The largest passenger steamship in the world at the time, the Olympic-class RMS Titanic was owned by the White Star Line and constructed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, UK. After setting sail for New York City on 10 April 1912 with 2,223 people on board, she hit an iceberg four days into the crossing, at 11:40 pm on 14 April 1912, and sank at 2:20 am on the morning of 15 April. The high casualty rate resulting from the sinking was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship carried lifeboats for only 1,178 people. A disproportionate number of men died due to the "women and children first" protocol that was enforced by the ship's crew.
Titanic was designed by experienced engineers, using some of the most advanced technologies and extensive safety features of the time. The sinking of a passenger liner on her maiden voyage, the high loss of life and media frenzy over Titanic's famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes in maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck have all contributed to the enduring interest in Titanic.
Construction
Main article: Olympic class ocean liner
Of the two steam-powered steering engines installed, one was kept in use and one kept in reserve; the engines could be slid away and disengaged when not required. A quarter-circle rack-and-pinion drive was connected to the short tiller through stiff springs, to isolate the engines from any shocks in heavy seas or during fast changes of direction. As a last resort, the tiller could be moved by ropes connected to two steam capstans.[21]
Features
Lifeboats
Out of the many controversies surrounding the Titanic disaster, few have stood out more than the number of lifeboats she carried at the time of her demise. For her maiden voyage, Titanic carried a total of 20 lifeboats of three different varieties:[28]- Lifeboats 1 and 2: emergency wooden cutters: 25 ft (7.62 m) 2 in long by 7 ft (2.13 m) 2 in wide by 3 ft (0.91 m) 2 in deep; capacity 326.6 cubic feet (9.25 m3) or 40 people.[28]
- Lifeboats 3 to 16: wooden lifeboats: 30' long by 9'1" wide by 4' deep; capacity 655.2 cubic feet (18.55 m3) or 65 people.[28]
- Lifeboats A, B, C and D: Englehardt "collapsible" lifeboats: 27'5" long by 8' wide by 3' deep; capacity 376.6 cubic feet (10.66 m3) or 47 people.[28]
In the design stage, Carlisle suggested that Titanic use a new, larger type of davit, manufactured by the Welin Davit & Engineering Co Ltd, each of which could handle four lifeboats. Sixteen sets of these davits were installed, giving Titanic the ability to carry 64[30] wooden lifeboats—a total capacity of over 4,000 people, compared with Titanic's total carrying capacity of about 3,600[citation needed] passengers and crew. The White Star Line, while agreeing to the new davits, decided that only 16 wooden lifeboats (the minimum required by the Board of Trade, based on Titanic's projected tonnage and passenger manifests from Olympic's 1911 voyages which were usually no more than 1100 people per passage[31]) and four collapsibles (folding lifeboats) would be carried, which could accommodate only 1,178 people (one-third of Titanic's total capacity). At the time, the Board of Trade's regulations required British vessels over 10,000 tons to carry 16 lifeboats with a capacity of 5,500 cubic feet (160 m3), plus enough capacity in rafts and floats for 75% (50% for vessels with watertight bulkheads) of that in the lifeboats. In principle, the White Star line could even have made use of the exception for vessels with watertight bulkheads, which would have reduced the legal requirements to a capacity of 756 persons only.[18] Therefore, the White Star Line actually provided much more lifeboat accommodation than was legally required.[32]
Since 1894, when the largest passenger ship under consideration was the Cunard Line's 13,000 ton Lucania, the Board of Trade had made no provision to increase the existing scale regarding the number of required lifeboats for larger ships, such as the 46,000 ton Titanic. Sir Alfred Chalmers, nautical adviser to the Board of Trade from 1896 to 1911, had considered the matter of adjusting the scale "from time to time", but because he not only assumed that experienced sailors would need to be carried "uselessly" aboard ship only to lower and man the extra lifeboats, but also anticipated the difficulty in getting away a greater number than 16 boats in any emergency, he "did not consider it necessary to increase [the scale]".[33]
Carlisle told the official inquiry that he had discussed the matter with J. Bruce Ismay, White Star's Managing Director, but in his testimony Ismay denied that he had ever heard of this, nor did he recollect noticing such provision in the plans of the ship he had inspected.[17][34] Ten days before the maiden voyage Axel Welin, the maker of Titanic's lifeboat davits, announced that his machinery had been installed because the vessel's owners were aware of forthcoming changes in official regulations. However, Harold Sanderson, vice-president of the International Mercantile Marine and former general manager of the White Star Line, denied that this had been the intention.[35]
Pumps
