1. Lusitania
It can be argued that the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania is a famous maritime disaster, yet its story has not endured as long as the story of the Titanic. When she was launched on 7 June 1906, she was considered to be one of the most beautiful and luxurious ships ever built, until the Titanic had her maiden voyage on April 10, 1912.
On the afternoon of 7 May 1915, almost a year into the First World War, the Lusitania was sailing 18 km off the southern coast of Ireland inside the declared war zone when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat killing 1,198 passengers and crew. Of the number dead, 128 were American citizens, causing a wave of protests across the country and ultimately being one of the causes for America joining the war.
Some controversy still exists as the Germans insisted that the ship was carrying undeclared munitions and was therefore a legitimate target. It wouldn’t be until 1982 that the truth would come out when the head of the UK Foreign Office’s American department finally admitted that there was indeed a large amount of ammunition on the ship.
4 thoughts on “Top 6 Maritime Disasters That Weren’t The Titanic”
You left out the Wilhelm Gostloff which was sunk in 1945 by a Soviet Submarine during the closing months of World War Two. The German Passenger Liner was overloaded with German civilians and wounded Soldiers fleeing the oncoming Red Army. The death toll has been estimated between 6000 and 10,000 making it the greatest Maritime disaster.
Excellent point !!
This is not a trajedy but sad. There are many others that really are tragic.
Who came up with this listing of the greatest shipwrecks ?They certainly do not know their history. There was the SS Central America, that sank off the coast of South Carolina in 1857. Not the biggest loss of life but the biggest economic loss ever. It even started a recession shortly there after. It is refereed to as the ship of gold. It sank in a hurricane with300,000,000 in gold and silver at todays prices. Most of the coins,gold and artifacts have been recovered.. Want to know more google SS Central America.