Her memory hasn’t lingered in the public imagination like that of the Titanic, but RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner, sank 102 years ago today when the German U-boat U-20 torpedoed her about 11 miles off the coast of Ireland during World War I.
Launched in Scotland in 1906 and named after an ancient Roman province in what is now Portugal, the Lusitania sank in 18 minutes on May 7, 1915, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 people aboard, including almost 100 children.
Following the disaster, debate raged over whether the Lusitania was a legitimate war target. As the web site www.rmslusitania.info notes, it was "abominable to deliberately sink a ship with civilians on board, (but) the fact remains that Lusitania was a British — and therefore belligerent — ship that had the capability to be converted into an auxiliary cruiser, and that she was running munitions and other war supplies through a German blockade."
In any case, Wikipedia says the sinking "turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributed to the American entry into World War I and became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought."
Following the disaster, debate raged over whether the Lusitania was a legitimate war target. As the web site www.rmslusitania.info notes, it was "abominable to deliberately sink a ship with civilians on board, (but) the fact remains that Lusitania was a British — and therefore belligerent — ship that had the capability to be converted into an auxiliary cruiser, and that she was running munitions and other war supplies through a German blockade."
In any case, Wikipedia says the sinking "turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributed to the American entry into World War I and became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought."
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