Titanic was fitted with five ballast and bilge pumps used for trimming the vessel, and three other bilge pumps with a capacity of 150 tons per hour each.[36] Two 10-inch (250 mm) main ballast pipes ran the length of the ship and valves controlling the distribution of water were operated from the bulkhead deck above.[37] The total discharge capacity from all eight pumps operating together was 1,700 tons or 425,000 imperial gallons (1,930 m3) per hour.[36] During the disaster, the engineers reported that the pumps succeeded in slowing the flooding of No. 6 boiler room in the first ten minutes after the collision, while also keeping pace with the flooding in No. 5 boiler room. These pumps could not have maintained the vessel's buoyancy indefinitely, but as long as they had steam to power them, the flooding could at least be slowed. At 23:50 pm on the night of the sinking, these sections were flooded and the inrush of water overwhelmed the pumps, at which point Titanic foundered.[38]Comparisons with the Olympic
As a result of Titanic's sinking, Olympic's 1913 refit included raising the height of her watertight compartment bulkheads, the addition of an outer skin to her hull, and a full complement of lifeboats. With the addition of both the Café Parisien and additional parlour suites, Olympic's overall gross tonnage rose to 46,359 tons—31 tons more than Titanic. After the sinking of the Britannic in 1916, the Olympic would hold the distinction of being the largest British-built vessel afloat until the RMS Queen Mary entered service in 1936.[40]
Ship history
Sea trials
Titanic's sea trials began at 6 am on Monday, 2 April, shortly after she was fitted out at Harland & Wolff shipyard, and just eight days before she was due to leave Southampton on her maiden voyage.[41]Aboard Titanic were 78 stokers, greasers and firemen, and 41 members of crew. No domestic staff appear to have been aboard. Representatives of various companies travelled on Titanic's sea trials, including Harold A. Sanderson of I.M.M and Thomas Andrews and Edward Wilding of Harland and Wolff. Bruce Ismay and Lord Pirrie were too ill to attend. Jack Phillips and Harold Bride served as radio operators, and performed fine-tuning of the Marconi equipment. Mr Francis Carruthers, a surveyor from the Board of Trade, was also present to see that everything worked, and that the ship was fit to carry passengers. After the trial, he signed an 'Agreement and Account of Voyages and Crew', valid for twelve months, which deemed the ship sea-worthy.[42]
After six hours of sea trials, Titanic left Belfast at noon for the 550-mile journey to Southampton, under the command of Captain Herbert Haddock.[43]
Maiden voyage
John Coffey, a 23-year-old stoker, jumped ship at Queenstown by stowing away on a tender and hiding amongst mailbags destined for shore. A native of the town, he had probably joined the ship with this intention, but afterwards he said that the reason he had smuggled himself off the liner was that he held a foreboding about the voyage.[47] He later signed on to join the crew of Mauretania.[48]
Sinking
Main article: Timeline of the sinking of RMS Titanic
Further information: Ship floodability
At 11:40 pm, while sailing about 400 miles (640 km) south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee spotted a large iceberg directly ahead of the ship. Sounding the ship's bell three times, Fleet telephoned Sixth Officer James Moody on the bridge exclaiming, "Iceberg, right ahead!". First Officer Murdoch, hearing Moody repeat the message, gave the helmsman, Robert Hichens, the order "hard-a-starboard", using the traditional tiller order for an abrupt turn to port (left).[54] Moody, stationed behind the helmsman, confirmed to Murdoch that his order had been carried out correctly.[55][56][57] Murdoch adjusted the engines (ordering through the telegraph for either "full reverse" or "stop" of the engines; survivor testimony on this conflicts).[58][59]
Collision
The ship made its fatal collision at an estimated 37 seconds[60] after Fleet sighted the berg. The iceberg scraped the ship's starboard (right) side, buckling the hull in several places and popping out rivets below the waterline over a length of 299 feet (90 m). This opened the first six compartments (the forward peak tank, the three forward holds and Boiler Rooms Nos. 5 & 6) to the sea; the ship was only designed to remain afloat with just the first four compartments flooded. The entire impact had lasted approximately 10 seconds.[18][61] Captain Smith, alerted by the jolt of the impact, arrived on the bridge and ordered a full stop. The watertight doors had been immediately shut by Murdoch, and within ten minutes of the collision the five forward compartments were flooded to a depth of 14 feet (4.3 m). The fifth and sixth water-filled compartments weighed down the ship's bow enough to allow more water to flood the vessel, accelerated by secondary flooding as regular openings in the ship's hull became submerged.[18] Additionally, about 130 minutes after the collision, water started pouring from the sixth into the seventh compartment over the top of the bulkhead separating them.[18] Following an inspection by the senior officers, the ship's carpenter J. Hutchinson and Titanic's shipbuilder Thomas Andrews, which included a survey of the half-flooded two-deck postal room, it was apparent that Titanic would sink. The lifeboats were ordered to be readied and a distress call was sent out. Andrews estimated the ship would go down within an hour to an hour and a half, and said that the pumps would only keep Titanic afloat for a few extra minutes. The pumps could only cope with 1,700 tons of water per hour,[36] but 2,000 gallons were flooding into the liner every five minutes.[citation needed] Shortly before midnight, almost 20 minutes after the collision, the forward third-class sections were beginning to flood. At 12:05 am, Captain Smith ordered all the lifeboats uncovered; five minutes later, at 12:10, he ordered them to be swung out; then, at 12:25, he ordered them to be loaded with women and children and then lowered away. At 12:50, 4th Officer Joseph Boxhall fired the first white distress rocket.
