Carter Roy

By shooting the Lusitania, he could save his friends and family from starving.

It eventually made him a decorated military hero.

Notably, Schwieger didn't have direct orders to attack the Lusitania.

U-boat 20 was operating outside of German radio and telegraph range, so while he had general orders to sink the Allied ships, he made the call on all specifics.

Schwieger commanded his crew to sail toward the Lusitania and prepare to fire.

Then, another terrible coincidence, the Lusitania turned to stay parallel to the coastline so Captain Turner could avoid the risks of stopping at the Mersey Sandbar.

Ironically, this brought them closer to U-boat 20, making it even easier for the U-boat to aim.

Around 2.10 p.m., the submarine shot a G6 torpedo at the Lusitania.

It traveled for about 35 seconds, catching the attention of passengers on the outside decks as it ripped through the water.

Several recognized the torpedo for what it was.

Some passengers were former military.

Still, everyone maintained their belief the Lusitania was too fast to be hit by a torpedo and too big to sink.

In their defense, about 60% of German torpedoes failed, officers aimed by sight alone and were prone to error.

Schwieger actually miscalculated his target, assuming the Lusitania was traveling at its advertised high cruising speed, so the torpedo didn't hit where he intended it to.

It hit somewhere worse.

350 pounds of force pummeled the Lusitania's starboard side under the bridge where the crew navigated.

According to author Eric Larson, the impact tore a hole, quote, the size of a small house.

Water flooded into the ship near a boiler room, and because the attack hit the front of the ship, its forward motion pushed even more water inside.

Had it hit the back, like Schwieger intended, the blow wouldn't have been so devastating.

Still, Captain Turner and his crew didn't panic.