Balsa (Roman town) Balsa (Roman town) Balsa was a Roman coastal town in the province of Lusitania, Conventus Pacensis (capital Pax Julia). The modern location is in the rural estates of Torre d'Aires, Antas and Arroio, parish of Luz de Tavira, county of Tavira, district of Faro, in Algarve, Southern Portugal. Balsa is a pre-Roman place-name with a probable Phoenician etymology: "B'LŠ...", a possible theonym connected with the older Phoenician occupation of neighbouring Tavira. It is mentioned by Pomponius Mela (DC III 1, 7), Pliny (HN IV 35, 116), Ptolemy (GH: II 5, 2), and Marcianus of Heracleia (PME: II, 13). Mints bronze
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania the submarine submerged to periscope depth of 11 metres and set a course to intercept the liner at her maximum submerged speed of 9 knots. When the ships had closed to "Lusitania" turned away, Schwieger feared he had lost his target, but she turned again, this time onto a near ideal course to bring her into position for an attack. At 14:10 with the target at 700m range he ordered one gyroscopic torpedo to be fired, set to run at a depth of three metres. In Schwieger's own words, recorded in the log of "U-20": On board the Lusitania, Leslie