RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off Ireland in 1915, killing nearly 1,200 people.
The Cunard liner was torpedoed by U-20 on 7 May 1915 near the Old Head of Kinsale. It sank in about 18 minutes, with 1,198 people dying and 761 surviving. The ship had been traveling from New York to Liverpool.
Lusitania’s sinking caused international outrage, especially in the United States, because many civilians were among the dead. The disaster became an important factor in public opinion about Germany during the First World War, although the United States did not enter the conflict immediately.
The liner was carrying war-related cargo, a fact that remains part of debate about the sinking. Lusitania was a sister ship of Mauretania and briefly held the Blue Riband before Mauretania reclaimed it.