RMS TITANIC

1. Construction

Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, in

the UK, and designed to compete with the rival Cunard Line's Lusitania and
Mauretania. Titanic, along with her Olympic-class sisters, Olympic and the
soon-to-be-built Britannic (which was to be called Gigantic at first), were
intended to be the largest, most luxurious ships ever to operate. The designers
were Lord Pirrie, a director of both Harland and Wolff and White Star, naval
architect Thomas Andrews, Harland and Wolff's construction manager and
head of their design department, and Alexander Carlisle, the shipyard's chief
draughtsman and general manager. Carlisle's responsibilities included the
decorations, the equipment and all general arrangements, including the
implementation of an efficient lifeboat davit design. Carlisle would leave the
project in 1910, before the ships were launched, when he became a
shareholder in Welin Davit & Engineering Company Ltd, the firm making the
davits. Construction of RMS Titanic, funded by the American J.P. Morgan
and his International Mercantile Marine Co., began on 31 March 1909. Titanic's
hull was launched on 31 May 1911, and her outfitting was completed by 31
March the following year. Her length overall was 882 feet 9 inches (269.1 m),
the moulded breadth 92 feet 0 inches (28.0 m), the tonnage 46,328 GRT, and
the height from the water line to the boat deck of 59 feet (18 m). She was
equipped with two reciprocating four-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines
and one low-pressure Parsons turbine, each driving a propeller. There were 29
boilers fired by 159 coal burning furnaces that made possible a top speed of
23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). Only three
of the four 62 feet (19 m) funnels were
functional: the fourth, which served only
for ventilation, was added to make the
ship look more impressive. The ship could
carry a total of 3,547 passengers and
crew.
Titanic's boilers prior to installation

2. Ship history

2.1 Sea trials

Titanic's sea trials took place shortly after she was fitted out at
Harland & Wolff shipyard. The trials were originally scheduled for 10.00am on
Monday, 1 April, just nine days before she was due to leave Southampton on
her maiden voyage, but poor weather conditions forced the trials to be
postponed until the following day.
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 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.

2.2 Maiden voyage

The vessel began her maiden voyage from Southampton,
bound for New York City on 10 April 1912, with Captain Edward J. Smith in
command. As Titanic left her berth, her wake caused the liner SS New York,
which was docked nearby, to break away from
her moorings, whereupon she was drawn
dangerously close (about four feet) to Titanic
before a tugboat towed New York away. The
incident delayed departure for about half an
hour. After crossing the English Channel, Titanic
stopped at Cherbourg, France, to board
additional passengers and stopped again the
next day at Queenstown (known today as Cobh),
Ireland. As harbour facilities at Queenstown were inadequate for a ship of her
size, Titanic had to anchor off-shore, with small boats, known as tenders,
ferrying the embarking passengers out to her. When she finally set out for New
York, there were 2,240 people aboard.
John Coffey, a 23-year-old stoker, jumped ship at Queenstown
by stowing away on a tender and hiding amongst mailbags destined for the
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.He later signed on to join the
crew of Mauretania.

