Please forgive me for asking a question about the Lusitania on the Titanic board but I was studying Ken Marschall's paintings of the wartime Lusitania and I saw a structure I couldn't identify and wondered whether any of the old salts out there might have an idea. In Marschall's paintings of the wartime Lusitania found in either "Exploring the Lusitania" or "Lost Liners". The items in question are on the one of the upper promenade decks aft. They appear to be basket like structures angled downward with round red objects in them.
My educated guess: I'm wondering if these might have been marker buoys which could be dropped to mark mines or other hazards to navigation. They appear to be ready for immediate use since the baskets containing the red balls or buoys appear to be angled toward the water and mounted at the edge of the ship.
Has anyone seen anything like this before?
Regards,
Bob Read
Posted on Oct 30, 1998, 3:44 PM from IP address 206.100.37.101