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Is there any consensus as to whether or not the RMS Lusitania was secretly transporting munitions in May 1915 and, if so, did the Germans know about it?
Question
#74143. Asked by bloomsby. (Jan 04 07 11:51 AM)
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Nezzy1
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The Lusitania was hit by a single torpedo, but there was a more massive secondary explosion, which some consporacy theorists believe was contraband munitions. Another theory is that the British deliberately sank the ship to hasten/influence Americas decision to join the war. However the German U-boats were constantly sinking merchant navy ships, so it is possible the Lusitania was just one more. If there is any proof of the munitions, I've never heard of it.
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Nezzy1
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Just read that an inventory came to light stating munitions were part of the cargo. This would make the Lusitania a legitimate target, but whether the Germans knew this or not is a different story, although German spies on allied vessels was not uncommon. There were in fact 3 spies detained on board shortly after this fateful journey began.
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lanfranco
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Bloomsby, in Diana Preston's 2002 book "Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy," Appendix B, pp. 448-49, Preston writes that Bob Ballard's thorough survey of the wreck revealed no structural hull damage of the type that would have been caused by exploding munitions. The ship was carrying 5,000 shrapnel shells as declared on a supplementary manifest, but these contained no powder, propellant charges, or fuses, which would have been fitted after arrival in Britain.
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bloomsby
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Many thanks, especially to Frankie. The empty shrapnel shells may help to explain why there's so much controversy about this particular issue and why it's so open to distortion.
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Nezzy1
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There were also several million bullets on board. And the vessel lies on the seabed on the side where the torpedo hit. This coupled with the decay of the ship makes it hard to determine what happened, but there are many theories as to why there was a massive secondary explosion. Briefly: Munitions, second torpedo (denied by the Germans), coal dust explosion, steam boiler explosion.
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bloomsby
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Many thanks, Nezzy.
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