Britain: Secret files show concern that Lusitania wreck may hold explosives

Previously secret files reveal government fears that "high explosives" would be found by divers surveying the wreck of RMS Lusitania - discrediting the premise on which the Americans were drawn into the First World War

The sinking of RMS Lusitania was one of the most tragic – and pivotal – events of the First World War. It was also one of the most controversial.

More than 1,000 civilians – including 128 Americans – died when the liner was torpedoed by a German submarine eight miles off the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915.

British propagandists exploited the attack, arguing it was an unprovoked assault on a civilian ship, and it helped swing popular opinion in the United States against Germany - paving the way for America's entry into the conflict two years later.

However newly released documents show that in 1982 the government feared attempts to survey the wreck would reveal an illegal stash of ammunition, which almost 70 years on, would discredit the premise on which the Americans were drawn into the war.

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