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Lusitania Sinking

THE ATTACK

Schwieger knew he had either Lusitania or her sister in his sights. When the fog cleared, U-20 had surfaced. Low on fuel, she was making her way to Fastnet. A lookout spotted smoke off the starboard bow. Schwieger counted four funnels. He believed the ship was 12-14 miles away. Probably too far for a successful hit, but if she were heading to Queenstown? Maybe. It was 13:20 Greenwich Mean Time.

Schwieger reported what he saw to his pilot:

Four funnels, schooner rig, upwards of 20,000 tons and making about 22 knots.

The pilot checked his manuals. He reported to Schwieger:

Either the Lusitania or the Mauretania.

Brassey's Naval Annual listed both as armed merchant ships:

Both are cruisers and used for trooping.

The captain ordered a G-type torpedo to be loaded into a forward tube. Watching the target ship through his binoculars, Schwieger could not believe his eyes. She was changing course, putting herself directly where U-20 needed her to be! In his logbook, Schwieger noted

...the ship turns to starboard then takes a course to Queenstown.

Closing in on each other, the two ships were 650 yards apart. Traveling at about 38 knots, the torpedo streaked toward Lusitania's starboard side. From the crow's nest, Lusitania's lookout spotted the unthinkable:

There is a torpedo coming, sir!

There was no time to react. U-20's torpedo struck Lusitania "between the third and fourth funnels." The ship shuddered. An eyewitness said it sounded like:

...the sound of an arrow entering the canvas and straw of a target magnified a thousand times.

Then, nearly instantaneously, the Lusitania exploded. Not from a second torpedo. From an internal explosion.

Nearly 2,000 people had 18 minutes to get off the mortally wounded, quickly-sinking liner. (Follow the link to a rare copy of the "Annex to the Report," from the official inquiry conducted by Lord Mersey.)