Lusitania's Voyage: In the Eye of Turbulence

As printed on a notice, “...any vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters (adjacent to the British Isles) and that travellers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.” Despite these dire warnings 1,962 people still got on the Lusitania, a British passenger ship, on her 202nd voyage through the war torn waters of Great Britain.

In the period before the final voyage of the Lusitania, America and the entire world were in a time of turbulence and war. The year of 1914 was a difficult year for President wilson. On June 28, 1914 WWI started, and in August, 1914 President Wilson’s wife died. Wilson suffered greatly from both the loss of his primary advisor and his best friend. Shortly thereafter President Wilson entered a period of deep depression. In addition, the US was still battling a two year economic recession. Whether due to economic strain or President Wilson’s emotional fatigue (I forgot where I was going). Due to the fact that the United States was a friend of great Britain, Britain tried very hard to get the US involved in the war. _____ even said _____ about the sinking of the Lusitania two hours before the boat sank.

The Lusitania was

a uniquely designed vessel that was ahead of its time. The vessel was, for a brief amount of time, the world’s largest passenger ship weighing in at about 44,000 tons and could hold 2,000 people when booked to capacity (Larson 20). When preparing to build the Lusitania and its sister the Mauretania, funding became an issue for Cunard Lines. Fortunately, the Admiralty offered Cunard up to 2.4 million euros at only 2.75% interest. In return however, Cunard had to make many adjustments to the Design of both vessels (Larson 24).
The massive loan came with many requirements which Cunard had to follow. One requirement which the Admiralty required was that the Lusitania must be able to travel at an average speed of 24.5 knots or 28 miles per hour (Larson 24). This was accomplished by using turbine engines which outputted 68,000 house-power. Turbine engines also had greater reliability at speed, created less vibrations, and were more fuel efficient (Sterling). This speed made the Lusitania the quickest passenger liner in addition to allowing the Lusitania to outrun any U-boats which it may encounter. One of the downsides to maintaining such a high speed was the vast amount of coal which the ship consumed. When the Lusitania was at full speed it consumed around 1,000 tons of coal (Larson 21). Another more problematic requirement was that the Lusitania must be able to be brought into the British Navy as “armed auxiliary cruisers.” The builders of the Lusitania used the same design and construction of a battleship. It was even equipped “holding-down” rings which would allow for the Lusitania to hold up to a dozen guns (Larson 24). Once the war began the British Navy decided not to use the Lusitania as it consumed too much coal and would cost too much to operate in battle conditions. Even though the Lusitania was specially constructed, U-boats also had their own specializations.
For the time period, U-boats were powerful machines which were used to advance war efforts. The design of the U-Boat was quite unique. Captain Schwieger, one of the top U-boat captains of the time, piloted a U-20 which was enormous at 210 feet long, by 20 feet wide, and 27 feet tall (Larson 69). Although the submarine itself was huge, most of its size come from giant ballast tanks which would fill with seawater when the U-boat would dive and would be drained when the U-boat was surfacing (Larson 69). It took two diesel engines for cruising above water in addition to two electric engines for underwater use (Larson 69). U-boats also came equipped with a deck gun with 250 shells and seven torpedoes which were known as “automobile torpedoes.” A U-boat could fire torpedoes from torpedo tubes which were found in both the stern and the bow (Larson 69). U-boats could travel about 15 knots or 17 mph above water and only 9 knots or 10 mph after submerged. The communication on U-boats were considerably weaker than on conventional ships. After about 100 miles U-boats would lose contact with their base. Once this happened, all future decisions would be made solely by the captain and the captain alone (Larson 66).
Another unique function of U-boats was the commanding hierarchy. Once the U-boat was at sea, captains received no orders from their superior officers. This allowed U-boats to adopt the personality and character of their commanders. For example, Schwieger was becoming known for his ruthlessness while at sea. One time he attempted to sink the Asturias, a hospital ship which was viewed as a moral low, even by Germany (Larson 71). Not all commanders were ruthless however. For example, some commanders would even perform sympathetic actions such as towing lifeboats to shore. One commander even sent a captain of a sunk vessel bottles of wine for the trouble of rowing to shore (Larson 70). Despite this, U-boat commanders still had a job to do, to attempt to sink as many tons of cargo they could.
The sinking of the Lusitania was a tragic event which occurred just miles before the transatlantic ocean liner reached its destination. The Lusitania was nearing the end of its 202nd voyage, only eleven miles from its destination, when it encountered Captain Schwieger’s U-20 ( ). There were a number of unfortunate circumstances which led to the sinking of the Lusitania. One of the primary causes of the disaster was the fact that the Lusitania was not running at full speed nor was it moving in a zig-zag pattern, which were the Lusitania’s only defenses against submarines, due to foggy conditions (“The Sinking of the Lusitania, 1915”). The ships met at about 2 pm on May 7, 1915 where Captain Schwieger tracked the Lusitania for about an hour before launching a torpedo at the Lusitania after the steamer turned to starboard heading for Queenstown. At 3:10 pm the “shot [torpedo] struck the starboard side close behind the bridge” where “an extraordinary heavy detonation followed” (“The Sinking of the Lusitania, 1915). There is speculation which has led to conspiracies regarding the cause of the second explosion. Some non-war related theories include that the coal dust which settled throughout the Lusitania had detonated or a boiler ruptured. Another, less innocent theory is that war munitions detonated (multiple sources) (“The Sinking of the Lusitania, 1915”). After about 20 minutes the Lusitania had sunk taking 1,198 of its 1,962 people of which 128 were Americans. The loss of those 128 American lives eventually brought the US into the war.
Even more heartbreaking is that attempts for rescue were cancelled by the Admiralty. The Juno, one of the most fast vessels available, was sent out to rescue passengers of the Lusitania only to be called back to port almost immediately. This was due to recent orders which prevented large warships from aiding sunken vessels due to the fact that submarines could be waiting to sink rescue ships as well. However, less expensive, smaller boats, including torpedo boats, trawlers, and fishing vessels,came to help rescue. Unfortunately, it took hours for the small boats to reach the Lusitania.
The turmoil of the fate of the Lusitania continues for years after its sinking.

Germany continued to torpedo merchant ships for two years after the sinking of the Lusitania before President Wilson and the United States declared war on Germany. Captain Turner was found innocent of any wrongdoing related to the Lusitania (The Last Voyage of the Lusitania, 232). Captain Turner continued to command other Cunard vessels and was torpedoed again New Year’s day 1917. Schwieger became the 6th ranked Submarine ace after sinking 190,000 tons of enemy material. He died in September of 1917 after running into a minefield when trying to escape from HMS Stonecrop which was equipped with depth charges (The Last Voyage,

234,5).
The Lusitania was an impressive ship with premium construction in addition to the strength of a battleship.