2.3 Sinking

Route and location of RMS Titanic

On the night of Sunday, 14 April 1912, the temperature had

dropped to near freezing and the ocean was calm. The moon was not visible
(being two days before new moon), and the sky was clear. Captain Smith, in
response to iceberg warnings received via wireless over the preceding few
days, had drawn up a new course which took the ship slightly further
southward.
That Sunday at 13:45, a message from the steamer Amerika warned that large
icebergs lay in Titanic's path, but as Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, the Marconi
wireless radio operators, were employed by Marconi and paid to relay
messages to and from the passengers, they were not focused on relaying such
"non-essential" ice messages to the bridge. Later that evening, another report
of numerous large icebergs, this time from Mesaba, also failed to reach the
bridge.
At 23:40, while sailing about 400 miles (640 km) south of the Grand Banks of
Newfoundland, lookouts Fredrick Fleet and Reginald Lee spotted a large
iceberg directly ahead of the ship. Fleet sounded the ship's bell three times
and telephoned the bridge exclaiming, "Iceberg, right ahead!". First Officer
Murdoch gave the order "hard-a-starboard", using the traditional tiller order for
an abrupt turn to port (left), and adjusted the engines (he either ordered
through the telegraph for "full reverse" or "stop" on the engines; survivor
testimony on this conflicts). The iceberg brushed the ship's starboard side
(right side), buckling the hull in several places and popping out rivets below
the waterline over a length of 299 feet (90 m). As seawater filled the forward
compartments, the watertight doors shut. However, while the ship could barely
stay afloat with the foremost four compartments flooded, the foremost six
were filling with water. The water-filled compartments weighed down the ship's
bow, allowing much water to flood the vessel, accelerated by secondary
flooding as regular openings in the ship's hull became submerged.
Additionally, about 130 minutes after the collision, water started pouring from
the sixth into the seventh compartment over the top of the bulkhead in
between. Captain Smith, alerted by the jolt of the impact, arrived on the bridge
and ordered a full stop. Shortly after midnight on 15 April, following an
inspection by the ship's officers and Thomas Andrews, the lifeboats were
ordered to be readied and a distress call was sent out.
Photograph of an iceberg in the vicinity of RMS Titanic's sinking
taken on 15 April 1912 by the chief steward of the liner Prinz Adelbert who
stated the berg had red anti-fouling paint of the kind found on the hull from
below Titanic's waterline. Wireless operators Jack Phillips and
Harold Bride were busy sending out CQD, the international distress signal.
Several ships responded, including Mount Temple, Frankfurt and Titanic's
sister ship, Olympic, but none was close enough to arrive in time. The closest
ship to respond was Cunard Line's Carpathia 58 miles (93 km) away, which
could arrive in an estimated four hours—too late to rescue all of Titanic's
passengers. The only land–based location that received the distress call from
Titanic was a wireless station at Cape Race, Newfoundland.
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
sealer called Samson. As it was not
responding to wireless, 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.
Californian, which was nearby and stopped for the night because of ice, also
saw lights in the distance. Californian's wireless was turned off, and the
wireless operator had gone to bed for the night. Just before he went to bed at
around 23:00, Californian's radio operator attempted to warn Titanic that there
was ice ahead, but he was cut off by an exhausted Jack Phillips, who had fired
back an angry response, "Shut up, shut up, I am busy; I am working Cape
Race", referring to the Newfoundland wireless station.When Californian's
officers first saw the ship, they tried signalling her with their Morse lamp, but
also never appeared to receive a response. Later, they noticed Titanic's
distress signals over the 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 her wireless operator until morning.

2.4 Lifeboats launched

The first lifeboat launched was Lifeboat 7 on the starboard side with 28
people on board out of a capacity of 65. It was lowered at around 00:40 as
believed by the British Inquiry.Lifeboat 6 and Lifeboat 5 were launched ten
minutes later. Lifeboat 1 was the fifth lifeboat to be launched with 12 people.
Lifeboat 11 was overloaded with 70 people. Collapsible D was the last lifeboat
to be launched. Titanic carried 20 lifeboats with a total capacity of 1,178
people. While not enough to hold all of the passengers and crew, Titanic
carried more boats than was required by
the British Board of Trade Regulations. At
the time, the number of lifeboats
required was determined by a ship's
gross register tonnage, rather than her
human capacity.

Titanic was given 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.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. 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 William Denton
Cox successfully led some groups from Third Class to the lifeboats.As a result,
most of the boats were launched partially empty; one boat 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 02:05, the entire bow was under water, and all the
lifeboats, except for two, had been launched.

2.5 Final minutes

Around 02:10, the stern rose out of the water exposing the
propellers, and by 02:17 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 afterward, 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 failed and the lights went out. Shortly afterward, the stress on
the hull caused Titanic to break apart between the last two funnels, and the
bow went completely under. The stern righted itself slightly and then rose
vertically. After a few moments, at 02:20, it also sank.
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.
As the ship fell into the depths, the two sections behaved very
differently. The streamlined bow planed off approximately 2,000 feet (609 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 the air still trapped inside.
The stern smashed into the bottom at considerable speed, grinding the hull
deep into the silt.
After steaming at 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h) for just under four hours, RMS
Carpathia arrived in the area and at 04:10 began rescuing survivors. By 08:30
she picked up the last lifeboat with survivors and left the area at 08:50 bound
for New York.
3. Aftermath

3.1 Survivors, victims and statistics

Of a total of 2,223 people aboard Titanic only 706, less than a third,
survived and 1,517 perished.The majority of deaths were caused by
hypothermia in the 28 °F (−2 °C) water where death could be expected in less
than 15 minutes.
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.Six of the seven children in first
class survived, all of the children in second class survived, whereas less than
half were saved in third class. 96 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. Overall, only 20 percent of the men survived, compared to
nearly 75 percent of the women. 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.
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 18
of the 23 stewardesses survived. Three of the 68 restaurant staffs survived. All
five postal clerks, guarantee group, and eight-member orchestra perished.
 3.2 Retrieval and burial of the dead
Once the massive loss of life became
clear, White Star Line chartered the cable ship
CS Mackay-Bennett from Halifax, Nova Scotia
to retrieve bodies. Three other ships followed in
the search, the cable ship Minia, the lighthouse
supply ship Montmagny and the 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. In mid-May 1912, over 200 miles (320 km) from the site of the
sinking, RMS Oceanic recovered three bodies, numbers 331, 332 and 333, who
were occupants of Collapsible A, which was swamped in the last moments of
the sinking. Several people managed to reach this lifeboat, although some
died during the night. When Fifth Officer Harold Lowe rescued the survivors of
Collapsible A, he left the three dead bodies in the boat: Thomas Beattie, a first-
class passenger, and two crew members, a fireman and a seaman. The bodies
were buried at sea from Oceanic.

