Talk at Kelling Probus Club

In May 1915 the Lusitania was returning from New York to Liverpool with 1,959 passengers and crew on board. The sinkings of merchant ships off the south coast of Ireland and reports of submarineactivity there prompted the British Admiralty to warn the Lusitania to avoid the area and to recommend adopting the evasive tactic of zigzagging, changing course every few minutes at irregular intervals to confuse any attempt by U-boatsto plot her course for torpedoing. The ship’s captain, William Thomas Turner, chose to ignore these recommendations, and on the afternoon of May 7 the vessel was attacked. A torpedo struck and exploded amidships on the starboard side, and a heavier explosion followed, possibly caused by damage to the ship’s steam engines and pipes. Within 20 minutes the Lusitania had sunk, and 1,198 people were drowned. The loss of the liner and so many of its passengers, including 128 U.S. citizens,…