The Sinking of the Lusitania

The Lusitania was a 31,500 tons Cunard Atlantic liner brought under the control of the British Admiralty during World War 1. On May 7th,1915, it was bound for England from the USA, with 1,255 passengers and 651 crew on board, when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off the Old Head of Kinsale, Co.Cork, Ireland. Two torpedoes were fired, the ship sank within 20 minutes, and 1,198 people were drowned, including 124 Americans. The incident horrified most of the world, caused serious anti-German rioting in London, and may have helped eventually to bring the USA into the war. In Germany a commemorative medal was struck.