Lusitania - Triumph, Tragedy and the End

If you are interested, please contact the u3a directly via their media platforms.

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.

The German submarine U-20 hit her with a torpedo on 7 May 1915 at 14:10, 11 miles (18 km) 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 767 survivors out of the 1,960 people on board, while 1,193 perished.