Animated Videos Depict Real-Time Sinkings of Titanic and Lusitania

Two new animated videos from Oceanliner Designs recreate the sinkings of RMS Titanic and RMS Lusitania in real time. The Titanic sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, taking approximately two and a half hours to fully submerge. The Lusitania sank in 1915 after being torpedoed by a German U-boat, sinking in just eighteen minutes. The Titanic disaster resulted in around 1,500 deaths, while the Lusitania sinking claimed 1,197 lives. The videos detail the structural failures and mechanical breakdowns during each sinking. The Lusitania was carrying passengers and, according to German claims, war materials when it was attacked, an event that helped draw the United States into World War I. The Titanic remains a symbol of early 20th-century industrial overconfidence, whereas the Lusitania's fate is tied to wartime geopolitics. The content is presented by Open Culture, featuring work by Colin Marshall, a writer based in Seoul.