Final Plunge: Lusitania's TERRIFYING Last Minutes

In May 1915 the Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania was steaming off the Irish coast when she was attacked by a German submarine. The ensuing chain of events led to the ship's loss and a horrifying final plunge that saw hundreds of people fighting for their very lives. In today's episode we'll bear witness to Lusitania's last minutes and see how her passengers survived or perished in the span of mere minutes.

Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s greatest vessels– from Titanic to Queen Mary and from the Empress of Ireland to the Lusitania. Join maritime researcher and illustrator Michael Brady as he tells the stories behind some of history's most famous ocean liners and machines!

[MaiAolei]

To be trapped in a stuck elevator on a sinking ship ... just ... pure horror.

[wayneantoniazzi]

I'm old enough (70) to remember the 50th anniversary of the Lusitania's sinking. There was a TV documentary at the time and featured was a woman who was a survivor (in her 20's in 1915) and remembered seeing people trapped in one of the ships elevators. With the power gone they had no way out. "I just turned away and tried to save myself, there was nothing else to be done. But I've never forgotten those poor souls in that elevator."

[PR-xmgi]

Crazy that this video is longer than the sinking of Lusitania

[ML-dlcp]

When I was a kid, one of my customers on my daily newspaper delivery job was named Mrs. Hagen. She was very old, and a widow. As a child she had survived the Lusitania sinking, and as a nurse she survived a second ship sinking during WW2. She was very shy to talk about her life, but what a life!

[holopilot]

The fact that 700 people survived is a miracle in itself

[connorredshaw]

A ship as big as the Lusitania to sink in only 18 minutes is nothing short of horrifying may all those who died rest in peace 😢

[Taterazay]

The most terrifying way to die would be to be trapped in an elevator in the absolute darkness on a sinking ship... stuff of nightmares.

[stanleyrogouski]

My grandmother's family came to the USA on the last westbound voyage of the Lusitania after escaping Lithuania in the chaos created by the war. So I grew up looking at a large black and white photo of the ship hanging from the wall. I had no idea what had happened to it until I high school history class and we were watching a documentary about the First World War. I involuntarily shouted "that's my grandmother's ship" and everybody started laughing.

[georgewlamb]

My great-great-uncle, John Roberts, died onboard Lusitania. He was 19 at the time and was an assistant engineers’ mess steward. John was the son of John and Margaret Roberts, of 19, Maitland St., Liverpool, England.

My Grandmother, Joyce Riley (nee Roberts), his niece, said that the family were told by friend who was onboard with John (whose name I don't know) that they had both managed to make it up on deck following the torpedo strike. This friend told the family that he and John managed to jump into the water, however, upon hitting the water, John had fell unconscious and passed out. I was told by my Grandma that John had recently had abdominal surgery and that the family believed this may have had something to do with him passing out in the water. What happened to him from then on is unknown. His friend was rescued from the water some time later.

My great-great grandmother and John's sister, Elizabeth Ann (known as ‘Nancy’), travelled to Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland to search for John's body, however, sadly his body was never recovered. This was a major source of pain for the family and John's mother never recovered after losing him. Members of the family revisited Queenstown on a number of occasions in the months and years following the tragedy to search for signs of John, however, no trace was ever found of him. Most of our family still live on Merseyside and to this day we regularly visit the Lusitania memorial in Liverpool to pay tribute to John.

RIP to all those who lost their lives that day.

[ZeitGeist_TV]

19:04 the death howl's of the ship are extremely haunting. Well done with this documentary and thanks for posting.

[TheRequiemPower]

The fact this ship sank in like 20 minutes still shocks me

[Brock_Landers]

What's truly sad (besides the loss of life of course) is that Captain William Turner was chastised after the sinking by the Admiralty so they could save face during war time. They deliberately went after him and tried to frame him because the public were asking questions about why the Lusitania was allowed to sail into a known war zone on her own without escort. Even the chairman of Cunard called the Admiralty and asked if they could attach an escort to the Lusitania and they refused, but issued a wireless message to the captain telling him to "steer a mid channel course, pass harbors at full speed, submarines active off Fastnet". Well they didn't take into count the fog that had developed off the Old Head of Kinsale that morning and good seamanship (as well as a cardinal rule of safety) is to slow, blow your fog horn, and get the best possible fix on your bearing as possible. As the fog lifted, Captain Turner and crew did that very thing, but they had no idea that they were steering directly into a U-boat's path. When Walther Scweiger was ordered to return to Germany after sinking the Lusitania to be congratulated, he arrived to be told that he is no longer to be congratulated, and that he was lucky to keep his rank because the world was calling Germany barbarians and heartless brutes. Germany was struck off the list of civilized nations, and they argued that none of the U-boat captains were ever told to sink the Lusitania. The whole thing was an absolute whitewash and it all came down to an act of absolute all-out war. The killing of almost 1, 200 people was just chalked up to an act of war. Truly truly sad.

[isaacspeyer]

I can’t even imagine the utter terror of being stuck inside as she sank.

[codysnider]

Those poor people who were trapped in the elevator on a sinking ship. I can’t even imagine the terror they must’ve felt!! Very informative video — thank you! It gets a 👍🏻 from me!

[recoilrob]

I've been binge-watching these video's on Oceanliner Design and am struck with how professionally they are researched, produced and presented. Michael Brady has the perfect voice and is SO much better than the synthesized computer speak we get with too many video's. Very much appreciate the effort these entertaining videos must take...and I consider it a great day when I get to learn something I didn't know beforehand. Every OD video is chock full of tidbits and information that just blow me away. Well done Sir!

[PB-Trinity]

Knowing that this ship sunk in 18 minutes with all the problems that the crew got with the lifeboats (too much list, many malfunctions...) it's a freakin miracle that about 760 people survived out of 2000 wich are very similar statistics to Titanic's sinking and Titanic sunk in 2h40.

[PeBoVision]

In the classic traadition of maritime historians, you are a master story-teller Mr Brady, and your content is always much appreciated.

[RobertPaterson]

I had many cousins on board - thank you this has been so helpful for me. Marguerite, Lady Allan, owner of the Allan Line was on her way to England to serve with Julia Lady Drummond, in supporting the Canadians. She had with her two daughters, Gwen and Anna, 16 and 15 and her two maids Emily and Annie. Marguerite survived. But Gwen and Anna died. Anna was never found but Gwen was. Also with the Allans were Mrs George Washington Stephens and her two year old grandson John. She was accompanied by her maid and nurse. All the Stephens party died. Mrs Stephens was found and sent back to Canada my my great Uncle. Her ship with her coffin in the hold was sunk close to the L also by the U 20. George Slingsby, the valet of Aunt M's friend Frederick Orr Lewis, gave aunt M his life jacket. George could not swim. He had witnessed his brother drown as a child. he and Aunt M were very close. She had sort of adopted him as a boy and had sponsored his career. He and she knew what this gift meant. He was giving his life for her. But George survived! She had been like a mother to him all his life, but I think that this was a gift that she could not reciprocate. They never met again. Who knows how the heart works. For me he is the hero of my family story

[Qigate]

Somehow, your sinking videos are so dramatic that my heart races and I feel the panic as if I was there. Always, nicely done.

[caitlinwithac]

I’m an Irish person from a town a few KM from the wreckage, it traveled through my towns water minutes before it sank. The Lusitania is very well acknowledged and we even have a monument and pub named after it.