RMS Lusitania

British ocean liner sunk by a German submarine in World War I

AI overview

The RMS Lusitania was a British passenger ship that was sunk by a German submarine during World War I. Its sinking is historically significant because nearly 1,200 people died in the attack, which helped shift public opinion, particularly in the United States, against Germany during the war.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Name: RMS Lusitania
Namesake: Lusitania
Owner: Cunard Line
Port of registry: Liverpool , United Kingdom
Route: Liverpool – Queenstown – New York
Builder: John Brown & Co , Clydebank
Laid down: 17 August 1904
Launched: 7 June 1906
Christened: Mary, Lady Inverclyde
Acquired: 26 August 1907
Maiden voyage: 7 September 1907
In service: 1907 – 1915
Out of service

Article

RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner launched by the Cunard Line in 1906 as a Royal Mail Ship. She was the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of her running mate Mauretania three months later. In 1907, she gained the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlantic crossing, which had been held by German ships for a decade.

Though reserved for conversion as an armed merchant cruiser, Lusitania was not commissioned as such during WWI but continued a transatlantic passenger service, sometimes carrying war materials, including a quantity of .303 ammunition, in her cargo. The German submarine U-20 hit her with a torpedo on 7 May 1915 at 14:10, 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, leading to her sinking about 18 minutes later. Only six of several dozen lifeboats and rafts were successfully lowered; there were 763 survivors out of the 1,960 people on board, while 1,197 perished.