Why did the Titanic sink?
Why did the Titanic sink?
An overview of the Titanic disaster.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
The Titanic was a British luxury passenger liner that struck an iceberg and sank during its maiden voyage on April 15th, 1912, killing over 1500 people. On the eve of World War One, this tragedy shocked the world and challenged many old ideas about technology, progress, and modern life.
The first ocean liners emerged in the 1840s, after the development of major industrial technologies like steel and steam power. At sea, these new ships' speed, capacity, and large sizes created a market for inexpensive international travel and shipping. By the early 1900s, the transatlantic passenger trade was highly profitable and fiercely competitive. Two lines: Cunard and the White Star Line, were locked in an all-out war for control of this lucrative business. In 1907, Cunard launched the Mauritania and Lusitania, the fastest ships in the world. The White Star Line needed something new to compete. The chair of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay, had arranged the sale of the company to J. P. Morgan in 1902. This brought Ismay, Morgan, and a man named William James Pirrie, chairman of the Belfast shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff, together under one company. Ismay and Pirrie then met for dinner in 1907 and devised a plan to beat Cunard's speed with luxury - the new Olympic-class liners - Olympic, Brittanic, and Titanic. Construction of the Olympic began December 16th, 1908, and of Titanic soon after. The ships were designed by Thomas Andrews of Harlan and Wolff, who also happened to be the nephew of William James Pirrie. Andrews had started as an apprentice and worked his way to head designer, gaining a reputation for innovative designs. Titanic and Olympic were marvels of engineering. Titanic displaced 52,000 tons and was 882 feet long. The ships were so powerful that they both were nearly destroyed in port when the vortex created by their engines sucked in nearby ships. Much attention was paid to the 16 watertight compartments that would theoretically protect the ship from flooding. This led many at the time to claim Titanic was unsinkable. Titanic was launched from the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on May 31, 1911. For the next year, Titanic was 'fitted out' - the interior work was started and the engine machinery was loaded into the ship. For Titanic's high-stakes maiden voyage, Ismay chose captain Edward J. Smith, the former captain of the Olympic known as "the millionaires captain" for his reputation among wealthy passengers. Under Smith's watch, Titanic set out for its maiden voyage from Southampton on April 10th, 1912. That night, the ship stopped in Cherbourg, France, where supplies and passengers, including John Jacob Astor and Molly Brown, were ferried aboard, because Titanic was too large for the city's port. After a final stop in Queenstown, Ireland, Titanic set sail for New York City, carrying some 2,200 people.
At sea, Titanic delivered on the power, speed, and luxury promised by its designers. The turbine engine drove the ship's main propeller while two reciprocating engines powered the side propellers. Each engine was capable of producing 15,000 horsepower. These engines were powered by 29 boilers, which contained three or more furnaces each. Some 600 tons of coal were fed into the furnaces every day by a team of workers in the boiler room known as trimmers. The boiler room vented through Titanic's immense funnels, one of which was non-functional and included for aesthetic reasons. Many companies paid ocean liners to ship their goods, and Titanic's cargo manifest included 63 cases of champagne, 15 cases of rabbit hair, 2 cases of grandfather clocks, and a Renault automobile. The Royal Mail Ship, or RMS Titanic, also transported mail for the UK Government. 5 postal workers in the mail room sorted 3,400 sacks and 7 million individual pieces of mail. The squash court, swimming pool, and Turkish baths were for first-class passengers only. Titanic's heated pool was the first in the world, measuring 32 feet by 13. The hospital was more advanced than most on land, with two full-time doctors and a surgery room. First class passengers could also enjoy a-la-carte dining from cafes and restaurants above deck. Classes were kept separate on board. Third class rooms accommodated up to six people and were located on the lower levels. Second class passengers had single or double rooms in the center of the ship. First class rooms were luxuriously appointed, with telephones and heaters. Titanic's four parlor suites included sitting rooms, bedrooms, and private promenade decks. The first-class dining room was decorated in the Jacobin style, while the lounge was modeled on the palace of Versailles. The grand staircase was titanic's most iconic feature and had a steel-and-glass domed ceiling depicting the figures of Honor and Glory crowning Time. Titanic's wireless was one of the most powerful at sea, with a range up to 2,500 miles. Throughout the voyage, the operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bride have been receiving regular iceberg warnings, many of which are passed to the bridge. However, the wireless operators work for the Marconi Company, and their primary purpose is to relay passengers’ messages.
