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The Unsinkable Francis Tuohy
Survivor of three of the biggest shipwrecks in history, or a fraud?
On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, eleven miles off the coast of Ireland, the German submarine U-20 patrolled the seas, waiting for the arrival of the American liner Lusitania. The Americans were neutral; they had yet to declare war on Germany. Nevertheless, they continued to run passenger liners and freighters between New York and European ports. They paid no attention to German warnings that vessels operating in the war zone might be attacked.
The Lusitania was a speedy ship — too fast for a submarine to catch. Unfortunately, the U-20 lay athwart her course, in perfect firing position. As the passenger liner steamed into the danger zone, U-boat commander, Walther Schwieger, initiated the firing sequence. A blast of compressed air expelled a fateful torpedo into the water.
Moments later, a horrific explosion as the torpedo struck the Lusitania’s starboard bow. As the ship slowed to a halt in the water, a second, internal explosion tore the ship. With seawater cascading into the hull, the liner sank rapidly. The crew was unable to launch most of the lifeboats. 1,198 innocent passengers drowned before help could arrive.
One man, however, a sailor named Francis Tuohy, avoided that fate. An alleged survivor of…
