On the 7th of May,1915, the liner Lusitania, on her run from New York to Liverpool, was torpedoed off the Old head of Kinsale by the German submarine U-20 .. following the loss of the Titanic, the Lusitania was fitted with 48 boats, 22 wooden and 26 collapsible .. every boat was fitted with 2 chains to anchor them to the deck .. this would prove disastrous when the ship sank because the chains would have to be released before the boats could be swung clear of the ship .. when the Lusitania was sinking many of the chains were not released and thus preventing the boats from being launched successfully and many boats went down with the ship .. she sank within 18 minutes .. of those on board, 761 were rescued, while 1,198 perished .. the loss of the Lusitania pushed american public opinion firmly in the direction of the allies, and helped to bring the U.S. into the war against Germany in April 1917..