From the bridge, the lights of a nearby ship could be seen off the port side. The identity of this ship remains a mystery but there have been theories suggesting that it was probably either SS Californian or a Norwegian sealer called the Samson.[65] As it was not responding to wireless calls, Fourth Officer Boxhall and Quartermaster Rowe attempted signalling the ship with a Morse lamp and later with distress rockets, but the ship never appeared to respond.[66] Californian, which was nearby and stopped for the night because of ice, also saw lights in the distance, but its wireless was turned off for the night. Just before the Californian's wireless operator had gone off-duty at around 23:00, he attempted to warn Titanic that there was ice ahead, but he was cut off by an annoyed Jack Phillips. Occupied with sending backlogged passenger messages, Phillips fired back an angry response, "Shut up, shut up, I am busy; I am working [the Newfoundland wireless station] Cape Race".[67] When Californian's officers first saw the ship, they tried signalling her with their Morse lamp, but never received a response. Later, they noticed Titanic's distress rockets in the sky above the ship's lights, and informed Captain Stanley Lord. Even though there was much discussion about the mysterious ship, which to the officers on duty appeared to be moving away, the master of Californian did not wake the ship's wireless operator until morning.[66]
Lifeboats launched
Titanic had ample stability and sank with only a few degrees list, the design being such that there was very little risk of unequal flooding and possible capsize.[18] Furthermore the electric power plant was operated by the ship's engineers until the end. Hence Titanic showed no outward signs of being in imminent danger, and passengers were reluctant to leave the apparent safety of the ship to board small lifeboats. Moreover, large numbers of Third Class passengers were unable to reach the lifeboat deck through unfamiliar parts of the ship and past barriers, although some stewards such as John Edward Hart[69] and William Denton Cox successfully led groups from Third Class to the lifeboats.[70] As a result, most of the boats were launched partially empty; boat 1, meant to hold 40 people, left Titanic with only 12 people on board. With "Women and children first" the imperative for loading lifeboats, Second Officer Lightoller, who was loading boats on the port side, allowed men to board only if oarsmen were needed, even if there was room. First Officer Murdoch, who was loading boats on the starboard side, let men on board if women were absent. As the ship's list increased people started to become nervous, and some lifeboats began leaving fully loaded. By 2:05 am, the entire bow was under water, and all the lifeboats, except for two, had been launched.
Final minutes
Around 2:10 am, the stern rose out of the water, exposing the propellers, and by 2:17 am the waterline had reached the boat deck. The last two lifeboats floated off the deck, collapsible B upside down, collapsible A half-filled with water after the supports for its canvas sides were broken in the fall from the roof of the officers' quarters. Shortly afterwards, the forward funnel collapsed, crushing part of the bridge and people in the water. On deck, people were scrambling towards the stern or jumping overboard in hopes of reaching a lifeboat. The ship's stern slowly rose into the air, and everything unsecured crashed towards the water. While the stern rose, the electrical system finally gave way causing the lights to go out. Shortly afterward, the stress on the hull caused Titanic to break apart between the last two funnels, and the bow section went completely under. The stern section righted itself slightly and then rose vertically. After a few moments, at 2:20 am, it also sank.[71]Only two of the 18 launched lifeboats rescued people after the ship sank. Lifeboat 4 was close by and picked up five people, two of whom later died. Close to an hour later, lifeboat 14 went back and rescued four people, one of whom died afterward. Other people managed to climb onto the lifeboats that floated off the deck. There were some arguments in some of the other lifeboats about going back, but many survivors were afraid of being swamped by people trying to climb into the lifeboat or being pulled down by the suction from the sinking Titanic, though it turned out that there had been very little suction.[72]
As the ship fell into the depths, the two sections behaved very differently. The streamlined bow planed off approximately 2,000 feet (610 m) below the surface and slowed somewhat, landing relatively gently. The stern plunged violently to the ocean floor, the hull being torn apart along the way from massive implosions caused by compression of water tight compartments inside the ship. The stern smashed into the bottom at considerable speed, grinding the hull deep into the silt.[71]
After steaming at 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h) for just under four hours, RMS Carpathia arrived in the area and at 4:10 am began rescuing survivors. By 8:30 am she picked up the last lifeboat with survivors and left the area at 08:50[73] bound for New York.[72]
Aftermath
Arrival of Carpathia in New York
Survivors, victims and statistics
Further information: Passengers of the RMS Titanic and List of crew members on board RMS Titanic
| Passenger Category | Number Aboard | Percentage Saved | Percentage Lost | Number Saved | Number Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children, First Class | 6 | 83% | 17% | 5 | 1 |
| Children, Second Class | 24 | 100% | 0% | 24 | 0 |
| Children, Third Class | 79 | 34% | 66% | 27 | 52 |
| Women, First Class | 144 | 97% | 3% | 140 | 4 |
| Women, Second Class | 93 | 86% | 14% | 80 | 13 |
| Women, Third Class | 165 | 46% | 54% | 76 | 89 |
| Women, Crew | 23 | 87% | 13% | 20 | 3 |
| Men, First Class | 175 | 33% | 67% | 57 | 118 |
| Men, Second Class | 168 | 8% | 92% | 14 | 154 |
