Horrors and Atrocities of the Great War: Including the Tragic Destruction of the LusitaniaMarshall, Logan
History
Horrors and Atrocities of the Great War: Including the Tragic Destruction of the Lusitania
Marshall, Logan
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities
“Yes, to the best of my ability.”
“You were aware threats had been made that the ship would be torpedoed?”
“We were,” the captain replied.
“Was she armed?”
“No, sir.”
“What precautions did you take?”
“We had all the boats swung when we came within the danger zone, between
the passing of Fastnet and the time of the accident.”
[Illustration: “UNCLEAN!”]
“Tell us in your own words what happened after passing Fastnet.”
SAW THE TORPEDO
“The weather was clear,” Captain Turner answered. “We were going at a
speed of eighteen knots. I was on the port side and heard Second Officer
Hefford call out, ‘Here’s a torpedo.’
“I ran to the other side and saw clearly the wake of a torpedo. Smoke
and steam came up between the last two funnels. There was a slight
shock. Immediately after the first explosion there was another report,
but that may possibly have been internal.
“I at once gave the order to lower the boats down to the rails, and I
directed that women and children should get into them. I also had all
the bulkheads closed.
“I also gave orders to stop the ship,” Captain Turner continued, “but we
could not stop. We found that the engines were out of commission. It was
not safe to lower boats until the speed was off the vessel. As a matter
of fact, there was a perceptible headway on her up to the time she went
down.
“When she was struck she listed to starboard. I stood on the bridge when
she sank, and the Lusitania went down under me. She floated about
eighteen minutes after the torpedo struck her. My watch stopped at 2.36.
I was picked up from among the wreckage and afterward was brought aboard
a trawler.
“No warship was convoying us. I saw no warship, and none was reported to
me as having been seen. At the time I was picked up I noticed bodies
floating on the surface, but saw no living persons.”
“Eighteen knots was not the normal speed of the Lusitania, was it?” he
was asked.
“At ordinary times,” answered Captain Turner, “she could make
twenty-five knots, but in war times her speed was reduced to twenty-one
knots. My reason for going eighteen knots was that I wanted to arrive at
Liverpool without stopping and within two or three hours of high water.”
DOUBLE LOOKOUTS ON LINER
“Was there a lookout kept for submarines, having regard to previous
warnings?”
“Yes; we had double lookouts.”
“Were you going a zigzag course at the moment the torpedoing took
place?”
“No; it was bright weather, and land was clearly visible.”
“Was it possible for a submarine to approach without being seen?”
“Oh, yes, quite possible.”
“Something has been said regarding the impossibility of launching the
boats on the port side?”
“Yes,” said Captain Turner, “owing to the listing of the ship.”
“How many boats were launched safely?”
“I cannot say.”
“Were your orders promptly carried out?”
“Yes.”
“Was there any panic on board?”
“No, there was no panic at all; it was all most calm.”
By the foreman of the jury:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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