1 00:00:00,938 --> 00:00:08,938 On May 1st, 1915, the Lusitania left New York for her week-long crossing to Liverpool, England. 2 00:00:10,938 --> 00:00:14,938 Friends waved goodbyes on what they thought would be a routine voyage. 3 00:00:15,938 --> 00:00:17,938 But it wasn't. 4 00:00:18,938 --> 00:00:23,937 The journey ended in the tragic death of more than 1,000 Americans. 5 00:00:25,937 --> 00:00:29,937 Was the sinking of the Lusitania an unprovoked act of war? 6 00:00:30,937 --> 00:00:33,937 Why did the unsinkable ship go down so quickly? 7 00:00:38,937 --> 00:00:43,937 Public opinion ran high as the blame was laid squarely on Germany. 8 00:00:46,937 --> 00:00:49,937 But was the German Navy solely responsible? 9 00:01:01,937 --> 00:01:06,936 High society gathered at New York's dockside to bid farewell to the Lusitania. 10 00:01:09,936 --> 00:01:15,936 Passengers paid little regard to company leaflets, warning them of German U-boats in the Atlantic. 11 00:01:24,936 --> 00:01:28,936 Crowds waved goodbye to 1,959 people. 12 00:01:31,936 --> 00:01:34,936 Among the passengers was the millionaire Alfred Vanderbilt. 13 00:01:41,936 --> 00:01:46,936 The Lusitania was the largest, the fastest and the most luxurious ship of her time. 14 00:01:48,936 --> 00:01:54,935 With a top speed of nearly 26 knots, she had recaptured the blue ribbon from her German rivals. 15 00:01:54,935 --> 00:01:59,935 Now, ostensibly to say fuel, one of her four turbines had been shut down. 16 00:02:01,935 --> 00:02:08,935 It caused a reduction of speed that would put her at a fatal disadvantage if she was forced to out sail a hostile German ship. 17 00:02:11,935 --> 00:02:13,935 It did not seem to matter. 18 00:02:13,935 --> 00:02:15,935 The United States was neutral. 19 00:02:15,935 --> 00:02:18,935 It was unthinkable for the Lusitania to be attacked. 20 00:02:19,935 --> 00:02:24,935 Passengers relaxed in the splendor of the lavishly furnished state rooms. 21 00:02:32,934 --> 00:02:35,934 The weather on the journey across was splendid. 22 00:02:35,934 --> 00:02:41,934 German U-boats had a limited range and for the first six days, no danger threatened. 23 00:02:42,934 --> 00:02:47,934 As her route took around the coast of southern Ireland, however, the Lusitania entered the war zone. 24 00:02:49,934 --> 00:02:52,934 Normally, the Royal Navy escorted any ship carrying cargo. 25 00:02:54,934 --> 00:02:58,934 Even cargo of mules earlier had warranted three destroyers and an armed cruiser. 26 00:03:00,934 --> 00:03:05,934 Yet the Lusitania, with its VIP passengers, was sailing the course alone. 27 00:03:06,934 --> 00:03:08,934 There had been warnings. 28 00:03:08,934 --> 00:03:14,934 An advertisement of the Lusitania's sailing times was accompanied by a notice from the German Embassy advising passengers that they traveled at their own risk. 29 00:03:17,933 --> 00:03:22,933 German U-boats freely roamed the high seas and scored some spectacular successes. 30 00:03:25,933 --> 00:03:28,933 The German U-boats were able to sail the Lusitania by themselves. 31 00:03:29,933 --> 00:03:34,933 German U-boats freely roamed the high seas and scored some spectacular successes. 32 00:03:42,933 --> 00:03:49,933 Moreover, a single German U-boat was known to be active in the war zone, which was part of the Lusitania's path. 33 00:03:51,933 --> 00:03:56,933 It was commanded by a captain, Schreiger, who had once attacked the hospital ship without warning. 34 00:03:59,932 --> 00:04:08,932 During the 30 hours before the Lusitania's arrival, he had sunk three vessels off the Irish coast, two of them substantial merchant ships. 35 00:04:09,932 --> 00:04:13,932 To sink them, he had to use up all but one of his torpedoes. 36 00:04:19,932 --> 00:04:27,932 As he awaited the Lusitania, he surfaced to regenerate his batteries and his crew relaxed in the warm spring sunshine. 37 00:04:29,932 --> 00:04:35,932 He had no real hope of sinking the rate liner, but equally, he was in no great danger. 38 00:04:36,932 --> 00:04:40,932 No armed ships from the British Navy were around to harass him. 39 00:04:42,931 --> 00:04:47,931 Off the old head of Kinsale, he again submerged, waiting beneath the calm waters. 40 00:04:50,931 --> 00:04:53,931 An hour later, the Lusitania was sighted. 41 00:04:53,931 --> 00:04:58,931 The fateful meeting was about to take place. 