Editing Cobh (section)

=== RMS ''Lusitania'' and the First World War ===
Another ship to be associated with the town, the Cunard passenger liner {{RMS|Lusitania}}, was sunk by a German [[U-boat]] off the [[Old Head of Kinsale]] while en route from the US to [[Liverpool]] on 7 May 1915. 1,198 passengers died, while 700 were rescued. The survivors and the dead alike were brought to Queenstown, and the bodies of over 100 who perished in the disaster lie buried in the Old Church Cemetery just north of the town.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buckley |first=Dan |date=2015-04-27 |title=Lusitania survivors gave Cobh an eerie unreality |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20327139.html |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Irish Examiner |language=en}}</ref> The Lusitania Peace Memorial is located in Casement Square, in front of the [[Arch Building, Cobh|Arch Building]] housing the Cobh Library and Tourist Information Centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.corkcoco.ie/en/directory/amenities/libraries/cobh-library|title=Cobh Library|publisher=Cork County Council|access-date=15 November 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Queenstown aka Cobh (8141082551).jpg|thumb|left|Cobh, then Queenstown, c. 1890s]]
[[File:Cobh - Town Hall - 20210726143159.jpg|thumb|The [[Arch Building, Cobh|Arch Building]] (background) and the Lusitania Memorial (foreground)]]
During the [[First World War]], Queenstown was a naval base for British and American destroyers operating against the [[Battle of the Atlantic (1914–1918)|U-boats]] that preyed upon Allied merchant shipping.  [[Q-ship]]s (heavily [[armed merchantmen|armed merchant ships]] with concealed weaponry, designed to lure [[submarine]]s into making surface attacks) were called Q-ships precisely because many were, in fact, fitted out in Queenstown.<ref name="Beyer">Beyer, Kenneth M.: ''Q-Ships versus U-Boats. America's Secret Project''. Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland, USA. 1999. {{ISBN|1-55750-044-4}}</ref>  The first division of American destroyers arrived in May 1917, and the sailors who served on those vessels were the first American servicemen to see combat duty in the war.  When that first convoy arrived in port after enduring a rough passage in what were little more than open boats, its members were met by a crowd of sailors and townspeople, thankful for their anticipated help towards stopping the U-boats that were blockading western Europe.  [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] [[Lewis Bayly (Royal Navy officer)|Sir Lewis Bayly]], commander of the Coast of Ireland station, met the senior American officer, Commander [[Joseph Taussig]], at the dock and inquired as to how soon the weatherbeaten American ships could be put to use. "We're ready now, sir!" was the widely quoted answer from the American.

The [[United States Navy]] established [[U.S. Naval Air Station Queenstown Ireland|U.S. Naval Air Station Queenstown]] in February 1918. It operated [[flying boats]] during the last months of WW1, and closed in April 1919.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bluejacket.com/usn-usmc_avi_ww1_air_fields.html|title=World War 1 Era Naval Air Stations|website=Bluejacket.com|access-date=22 April 2018|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417105255/https://bluejacket.com/usn-usmc_avi_ww1_air_fields.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Due to its tactical military importance, under the terms of the 1921 [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]], the port remained a [[UK sovereign base]] within the Irish Free State after 1922. Along with the other [[Treaty Ports (Ireland)|Treaty Ports]], it was handed over to the government of the Irish Free State in 1938.