Where the Titanic was built and launched. Cruise ship Titanic. The launch of the Titanic was not accompanied by traditional rituals for good luck.

100 years ago, on the night of April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Titanic liner sank, carrying more than 2,200 people.

Titanic is the largest passenger ship of the early 20th century, the second of three twin steamships produced by the British company White Star Line.

The length of the Titanic was 260 meters, width - 28 meters, displacement - 52 thousand tons, height from the waterline to the boat deck - 19 meters, distance from the keel to the top of the pipe - 55 meters, maximum speed - 23 knots. Journalists compared it in length to three city blocks, and in height to an 11-story building.

The Titanic had eight steel decks, located one above the other at a distance of 2.5-3.2 meters. To ensure safety, the ship had a double bottom, and its hull was separated by 16 waterproof compartments. Watertight bulkheads rose from the second bottom to the deck. The ship's chief designer, Thomas Andrews, stated that even if four of the 16 compartments were filled with water, the liner would be able to continue its journey.

The interiors of the cabins on decks B and C were designed in 11 styles. Third class passengers on decks E and F were separated from first and second class by gates located in different parts of the ship.

Before the Titanic set out on its first and last voyage, it was especially emphasized that there would be 10 millionaires on board the ship on its first voyage, and in its safes there would be gold and jewelry worth hundreds of millions of dollars. American industrialist, heir to a mining magnate Benjamin Guggenheim, millionaire with his young wife, assistant to US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft Major Archibald Willingham Butt, US Congressman Isidore Strauss, actress Dorothy Gibson, wealthy public figure Margaret Brown, British fashion designer Lucy Christiane Duff Gordon and many other famous and wealthy people of that time.

On April 10, 1912, at noon, the Titanic superliner set off on its only journey along the route Southampton (Great Britain) - New York (USA), with stops in Cherbourg (France) and Queenstown (Ireland).

During the four days' journey the weather was clear and the sea was calm.

On April 14, 1912, on the fifth day of the voyage, several ships sent reports of icebergs in the area of ​​the ship's route. The radio was broken for most of the day, and many messages were not noticed by the radio operators, and the captain did not pay due attention to others.

In the evening, the temperature began to drop, reaching zero Celsius by 22:00.

At 23:00, a message was received from the Californian about the presence of ice, but the Titanic's radio operator interrupted the radio exchange before the Californian had time to report the coordinates of the area: the telegraph operator was busy sending personal messages to passengers.

At 23:39, two lookouts noticed an iceberg in front of the liner and reported it by telephone to the bridge. The most senior of the officers, William Murdoch, gave the command to the helmsman: “Rudder to port.”

At 23:40 "Titanic" in the underwater part of the ship. Of the ship's 16 watertight compartments, six were cut through.

At 00:00 on April 15, Titanic designer Thomas Andrews was called to the bridge to assess the severity of the damage. After reporting the incident and inspecting the ship, Andrews informed everyone present that the liner would inevitably sink.

There was a noticeable tilt on the ship's bow. Captain Smith ordered the lifeboats to be uncovered and the crew and passengers to be summoned for evacuation.

On the captain's orders, the radio operators began sending distress signals, which they transmitted for two hours until the captain relieved the telegraph operators of their duties a few minutes before the ship sank.

Distress signals, but they were too far from the Titanic.

At 00:25, the coordinates of the Titanic were accepted by the ship Carpathia, which was located 58 nautical miles from the site of the wreck of the liner, which was 93 kilometers. ordered to immediately head to the site of the Titanic disaster. Rushing to help, the ship was able to reach a record speed of 17.5 knots - with the maximum possible speed for the ship being 14 knots. To do this, Rostron ordered to turn off all appliances that consume electricity and heating.

At 01:30 the operator of the Titanic telegraphed: “We are in small boats.” By order of Captain Smith, his assistant, Charles Lightoller, who led the rescue of people on the left side of the liner, put only women and children in the boats. The men, according to the captain, were supposed to remain on deck until all the women were in the boats. First Mate William Murdoch on the starboard side to the men if there were no women or children in the line of passengers gathering on deck.

At about 02:15, the Titanic's bow dropped sharply, the ship moved forward significantly, and a huge wave rolled across the decks, washing many passengers overboard.