42 00:05:24,931 --> 00:05:30,930 For survivor Mrs. Avis Foley, a 12-year-old girl who had been travelling alone to school in England, 43 00:05:31,930 --> 00:05:34,930 disaster struck with unexpected suddenness. 44 00:05:35,930 --> 00:05:41,930 We were enjoying a delicious lunch, which was simply marvelous. The meals were all marvelous on the boat, 45 00:05:41,930 --> 00:05:47,930 when suddenly the whole boat was shaken by a tremendous blow. 46 00:05:48,930 --> 00:05:53,930 Some people say there were two torpedoes, but my recollection is that there was only one. 47 00:05:56,930 --> 00:06:01,930 I must have been at the wheel almost half an hour, and I heard the look-out from its shelf. 48 00:06:02,930 --> 00:06:06,930 This is torpedoes, and I was like, I'm going to get out of here. 49 00:06:06,930 --> 00:06:10,929 I was almost half an hour, and I heard the look-out from its shelf. 50 00:06:11,929 --> 00:06:14,929 This is torpedoes coming on the starboard bowser. 51 00:06:15,929 --> 00:06:19,929 Well, it no sooner said starboard bowser than that was it. 52 00:06:21,929 --> 00:06:26,929 And it must have hit a very close behind the bridge, 53 00:06:27,929 --> 00:06:33,929 because we couldn't see one another for quite a while, for cold dust and one thing and another. 54 00:06:33,929 --> 00:06:39,929 And everybody thought he was going straight over, and the water started to come over the starboard wing at the bridge, 55 00:06:40,929 --> 00:06:45,929 and the captain said, say to himself, that he was listening over to the starboard side pretty steeply. 56 00:06:46,929 --> 00:06:52,928 And I was going to get in this boat here, like standing by it, 57 00:06:53,928 --> 00:06:57,928 when the fellow got excited and he was lowering his side down, 58 00:06:58,928 --> 00:07:02,928 and the other fellow either couldn't release the ropes like, tangled, 59 00:07:03,928 --> 00:07:06,928 and I saw all the people emptied into the water. 60 00:07:07,928 --> 00:07:11,928 This fellow got panicking and lowered down, and emptied the people into the water. 61 00:07:12,928 --> 00:07:15,928 That was the next boat, the one I got in, number 13. 62 00:07:17,928 --> 00:07:20,928 The Lusitania was thought to be unsinkable. 63 00:07:21,928 --> 00:07:23,928 She went down, however, with appalling swiftness. 64 00:07:24,928 --> 00:07:28,928 18 minutes in some accounts, 21 minutes in others. 65 00:07:29,928 --> 00:07:34,928 For many families, there was not time to find relatives. 66 00:07:35,928 --> 00:07:38,927 I don't know how long I was in the water on the wreckage, 67 00:07:39,927 --> 00:07:47,927 but when I came to, there was a crowd around me, and they were pumping water from me. 68 00:07:48,927 --> 00:07:53,927 And next thing, they give me a cup of tea and put a blanket around me. 69 00:07:53,927 --> 00:07:57,927 When I went along this dock road, they were making mortars. 70 00:07:58,927 --> 00:08:04,927 Didn't they? Each shop with their white sheets on and bodies lying on the shop floors. 71 00:08:05,927 --> 00:08:09,927 Then from there, I went round, thinking I could see my father, 72 00:08:10,927 --> 00:08:12,927 and then to the under-road where I lived. 73 00:08:13,927 --> 00:08:19,926 When I got on, it seems my mother was down at lunch, with a baby. 74 00:08:19,926 --> 00:08:23,926 The shock of the tragedy was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. 75 00:08:25,926 --> 00:08:29,926 One thousand two hundred and one men, women and children died. 76 00:08:30,926 --> 00:08:34,926 For several days, crowds lingered at the railway station in Liverpool, 77 00:08:35,926 --> 00:08:40,926 where survivors were brought, hoping against all odds that a familiar face would be found. 78 00:08:41,926 --> 00:08:44,926 The shock of the tragedy was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. 79 00:08:44,926 --> 00:08:51,926 In Ireland, mass graves were dug for victims whose bodies had been washed ashore and could not be identified. 80 00:08:53,926 --> 00:08:58,926 The inquest accused the Germans of committing willful murder. 81 00:08:59,926 --> 00:09:04,925 The search for the victims of the murder was found in the woods. 82 00:09:05,925 --> 00:09:09,925 The search for the victims of the murder was found in the woods. 83 00:09:09,925 --> 00:09:13,925 The inquest accused the Germans of committing willful murder. 