| The Lusitania was a luxury ocean liner that sailed | | | | list heavily to starboard. The ship's captain gave |
| the Cunard Line's Liverpool-New York route from | | | | the order to abandon ship, however there were |
| 1907. She was the largest vessel afloat at the | | | | serious problems in launching the lifeboats, out of |
| time with a total of seven decks. It was | | | | a total of 48 only six were successfully launched. |
| estimated that over two hundred thousand people | | | | The Lusitania sank in less than twenty minutes, |
| gathered to witness her depart on her maiden | | | | eight miles off the Old Head of Kinsale. Similar to |
| voyage. She set off on her last voyage on 1 May | | | | the Titanic, she sank bow first, with her stern |
| 1915, from Pier 54 in New York with some 1,959 | | | | almost fully perpendicular to the water Of those |
| people on board. Her cargo was entered in the | | | | onboard, 761 were rescued, but 1,198 people died |
| manifest as foodstuffs, metal rods, ingots and | | | | with her including one hundred children. The rescue |
| cartridges. | | | | operation was led by Vice Admiral Sir Charles |
| She was approximately thirty miles from Cape | | | | Henry Cooke, the naval commander at |
| Clear Island off the coast of Co. Cork, Ireland | | | | Queenstown (modern day Cobh). The political |
| when she encountered fog and had to reduce | | | | fall-out was massive, many commentators often |
| speed and crossed the path of a German U-boat. | | | | credit the incident with transforming the prevailing |
| The U-boat fired upon the Lusitania, striking her | | | | American laissez-faire attitude towards the war in |
| under the bridge, subsequently there was a much | | | | Europe. |
| larger second explosion which caused the ship to | | | | |