RMS Lusitania Trivia

1. The RMS Lusitania was built by the Cunard Line and launched on June 7, 1906. What does the designation "RMS" signify?

From Quiz The Lusitania: Fatal Voyage

Answer: Royal Mail Ship

Large passenger liners like the Lusitania, her sister ship the Mauretania, and the famous Titanic, carried much more than passengers. They also carried large amounts of cargo, and, importantly, mail. The contracts to carry mail were quite lucrative; in the case of the Lusitania, it amounted to £68,000 per year.

From Quiz Loss of the RMS Lusitania

Answer: John Brown & Co. Ltd

John Brown & Co. Ltd built the Lusitania and Aquatania, while Mauritania, Lusitania's other sister ship was contracted to another builder.

From Quiz Death Ship - The Lusitania

Answer: Cunard

The large majority of ships sailing for the Cunard line had names ending in "ia" (e.g. Franconia, Pannonia, Carpathia, Mauretania, etc.). They did, however, have some ships with names that didn't have that ending, such as Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary.

From Quiz The Lusitania: Fatal Voyage

Answer: An ancient Roman province

The ship was named after the Roman province of Lusitania, which comprised most of what is modern day Portugal. Her sister ship, the Mauretania, was also also named after a Roman province.

From Quiz Death Ship - The Lusitania

Answer: A torpedo from a German U-boat

The Lusitania sank remarkably quickly - in about 18 minutes. The speed of the sinking accounts for the large number of casualties.

From Quiz The Lusitania: Fatal Voyage

Answer: Most powerful engines of any ship yet built

Like most passenger liners of her time, Lusitania's hull was riveted, not welded, and she relied upon coal-fired boilers for propulsion; electric lighting on ships had been around for over 25 years before Lusitania was launched. What was unique about Lusitania were her turbine-powered engines. They could produce 68,000 horsepower - compared to 41,000 for the largest and most advanced warships of her time. This meant that Lusitania was a fast ship - a very fast ship. She won the coveted "Blue Riband" for the fastest Atlantic crossing on only her second voyage, completing both the eastward and westward crossings in less than five days. It took 25 boilers to provide the steam necessary to supply her engines.

From Quiz Loss of the RMS Lusitania

Answer: June 7th, 1906

The ship was launched Thursday, June 7th, 1906.

From Quiz Death Ship - The Lusitania

Answer: May 7th, 1915

As a result of the sinking there was a strong shift of support by US citizens for the people of Britain and against Germany.

From Quiz Loss of the RMS Lusitania

Answer: Henry Hudson's trip up the Hudson River

The event in 1909 celebrated the 300th anniversary of the trip, and this was combined with the 100th anniversary of the Fulton Engine.

From Quiz Death Ship - The Lusitania

Answer: 1200

Of the 1198 people who died, 128 were United States citizens.

From Quiz Loss of the RMS Lusitania

Answer: Pirates of the Caribbean's "William Turner"

Though Will Turner in the film was not named after him, they share the common first and last name.

From Quiz The Lusitania: Fatal Voyage

Answer: 18 minutes

The torpedo struck the Lusitania near the starboard bow. She immediately began taking on water and listing to starboard. She sank so quickly that only six of her 48 lifeboats could be launched before she went under. In contrast, it took two hours and 40 minutes for Titanic to sink after striking the iceberg that brought about her destruction.

From Quiz The Lusitania: Fatal Voyage

Answer: 1,196

As with most disasters, there are small discrepancies about the number of victims. According to the official website of RMS Lusitania, she was carrying a total of 1,960 passengers and crew when she was torpedoed. 768 people were rescued, of whom four later died of their injuries, bring the death toll to 1,196. The death toll would have been much higher if not for the heroic efforts of Irish fishermen who risked their lives to pluck survivors from the frigid waters. The British Admiralty knew of the sinking immediately, and had numerous ships in the area, but would not dispatch them to the scene for fear they might fall victim to the same submarine that sank the Lusitania. The dead included 128 American citizens. One thing that distinguishes Lusitania's sinking from that of the Titanic is that there was very little difference in the survival rates of the different classes on the Lusitania. Of the First Class passengers, 39.0% survived; of Second Class passengers, 38.1% survived; and of Third Class passengers, 36.2% survived. 42% of the crew survived.

From Quiz Loss of the RMS Lusitania

Answer: The ship is leaning to far starboard that port lifeboats will drag along the ship when lowered

Though the boats on the port were still capable of being launched, they were susceptible to damage from parts sticking out.

From Quiz Loss of the RMS Lusitania

Answer: The ship hit the seafloor before submerging like the RMS Britannic

The Lusitania, being nearly 800 feet long, hit the bottom of the 330 feet water before her stern completely sank below. Though yes, a life jacket from it did escape and be rescued in Philadelphia, PA, this was not the case with the SS Noranic.

From Quiz The Lusitania: Fatal Voyage

Answer: Nothing

As far as the Germans were concerned, Schwieger had acted correctly, and his career was not affected by the sinking. He got into much more trouble later, when, on September 4, 1915, he sank the SS Hesperian, another passenger liner, after Germany had agreed to stop attacking such ships. He was recalled to Berlin and barely escaped facing a court-martial. His military career recovered however, and he was given command of the U-88 on July 23, 1916. On July 30, 1917 he was awarded the Pour le Mérite, sometimes known as "the Blue Max", Prussia's highest military award. Schwieger was killed, along with his entire crew, when his submarine struck a mine in the North Sea on September 5, 1917. Schwieger sank 49 allied ships totaling 185,212 gross tons, and damaged four others, making him the sixth most successful U-boat commander of WWI.

From Quiz The Lusitania: Fatal Voyage

Answer: He was charged with causing the disaster but exonerated

Captain Turner stayed on his ship until it sank, and he was swept away into the ocean. He was picked up, nearly unconscious, by a rescue vessel. At the inquiry into the Lusitania's sinking, the British Admiralty tried to place all the blame for the ship's loss on Turner, claiming he had disobeyed their orders to zigzag to avoid submarine attacks. Turner, however, was acquitted of all charges against him, and returned to the Cunard Line. On January 1, 1917 he was the captain of the SS Ivernia when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine. Once again, he was among the survivors. Although he was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1918 in recognition of his wartime services, he never outlived the sinking of the Lusitania. His wife left him, and in 1919 he retired from the Cunard Line. He died in Liverpool in 1933, still bitter that he had been blamed for the Lusitania's sinking.

From Quiz Loss of the RMS Lusitania

Answer: Ireland

Ireland's Old Head of Kinsale is where the Lusitania went down and remains.

From Quiz Death Ship - The Lusitania

Answer: Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill had a bad time as First Lord of the Admiralty. As well as receiving much blame for the sinking of the Lusitania, he was also held responsible for the failure of the Galipoli Campaign against the Turks. He resigned from the position due to public dissatisfaction with his performance.

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Last Updated Apr 26 2025 5:49 AM

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