| Men, Third Class | 462 | 16% | 84% | 75 | 387 |
| Men, Crew | 885 | 22% | 78% | 192 | 693 |
| Total | 2224 | 32% | 68% | 710 | 1514 |
Men and members of the 2nd and 3rd class were less likely to survive. Of the male passengers in second class, 92 percent perished. Less than a quarter of third-class passengers survived.[84] All but one of the children in first and second class survived, whereas less than half were saved in third class. 97 percent of the women in first class survived, 86 percent of the women survived in second class and less than half survived in third class.[84] Of men on board, 33 percent of the first class were saved, while only 8 percent of the second class and 16 percent of the third class were saved. Overall, only 20 percent of the men survived, compared to nearly 75 percent of the women.[84] Men in first class were four times as likely to survive as men in second class, and twice as likely to survive as those in third.[84] The greatest disparity between adult male and female survival rates occurs between first class women and second class men, the former twelve times as likely to survive as the latter. Also notable is the fact that even third class women were significantly more likely to survive than first class men, with 46 percent of third class women saved compared to 33 percent of first class men.
Four of the eight officers survived. About 21 of the 29 able seamen survived and all seven quartermasters and eight lookouts survived. Three of the 13 leading firemen survived, around 45 other firemen survived and around 20 of the 73 coal trimmers survived. Four of the 33 greasers survived and one of the six mess hall stewards survived. Around 60 of the 322 stewards and 16 of the 18 stewardesses survived. Three of the 68 restaurant staff survived. All five postal clerks, guarantee group, and eight-member orchestra perished.
Another disparity is that a greater percentage of British passengers died than Americans; some sources[who?] suggest it was because Britons of the time were polite and queued, rather than forcing their way onto the lifeboats. The captain Edward John Smith was shouting: "Be British, boys, be British!" as the liner went down.[85][86]
Notable Passengers
- A Swede, Alma Pålsson, was travelling third class with four children aged under 10 to meet her husband; all died. "Pålsson's grief was the most acute of any who visited the offices of the White Star, but his loss was the greatest. His whole family had been wiped out."[87]
- The sailors aboard the ship CS Mackay-Bennett, which recovered bodies from Titanic, were upset by the discovery of a 19-month-old boy. They paid for a monument and he was buried on 4 May 1912 with a copper pendant placed in his coffin by the sailors that read "Our Babe". The boy was identified in 2007 as Sidney Leslie Goodwin.[88]
- Stewardess Violet Jessop, who had been on board RMS Olympic during the collision with HMS Hawke in 1911, went on to survive the sinking of HMHS Britannic, Titanic's younger sister ship, in 1916.[89]
- The last living survivor was Millvina Dean from England, only nine weeks old at the time of the sinking. She died on 31 May 2009, the 98th anniversary of the launching of Titanic's hull.[90]
- There are many stories about dogs on Titanic: After transferring to a lifeboat, Madeleine Astor saw her Airedale running on the decks and she reported that she assumed that her husband had released the dogs from the ship's kennels before it went down to give them "a fighting chance".[91] Two lap dogs survived with their owners in lifeboats.[92]
- Many survivors claimed the cachet of being saved by one of the richest men in the world John Jacob Astor IV[91][93]who did not survive.[94]
Retrieval and burial of the dead
Once the massive loss of life became known, White Star Line chartered the cable ship CS Mackay-Bennett from Halifax, Nova Scotia to retrieve bodies. Three other ships followed in the search: cable ship Minia, lighthouse supply ship Montmagny and sealing vessel Algerine. Each ship left with embalming supplies, undertakers, and clergy. Of the 333 victims that were eventually recovered, 328 were retrieved by the Canadian ships and five more by passing North Atlantic steamships. Most of the bodies were numbered. The five passengers buried at sea by Carpathia went unnumbered.[95] In mid-May 1912, RMS Oceanic recovered three bodies (numbers 331, 332 and 333) over 200 miles (320 km) from the site of the sinking who were among the original occupants of Collapsible A, which was swamped in the last moments of the sinking. Although several people managed to reach this lifeboat, three died during the night. When Fifth Officer Harold Lowe and six crewmen returned to the wreck site sometime after the sinking with an empty lifeboat to pick up survivors, they rescued a female from Collapsible A, but left the three dead bodies in the boat: Thomas Beattie, a first class passenger, and two crew members, a fireman and a seaman. After their retrieval from Collapsible A by Oceanic, the bodies were then buried at sea.[96][97]The first body recovery ship to reach the site of the sinking, the cable ship CS Mackay-Bennett found so many bodies that the embalming supplies aboard were quickly exhausted, and health regulations required that only embalmed bodies could be returned to port.[98] Captain Larnder of the Mackay-Bennett and undertakers aboard decided to preserve only the bodies of first class passengers, justifying their decision by the need to visually identify wealthy men to resolve any disputes over large estates. As a result, third class passengers and crew were buried at sea. Larnder himself claimed that as a mariner, he would expect to be buried at sea.[99] Complaints about the burials at sea were made by families and undertakers. Later ships such as Minia found fewer bodies, requiring fewer embalming supplies, and were able to limit burials at sea to bodies which were too damaged to preserve.
