RMS Lusitania Sinking of the RMS Lusitania. RMS Lusitania RMS "Lusitania" was a British ocean liner and briefly the world's largest passenger ship. The ship was sunk on 7 May 1915 by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland. The sinking presaged the United States declaration of war on Germany in 1917. The ship was a holder of the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlantic crossing and was briefly the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of her sister ship . The Cunard Line launched "Lusitania" in 1906, at a time of fierce competition for the North Atlantic
German submarine U-405 ever recovered by either side; all 49 crewmen were lost. "Borie" lost three officers and 27 crew members, and was too badly damaged by the collision to be towed to port. The next day, her crew was ordered to abandon ship and she was sunk by . "U-405" took part in nine wolfpacks, namely. German submarine U-405 German submarine "U-405" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. The U-boat was laid down on 8 July 1940 at the Danziger Werft shipyard at Danzig, launched on 4 June 1941 and commissioned on 17 September 1941.