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-311 German submarine U-311 German submarine "U-311" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 21 March 1942 at the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck as yard number 311, launched on 20 January 1943 and commissioned on 23 March under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Joachim Zander. During her short career, the U-boat sailed on two combat patrols, sinking a single ship, before she was sunk on 24 April 1944. German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. "U-311" had a displacement of when at the surface