100 years ago today, ship that rescued Titanic survivors was sunk by a German Torpedo

The RMS Carpathia saved 700 passengers and crew from the Titanic when it sank on April 15, 1912, but came to its demise on July 17, 1918, after being sunk by a German U-boat.

The ship’s claim to fame was when it had received a distress call from the ‘unsinkable’ ship as it was making its way from New York to Austria-Hungary.

The captain was told by the ship’s wireless operator that the Titanic was in trouble, which prompted him to make the decision to change course and head back towards New York after the rescue.

It was captained then by Arthur Rostron, who had been assigned to take soldiers from Canada to Europe during the First World War.

When the ship set sail on its final voyage on July 15, 1918, however, it was under the command of Captain William Prothero. It was a part of a large convoy that was making its way from Liverpool to Boston.

A mere two days later, at approximately 9:15 am, the ship had reached the end of the road at the hands of the German navy south west of the Irish coast.

Of those on the vessel, five crew members were killed by two torpedoes fired into the side of the ship. The remaining 161 crew and 57 passengers made their way onto lifeboats prior to a third torpedo taking out the ship altogether.

The wreck was only discovered in 2000 after an 80 year-long search for the missing ship.

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