Bodies recovered were preserved for transport to Halifax, the closest city to the sinking with direct rail and steamship connections. The Halifax coroner, John Henry Barnstead, developed a detailed system to identify bodies and safeguard personal possessions. His identification system would later be used to identify victims of the Halifax Explosion in 1917. Relatives from across North America came to identify and claim bodies. A large temporary morgue was set up in a curling rink and undertakers were called in from all across Eastern Canada to assist.[99] Some bodies were shipped to be buried in their home towns across North America and Europe. About two-thirds of the bodies were identified. Unidentified victims were buried with simple numbers based on the order in which their bodies were discovered. The majority of recovered victims, 150 bodies, were buried in three Halifax cemeteries, the largest being Fairview Lawn Cemetery followed by the nearby Mount Olivet and Baron de Hirsch cemeteries.[100] Much floating wreckage was also recovered with the bodies, many pieces of which can be seen today in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax. Other pieces are part of the travelling exhibition, Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.[101]
Memorials
In Cobh (formerly known as Queenstown from 1849 to 1920), County Cork, Ireland a memorial to the Titanic stands in the town centre.[102] Queenstown was the final port of call for the ill-fated liner as she set out across the Atlantic on 11 April 1912.
In Southampton, England a memorial to the engineers of Titanic may be found in Andrews Park on Above Bar Street. Near the main memorial, on the corner of Cumberland Place and London Road, is the Titanic Musicians' Memorial to Wallace Hartley and the other musicians who continued playing as the ship went down. A memorial to the ship's five postal workers, which says "Steadfast in Peril" is held by Southampton Heritage Services.[103]
A significant percentage of Titanic's crew members were from Liverpool, including its six most senior engineers.[104] The Memorial to the Engine Room Heroes of the Titanic stands at Pier Head in Liverpool City Centre close to the former White Star Line headquarters.[104] A memorial plaque commemorating the ship's famed orchestra (which was formed in Liverpool and included Liverpudlian John Frederick Clarke) is located inside Philharmonic Hall on Hope Street.[104]
A memorial to the liner is also located on the grounds of City Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.[105]
Among a number of memorials in the United States are the Titanic Memorial in Washington, D.C. and a memorial to Ida Straus at Straus Park in Manhattan, New York.[106][107]
The Titanic Quarter in Belfast is planned to be completed by 15 April 2012, the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic. The area will be regenerated and a signature memorial project unveiled to celebrate Titanic and her links with Belfast, where the ship was built.[108]
The cruise ship Balmoral, operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has been chartered by Miles Morgan Travel to follow the original route of Titanic, intending to stop over the point on the sea bed where she rests on 15 April 2012.[109]
Investigations into the RMS Titanic disaster
See also: Changes in safety practices following the RMS Titanic disaster and International Maritime Organization
The chairman of the inquiry, Senator William Alden Smith, wanted to gather accounts from passengers and crew while the events were still fresh in their minds. Smith also needed to subpoena all surviving British passengers and crew while they were still on American soil, which prevented them from returning to the UK before the American inquiry was completed on 25 May.[110] The British press condemned Smith as an opportunist, insensitively forcing an inquiry as a means of gaining political prestige and seizing "his moment to stand on the world stage". Smith, however, already had a reputation as a campaigner for safety on U.S. railroads, and wanted to investigate any possible malpractices by railroad tycoon J. P. Morgan, Titanic's ultimate owner.[111]
Lord Mersey was appointed to head the British Board of Trade's inquiry into the disaster, which took place between 2 May and 3 July. Each inquiry took testimony from both passengers and crew of Titanic, crew members of Leyland Line's Californian, Captain Arthur Rostron of Carpathia and other experts.[112]
The investigations found that many safety rules were simply out of date, and new laws were recommended. Numerous safety improvements for ocean-going vessels were implemented, including improved hull and bulkhead design, access throughout the ship for egress of passengers, lifeboat requirements, improved life-vest design, the holding of safety drills, better passenger notification, radio communications laws, etc. The investigators also learned that Titanic had sufficient lifeboat space for all first-class passengers, but not for the lower classes. In fact, most third class passengers had no idea where the lifeboats were, much less any way of getting to the upper decks where the lifeboats were stowed.[33] U.S. immigration regulations of the time required complete isolation of third class passengers. As a result, the route to the boat deck through the higher classes of accommodation was quite inefficient—so much so that third-class steward John Hart had to guide E-deck passengers up to the boat deck in two trips, leaving many passengers still below decks when the ship sank.[113]
SS Californian inquiry
