[SURVIVORS' STORIES OF SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA]
"How We Saw Our Ship Go Down—Torpedoed by a German Submarine"
Told by Passengers of the Ill-Fated "Lusitania"
These tragic stories are like voices from the grave—the ocean giving up its dead. They are told by those who were saved from the tragedy ship on that fearful day, May 7, 1915 (at 2:08 P.M. Greenwich time) when the Lusitania, fifteen miles off "Old Head of Winsale" on the Irish coast, was torpedoed by a German submarine. The Lusitania sailed from New York at noon, May 1, 1915, carrying 1,959 persons—passengers and crew. It had been warned by official notices from the German embassy that it would be attacked by German submarines, which only aggravates the crime by making plain its deliberate intention. The voyage was uneventful until the seventh, when the ship, running at 17 knots, was nearing its destination. It was shortly after luncheon, the sea was calm, when two torpedoes struck the Lusitania. The scenes of terror which followed are described by the survivors—a few of their stories, typical of their fearful experiences, are told here. The ship sank in less than twenty minutes, and 1,198 men, women, and children went down into an ocean grave.
I—STORY OF CAPTAIN W. T. TURNER, COMMANDER OF THE "LUSITANIA"
I was on the bridge of the Lusitania (at 2:08 Friday afternoon, May 7, 1915, off Old Head of Kinsdale on Irish Coast) when I saw a torpedo speeding toward us, and immediately I tried to change our course, but was unable to man[oe]uvre out of its way. There was a terrible impact as the torpedo struck the starboard side of the vessel, and a second torpedo followed almost immediately. This one struck squarely over the boilers. I tried to turn the Lusitania shoreward, hoping to beach her, but her engines were crippled and it was impossible. Until the Lusitania came to a standstill it was absolutely out of the question to launch the boats—they would have been swamped. It has been suggested that it was impact with ammunition in the cargo that made the work of the torpedoes so deadly, but if there had been ammunition in the cargo the Lusitania would have been blown to pieces. I saw the torpedoes with my own eyes as did many others. It was cold-blooded murder.
I was in the water four hours after the Lusitania sank. I am a strong swimmer, and so was able to keep afloat until I was rescued. When I was swimming about, suddenly a German submarine rose to the surface amid the wreckage, then submerged again. Some persons in lifeboats nearby saw the submarine even better than I did.
(As Captain Turner went about the streets of Queenstown he tried bravely to cheer the survivors, but he seemed stunned. For the most part he walked with bowed head, and many of those he met did not recognize him. When told of the recovery of Charles Frohman's body, and of the finding of many other Americans among the dead, tears came to his eyes.)
II—STORY TOLD BY W. B. PHILLIPS, AN AMERICAN PASSENGER
It was seven or eight minutes after 2 o'clock when the torpedo struck us, and my watch stopped at 2:33, when I went into the water a half minute before the Lusitania disappeared. Captain Turner was on the bridge when the ship went down, and the last order I heard him give was "Hard aport," just before the torpedo struck. It seems as though he was trying to turn the ship to escape the torpedo. I rushed on deck, but met two women in the companionway who shouted "torpedo"! I rushed back to my stateroom for some belongings, but as the water was coming through the promenade deck I didn't wait, but rushed back to the deck again. Most everybody went to the cabins for life preservers. There was no panic, though lots of excitement. Not even a panic when the ship went down.