What was the Lusitania? The Lusitania was a ship that was sunk by the Germans in 1915 while carrying American citizens. The sinking was important in the US decision to enter the war.

Lusitania

The Lusitania.

RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner and the world's biggest ship. In 1915 she was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, causing the deaths of 1,198 passengers and crew.

When she left New York for Liverpool on what turned out to be her final voyage on 1 May 1915, Germany had declared the seas around the United Kingdom to be a war-zone, and the German embassy in the United States had placed a newspaper advertisement warning people not to sail on Lusitania. On the afternoon of 7 May, Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-Boat, 11mi (18km) off the southern coast of Ireland. She sank in 18 minutes.

The sinking caused a storm of protest in the United States, as 128 Americans were among the dead. It affected the decision by the US to declare war in 1917.

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