On the night of April 14th, Titanic enters waters known to have icebergs. Smith alters course slightly, turning south, but maintains a high speed of 22 knots. At 9:40 PM the nearby Mesaba sends warning of an ice field, but this message is never relayed to the bridge. At 10:55 PM the Californian sends word that it had stopped after becoming surrounded by ice. Wireless operator Phillips is busy handling passenger messages, and scolds the Californian for interrupting him. By 11 PM, Smith has not slowed Titanic. Some survivors reported this was at Ismay's urging - he wanted to arrive a day early and make headlines. However, new research has offered up another theory: The lone coal fireman to survive the sinking testified in 1912 that a fire had been raging in Titanic's boiler room for days - since before the ship had first departed. Rather than delay the maiden voyage a third time, Smith decided to set sail and the firemen fought the fire at sea, which was not uncommon at the time. It is believed that this onboard fire is what forced Smith to sail so fast, and could have even weakened Titanic's hull. At 11:40 PM, 400 nautical miles south of Newfoundland, an iceberg is spotted. The first officer orders the ship hard-a-starboard and reverses the engines, which actually slows Titanic's turning speed. Titanic's starboard side scrapes the iceberg, rupturing 5 watertight compartments below the waterline. It is believed that a higher-speed collision would have caused more damage to fewer compartments, and Titanic would have survived. But ship designer Andrews knows immediately that with more than 4 watertight compartments filled, Titanic will founder. The watertight compartments extend only to E deck, and the water will eventually spill over. Smith orders the wireless operators to send distress signals, but does not order a general alarm. Titanic's sister Olympic responds, but at over 500 miles away won't make it to Titanic in time. At 12:15 AM, The Mount Temple responds. It's 50 miles away and speeds to Titanic, but is stopped by an ice field. At 12:20 AM, the Carpathia hears the call. However, the slower ship is 58 miles away, and it will take over 3 hours to reach Titanic. The Russian steamer Birma is 70 miles away when it hears Titanic's SOS, also too far. As Titanic sinks, the crew spots a ship on the horizon. However this mystery ship does not respond to messages or approach the sinking liner. It is believed this was the Sampson, a Norwegian boat that was in the area illegally hunting seals. The nearby Californian is Titanic's last hope, but the wireless is turned off. The crew wakes Captain Stanley Lord when they see Titanic's emergency flares, but he orders them to respond using the morse lamp instead of the wireless. They will not hear a response from Titanic.
Meanwhile, Titanic begins to launch lifeboats, with women and children first. But without a general alarm, many below-deck passengers are not even aware something is wrong. Titanic has 20 lifeboats, enough for 1,178 people, a little over half of those on board. However a lifeboat drill earlier in the day was cancelled, and the crew has the wrong impression the ships davits have not been weight-tested, though they were in Belfast. So the already-too-few lifeboats are launched under-capacity, at an average of only 60% full. As Titanic's bow fills with water, the hull begins to rise out of the ocean. At 2:18 AM, Titanic splits in half. At 2:20 the stern sinks below the ocean, plunging over 1500 people into the freezing water. Those in the lifeboats are fearful of getting swamped and wait to return. By the time they do, 68% of the people onboard Titanic have died. 45% of first and second class passengers, 75% of third class passengers, and 78% of the crew perished at sea.
The Carpathia arrived at 3:30 AM, about an hour after Titanic sank, rescuing 705 survivors from lifeboats. On April 18th, Titanic's survivors arrived in New York City, greeted by massive crowds. News of Titanic's sinking had spread around the globe, the tragedy magnified by the glamour associated with the ship and its maiden voyage, and the deaths of many of era's wealthiest and most prominent people, including John Jacob Astor, Isidor Strauss, president of Macy's, and his wife Ida. Ida Strauss refused to leave her husband's side, and while Isidor was offered a seat next to her in a lifeboat, he refused to take it while women and children remained onboard. Titanic's captain Smith and designer Andrews also died on Titanic. However others, like J. Bruce Ismay, survived in lifeboats and were consequently vilified by the press. Both the American and British governments investigated the sinking. The U.S. Senate Inquiry was led by Michigan Sen. William Alden Smith and interviewed 80 survivors. It faulted the British Board of Trade for not regulating the number of lifeboats aboard and doubted the distance claimed by the crew of the Californian. As a result of the sinking, ships were required to hold enough lifeboats for all passengers and keep 24-hour radio watch, and a new international iceberg monitoring service was created. The sinking of the Titanic had little averse impact on Harland and Wolff. The Olympic's watertight doors were extended up to B deck, and the ship served as a troop transport in WWI. A third ship, Brittanic, replaced Titanic, but was sunk after striking a mine in 1916. J. Bruce Ismay retired in shame a year after the sinking. Finally, in 1935, the White Star Line was acquired by longtime competitor Cunard. Titanic remained firmly entrenched in the popular imagination, though interest would wane over time. Then, in 1985, famed oceanographer Robert Ballard announced the discovery of the wreck of Titanic. Titanic became a testing ground for Argo, a cutting-edge submersible equipped with a remote control camera. On September 1st, 1985 the first underwater images of Titanic were recorded. The wreckage has been populated by rusticles, which, over time, will slowly dissolve the ship. Titanic rests on the ocean floor 13 miles away from its last reported coordinates.
