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Article: Explorer hopes to end 78-year-old mystery of the Lusitania's sinking. (Originated from Orange County Register)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- August 2, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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On the murky floor of the Irish Sea, the British ocean liner Lusitania lies rusting in a cold grave, the subject of a scientific inquest that could solve one of the greatest mysteries of World War I.
The mystery turns on the question of why it took only 18 minutes for the luxurious, 785-foot-long passenger ship to sink after being struck, without warning, by a single German torpedo in May 1915.
Did the torpedo strike the Lusitania's cargo area and ignite a secret supply of munitions, hastening her 315-foot descent to the bottom?
Or did the torpedo smash into one or more of the Lusitania's boilers, sparking an explosion that blew out the hull, resulting in the ...