Ship in better condition when John Light dived on her

J

Jesse D O'Neill

Member
Daniel Butler in his book claims that the lusitania was in alot better shape when Light dived on her than when Ballard explored her. claiming that the superstructure and funnels were intact (funnels in Debri field close to wreck) and that hull was in better condition. i think it is possible he could be right. Andrea Doria looked alot better 10 or 11 years ago, and same goes for titanic when ballard discovered her. but im not a scientist so i cant be exactly sure, hopefully someone with experience in this field will notice this.
 
Does Mr. Butler have any photographic evidence to back this up? In fairness, he may be right, but as Jeremy pointed out, everything deteriorates with age, and nearly 90 years immersed in salt water can't be kind to the steel.
 
Mr. butler does not give any photographic evidence in his book, so i do question him on this, mainly cause he's the Conspiracy theory boat w/ Simpson, which he clearly states in Chapt 14 that he supports the idea of a conspiracy theory, besides that though his work is good, reliability questionable though, one wrong assertion that has been made is relied on simpson research mainly, anyone who reads the book thoroughly we see the he also takes in evidence from other researchers.
 
I've seen much of the footage that John Light took of Lusitania when he made his dives in the early 1960s. Yes, she was in far better condition then than she was when Ballard visited her 10 years ago, but that's really an obvious point for him to make. I would find it extremely difficult to believe that she had not deteriorated much in 30 years.

Eric Sauder
 
Eric,

Could you please go into more detail about the film as I am interested in how the Lusy looked "the day after" like Ken painted the Andrea Doria?

But it is hard to do from retrospect and no information about her earlier state.

thanks

Martin

P.S.

is there any chance this film might emerge in the public domain in a documentary or something similar?
 
Hi, Martin:

I really can't say too much about it because the information I gleaned from it is going to be a big part of a Lusitania project I'm now working on. What I will say is that the film is very dark and very grainy, but if one knows what clues to look for, the images speak volumes about the condition of the wreck when John Light visited her. To me, the Light footage is infinitely more valuable than anything Ballard brought back from his expedition.

As for the film ever seeing the light of day again, I wouldn't count on it because its whereabouts is presently unknown.

Eric Sauder
 
Eric

Are you trying to say that your writing another book on the Lusitania? If thats the case i hope it will also be Available in the USA, finding your current book is turning out to be not very easy.
 
No, I'm not trying to say that I'm writing another book. A Lusitania project can be a web site, a magazine article, or simply an addition to Parks's web site. What I am saying is that I cannot release the information because I'm going to use it in a project I'm working on.

If you write to me privately, I can send you the e-mail address of someone who can fix you up with a copy of my Lusitania book.

Eric Sauder
 
Thanks Eric, I will watch this space for any news.
With regard to your book, which I have and treasure, it is available at the Trans atlantic designs website
which is Ken Marschall's retail site for prints and cards of his artworks.. ( I am more than happy to promote that site!)

Martin
 
I have found this drawing that supposedly depicts Lusitania at the time of John Light's exploration. Does anyone know what is the source of this drawing and wheter it is accurate?

i13qbyge29081.jpg
 
Back
Top