The Lusitania's Last Voyage: Being a narrative of the torpedoing and sinking of the R. M. S. Lusitania by a German submarine off the Irish coast, May 7, 1915Lauriat, Charles Emelius, Jr.
History
The Lusitania's Last Voyage: Being a narrative of the torpedoing and sinking of the R. M. S. Lusitania by a German submarine off the Irish coast, May 7, 1915
Lauriat, Charles Emelius, Jr.
Lusitania (Steamship)
3. These collapsible boats should be opened on the deck during each
passage of the steamer, and it should be assured that the metal running
gear is thoroughly greased and runs smoothly. There should be _some
oars_ in the boat, for had there been a sea on when this catastrophe
happened, of what earthly use would this boat have been without an oar
with which even to steer? Under the conditions in which we worked it was
easy enough to get oars, but we never could have got them if it had been
at all rough.
The plans of the Lusitania here reproduced are from “Engineering”
(London) in the issue for May 14th, 1915.
I think they are the plans originally published in that magazine
when the boat was first put into commission in 1907. The
arrangement and number of the lifeboats were changed a few years
back and were different from those shown in the plan. On her last
voyage there were eleven on each side, slung higher to allow space
for the collapsible lifeboats that rested on the deck under the
regular lifeboats. Also, this plan does not show the extra
collapsible lifeboats that were nested out on the after deck. The
launch that is indicated on the plan, I did not see.
[Illustration: THE CUNARD LINER “LUSITANIA;” LONGITUDINAL ELEVATION AND
DECK PLANS.
CONSTRUCTED BY MESSRS. JOHN BROWN AND CO., LIMITED, SHIPBUILDERS AND
ENGINEERS, CLYDEBANK.
_Fig. 3._
The distance from the water line to the aerials is 165 feet.
_Fig. 4._
_BOAT DECK._
_DECK A_
[_OFFICERS HOUSE ON] [NAVIGATING BRIDGE_]
[_This is directly above the Captain’s rooms on Deck A._]
_Fig. 5._
_PROMENADE DECK._
_DECK B_]
[Illustration:
_Fig. 6._ _SHELTER DECK._
_DECK C_
_Fig 7._ _UPPER DECK._
_DECK D_
_At a point amidships the portholes on this deck are about 26 feet above
the water line._
All the portholes further forward are a few feet higher from the water
line owing to the sheer of the decks.
_Fig. 8._ _MAIN DECK._
_DECK E_
_At a point amidships the portholes on this deck are about 18 feet above
the water line._
_Fig. 9._ _LOWER DECK._
_DECK F_
_At a point amidships the portholes on this deck are about 9 feet above
the water line._
_Fig. 10._ _HOLD PLAN._
]
PART II
The foregoing is the crude Narrative practically verbatim as I sent it
home to my people. My first thought was to rewrite it and embody it in
the following, but I prefer to let it stand as I gave it to the typist
in our London office, reciting the tale to her as the events, still
vivid in my mind, passed mentally before me.
In this second part I have tried to round out the Narrative by adding
details which would answer questions arising from reading Part One.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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