The Lusitania: Fatal Voyage Trivia Quiz

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.

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.

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.

Answer: False

The Titanic was much larger than the Lusitania. The Titanic was 92 feet longer than the Lusitania, and displaced 46,328 gross tons compared to 31,550 for the Lusitania.

Answer: Yes

On April 22, 1915 the German government printed the following notice in over 50 American newspapers: "TRAVELLERS intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk." This warning was printed right next to advertisements for the Lusitania.

But the Lusitania continued to operate as normal, and few people seemed to believe that the Germans would attack a passenger ship.

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.

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.

Answer: Immediate stoppage of all submarine warfare

The Germans did apologize for the attack, but blamed the British for the loss of Americans lives. Secretary of State Williams Jennings Bryan condemned the British for allowing ships like the Lusitania to carry passengers, saying it was like "putting women and children in front of an army."

Usually a single torpedo would not sink a ship as large as the Lusitania. Survivors reported there was an initial explosion when the torpedo hit; this was rapidly followed by another, much larger explosion. It was the second explosion that actually sank the ship. Although the British vehemently denied that the Lusitania was carrying war supplies, it has been alleged that she was carrying at least 50 tons of 3" shells, and possibly gun-cotton and other explosives as well.

To stop attacking ships of neutral countries was a difficult policy for the Germans to agree to follow, since British ships routinely flew the American flag in waters where they would be in danger of attack; Winston Churchill himself had ordered them to do so, and the Lusitania had flown the American flag on numerous occasions. The Germans did agree to suspend their policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, and pledged that no further passenger liners would be attacked. The families of the victims did eventually receive some compensation, but not until after the war.

These concessions were enough to keep the United States out of the war temporarily. But the sinking of the Lusitania caused a great deal of resentment, and whereas before the sinking most Americans favored a neutral or isolationist policy, many changed their minds and wanted the country to enter the war on the side of the Allied Powers.

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.

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.