What Dominic Sandbrook has said about Lusitania conspiracy theories

Sandbrook argues that U-20 encountered the Lusitania by chance rather than deliberately targeting it.

“they end up coming across it by chance rather than by design”

The Rest Is History: 673. The First World War: The Submarine Strikes (Part 3) (May 24, 2026) · Listen from 28:14

Sandbrook dismisses the theory that the second explosion came from secret explosives, attributing it to the boilers.

“I think this is bonkers. Most historians think this is bonkers. And what was actually happening was something to do with the boilers”

The Rest Is History: 673. The First World War: The Submarine Strikes (Part 3) (May 24, 2026) · Listen from 48:54

Sandbrook rejects the claim that Churchill deliberately exposed the Lusitania, noting an escort would have made no sense for so fast a ship.

“this is clearly complete rubbish. So basically, it would have been mad to give the Lusitania an escort, because the Lusitania was so fast”

The Rest Is History: 673. The First World War: The Submarine Strikes (Part 3) (May 24, 2026) · Listen from 1:02:28

Sandbrook observes that conspiracy theories blaming Britain are popular among American isolationists.

“they're very popular among sort of American isolationists who would now probably be of quite a MAGA tendency”

The Rest Is History: 673. The First World War: The Submarine Strikes (Part 3) (May 24, 2026) · Listen from 1:00:55