“I also gave orders to stop the ship,” Captain Turner continued, “but we could not stop.  We found that the engines were out of commission.  It was not safe to lower boats until the speed was off the vessel.  As a matter of fact, there was a perceptible headway on her up to the time she went down.

“When she was struck she listed to starboard.  I stood on the bridge when she sank, and the Lusitania went down under me.  She floated about eighteen minutes after the torpedo struck her.  My watch stopped at 2:36.  I was picked up from among the wreckage and afterward was brought aboard a trawler.

“No warship was convoying us.  I saw no warship, and none was reported to me as having been seen.  At the time I was picked up I noticed bodies floating on the surface, but saw no living persons.”

“Eighteen knots was not the normal speed of the Lusitania, was it?”

“At ordinary times,” answered Captain Turner, “she could make 25 knots, but in war times her speed was reduced to 21 knots.  My reason for going 18 knots was that I wanted to arrive at Liverpool bar without stopping, and within two or three hours of high water.”

“Was there a lookout kept for submarines having regard to previous warnings?”

“Yes, we had double lookouts.”

“Were you going a zigzag course at the moment the torpedoing took place?”

“No.  It was bright weather, and land was clearly visible.”

“Was it possible for a submarine to approach without being seen?”

“Oh, yes; quite possible.”

“Something has been said regarding the impossibility of launching the boats on the port side?”

“Yes,” said Captain Turner, “owing to the listing of the ship.”

“How many boats were launched safely?”

“I cannot say.”

“Were any launched safely?”

“Yes, and one or two on the port side.”

“Were your orders promptly carried out?”

“Yes.”

“Was there any panic on board?”

“No, there was no panic at all.  It was all most calm.”

“How many persons were on board?”

“There were 1,500 passengers and about 600 crew.”

By the foreman of the jury—­In the face of the warnings at New York that the Lusitania would be torpedoed, did you make any application to the Admiralty for an escort?

“No, I left that to them.  It is their business, not mine.  I simply had to carry out my orders to go, and I would do it again.”

Captain Turner uttered the last words of this reply with great emphasis.

By the Coroner—­I am very glad to hear you say so, Captain.

By a juryman—­Did you get a wireless to steer your vessel in a northern direction?

“No,” replied Captain Turner.

“Was the course of the vessel altered after the torpedoes struck her?”

“I headed straight for land, but it was useless.  Previous to this the watertight bulkheads were closed.  I suppose the explosion forced them open.  I don’t know the exact extent to which the Lusitania was damaged.”