The Sinking of the Titanic - 1912
The luxury British passenger liner RMS Titanic began construction
on March 31st, 1909, in the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland
and was completed three years later in 1912.
As one of three Olympic-class ocean liners,
it was designed to be the largest luxury passenger ship in the world
and would cost 7.5 million dollars to build.
It had a length of 882 feet, 9 inches (or 269.1 meters),
a height of 175 feet (53.3 meters), and a width of 92 feet, 6 inches (or 28 meters),
and it weighed 46,328 tons.
Below the water line was the orlop decks for cargo
and the tank top where the engines, boilers, turbines, and electrical generators were.
At the very top was the boat deck, where the bridge
and wheelhouse were, as well as the lifeboats.
In between were the decks for passengers
with first, second, and third class cabins.
The level of luxury was so high that second class
was comparable to first class on any other ship.
The 2,240 passengers would be from all walks of life,
from millionaires and celebrities to poor immigrants looking for a better life in America.
The ship would act like a floating hotel, featuring a grand staircase
which allowed first-class passengers to move from deck to deck
and had a dome skylight to allow natural light in.
The ship also featured a gymnasium, dining saloons, a reading room,
a barbershop, a squash court, a Turkish bath, and a swimming pool.
The ship carried 20 out of a possible 64 lifeboats.
Therefore, there were only enough for half the ship's population.
However, this was within legal requirements;
lifeboats were only intended for carrying passengers to rescue ships
and not keep the entire ship population afloat.
As a result, the company who owned the Titanic, White Star Line,
felt complacent enough to keep the number of lifeboats low
so the deck wasn't cluttered.
Many claimed the Titanic was unsinkable because
its hull was divided into 16 watertight compartments.
It was said that if up to four of these flooded, the ship would still stay buoyant.
All of these qualities drew the press to frequently talk about the new passenger liner.
Disaster
In the morning of April 10th, 1912, passengers began boarding
the Titanic in Southampton, England, with large crowds gathering to watch the ship depart.
At noon the Titanic set sail under command of Captain Edward Smith,
beginning her maiden voyage.
It would stop at Cherbourg, France, and then Queenstown, Ireland,
to pick up more passengers, and then began its journey
across the North Atlantic Ocean towards New York City.
On April 14th, 1912, warnings were coming in of icebergs from other liners,
so Captain Smith had plotted a new course and continued to steam at full speed which was standard practice
As it became dark the temperatures were dropping to below freezing and there was no moonlight, or waves making it difficult to see approaching icebergs.
At 11:40 P.M. ship's time, the ship's lookout, Frederick fleet spotted an iceberg from the crow's nest
He rang the warning bell and telephoned the officers
at the ship's bridge, shouting, "Iceberg! Right ahead!"
Fleet had spotted the iceberg with his eyes,
as the crows nest binoculars were locked away.
The key's owner, Officer David Blair, had been removed from the Titanic's crew at the last minute and forgot to hand over the key
the officers on the bridge quickly turned the ship away from the iceberg, but it was too late the
Titanic grazed the iceberg along its side ripping several holes in its hull below the waterline with fragments of ice hitting the deck
At first everyone felt relief the lookouts and the passengers didn't even feel the collision
11:50 p.m.
Captain smith and the ship architect thomas andrews went to inspect the damage
they knew the ship would start sinking and by this time six of the watertight compartments at the
The ship's hull were already breached and began flooding
12 a.m.
the captains sent out a distress call over the radio in the hopes that there were other ships nearby and gave the order for the
Titanic's passengers to board the lifeboats
He knew there were only enough for half the population of the Titanic
At 12:25 the lifeboats began their loading with women and children first as this was the protocol at sea
Many passengers still did not understand
What was going on and confusion and disorganization meant that the first lifeboat to leave had only 28 women and children aboard
when it could carry 65 people
First officer Murdoch took the order to mean women and children first then men if they were there while second officer Lightoller
Took it to mean women and children only
The Carpathia which was 58 miles away heard the distress call and began sailing towards the sinking Titanic to rescue the passengers
Distressed players were shot into the sky to help locate the sinking Titanic
By 1:00 a.m.. With the lower decks flooding the bow of the ship began to sink below the water's surface
Water was pouring in 15 times faster than it could be pumped out which was not helped by the fact that many of the passengers
had left their portholes open
The unsupported stern and its propellers rose out of the water into the air
Panic and chaos set in as lifeboats were running out
Some people pushed their way to the lifeboats while others accepted their fate and stayed behind
Or gave up their spots to more vulnerable passengers many did not want to survive the disaster and be branded a coward back home
By 2:05 a.m.. The last lifeboat had left, but
1,500 people were left on the ship
The deck was now at a steep height and many passengers fell into the freezing icy waters
At 2:17 a.m.. The captain announced every man for himself
The stern gave way under the pressure and broke off with the front half disappearing to the bottom of the ocean
At some point captain Smith went down with the ship a maritime tradition that the captain would do in accepting responsibility for all on board
Some say he went to the wheelhouse and waited for the end while others say he committed suicide using a pistol
The stern smashing into the water surface became level and sewers started to fill with water
Sinking nearly four kilometers beneath the surface of the ocean
Many died as a result of drowning, but the main cause of death was Hypothermia in the freezing waters which occurred within minutes
Some of the lifeboats returned, but only four survivors were found
At 3:30 a.m.. The distress flares from the Titanic were spotted by the Carpathia the Carpathia arrived to the scene at 4:10 a.m.
And picked up the lifeboats
Only 705 passengers would survive the disaster with over 1,500 people losing their lives
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