3.3 Memorials

The memorial to Titanic's engineers in Southampton

In many locations there are memorials to the dead of Titanic. In

Southampton, England a memorial to the engineers of Titanic may be found in
Andrews Park on Above Bar Street. Opposite the main memorial is a memorial
to Wallace Hartley and the other musicians who played on the ship. A
memorial to the ship's five postal workers, which says "Steadfast in Peril" is
held by Southampton Heritage Services.
A memorial to the liner is also located on the grounds of City
Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There are a number of memorials in the
United States — the Titanic Memorial in Washington, D.C. and a memorial to
Ida Straus at Straus Park in Manhattan, New York are two examples.
On 15 April 2012, the 100th anniversary of the sinking of
Titanic is planned to be commemorated around the world. By that date, the
Titanic Quarter in Belfast is planned to have been completed. The area will be
regenerated and a signature memorial project unveiled to celebrate Titanic
and her links with Belfast, the city that had built the ship.
The cruise ship Balmortal, 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.

4. Legends and myths regarding RMS Titanic

4.1 Unsinkable

Contrary to popular mythology, Titanic was never described as

"unsinkable", without qualification, until after she sank.There are three trade
publications (one of which was probably never published) that describe Titanic
as unsinkable, prior to her sinking, but there is no evidence that the notion of
Titanic's unsinkability had entered public consciousness until after the sinking.
General arrangement of the 16 main compartments of Titanic.
The double bottom was 7 feet high and divided into 44 watertight
compartments. There were additional 13 small compartments above the tank
top, e.g. for the shaft
tunnels.
The trade
journal The Shipbuilder
and Marine Engine Builder
described in their June
1911 Special Number
devoted to Olympic and Titanic that "The captain may, by simply moving an
electric switch, instantly close the watertight doors throughout, making the
vessel virtually unsinkable. In fact the vessel was designed to comply with
Grade 1 subdivision proposed by the 1891 Bulkhead Committee, meaning that
it could stay afloat with any two adjoining out of its 16 main compartments in
free communication with the sea. The height of the bulkhead deck above the
water line in flooded condition was well above the requirements and the vessel
indeed would have been able to float with three adjoining compartments
flooded in 11 out of 14 possible combinations.
The first unqualified assertion of Titanic's unsinkability appears
the day after the tragedy (on 16 April 1912) in The New York Times, which
quotes Philip A. S. Franklin, vice president of the White Star Line as saying,
when informed of the incident, I thought her unsinkable and I based my
opinion on the best expert advice available. I do not understand it.
This comment was seized upon by the press and the idea that
the White Star Line had previously declared Titanic to be unsinkable (without
qualification) gained immediate and widespread currency.

4.2 The stories of W.T. Stead

Another often cited Titanic legend concerns perished first class

passenger, William Thomas Stead. According to this folklore, Stead had,
through precognitive insight, foreseen his own death on Titanic. This is
apparently suggested in two fictional sinking stories, which he penned
decades earlier. The first, "How the Mail Steamer Went Down in Mid-Atlantic,
by a Survivor" (1886), tells of a mail steamer's collision with another ship,
resulting in high loss of life due to lack of lifeboats. The second, "From the Old
World to the New" (1892) features a White Star Line vessel, Majestic, that
rescues survivors of another ship that had collided with an iceberg.

4.3 The Titanic curse

When Titanic sank, claims were made that a curse existed on
the ship. The press quickly linked the "Titanic curse" with the White Star Line
practice of not christening their ships (notwithstanding the opening scene of
the film A Night to Remember).
One of the most widely spread legends linked directly into the
sectarianism of the city of Belfast, where the ship was built. It was suggested
that the ship was given the number 390904 which, when reflected, resembles
the letters "NOPOPE", a sectarian slogan attacking Roman Catholics, widely
used by extreme Protestants in Northern Ireland, where the ship was built. In
the extreme sectarianism of the region, the ship's sinking was alleged to be on
account of anti-Catholicism by her manufacturers, the Harland and Wolff
company, which had an almost exclusively Protestant workforce and an
alleged record of hostility towards Catholics. (Harland and Wolff did have a
record of hiring few Catholics; whether that was through policy or because the
company's shipyard in Belfast's bay was located in almost exclusively
Protestant East Belfast—through which few Catholics would travel—or a
mixture of both, is a matter of dispute.)In fact, RMS Olympic and Titanic were
assigned the yard numbers 400 and 401 respectively.