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The RMS LusitaniaJosie Ellison and Cody Walker
History
• The Lusitania was said to be a passenger ship running blockades with supplies for Britain
• Later it was found to be carrying Military supplies• It was the major reason for Americas entrance
into the war.
Purpose
• Mainly a passenger ship
• But was known to be carrying ammunition for Allied soldiers.
(actual Bullets retrieved from the Lusitania)
Passengers
• 1,959 passengers and crew aboard, 1,198 perished.
• On board were many important people including Charles Frohman (distinguished theater manager) and Alfred G. Vanderbilt.
Controversy of Cargo
• The British cunard men denied the armament of the Lusitania.
• Yet search of the vessel revealed “Ammunition that for decades British and American officials said didn't exist.”(Sides)
German Justification
• It was warned that any ship traveling the British Isles was liable to be sunk, most passengers ignored this message.
• It was known to be carrying munitions.
Dimensions• Overall length- 787ft• Length between
perpendiculars-760ft• Width-87ft 6 inches• Draught-33ft 6 inches• Tonnage-31,550.47
tons• Displacement- 44,060
Sinking Facts
• Travelling 8 knots below full speed in well known German sub patrolled area.
• Most believed it was sunk by 2 torpedo hits not a cargo explosion. (due to propaganda)
Sinking Facts (cont.)
• Sank within 18 minutes of the first Torpedo hit.
• Second explosion was a cargo explosion, not a torpedo.
• Sank forward• Deaths were from rapid
sinking. (unlike the Titanic, there was an adequate number of life-boats)
• 12 miles from the Irish coast• 303 feet below the surface
American Involvement!
• Around 200 Americans were on the Lusitania
• 114 of the Americans onboard died including a Harvard professor and a New York politician
• Along with the Zimmerman telegram, it brought America into the war.
1918 vintage animation of the 1915 event by Winsor McCay