Both inquiries into the disaster examined the SS Californian's assistance to Titanic. Testimony before the British inquiry revealed that at 10:10 pm, Californian observed the lights of a ship to the south; it was later agreed between Captain Stanley Lord and Third Officer C.V. Groves (who had relieved Lord of duty at 11:10 pm) that this was a passenger liner. Californian had warned the ship by radio of the pack ice which was the reason Californian had stopped for the night, but was violently rebuked by Titanic's senior wireless operator, Jack Phillips. At 11:50 pm, the officer had watched that ship's lights flash out, as if it had shut down or turned sharply, and that the port light was now visible. Morse light signals to the ship, upon Lord's order, occurred five times between 23:30 and 01:00, but were not acknowledged. (In testimony, it was stated that Californian's Morse lamp had a range of about four miles (6 km), so could not have been seen from Titanic.)[66]
Californian eventually responded. At 5:30 am, Chief Officer George Stewart awakened wireless operator Cyril Furmstone Evans, informed him that rockets had been seen during the night, and asked that he try to communicate with any ships. Frankfurt notified the operator of Titanic's loss, Captain Lord was notified, and the ship set out for assistance.[114]
The inquiries found that Californian was much closer to Titanic than the 19.5 miles (31.4 km) that Captain Lord had believed, and that Lord should have awakened the wireless operator after the rockets were first reported to him, and thus could have acted to prevent loss of life.[66]
In 1990, following the discovery of the wreck, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch of the British Department of Transport re-opened the inquiry to review the evidence relating to Californian. Its report of 1992 concluded that Californian was farther from Titanic than the earlier British inquiry had found, and that the distress rockets, but not Titanic herself, would have been visible from Californian.[115]
Discovery of the wreck
Main article: The wreck of RMS Titanic
See also: List of shipwrecks
The idea of finding the wreck of Titanic, and even raising the ship from the ocean floor, had been around since shortly after the ship sank. No attempts were successful until 1 September 1985, when a joint American-French expedition, led by Jean-Louis Michel (Ifremer) and Dr. Robert Ballard (WHOI), located the wreck using the side-scan sonar from the research vessels Knorr and Le Suroit.[116] The wreck was found at a depth of 2.5 miles (4 km), slightly more than 370 miles (600 km) south-east of Mistaken Point, Newfoundland at 41°43′55″N 49°56′45″WCoordinates: 41°43′55″N 49°56′45″W. Ifremer, the French partner in the search, records a depth of 3,800 m (12,467 ft).[117] These are approximately 2.33 miles (3.75 km), and they are often rounded upwards to 2.5 miles (4.0 km) or 4 km.The most notable discovery the team made was that the ship had split apart, the stern section lying 1,970 feet (600 m) from the bow section and facing opposite directions. There had been conflicting witness accounts of whether the ship broke apart or not; it was generally assumed, before the discovery of the wreck, that the ship did not break apart.[118] Surrounding the wreck is a large debris field with pieces of the ship, furniture, dinnerware and personal items scattered over 2 square miles (5.2 km2).[119] Approximately 5,500 artefacts have been removed from the wreck. Many of these were put on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, and later as part of a travelling museum exhibit.[120] The Merseyside Maritime Museum in the Titanic's home port of Liverpool also has an extensive collection of artefacts from the wreck located within a permanent exhibition named 'Titanic, Lusitania and the Forgotten Empress'.[121]
Many scientists, including Robert Ballard, are concerned that visits by tourists in submersibles and the recovery of artefacts are hastening the decay of the wreck. Underwater microbes have been eating away at Titanic's steel since the ship sank, but because of the extra damage caused by visitors the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that "the hull and structure of the ship may collapse to the ocean floor within the next 50 years."[122][123]
Titanic's rediscovery in 1985 launched a debate over ownership of the wreck and the valuable items inside. In 1994 RMS Titanic Inc., a subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions Inc., was awarded ownership and salvaging rights by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.[124] (See Admiralty law) On March 24, 2009, it was revealed that the fate of 5,900 artefacts retrieved from the wreck would rest with a U.S. District Judge's decision.[125] The ruling was later issued in two decisions on 12 August 2010 and 15 August 2011. As announced in 2009, the judge ruled that RMS Titanic Inc. owned the artefacts and her decision dealt with the status of the wreck as well as establishing a monitoring system to check future activity upon the wreck site.[126] On 12 August 2010, Judge Rebecca Beach Smith granted RMS Titanic, Inc. fair market value for the artefacts but deferred ruling on their ownership and the conditions for their preservation, possible disposition and exhibition until a further decision could be reached.[127] On 15 August 2011, Judge Smith granted title to thousands of artefacts from the Titanic that RMS Titanic Inc., did not already own under a French court decision concerning the first group of salvaged artefacts to RMS Titanic Inc., subject to a detailed list of conditions concerning preservation and disposition of the items.[128] The artefacts can be sold only to a company that would abide by the lengthy list of conditions and restrictions.[128] RMS Titanic Inc., can profit from the artefacts through exhibiting them.[128]
