Sketch of the RMS Lusitania’s Lifeboat Storage Mechanism

Sketch of the RMS Lusitania’s Lifeboat Storage Mechanism

On May 1, 1915, when the RMS Lusitania departed New York, it was carrying a decent amount of passengers, despite the announcement from the German Embassy printed in newspapers on April 23 warning Americans traveling on British or Allied ships in war zones did so at their own risk. This declaration was placed just below an advertisement of the imminent sailing of the Lusitania liner from New York back to Liverpool in one of the New York newspapers, as an explicit warning for all those who intended to travel.

Although technically still neutral in 1915, the United States continued to conduct commerce with the Great Britain, a practice that put the Lusitania at risk. Fearing passenger boats would be used to ship war material, the German government approved unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1915. Indeed, a number of British trading vessels, using the same route as the Lusitania, had been sunk by German U-Boats in the months preceding the ship’s voyage.

At 2:12 p.m. on May 7, 1915, the 32,000-ton ship was hit on its starboard side by an exploding torpedo from German submarine U-20. The torpedo blast was followed by a larger explosion, probably of the ship’s boilers, and the ship sank off the coast of Cork, Ireland, in just 18 minutes.1,198 civilians perished, including 128 Americans.

Such a large loss of life can be some way explained by the poorly designed lifeboat launch system aboard the Lusitania. According to the ships logs, there were enough lifeboats to cater for 2,605 passengers, and enough life jackets for up to 3,000 passengers. However, when the ship was struck, the lifeboat-lowering apparatus was upset, meaning that lifeboats could only be lowered safely from the starboard side, resulting in only 6 of the 48 lifeboats successfully launching before the ship sank.

This led to mass confusion and terror, as survival quickly took precedence over custom and law. Survivor James Leary recalled that when he reminded a crew member that sailors were legally required to save passengers before abandoning ship, the crewman replied “passengers be damned: save yourself first.”

During inquiries into the shipwreck, it was revealed that the Lusitania was carrying about 173 tons of contraband war munitions for Britain, which the Germans cited as further justification for the attack, as the ship could be classed as an “auxiliary cruiser” by carrying munitions and thus was a legitimate target. The United States protested the action, and Germany apologized and pledged to end unrestricted submarine warfare. However, in November of that same year, a U-boat sunk an Italian liner without warning, killing more than 270 people, including more than 25 Americans.

A century later, historians question whether the U-20’s sinking of the Lusitania led the United States to enter World War I. Yet, they generally agree that it played a significant role in turning public opinion against Germany; however, America did not join the war until 1917.

Download a high-resolution version of this document from the National Archives’ online catalog.

This document was on display in the “Featured Documents” exhibit in the East Rotunda Gallery of the National Archives in Washington, DC, April 30 through June 3, 2015.

Past Featured Records

• 

  Frances Perkins: Champion of Workers’ Rights

  Thursday, February 29, 2024 – Monday, April 15, 2024
  East Rotunda Gallery

  “I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten plain common workingmen.” —Frances Perkins

  Chances are you benefit from the legacy of Frances Perkins,... Read more

• 

  70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

  Thursday, February 1, 2024 – Wednesday, February 28, 2024
  East Rotunda Gallery

  Equity in Education: 70 Years Later

  On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional in... Read more

• 

  250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party

  Thursday, December 14, 2023 – Wednesday, January 31, 2024

  East Rotunda Gallery

  The Destruction of the Tea

  It wouldn’t be known as the “Boston Tea Party” for another 50 years, but the destruction... Read more

• 

  Diseños: An Impact of Mexican Cession

  Tuesday, June 20, 2023 – Wednesday, October 18, 2023
  East Rotunda Gallery

   

  At the end of the Mexican-American War, the United States annexed more than half of Mexico’s territory under the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Under its terms, the U.S. promised to... Read more

• 

  Celebrating Anna May Wong

  Anna May Wong
  National Archives, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service

  “I want to be an actress, not a freak.”

  Film legend Anna May Wong’s talent could not be contained by the racist casting of early Hollywood movies. Born Wong Liu Tsong in Los Angeles in 1905,... Read more