84 00:09:17,925 --> 00:09:22,925 No awkward questions were asked about why the Lusitania had sunk so quickly, 85 00:09:23,925 --> 00:09:26,925 or why only seven hundred people had been saved. 86 00:09:27,925 --> 00:09:31,925 The English newspapers concentrated the blame entirely upon the Germans. 87 00:09:32,925 --> 00:09:37,925 Public opinion in Britain and the United States fueled reasons for involvement in World War I. 88 00:09:39,925 --> 00:09:44,925 Headlines proclaimed the Germans abandoned their right to be called civilized. 89 00:09:48,924 --> 00:09:54,924 Violent mobs demonstrated against the Germans and broke up shops owned by German nationals. 90 00:09:58,924 --> 00:10:01,924 Gradually, questions began to appear. 91 00:10:02,924 --> 00:10:06,924 Why was the Lusitania left apparently unescorted through dangerous waters? 92 00:10:07,924 --> 00:10:10,924 Why did she sink so quickly? 93 00:10:13,924 --> 00:10:19,924 After the sinking of the Lusitania, local boats worked non-stop bringing survivors and bodies to Queenstown, 94 00:10:20,924 --> 00:10:23,924 where high street shops were turned into improvised mortuaries. 95 00:10:24,924 --> 00:10:27,924 The dark yard has been long deserted by the British Navy. 96 00:10:28,924 --> 00:10:32,923 The old courthouse, where the coroner condemned the Germans, still stands. 97 00:10:33,923 --> 00:10:37,923 Close by is a monument to the victims of the German attack. 98 00:10:39,923 --> 00:10:47,923 But the greatest reminder of all, the Lusitania, lies south of Queenstown, three hundred and fifteen feet down. 99 00:10:49,923 --> 00:10:52,923 After she was sunk, further questions were asked. 100 00:10:53,923 --> 00:10:59,923 Why was there no escort? How could such an enormous vessel as the Lusitania be sunk by a single torpedo? 101 00:11:00,923 --> 00:11:06,923 Later in the war, a sister ship was struck by no less than twelve torpedoes and still managed to sail to port. 102 00:11:09,923 --> 00:11:15,922 For nearly fifty years, the mystery of why the Lusitania sank so quickly lay hidden on the seabed. 103 00:11:16,922 --> 00:11:22,922 Then, a team of divers, led by the American John Light, penetrated the murky waters. 104 00:11:23,922 --> 00:11:26,922 They brought back photographic evidence of what happened. 105 00:11:27,922 --> 00:11:31,922 In 1960, I first came here to dive on the Lusitania. 106 00:11:32,922 --> 00:11:36,922 Between 1960 and 1962, I made thirty-seven dives to her personally. 107 00:11:37,922 --> 00:11:41,922 And with the divers that were with me, we made a hundred and ninety-seven dives. 108 00:11:41,922 --> 00:11:44,922 The divers found the vessel split in half. 109 00:11:45,922 --> 00:11:51,922 John Light made a further discovery, which reveals much about the secret cargo aboard the Lusitania. 110 00:11:52,922 --> 00:12:01,921 The Lusitania was a very long-distance, but it was a very long-distance, and it was very difficult to find the right way to get it. 111 00:12:01,921 --> 00:12:03,921 The divers found the vessel split in half. 112 00:12:04,921 --> 00:12:10,921 John Light made a further discovery, which reveals much about the secret cargo aboard the Lusitania. 113 00:12:11,921 --> 00:12:22,921 She does have, however, another split, which is caused by an internal explosion that starts on this side of the ship, just underneath the bridge, 114 00:12:23,921 --> 00:12:28,921 and goes down on an angle forward, and as it goes down, it opens out. 115 00:12:28,921 --> 00:12:32,921 And the bottom of the ship is pretty well blasted away. 116 00:12:33,921 --> 00:12:41,920 Now we can conclude from this that this is an extension of the explosion that occurred by the torpedo hitting the other side of the ship. 117 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,920 The bow itself is twisted, and it's twisted nearly off. 118 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:54,920 But your plates buckle outwards, and there can be no doubt that an internal explosion is what caused her to sink. 119 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:03,920 What could have caused such a gigantic explosion? Colin Simpson. 120 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:12,920 The reason why the Lusitania's sunk, when she was hit by one torpedo, is no longer a mystery. 121 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:19,920 The Lusitania was being used to carry contraband from North America to England. 