Possible factors in the sinking
Construction and metallurgy
Originally, historians thought the iceberg had cut a gash into Titanic's hull. Since the part of the ship that the iceberg damaged is now buried, scientists used sonar to examine the area and discovered the iceberg had caused the hull to buckle, allowing water to enter Titanic between her steel plates.[129]The steel plate used for Titanic's hull was of 1 to 1½ inch (2.5 to 3.8 cm) thickness.[130] A detailed analysis of small pieces of the steel plating from Titanic found that it was of a metallurgy that loses its ductility and becomes brittle in cold or icy water, leaving it vulnerable to dent-induced ruptures. The pieces of steel were found to have very high content of phosphorus and sulphur (4× and 2× respectively, compared with modern steel), with manganese-sulphur ratio of 6.8:1 (compared with over 200:1 ratio for modern steels). High content of phosphorus initiates fractures, sulphur forms grains of iron sulphide that facilitate propagation of cracks, and lack of manganese makes the steel less ductile. The recovered samples were found to be undergoing ductile-brittle transition in temperatures of 90 °F (32 °C) for longitudinal samples and 133 °F (56 °C) for transversal samples, compared with transition temperature of −17 °F (−27 °C) common for modern steels: modern steel would only become so brittle in between −76 °F and −94 °F (−60 °C and −70 °C). Titanic's steel, although "probably the best plain carbon ship plate available at the time", was thus unsuitable for use at low temperatures.[131] The anisotropy was probably caused by hot rolling influencing the orientation of the sulphide stringer inclusions. The steel plate for Titanic was supplied by David Colville & Sons using acid-lined, open hearth furnaces at their Dalzell Steel and Iron Works in Motherwell near Glasgow, which would explain the high content of phosphorus and sulphur, even for the time.[131][132] Newer analysis, using slow bend tests on six hull samples at room temperature and at 0 °C (32 °F), suggest that Titanic's hull steel was by no means a brittle material, even at ice-brine temperatures; earlier tests had been made using a simulated impact (the "Charpy test"), whereas a simulated "slow bend", representing a glancing collision, is more representative of the event.[133]
Another factor was the rivets holding the hull together, several of which were much more fragile than once thought.[132][134] The major part of Titanic's hull was held together by steel rivets which were installed by a hydraulic riveting machine. At the bow and the stern this machine could not be used. There, the stresses were expected to be much lower than at the central hull, thus the use of wrought iron rivets (which could be easier installed by hand) was sufficient. Forty-eight out of the millions of rivets holding the Titanic together were recovered from the wreck site, six of which were identified as hull rivets.[130] While the mild steel rivets were of proper quality, the scientists found many of the wrought iron rivets to be riddled with high concentrations of slag. A glassy residue of smelting, slag can make rivets brittle and prone to fracture. Records from the archive of the builder show that the ship's builder ordered No. 3 iron bar, known as "best"—not No. 4, known as "best-best", as material for the wrought iron rivets, although shipbuilders at that time typically used No. 4 iron for such rivets. Rivets of "best best" iron had a tensile strength of approximately 80% of steel's; "best" iron was only around 73%.[135] Despite this, the most extensive and finally fatal damage the Titanic sustained, at boiler rooms No. 5 and 6, was done in an area where steel rivets were used.[130][136]
Rudder construction and turning ability
Possibly contributing to the disaster was Titanic's triple-screw engine configuration, which had reversible reciprocating steam engines driving the two outboard propellers, and a non-reversible steam turbine driving the centre propeller. According to Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall, who came onto the bridge just after the collision, First Officer Murdoch had set the engine room telegraph to reverse the engines to avoid the iceberg,[58] but because the centre turbine could not reverse during the "full speed astern" manoeuvre, it and the centre propeller, positioned directly forward of the ship's rudder, were simply stopped. This greatly reduced the rudder's effectiveness, thus handicapping the turning ability of the ship. Had Murdoch simply turned the ship while maintaining her forward speed, Titanic might have missed the iceberg with feet to spare.[142] Another survivor, engine room worker Frederick Scott, gave contrary evidence, recalling that at his station in the engine room all four sets of telegraphs had changed to "Stop", but not until after the collision.[59]
Orientation of impact
It has been speculated that the ship could have been saved if she had rammed the iceberg head on.[143][144] It is hypothesised that if Titanic had not altered her course at all and instead collided head first with the iceberg, the impact would have been taken by the naturally stronger bow and damage would have affected only one or two forward compartments.[145] This would have disabled her, and possibly caused casualties among the passengers near the bow, but probably would not have resulted in sinking since Titanic was designed to float with the first four compartments flooded. The Arizona, a Guion liner, colliding with an iceberg in this fashion in 1879 and survived. Instead, the glancing blow to the starboard side of the Titanic caused buckling in the hull plates of the first six compartments; more than the ship's designers had anticipated.Weather
