Sinking of the RMS Lusitania. The sinking of the Cunardocean liner. RMS Lusitania occurred on Friday, 7 May 1. First World War, as Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom which had implemented a naval blockade of Germany. The ship was identified and torpedoed by the German U boat. U 2. 0 and sank in 1. The vessel went down 1. Old Head of Kinsale,1 4. Ireland, killing 1,1. The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributed to the American entry into World War I and became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought. Lusitania had the misfortune to fall victim to torpedo attack relatively early in the First World War, before tactics for evading submarines were properly implemented or understood. The contemporary investigations in both the United Kingdom and the United States into the precise causes of the ships loss were obstructed by the needs of wartime secrecy and a propaganda campaign to ensure all blame fell upon Germany. Argument over whether the ship was a legitimate military target raged back and forth throughout the war as both sides made misleading claims about the ship. List of Ships with Agent Orange Exposure Confirmed. Da Nang to off load Helos. April 22. At the time she was sunk, she was carrying over 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition. Several attempts have been made over the years since the sinking to dive to the wreck seeking information about precisely how the ship sank, and argument continues to the present day. BackgroundeditWhen Lusitania was built, her construction and operating expenses were subsidised by the British government, with the provision that she could be converted to an Armed Merchant Cruiser if need be. At the outbreak of the First World War, the British Admiralty considered her for requisition as an armed merchant cruiser, and she was put on the official list of AMCs. The Admiralty then cancelled their earlier decision and decided not to use her as an AMC after all large liners such as Lusitania consumed enormous quantities of coal 9. Admiraltys fuel reserves, so express liners were deemed inappropriate for the role when smaller cruisers would do. They were also very distinctive so smaller liners were used as transports instead. Lusitania remained on the official AMC list and was listed as an auxiliary cruiser in the 1. Janes All the Worlds Fighting Ships, along with Mauretania. At the outbreak of hostilities, fears for the safety of Lusitania and other great liners ran high. During the ships first east bound crossing after the war started, she was painted in a drab grey colour scheme in an attempt to mask her identity and make her more difficult to detect visually. When it turned out that the German Navy was kept in check by the Royal Navy, and their commerce threat almost entirely evaporated, it very soon seemed that the Atlantic was safe for ships like Lusitania, if the bookings justified the expense of keeping them in service. Germanys declared exclusion zone of February 1. Allied ships within this area were liable to search and attack. Many of the large liners were laid up over the autumn and winter of 1. Atlantic, and in part to protect them from damage due to mines or other dangers. Among the most recognisable of these liners, some were eventually used as troop transports, while others became hospital ships. Lusitania remained in commercial service although bookings aboard her were by no means strong during that autumn and winter, demand was strong enough to keep her in civilian service. Economizing measures were taken, however. One of these was the shutting down of her No. Even so, she was the fastest first class passenger liner left in commercial service. With apparent dangers evaporating, the ships disguised paint scheme was also dropped and she was returned to civilian colours. Her name was picked out in gilt, her funnels were repainted in their traditional Cunard livery, and her superstructure was painted white again. One alteration was the addition of a bronzegold coloured band around the base of the superstructure just above the black paint. The official warning issued by the Imperial German Embassy about travelling on Lusitania. By early 1. 91. 5, a new threat began to materialise submarines. At first they were used by the Germans only to attack naval vessels, and they achieved only occasional but sometimes spectacular successes. Then the U boats began to attack merchant vessels at times, although almost always in accordance with the old cruiser rules. Desperate to gain an advantage on the Atlantic, the German government decided to step up their submarine campaign. On 4 February 1. 91. Germany declared the seas around the British Isles a war zone from 1. Zero Dark Thirty 2012. Gwen Zhang. composite artist. Riyaz Ali Merchant. India. Liberias registered merchant fleet in 2005. The state seal shows a ship at anchor in a. The Associated Press delivers indepth coverage on todays Big Story including top stories, international, politics, lifestyle, business, entertainment, and more. San Diego Magazine features the best of San Diego. Editor in chief Erin Meanley Glenny dishes on the November issue of San Diego Magazine. Retini Autocad Dwg Gratis more. Construction. February allied ships in the area would be sunk without warning. This was not wholly unrestricted submarine warfare since efforts would be taken to avoid sinking neutral ships. Captain Daniel Dow, Lusitanias penultimate captain. Lusitania was scheduled to arrive in Liverpool on 6 March 1. The Admiralty issued her specific instructions on how to avoid submarines. Despite a severe shortage of destroyers, Admiral Henry Oliver ordered HMS Louis and Laverock to escort Lusitania, and took the further precaution of sending the Q ship. Lyons to patrol Liverpool Bay. The destroyer commander attempted to discover the whereabouts of Lusitania by telephoning Cunard, who refused to give out any information and referred him to the Admiralty. At sea, the ships contacted Lusitania by radio, but did not have the codes used to communicate with merchant ships. Captain Dow of Lusitania refused to give his own position except in code, and since he was, in any case, some distance from the positions he gave, continued to Liverpool unescorted. It seems that, in response to this new submarine threat, some alterations were made to Lusitania and her operation. She was ordered not to fly any flags in the War Zone, a number of warnings, plus advice, were sent to the ships commander to help him decide how to best protect his ship against the new threat, and it also seems that her funnels were most likely painted a dark grey to help make her less visible to enemy submarines. Clearly, there was no hope of disguising her actual identity, since her profile was so well known, and no attempt was made to paint out the ships name at the prow. Captain Dow, apparently suffering from stress from operating his ship in the War Zone, and after a significant false flag controversy, left the ship Cunard later explained that he was tired and really ill. He was replaced with a new commander, Captain William Thomas Turner, who had previously commanded Lusitania, Mauretania, and Aquitania in the years before the war. On 1. 7 April 1. 91. Lusitania left Liverpool on her 2. New York on 2. 4 April. A group of GermanAmericans, hoping to avoid controversy if Lusitania were attacked by a U boat, discussed their concerns with a representative of the German Embassy. The embassy decided to warn passengers before her next crossing not to sail aboard Lusitania. The Imperial German Embassy placed a warning advertisement in 5. American newspapers, including those in New York see illustration. Final voyageeditDepartureedit. A woman rescued from the sinking of the Lusitania, 2. May 1. 91. 5. While many British passenger ships had been called into duty for the war effort, Lusitania remained on her traditional route between Liverpool and New York. She departed Pier 5. New York on 1 May 1. Liverpool with 1,9. Welcome to Open Library Open Library. Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Just like Wikipedia, you can contribute new information or corrections to the catalog. You can browse by subject, author or.