Posted on 07/28/2017 12:57:08 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Significant find is said to be undamaged and in excellent condition
A telegraph machine that could hold vital clues about the sinking of the Lusitania has been salvaged from the bottom of the sea.
The transatlantic liner – the biggest passenger vessel in the world at the time she was launched – was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of County Cork in May 1915. She sank in just 18 minutes with the loss of 1,201 lives, including 94 children. The ship was en-route from New York to Liverpool.
Many of the 696 crew were from Liverpool and, of the 405 who died, around 145 were from this city.
The sinking of the ‘Lucy’ as it was affectionately known in Liverpool, remains highly controversial. While the cause of a second explosion remains a mystery, many suspect that it was due to military munitions that shouldn’t have been on board a civilian passenger vessel.
The Lusitania was carrying 159 Americans, of whom 128 were killed. Its sinking has been cited as factor in the US’s eventual entry into World War l. Anti-German riots broke out in Liverpool and other major cities, leading to many people of German extraction being interned for their own protection.
The ship’s captain, Everton-born William Turner, who survived, had received messages on the morning of the disaster that there were German submarines in the area and he altered course.
It was feared the telegraph machine had been lost to the depths as a previous attempt to raise it from the wreck, an official war grave sited 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, ended in failure last summer.
After being re-discovered by amateur divers, the machine, which is understood to be undamaged and in excellent condition, was brought back to dry land on Tuesday this week and is expected to go on display at a museum in Ireland.
Ellie Moffat, curator of maritime community history at Liverpool’s Maritime Museum, told the ECHO: “Bringing up anything from the Lusitania is significant.
“From the time it was built to the time it sank, she has been making headlines.”
Describing the find as “intriguing”, Ms Moffat added: “We will hear more once they have had a closer look at it.”
The Albert Dock museum has an exhibition about the Lusitania and one of the ship’s propellers is on display just outside the building.
The answer to that question, and more, can be found in the book "Astonishing Tales of the Sea"!
Like sailing a ship delivering war goods into a war zone is not a good idea...?
No.
Ireland was not a war zone. It was a passenger ship. It may have been carrying munitions, but it seems like that hasn't been proved.
The captain was an idiot
He decided to do a 4 point position fix after crossing the Atlantic
Doing such a fix required that the quartermaster and navigator take series of sightings on know landmark
(old head of Kinsale) over period of 45 minutes
German could not miss such a target
Try again...
“Germany had declared the seas around the United Kingdom a war zone, and the German embassy in the United States had placed a newspaper advertisement warning people of the dangers of sailing on Lusitania.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lusitania
I often wondered why so few survived the sinking of the Lusitania. It was only 11 miles off of the southern tip of Ireland, the Old Head of Kinsale. There were many fishing boats in the area. I visited the Old Head of Kinsale in early May, same month the Lusitania went down. The seas down there are extremely rough. I guess if you were not in a boat and went into the water with a life vest on you drowned quickly.
What clues do you need? She was hit by a German torpedo, she exploded and sunk.
The German's claimed she sunk so quickly because she was carrying munitions. I think i've seen a video claiming that the explosion caused coal dust stored against the hole to ignite, and that is what blew her hull open.
Are we going to take back our involvement in World War I, if we find out she was actually carrying munitions?
Well, first of all, despite what this article says, this did not get us into WWI. We didn't enter the war until 1917, and after the 1916 presidential election.
Secondly, if we could take back our involvement in World War I, we absolutely should do it. It was the worst decision in U.S. history and all the problems we complain about on this site today trace back to it.
That is an interesting thought. What would have happened if the U.S. stayed out of World War I. Maybe no Hitler, no World War II, no cold war.
Sure, just check the machine`s SD card.
Woodrow Wilson was itching to get us into the war, even though he campaigned on keeping us out of it. I believe it was five ships, of which the Lusitania was the last, which were used as justification to enter the war.
Secondly, if we could take back our involvement in World War I, we absolutely should do it.
Yes, it was a horrible mistake with horrible consequences. The World would have been a better place had we merely remained neutral.
It was the worst decision in U.S. history and all the problems we complain about on this site today trace back to it.
I wouldn't go that far. I think the Civil War was probably the worst decision in US history, and so too do many of the problems we complain about today originate as a consequence of that conflict.
But World War I was also a very bad decision.
Would have been better if the Brits stayed out of it, too. Why did they care what happened on the Continent? They still had their Empire and the Germans were never going to be a match for their Navy.
And no Bolsheviks.
Zimmermann note..... Schimmermann note
Germany was at the point where Sieg (“victory”) over the French/British was quickly becoming a reality.
The New York bankers were also becoming aware of this possibility. With payback of war loans made to the French/British in jeopardy, New York bankers needed fresh armies/soldiers to push the pendulum back the other way.
ALWAYS, follow the money!!!
Everybody conveniently forgets. The Germans warned people not to sail on it because it was carrying war cargo.
Second, the Royal Navy demanded American ships (That’s US Flag ships from a Neutral USA) not sail to Germany. Furthermore, the Brits demanded that all cargoes of military use (food, machinery, ammunition, etc) be declared or would be in danger of being captured or sunk by the RN.
Yes, the Brits declared a right to control the trade of a neutral USA and declared a zone that cargo ships could not enter around Germany. So when the Germans returned the favor, the Brits acted somehow “wronged”.
Its a huge common mistake that people make to equate Germany WWI with Germany WWII. Nazi Germany was flat out evil, not a redeeming quality to be found.
Germany WWI was a more free nation than the British were. The Average German soldier had the right to vote. The average British soldier did not gain the right to vote until after the war, unless he was a property owner.
In the war to make the world safe for democracy, the average British soldier couldn’t vote.
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