voyage to New York. She
anchored off Queenstown (Now Cobh)
on the south coast of Ireland to
take on additional passengers before
continuing her voyage to New York,
where she arrived on September 13,
having been delayed by fog. RMS
Lusitania remained in New York for a
week during which time she was
opened for guided tours. RMS
Lusitania left New York for her
return journey on September 21,
arriving back in Liverpool on
September 27, having been delayed by
fog once again.
RMS Lusitania Captures the Blue
Riband
RMS Lusitania captured the Blue
Riband on her second voyage when she
arrive in New York on October 11,
1907, in a record time of 4 days, 19
hours and 53 minutes at an average
speed of 23.99 knots. RMS Lusitania
held the record until December 1907
when it was captured by her sister
ship RMS Mauretania. RMS Lusitania
recaptured the Blue Riband in July
1907, but inly held it for a brief
time as RMS Mauretania recaptured it
in the same month.
RMS Lusitania and the
Hudson-Fulton Celebration
RMS Lusitania was among the
various modes of transport that were
displayed as part of the
Hudson-Fulton Celebration, in New
York, between Late September and
Early October 1909. Wilbur Wright
flew a Wright Flyer, which was also
on display, over Lusitania several
times during the celebration.
RMS Lusitania Requisitioned by
the Admiralty
When WW1 began in 1914, RMS
Lusitania was requisitioned by the
Admiralty and listed as an armed
merchant cruiser. With many ocean
liners laid up during 1914 and 1915
because of a shortage of passengers
and the risk of war damage, RMS
Lusitania continued to make civilian
transatlantic crossings. In an
effort to disguise her and make her
more difficult to see, RMS Lusitania
was painted grey. During 1915 the
threat was diminishing so RMS
Lusitania was repainted in the
Cunard livery.
RMS Lusitania and the German
Declared War Zone
On February 4, 1915, In response
to Britain declaring the North Sea
to be a war zone, Germany declared
the waters around the British Isles
to be a war zone. This meant that
every time RMS Lusitania arrived or
left Britain she would be entering a
war zone and was in danger from
German ships and submarines.
The Imperial German Embassy Warns
Against Travelling on RMS Lusitania
Following an enquiry from a
group of German Americans, The
Imperial German Embassy in
Washington D.C. issued a warning, in
fifty American newspapers, not to
travel on RMS Lusitania. When RMS
Lusitania left New York on May 1,
1915, some of the ship's crew and
passengers were worried.
The Sinking of RMS Lusitania
Nearing the end of her voyage on
May 7, 1915, RMS Lusitania was
sailing off the south coast of
Ireland when she crossed in front of
of the German submarine U-20. U-20
fired one torpedo which hit RMS
Lusitania on the starboard bow.
Almost immediately after, a second
unexplained explosion rocked RMS
Lusitania and and she sank in less
than 20 minutes. With assistance
from Irish rescuers and the British
cruiser HMS Juno, 764 were rescued
while a further 1,198 were killed,
mostly due to hypothermia and
drowning.
Public Outcry at the Sinking of
RMS Lusitania
With the loss of so many
civilian lives, including 128
Americans, the sinking of RMS
Lusitania caused a huge public
outcry in America and across the
British Empire. On May 8, a German
spokesman, Bernhard Dernburg
published a statement in which he
said that Germany had the right to
sink RMS Lusitania as she was
classed as an auxiliary cruiser and
carried ammunition and military
goods.
The Military Cargo of RMS
Lusitania
As the Germans had said, RMS
Lusitania was classed as an
auxiliary cruiser and her cargo
manifest confirmed she was carrying
18 cases of non explosive fuses,
1,250 empty shell cases and 4.2
million rounds of rifle cartridges.
In an additional manifest, submitted
to U.S. Customs in the days after
Lusitania had set sail, it was
stated that the empty shell cases
were each actually filled with 4 x
3in shells, giving a total of
103,000 pounds.
President Wilson Seeks an Apology
for the Sinking of RMS Lusitania
American President
Woodrow
Wilson refused to declare war over
the sinking of RMS Lusitania,
however he requested an apology from
Germany, compensation for the U.S.
victims and reassurances that there
would be no similar occurrences in
the future. Germany continued to
argue that RMS Lusitania was a
legitimate target. On September 9,
1915, Germany stated that future
attack could only be made on ships
that were unquestionably British and
that no attacks on passenger liners
would be permitted. This lasted
until January 1917 when Germany
began unrestricted submarine
warfare.
RMS Lusitania Conspiracy Theories
There are several conspiracy
theories concerning the sinking of
RMS Lusitania including the
following:
Winston Churchill was
complicit in orchestrating the
sinking of RMS Lusitania in an
effort to bring the United States
into WW1; RMS Lusitania was carrying
far more munitions than has been
admitted to and the Royal Navy
bombed the wreck in an effort to
hide the truth about RMS Lusitania.
The Wreck of RMS Lusitania
The wreck of RMS Lusitania is
lying at a depth of 305ft
approximately 11 miles south of the
Kinsale lighthouse. She is lying on
her starboard side and has collapsed
where she landed. RMS Lusitania has
deteriorated at a much faster rate
than RMS Titanic, probably because
of fishing nets, the damage from
depth charges and the various
salvage operations that have taken
place.
RMS Lusitania in Film
The Sinking of the Lusitania was
the title of the first animated
documentary made in 1918. Winsor
McCay, an American animation
pioneer, spent almost two years
making the 12 minute film which was
the longest recorded animated film
at that time. The 2007 docu-drama
Sinking of the Lusitania:Terror at
Sea starring John Hannah and Kenneth
Cranham is a dramatized movie of the
event.
Class and Type: Ocean Liner
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Complement: Crew 850 -
Passengers 2,198
Displacement: 44.767 tons
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Length: 787ft
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Beam: 87ft
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Draft: 33.6ft
Power: 25 x Scotch marine
boilers - 4 x direct acting
Parsons steam engines producing
76,000 hp
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Propulsion: Four triple blade
propellers (quadruple bladed
installed in 1909) -
Speed: 28 knots (max)
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