# Canonical recap data for Sinking of RMS Lusitania (1915)
# Source: https://recap.at/1915/lusitania-sinking
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: lusitania-sinking
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1915/lusitania-sinking"
title: Sinking of RMS Lusitania
aliases:
- Lusitania sinking
- RMS Lusitania
- May 7, 1915
subtitle: The German U-boat sinking killed 1,198 civilians and became a catalyst for American public opinion shifting toward World War I intervention.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1915-05-07
datePrecision: day
year: 1915
decade: 1910
country:
name: United Kingdom
slug: united-kingdom
summaryShort: RMS Lusitania was a British-registered ocean liner that was torpedoed by an Imperial German Navy U-boat during the First World War on 7 May 1915, about 11 nautical miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland. The attack took place in the declared maritime war-zone around the United Kingdom, three months after unrestrict
summaryLong: RMS Lusitania was a British-registered ocean liner that was torpedoed by an Imperial German Navy U-boat during the First World War on 7 May 1915, about 11 nautical miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland. The attack took place in the declared maritime war-zone around the United Kingdom, three months after unrestricted submarine warfare against the ships of the United Kingdom had been announced by Germany following the Allied powers' implementation of a naval blockade against it and the other Central Powers.
lede: On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat torpedoed the RMS Lusitania, a British passenger liner, off the coast of Ireland, killing 1,198 people including 128 American citizens. The attack occurred in a declared war zone and accelerated American public opinion toward entering World War I, though the U.S. wouldn't formally join the conflict for another two years.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Geredde_officieren_van_de_RMS_Lusitania_SFA022806963.jpg/1280px-Geredde_officieren_van_de_RMS_Lusitania_SFA022806963.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Unknown author Unknown author · via Wikipedia
importance: 85
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Death toll
  value: 1,198 people
- label: American casualties
  value: 128 confirmed American citizens
- label: Attacking vessel
  value: SM U-20, Imperial German Navy
- label: Location
  value: 11 nautical miles off Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland
- label: Sinking time
  value: 18 minutes
- label: Ship tonnage
  value: 31,521 gross tons
- label: Lifeboats capacity
  value: 1,178 people (insufficient for 1,959 aboard)
- label: U-boat commander
  value: Walther Schwieger
timeline:
- date: 1915-02-04
  title: Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare
  description: Imperial Germany announces that all ships in waters around the British Isles will be targeted without warning, establishing the maritime war zone where Lusitania would later be attacked.
- date: 1915-05-01
  title: Lusitania departs New York
  description: The RMS Lusitania leaves New York Harbor on its final voyage. The ship carries 1,959 passengers and crew, despite German warnings published in American newspapers.
- date: 1915-05-07
  title: Lusitania torpedoed
  description: SM U-20 fires a single torpedo at the Lusitania off the Irish coast. The ship sinks in 18 minutes, with 1,198 deaths including 128 American citizens.
- date: 1915-05-13
  title: President Wilson's initial response
  description: President Woodrow Wilson delivers a speech stating that the U.S. is 'too proud to fight,' rejecting immediate military action despite public outrage over American deaths.
- date: 1915-09-18
  title: Germany pledges to cease unrestricted submarine warfare
  description: Following diplomatic pressure from the Wilson administration, Germany agrees to halt attacks on passenger ships without warning, temporarily reducing tensions.
- date: 1916-02-21
  title: Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare
  description: Germany announces it will resume unrestricted submarine attacks, citing British blockade tactics and escalating the maritime conflict once again.
- date: 1917-04-06
  title: United States enters World War I
  description: Nearly two years after the Lusitania sinking, Congress votes to declare war on Germany. German submarine attacks on American vessels, combined with the Zimmermann Telegram revelation, finally push Wilson to seek military intervention.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Lusitania"
  title: Sinking of RMS Lusitania
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Lusitania's sinking became a pivotal moment in shifting American sentiment toward the war. The loss of American lives aboard a civilian vessel challenged the U.S. government's neutral stance and contributed to growing calls for military intervention, though President Woodrow Wilson resisted immediate action.
categories:
- disaster
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- terrorist_attack
- war
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- collapse
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: coordinated
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: German U-boat sinks British liner RMS Lusitania in 1915, killing 1,198. Shifted American opinion on World War I.
wikidataQid: Q5551560
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260517012312/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Lusitania"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-17
  label: Sinking of RMS Lusitania
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Lusitania"
peoplesVoice:
- source: Woodrow Wilson, US President
  voiceType: official
  context: Wilson's initial response to the sinking, weighing US neutrality against the scale of civilian casualties.
  excerpt: The sinking of the Lusitania has deeply shocked the American people. A great ship has been sunk and many American lives lost. The United States will expect Germany to disavow the act.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 88
  attribution: Statement to press, May 1915
  publishedAt: 1915-05-08
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Sir Edward Grey, UK Foreign Secretary
  voiceType: official
  context: Britain's diplomatic response, framing the attack as proof of German brutality and justification for continued war effort.
  excerpt: This is not an act of war against an armed ship; it is a wholesale massacre of innocent people. No act of barbarity has ever equalled this atrocity.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 85
  attribution: House of Commons statement, May 1915
  publishedAt: 1915-05-11
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Ludwig Drechsler, German submarine commander's defender
  voiceType: analyst
  context: German press justification emerging within days, presenting the U-boat strike as legitimate wartime action against a belligerent nation.
  excerpt: The Lusitania carried munitions and supplies to Britain. It operated in a declared war zone. The submarine captain acted within the laws of naval warfare.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period German newspaper accounts - Berliner Tageblatt, May 1915
  publishedAt: 1915-05-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Seaman Leslie Morton, Lusitania survivor
  voiceType: consumer
  context: A crew member's firsthand testimony published in British newspapers within days of rescue, capturing the chaos and terror of the sinking.
  excerpt: The torpedo struck like a bolt from heaven. The great ship heeled over so fast men couldn't reach the boats. I saw people clawing at the rails as she went down.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 79
  attribution: Interview in Daily Telegraph, May 1915
  publishedAt: 1915-05-12
  originalLanguage: en
- source: The Times Editorial Board
  voiceType: media
  context: London's leading newspaper responded with outrage, using the sinking to galvanize public support for the war and demand stronger action.
  excerpt: Germany has declared war not upon the British Navy but upon defenceless women and children. Every neutral nation must now understand that it faces an enemy of civilization itself.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 86
  attribution: Leading article, The Times, May 1915
  publishedAt: 1915-05-08
  originalLanguage: en
