Submarine Warfare
7/2/1918
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This cartoon was drawn in response to the sinking of the British hospital ship the Llandovery Castle on June 27, 1918. Returning from delivering wounded soldiers to Canada, the ship with its crew of medical personnel was torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland and sank with a loss of 210 lives. Only one lifeboat carrying 24 people was rescued. The ship’s lifeboats had been lowered, but survivors charged that German shelling had destroyed them.
This was the tenth such attack by the Germans during the war. This cartoon illustrates the horror of the event, showing a German U-boat cruising by the sinking Llandovery Castle as drowning nurses struggle to swim. The German submarine commander says, “Here’s where I win another Iron Cross,” a German military medal for distinguished service. By contrasting the helpless nurses drowning in the waves with the gloating captain, the cartoon suggests that the Germans encouraged, and even enjoyed, killing helpless non-combatants.
This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC's best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars.
This cartoon is featured in America and the World: Foreign Affairs in Political Cartoons, 1898–1940, a free PDF book from the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives.
This was the tenth such attack by the Germans during the war. This cartoon illustrates the horror of the event, showing a German U-boat cruising by the sinking Llandovery Castle as drowning nurses struggle to swim. The German submarine commander says, “Here’s where I win another Iron Cross,” a German military medal for distinguished service. By contrasting the helpless nurses drowning in the waves with the gloating captain, the cartoon suggests that the Germans encouraged, and even enjoyed, killing helpless non-combatants.
This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC's best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars.
This cartoon is featured in America and the World: Foreign Affairs in Political Cartoons, 1898–1940, a free PDF book from the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives.
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate .
National Archives Identifier: 6011446
Full Citation: Cartoon Y-035; Submarine Warfare; 7/2/1918; Berryman Political Cartoon Collection, 1896-1949; Records of the U.S. Senate , Record Group 46 ; National Archives Building, Washington DC, 20408. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/submarine-warfare, April 29, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