The first ocean liners emerged in the 1840s, after the development of major industrial technologies like steel and steam power. At sea, these new ships' speed, capacity, and large sizes created a market for inexpensive international travel and shipping. By the early 1900s, the transatlantic passenger trade was highly profitable and fiercely competitive. Two lines: Cunard and the White Star Line, were locked in an all-out war for control of this lucrative business. In 1907, Cunard launched the Mauritania and Lusitania, the fastest ships in the world. The White Star Line needed something new to compete. The chair of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay, had arranged the sale of the company to J. P. Morgan in 1902. This brought Ismay, Morgan, and a man named William James Pirrie, chairman of the Belfast shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff, together under one company. Ismay and Pirrie then met for dinner in 1907 and devised a plan to beat Cunard's speed with luxury - the new Olympic-class liners - Olympic, Brittanic, and Titanic. Construction of the Olympic began December 16th, 1908, and of Titanic soon after. The ships were designed by Thomas Andrews of Harlan and Wolff, who also happened to be the nephew of William James Pirrie. Andrews had started as an apprentice and worked his way to head designer, gaining a reputation for innovative designs. Titanic and Olympic were marvels of engineering. Titanic displaced 52,000 tons and was 882 feet long. The ships were so powerful that they both were nearly destroyed in port when the vortex created by their engines sucked in nearby ships. Much attention was paid to the 16 watertight compartments that would theoretically protect the ship from flooding. This led many at the time to claim Titanic was unsinkable. Titanic was launched from the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on May 31, 1911. For the next year, Titanic was 'fitted out' - the interior work was started and the engine machinery was loaded into the ship. For Titanic's high-stakes maiden voyage, Ismay chose captain Edward J. Smith, the former captain of the Olympic known as "the millionaires captain" for his reputation among wealthy passengers. Under Smith's watch, Titanic set out for its maiden voyage from Southampton on April 10th, 1912. That night, the ship stopped in Cherbourg, France, where supplies and passengers, including John Jacob Astor and Molly Brown, were ferried aboard, because Titanic was too large for the city's port. After a final stop in Queenstown, Ireland, Titanic set sail for New York City, carrying some 2,200 people.
At sea, Titanic delivered on the power, speed, and luxury promised by its designers. The turbine engine drove the ship's main propeller while two reciprocating engines powered the side propellers. Each engine was capable of producing 15,000 horsepower. These engines were powered by 29 boilers, which contained three or more furnaces each. Some 600 tons of coal were fed into the furnaces every day by a team of workers in the boiler room known as trimmers. The boiler room vented through Titanic's immense funnels, one of which was non-functional and included for aesthetic reasons. Many companies paid ocean liners to ship their goods, and Titanic's cargo manifest included 63 cases of champagne, 15 cases of rabbit hair, 2 cases of grandfather clocks, and a Renault automobile. The Royal Mail Ship, or RMS Titanic, also transported mail for the UK Government. 5 postal workers in the mail room sorted 3,400 sacks and 7 million individual pieces of mail. The squash court, swimming pool, and Turkish baths were for first-class passengers only. Titanic's heated pool was the first in the world, measuring 32 feet by 13. The hospital was more advanced than most on land, with two full-time doctors and a surgery room. First class passengers could also enjoy a-la-carte dining from cafes and restaurants above deck. Classes were kept separate on board. Third class rooms accommodated up to six people and were located on the lower levels. Second class passengers had single or double rooms in the center of the ship. First class rooms were luxuriously appointed, with telephones and heaters. Titanic's four parlor suites included sitting rooms, bedrooms, and private promenade decks. The first-class dining room was decorated in the Jacobin style, while the lounge was modeled on the palace of Versailles. The grand staircase was titanic's most iconic feature and had a steel-and-glass domed ceiling depicting the figures of Honor and Glory crowning Time. Titanic's wireless was one of the most powerful at sea, with a range up to 2,500 miles. Throughout the voyage, the operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bride have been receiving regular iceberg warnings, many of which are passed to the bridge. However, the wireless operators work for the Marconi Company, and their primary purpose is to relay passengers’ messages.
