Introduction

Lusitania: an ocean liner to rival Titanic. On May 7th 1915, 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale she was struck by a single torpedo from a German U-boat. 18 minutes later she was gone: a death toll of nearly 1,200. Who will live and who will die, as the political shockwave is felt around the world?

Outline

On 7th May 1915 the passenger liner Lusitania was just off the coast of Ireland, nearing the end of its journey from New York to Liverpool, when it was torpedoed by a U-boat.

The sinking was more dramatic than the Titanic – in just 18 minutes, the ship was gone. The 1,198 victims came from all over the world. Most of their bodies – men, women and children – washed up on the Irish coast. The political repercussions were massive.

U-boat captain Walter Schwieger went from national hero to the most hated man in the world. France and Britain used the sinking, and the fact that 128 Americans died, to pull the US into the war.

As a result, the Lusitania has always been told as a ‘big American history story’, and both the human detail and the international importance have been lost.

Now, as a result of new research, we can tell the human story of that desperate 18 minutes for the first time. And how the race for survival aboard the Lusitania impacted on the lives of millions world-wide.

Production & Filming Details

• Narrator(s): Nicholas Rowe.
• Director(s): David Starkey.
• Producer(s): Sinead Casey, John Farren, Denis Minihan, Chris Nikkel, Emma Parkins, and David Starkey.
• Cinematography: Mark McCauley and Ian Salvage.
• Editor(s): Stephen Moore.
• Production: 360 Production (for Channel 5), BBC Worldwide (in association with), Northern Ireland Screen (in association with), RTÉ Television (in association with), and The Smithsonian Network.
• Distributor(s): Channel 5, RTE One, and Yleisradio (YLE).
• Release Date: 07 May 2015 (Ireland), 15 May 2015 (UK), and 10 October 2016 (Finland).
• Running Time: 49 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.