Sinking of RMS Lusitania
The sinking of the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania by a German submarine off Ireland on 7 May 1915, which killed 1,198 people.
RMS Lusitania: A British ocean liner launched in 1906 and sunk by a German submarine in 1915. The ship’s voyage, construction, and loss are the central subject of the sinking.
United States entry into World War I: The United States’ declaration of war on Germany in April 1917. Lusitania’s sinking helped turn American opinion against Germany, though it did not itself cause entry.
World War I naval warfare: The use of fleets, submarines, and blockades in the First World War. The sinking occurred within Germany’s campaign against shipping around the British Isles.
William Thomas Turner: A British merchant ship captain who commanded Lusitania on its final voyage. Turner’s decisions and testimony became central to debate over the ship’s defenses and speed.
Lusitania inquiry: The British investigation into the loss of Lusitania and the circumstances of its sinking. The inquiry examined the attack, the ship’s loss, and the conduct of its captain.
U-20 (German submarine): A German U-boat commanded by Walther Schwieger that torpedoed Lusitania. Its torpedo struck the liner off Ireland on 7 May 1915.
Arabic (passenger ship): A British passenger liner sunk by a German submarine in 1915, killing 44 people. Its sinking renewed U.S.–German tensions months after the Lusitania disaster.
German submarine campaign against Britain: Germany’s wartime effort to disrupt British shipping with submarines. U-20’s patrol formed part of this campaign.
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt: An American businessman and passenger who died in the sinking of Lusitania. His death became one of the most widely reported personal losses.
RMS Lusitania memorial: A memorial in Cobh, Ireland, commemorating victims of the Lusitania sinking. It marks the disaster in the Irish port closest to the wreck.