I cannot recall if this scenario has been discussed before in this forum though I remember such a discussion years ago.......perhaps in another forum.
Let us imagine outcomes in hypothetical situations where the Titanic and Lusitania had remained exactly as they were at the time of each ship's disaster - right down to design, build, layout, passengers, crew, other ships and most importantly the number of lifeboats remaining as they were but switched only times, places and cargo. In other words:
Situation A: If it was the Lusitania under Captain Turner et al and more than enough lifeboats for everyone on board that had struck the iceberg on Sunday 14th April 1912 in the same manner in mid-Atlantic, would it have survived? Or at least remained afloat long enough for everyone to board lifeboats? Or would it have gone down sooner with more fatalities?
Situation B: Similarly, if the Titanic under Captain Smith et al with whatever cargo the Lusitania had carried on board been struck by the German torpedo off the Irish coast, how would it have fared? The limited lifeboats (I did say that it was hypothetical) would probably have not mattered given of the timescales involved but could the Titanic have lasted longer than 18 minutes without that longitudinal bulkhead that the other ship had? Or would it have sunk even sooner?
Let us imagine outcomes in hypothetical situations where the Titanic and Lusitania had remained exactly as they were at the time of each ship's disaster - right down to design, build, layout, passengers, crew, other ships and most importantly the number of lifeboats remaining as they were but switched only times, places and cargo. In other words:
Situation A: If it was the Lusitania under Captain Turner et al and more than enough lifeboats for everyone on board that had struck the iceberg on Sunday 14th April 1912 in the same manner in mid-Atlantic, would it have survived? Or at least remained afloat long enough for everyone to board lifeboats? Or would it have gone down sooner with more fatalities?
Situation B: Similarly, if the Titanic under Captain Smith et al with whatever cargo the Lusitania had carried on board been struck by the German torpedo off the Irish coast, how would it have fared? The limited lifeboats (I did say that it was hypothetical) would probably have not mattered given of the timescales involved but could the Titanic have lasted longer than 18 minutes without that longitudinal bulkhead that the other ship had? Or would it have sunk even sooner?