On the night of April 14th, Titanic enters waters known to have icebergs. Smith alters course slightly, turning south, but maintains a high speed of 22 knots. At 9:40 PM the nearby Mesaba sends warning of an ice field, but this message is never relayed to the bridge. At 10:55 PM the Californian sends word that it had stopped after becoming surrounded by ice. Wireless operator Phillips is busy handling passenger messages, and scolds the Californian for interrupting him. By 11 PM, Smith has not slowed Titanic. Some survivors reported this was at Ismay's urging - he wanted to arrive a day early and make headlines. However, new research has offered up another theory: The lone coal fireman to survive the sinking testified in 1912 that a fire had been raging in Titanic's boiler room for days - since before the ship had first departed. Rather than delay the maiden voyage a third time, Smith decided to set sail and the firemen fought the fire at sea, which was not uncommon at the time. It is believed that this onboard fire is what forced Smith to sail so fast, and could have even weakened Titanic's hull. At 11:40 PM, 400 nautical miles south of Newfoundland, an iceberg is spotted. The first officer orders the ship hard-a-starboard and reverses the engines, which actually slows Titanic's turning speed. Titanic's starboard side scrapes the iceberg, rupturing 5 watertight compartments below the waterline. It is believed that a higher-speed collision would have caused more damage to fewer compartments, and Titanic would have survived. But ship designer Andrews knows immediately that with more than 4 watertight compartments filled, Titanic will founder. The watertight compartments extend only to E deck, and the water will eventually spill over. Smith orders the wireless operators to send distress signals, but does not order a general alarm. Titanic's sister Olympic responds, but at over 500 miles away won't make it to Titanic in time. At 12:15 AM, The Mount Temple responds. It's 50 miles away and speeds to Titanic, but is stopped by an ice field. At 12:20 AM, the Carpathia hears the call. However, the slower ship is 58 miles away, and it will take over 3 hours to reach Titanic. The Russian steamer Birma is 70 miles away when it hears Titanic's SOS, also too far. As Titanic sinks, the crew spots a ship on the horizon. However this mystery ship does not respond to messages or approach the sinking liner. It is believed this was the Sampson, a Norwegian boat that was in the area illegally hunting seals. The nearby Californian is Titanic's last hope, but the wireless is turned off. The crew wakes Captain Stanley Lord when they see Titanic's emergency flares, but he orders them to respond using the morse lamp instead of the wireless. They will not hear a response from Titanic.
Meanwhile, Titanic begins to launch lifeboats, with women and children first. But without a general alarm, many below-deck passengers are not even aware something is wrong. Titanic has 20 lifeboats, enough for 1,178 people, a little over half of those on board. However a lifeboat drill earlier in the day was cancelled, and the crew has the wrong impression the ships davits have not been weight-tested, though they were in Belfast. So the already-too-few lifeboats are launched under-capacity, at an average of only 60% full. As Titanic's bow fills with water, the hull begins to rise out of the ocean. At 2:18 AM, Titanic splits in half. At 2:20 the stern sinks below the ocean, plunging over 1500 people into the freezing water. Those in the lifeboats are fearful of getting swamped and wait to return. By the time they do, 68% of the people onboard Titanic have died. 45% of first and second class passengers, 75% of third class passengers, and 78% of the crew perished at sea.
The Carpathia arrived at 3:30 AM, about an hour after Titanic sank, rescuing 705 survivors from lifeboats. On April 18th, Titanic's survivors arrived in New York City, greeted by massive crowds. News of Titanic's sinking had spread around the globe, the tragedy magnified by the glamour associated with the ship and its maiden voyage, and the deaths of many of era's wealthiest and most prominent people, including John Jacob Astor, Isidor Strauss, president of Macy's, and his wife Ida. Ida Strauss refused to leave her husband's side, and while Isidor was offered a seat next to her in a lifeboat, he refused to take it while women and children remained onboard. Titanic's captain Smith and designer Andrews also died on Titanic. However others, like J. Bruce Ismay, survived in lifeboats and were consequently vilified by the press. Both the American and British governments investigated the sinking. The U.S. Senate Inquiry was led by Michigan Sen. William Alden Smith and interviewed 80 survivors. It faulted the British Board of Trade for not regulating the number of lifeboats aboard and doubted the distance claimed by the crew of the Californian. As a result of the sinking, ships were required to hold enough lifeboats for all passengers and keep 24-hour radio watch, and a new international iceberg monitoring service was created. The sinking of the Titanic had little averse impact on Harland and Wolff. The Olympic's watertight doors were extended up to B deck, and the ship served as a troop transport in WWI. A third ship, Brittanic, replaced Titanic, but was sunk after striking a mine in 1916. J. Bruce Ismay retired in shame a year after the sinking. Finally, in 1935, the White Star Line was acquired by longtime competitor Cunard. Titanic remained firmly entrenched in the popular imagination, though interest would wane over time. Then, in 1985, famed oceanographer Robert Ballard announced the discovery of the wreck of Titanic. Titanic became a testing ground for Argo, a cutting-edge submersible equipped with a remote control camera. On September 1st, 1985 the first underwater images of Titanic were recorded. The wreckage has been populated by rusticles, which, over time, will slowly dissolve the ship. Titanic rests on the ocean floor 13 miles away from its last reported coordinates.