122 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:25,919 There is no doubt from the ship's manifest that it was a cargo of explosives. 123 00:13:26,919 --> 00:13:34,919 She was loaded with shells, with shell fuses, with a type of gun-cotton called paraloxine, and it was all hidden up in the forward hulls. 124 00:13:35,919 --> 00:13:43,919 Before she was allowed to leave New York, under American neutrality laws, she had to submit a manifest, that's a list of what she was carrying, to the harbor authorities. 125 00:13:44,919 --> 00:13:50,919 She submitted a forgery, and the American authorities, full knowing it was a forgery, accepted it. 126 00:13:51,919 --> 00:13:55,919 But a truer manifest was also made, and it was locked away. 127 00:13:56,919 --> 00:14:02,919 When the torpedo hit, it hit the exact hole, it was called the oolop hole, where the gun-cotton was stowed. 128 00:14:03,919 --> 00:14:09,918 The torpedo just made a lot of noise, and the gun-cotton blew her bottom out. She sank in 21 minutes. 129 00:14:10,918 --> 00:14:16,918 U.S. knowledge of the explosives on board is revealed by a confidential White House memorandum. 130 00:14:17,918 --> 00:14:25,918 President Wilson asked Deputy Secretary Robert Lansing, were any contraband munitions aboard the Lusitania when torpedoed? 131 00:14:26,918 --> 00:14:31,918 Lansing replied, practically all her cargo was contraband of some kind. 132 00:14:32,918 --> 00:14:44,918 The British Admiralty ordered authorities in Ireland ensure that bodies selected for inquest have not been killed or mutilated by means which we do not wish made public. 133 00:14:47,918 --> 00:14:56,917 So there was a monumental Anglo-American cover-up. It was at the highest level involving Winston Churchill on the English side, 134 00:14:56,917 --> 00:15:01,917 and Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Secretary of State for the Navy on the American side. 135 00:15:02,917 --> 00:15:07,917 There was little doubt, the American Secretary of State and his deputy both knew the true story. 136 00:15:08,917 --> 00:15:12,917 The cover-up had to survive two separate inquiries. 137 00:15:13,917 --> 00:15:20,917 One in New York, both judges were ordered to suppress certain evidence and keep secret certain papers. 138 00:15:21,917 --> 00:15:28,917 The suppressed documents reveal that Captain William Turner, master of the Lusitania, was to be made the scapegoat. 139 00:15:29,917 --> 00:15:32,917 From the British Admiralty came the message, 140 00:15:33,916 --> 00:15:41,916 I am directed to inform you that it is considered politically expedient that Captain Turner be most prominently blamed for the disaster. 141 00:15:42,916 --> 00:15:46,916 Winston Churchill, first Lord of the Admiralty, agreed. 142 00:15:47,916 --> 00:15:53,916 He said, I consider the Admiralty case against the captain should be pressed by a skillful counsel. 143 00:15:54,916 --> 00:16:00,916 From Lord Fisher, Captain Turner of the Lusitania is a scoundrel and has been bribed. 144 00:16:01,916 --> 00:16:08,916 The master of the Lusitania acted directly contrary to the written general instructions received from Queenstown 145 00:16:08,916 --> 00:16:11,916 during the hours immediately preceding the attack. 146 00:16:12,916 --> 00:16:19,915 On the facts at present disclosed, the master appears to have displayed an almost inconceivable negligence 147 00:16:20,915 --> 00:16:26,915 and one is forced to conclude that he is either utterly incompetent or has been caught out by the Germans. 148 00:16:28,915 --> 00:16:32,915 Sir Edward Gray, Foreign Secretary, underlined the official approach. 149 00:16:32,915 --> 00:16:40,915 He said, Captain Turner was fully informed of the presence of hostile submarines in the vicinity of the place in which he was torpedoed. 150 00:16:41,915 --> 00:16:47,915 The inquiry was told that Captain recklessly took the unarmed Lusitania into a danger area. 151 00:16:52,915 --> 00:17:00,914 Lusitania was deliberately sent into a hazardous area where there is a German U-boat without escort 152 00:17:00,914 --> 00:17:05,914 and with a dangerous cargo and the tragedy could have been avoided. 153 00:17:06,914 --> 00:17:08,914 The Lusitania was designed as an armed cruiser. 