Lusitania - In a Position of Peril

Just west of the Old Head of Kinsale on Ireland’s southern coast, Lusitania was about fourteen miles offshore.  As the fog lifted, she was spotted by a lurking German submarine, U-20.  Following directions to change course to Queenstown, Captain Turner came closer to the unseen submarine.

At the time, standard practice amongst warring parties was to warn a vessel which was about to be attacked.  That would allow people to evacuate the ship, before it sank.  No one from U-20 issued any warning to the Lusitania.  No one on board saw the submarine before it released its torpedo.

Credits

This video clip is from the BBC’s recreation of the ship, and the story of her 1915 sinking, entitled Lusitania:  Murder on the Atlantic.