Qualla: RMS Lusitania

RMS Lusitania: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tackney os, CC BY-SA 4.0. On the morning of 1 May 1915, the German embassy placed advertisements in fifty American newspapers warning travellers of the dangers of sailing on British ships through the war zone around the British Isles. That afternoon, RMS Lusitania departed Pier 54 in New York, bound for Liverpool with 1,960 passengers and crew. Six days later, at 2:10 PM on 7 May, a single torpedo from the submarine U-20 struck her starboard bow off the Old Head of Kinsale, County Cork. A second, internal explosion -- its cause still debated more than a century later -- erupted from within the hull. Eighteen minutes after that, the ship was gone. Of the 1,960 aboard, 1,198 died, including 128 Americans. The sinking did not bring the United States into the First World War immediately, but it shattered whatever remained of American neutrality.

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Image: Tackney os | CC BY-SA 4.0

RMS Lusitania: The Greyhound of the Atlantic

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Lusitania was built to be the fastest and most luxurious ship afloat. Designed by Leonard Peskett and constructed by John Brown and Company on Clydebank, she was launched on 7 June 1906 and briefly held the title of world's largest passenger ship until her sister, Mauretania, ent...

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain

RMS Lusitania: Into the War Zone

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NYH Service the New York Herald newspaper which went out of business in 1924. Many newspapers printed photos of those aboard the ship-those who survived and those who perished. New York Herald photo of a passenger., Public domain. When war began in August 1914, the Admiralty initially requisitioned Lusitania for conversion to an armed cruiser, then released her -- the ship consumed too much fuel to be practical, and guns were scarce. She continued transatlantic passenger service, occasionally carrying war ...

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Image: NYH Service the New York Herald newspaper which went out of business in 1924. Many newspapers printed photos of those aboard the ship-those who survived and those who perished. New York Herald photo of a passenger. | Public domain

RMS Lusitania: Eighteen Minutes

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Sevenseaocean, CC BY-SA 4.0. Lusitania was running parallel to the south Irish coast on 7 May 1915, roughly 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, when she crossed in front of U-20, commanded by Walther Schwieger. The torpedo struck behind the bridge on the starboard side. Moments later, a second explosion ri...

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Image: Sevenseaocean | CC BY-SA 4.0

RMS Lusitania: Contraband and Consequences

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit National Museum of the U.S. Navy, Public domain. The aftermath was explosive in every sense. Lusitania's cargo manifest listed 4.2 million rounds of rifle cartridges, 1,250 empty shell cases, and 18 cases of non-explosive fuses. Days after the sinking, Cunard delivered a supplementary manifest revealing that the "empty shells" ...

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Image: National Museum of the U.S. Navy | Public domain

RMS Lusitania: The Wreck That Won't Rest

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. The wreck was discovered in October 1935, lying on her starboard side in roughly 305 feet of water, 11 miles south of Kinsale. She has deteriorated far faster than Titanic, battered by shallow-water currents, fishing nets, and depth charges. American venture capitalist Gregg Bemi...

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Image: Public domain