154 00:17:09,914 --> 00:17:16,914 The archives of the National Maritime Museum clearly hold the drawings showing that she was designed to carry 12, 6 inch guns. 155 00:17:17,914 --> 00:17:20,914 The guns were actually fitted on May the 13th, 1913. 156 00:17:21,914 --> 00:17:26,914 Churchill had the thought of the Lusitania being attacked by the Germans very much on his mind. 157 00:17:27,914 --> 00:17:35,914 He commissioned a paper on the political repercussions in the event of the Lusitania being sunk by a German submarine five weeks before this happened. 158 00:17:36,914 --> 00:17:40,914 That morning the Lusitania approached the old head of King's Sail. 159 00:17:41,914 --> 00:17:46,913 The King of England had seen the American ambassador and said to him, what will happen if the Lusitania sunk? 160 00:17:47,913 --> 00:17:52,913 Now the Admiralty says she was clearly warned and she was told to stir a certain cause. 161 00:17:53,913 --> 00:17:56,913 But in the Admiralty records the page of that signal log is missing. 162 00:17:58,913 --> 00:18:04,913 North and South Coast of Southern Ireland is a little signal station called Valencia which monitored those signals. 163 00:18:05,913 --> 00:18:08,913 And the pages of that signal book are still there. 164 00:18:09,913 --> 00:18:13,913 They clearly show that the Lusitania was not told that the U-20 was waiting for her. 165 00:18:14,913 --> 00:18:21,913 And worst of all, the only sensible message clearly identified her to anybody listening. 166 00:18:22,913 --> 00:18:30,912 That reads, to Alfred Vanderbilt, aboard the SS Lusitania Valencia, hope you have a safe crossing looking forward to seeing you soon. 167 00:18:31,912 --> 00:18:35,912 The last minute and without telling anyone on board the Lusitania, all those escorts were withdrawn. 168 00:18:36,912 --> 00:18:45,912 Either it was monumental mismanagement or a calculated risk and I've come to conclusion it's a calculated risk. 169 00:18:47,912 --> 00:18:54,912 Buried in Queenstown, far from home, the victims may therefore have been casualties of international diplomacy. 170 00:18:55,912 --> 00:19:00,912 Churchill, it is known, wished above all to bring the United States into the war. 171 00:19:01,912 --> 00:19:11,911 He wrote later, in spite of all its horror, we must regard the sinking of the Lusitania as an event most important and favorable to the Allies. 172 00:19:12,911 --> 00:19:16,911 At the summit, true politics and strategy are won. 173 00:19:17,911 --> 00:19:22,911 The maneuver which brings an ally into the field is as serviceable as that which wins a great battle. 174 00:19:23,911 --> 00:19:30,911 Those who died in the Lusitania were perhaps victims not just of war, but of politics. 175 00:19:33,911 --> 00:19:37,911 Echoes of the Lusitania began in 1941 with the USS Greer. 176 00:19:38,911 --> 00:19:41,911 An American destroyer, the Greer was on a mail run to Iceland. 177 00:19:43,911 --> 00:19:48,911 A British patrol plane spotted a German submarine and alerted the USS Greer. 178 00:19:48,911 --> 00:19:51,911 The Greer began to aggressively track the U-boat. 179 00:19:53,910 --> 00:19:57,910 The Germans, wishing to avoid detection, submerged. 180 00:20:01,910 --> 00:20:05,910 For two hours, the Greer and the German U-boat played a game of cat and mouse. 181 00:20:06,910 --> 00:20:15,910 Because the Greer was unmarked, the Germans assumed they were being pursued by a British destroyer and the U-boat fired a torpedo at the American ship. 182 00:20:18,910 --> 00:20:21,910 The USS Greer set off depth charges. 183 00:20:28,910 --> 00:20:41,909 In spite of what Hitler's propaganda bureau has invented, in spite of what any American obstructionist organization may prefer to believe, 184 00:20:41,909 --> 00:20:50,909 I tell you the blunt fact that the German submarine fired first upon this American destroyer, Greer, 185 00:20:50,909 --> 00:20:55,909 without warning and with deliberate design to sinker. 186 00:20:57,909 --> 00:21:02,909 Just as the sinking of the Lusitania speeded America's entrance into World War I, 187 00:21:02,909 --> 00:21:07,909 the Greer incident provided the same two leaders, Roosevelt and Churchill, 188 00:21:07,909 --> 00:21:13,909 with reasons for stepping up America's hostilities toward Germany prior to World War II. 189 00:21:37,908 --> 00:21:44,908 The Greer was a place where veterans, their families and others can connect, share stories and pass on the legacies of all American veterans.