Lusitania

(1907-1915) A ship contemporary with the Titanic. One of the biggest and fastest ocean liners of her time, this four-funneled luxury liner was carrying a secret cargo of military supplies for the British in WWI; Germany, blockaded by the British, newly-equipped with U-boats (which Churchill ordered rammed on site), and aware of this smuggling on the part of the British, warned that any British or American ship thought to be carrying war supplies would be liable to attack, regardless of the safety of passengers or crew. The 1259 passengers and 701 crew who boarded the Lusitania on May 1, 1915, paid little attention, largely unaware of the contraband bullets and shrapnel that the ship carried. On May 7, as lunchtime ended within sight of Ireland's south coast, the Lusitania was hit by a torpedo from a German u-boat, followed by a much bigger secondary explosion (likely a steam-pipe explosion). Listing sharply toward the wound in her starboard side, she sank in only 18 minutes, taking 1195 men, women, and children with her. 123 of the 159 Americans on board were killed, plus 94 of the 129 children on board (including 35 of 39 infants), indirectly goading the United States to enter the war on Britain's side.