The conditions at the time of the collision—a flat calm sea, without wind or swell—were unusual for that part of the Atlantic. In addition, it was a moonless night.[146] Under normal sea conditions in the area of the collision, waves would have broken over the base of any icebergs, increasing their visibility to lookouts even on a moonless night.[147] A weather front, moving down from the northwest, lowered the temperature from about 43° Fahrenheit (6° Celsius) to near freezing, causing difficulty for the lookouts. The northwest winds behind the front helped to push a giant ice field toward the ships.[148]Excessive speed
The conclusion of the British Inquiry into the sinking was “that the loss of the said ship was due to collision with an iceberg, brought about by the excessive speed at which the ship was being navigated”. At the time of the collision it is thought that Titanic was at her normal cruising speed of about 21 knots (39 km/h), which was less than her top speed of around 23 knots (43 km/h). At the time it was common (but not universal) practice to maintain normal speed in areas where icebergs were expected. It was thought that any iceberg large enough to damage the ship would be seen in sufficient time to be avoided. It is often alleged that J. Bruce Ismay instructed or encouraged Captain Smith to increase speed in order to make an early landfall, and it is a common feature in popular representations of the disaster, such as the 1997 film, Titanic.[149] There is little evidence for this having happened, and it is disputed by many.[150][151]Alternative theories
Main article: Titanic alternative theories
A number of alternative theories diverging from the standard explanation for Titanic's demise have been brought forth since shortly after the sinking. Some of these include a coal fire aboard ship,[152] or Titanic hitting pack ice rather than an iceberg.[153][154] In the realm of the supernatural, it has been proposed that Titanic sank due to a mummy's curse.[155]Insufficient lifeboats
In the event of a serious accident in the busy North Atlantic sea lanes, assistance from other vessels was assumed to be close at hand. In this case, the lifeboats would be used to ferry passengers and crew from the stricken vessel to its rescuers. Full provision of lifeboats on the ship was considered unnecessary to support this activity.[156]
During design of the ship, it was anticipated that the British Board of Trade might require an increase in the number of lifeboats at some future date. Therefore, lifeboat davits capable of handling up to four boats per pair of davits were designed and installed, to give a total potential capacity of 64 boats.[157] The additional boats were never fitted. It is often alleged that J. Bruce Ismay, the President of White Star, vetoed the installation of these additional boats to maximise the passenger promenade area on the boat deck. Harold Sanderson, Vice President of International Mercantile Marine, rejected this allegation during the British Inquiry.[158]
The delay in launching lifeboats was also a factor. After the collision with the iceberg, one hour was taken to evaluate the damage, recognise what was going to happen, inform first class passengers, and lower the first lifeboat. Afterward, the crew worked efficiently, taking a total of 80 minutes to lower all 16 lifeboats. Since the crew were divided into two teams, one on each side of the ship, an average of 10 minutes of work was necessary for a team to fill a lifeboat with passengers and lower it.[68]
The initial reluctance of the passengers to board the lifeboats contributed to the death toll. For example, Lifeboat No. 7 launched first, at 12:45 am and with only 28 people aboard, despite its capacity of 65. Titanic did not initially appear to passengers to be in imminent danger, so they were reluctant to leave the apparent safety of the ship.[68] The idea that the ship was unsinkable is not likely to have contributed to the low utilisation of the early life boats.[citation needed]
Legends and myths regarding RMS Titanic
Main article: Legends and myths regarding RMS Titanic
Further information: RMS Titanic in popular culture
Even though Titanic was called "unsinkable" in news stories after the sinking, the fact is neither The White Star Line nor Harland and Wolff declared Titanic unsinkable before its maiden voyage.[160] Regarding the actual sinking, one of the most well-known stories is that of the ship's band, who, according to witnesses, heroically played on while the great steamer was sinking. There has been conflicting information about which songs were played and which one of them was the last heard, the most reported being "Nearer, My God, to Thee". There were several claims of predictions of the disaster, especially during the first years after the tragedy; some of them became part of folklore, like the story involving first class passenger William Thomas Stead, who—according to the legend–had foreseen his own death on Titanic. This had been suggested in two fictional stories Stead had written decades earlier.[161][162] One widespread myth is that the internationally recognised Morse code distress signal "SOS" was first put to use when the Titanic sunk. While it is true that British wireless operators rarely used the "SOS" signal at the time, preferring the older "CQD" code, "SOS" had been used internationally since 1908. The first wireless operator on Titanic, Jack Phillips, sent both "SOS" and "CQD" as call for help.[163] Titanic has also been said, in different meanings, to be cursed.[164]
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