At about 02:20 minutes the Titanic sank.

At about 04:00 in the morning, approximately three and a half hours after receiving the distress signal, the Carpathia arrived at the site of the Titanic's wreck. The ship took on board 712 passengers and crew members of the Titanic, after which it arrived safely in New York. Among those rescued were 189 crew members, 129 male passengers and 394 women and children.

The death toll, according to various sources, ranged from 1,400 to 1,517 people. According to official data, after the disaster, 60% of passengers were in first class cabins, 44% in second class cabins, 25% in third class.

The last surviving passenger of the Titanic, who traveled on board the liner at the age of nine weeks, died on May 31, 2009 at the age of 97. The woman's ashes were scattered over the sea from the pier in the port of Southampton, from where the Titanic set off on its last voyage in 1912.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the most modern passenger liner at that time, the Titanic, making its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and soon sank. At least 1,496 people died, 712 passengers and crew were rescued.

The Titanic disaster very quickly became overgrown with a mass of legends and speculation. At the same time, for several decades, the place where the lost ship rested remained unknown.

The main difficulty was that the location of the death was known with very low accuracy - we were talking about an area 100 kilometers in diameter. Considering that the Titanic sank in an area where the depth of the Atlantic is several kilometers, finding the ship was very problematic.

Titanic. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The bodies of the dead were going to be raised with dynamite

Immediately after the shipwreck, relatives of wealthy passengers who died in the disaster came up with a proposal to organize an expedition to raise the ship. The initiators of the search wanted to bury their loved ones and, to be honest, return the valuables that had sunk to the bottom along with their owners.

The decisive attitude of the relatives came across a categorical verdict from experts: the technology for searching and lifting the Titanic from great depths simply did not exist at that time.

Then a new proposal was received - to drop dynamite charges to the bottom at the supposed site of the disaster, which, according to the authors of the project, were supposed to provoke the ascent of the corpses of the dead from the bottom. This dubious idea also did not find support.

The First World War, which began in 1914, postponed the search for the Titanic for many years.

Interior of the veranda for first class passengers of the Titanic. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Nitrogen and ping pong balls

They started talking about searching for the liner again only in the 1950s. At the same time, proposals began to appear on possible ways to raise it - from freezing the body with nitrogen to filling it with millions of ping-pong balls.

In the 1960s and 1970s, several expeditions were sent to the area where the Titanic sank, but all of them were unsuccessful due to insufficient technical preparation.

In 1980 Texas oil tycoon John Grimm financed the preparation and conduct of the first large expedition to search for the Titanic. But, despite the availability of the most modern equipment for underwater searches, his expedition ended in failure.

Played a major role in the discovery of the Titanic ocean explorer and part-time US Navy officer Robert Ballard. Ballard, who was involved in improving small unmanned underwater vehicles, became interested in underwater archeology and, in particular, the mystery of the Titanic sinkhole back in the 1970s. In 1977, he organized the first expedition to search for the Titanic, but it ended in failure.

Ballard was convinced that finding the ship was only possible with the help of the latest deep-sea bathyscaphes. But getting these at your disposal was very difficult.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Doctor Ballard's Secret Mission

In 1985, having failed to achieve results during an expedition on the French research vessel Le Suroît, Ballard moved to the American vessel R/V Knorr, with which he continued the search for the Titanic.

As Ballard himself said many years later, the expedition, which became historic, began with a secret deal concluded between him and the command of the Navy. The researcher really wanted to get the Argo deep-sea research vehicle for his work, but the American admirals did not want to pay for the work of the equipment to search for some historical rarity. The ship R/V Knorr and the Argo apparatus were supposed to carry out a mission to examine the sites of the sinking of two American nuclear submarines, Scorpion and Thresher, which sank back in the 1960s. This task was secret, and the US Navy needed a person who could not only carry out the necessary work, but also be able to keep it secret.

Ballard's candidacy was ideal - he was quite famous, and everyone knew about his passion for finding the Titanic.

The researcher was offered: he could get the Argo and use it to search for the Titanic if he first found and examined the submarines. Ballard agreed.

Only the leadership of the US Navy knew about the Scorpion and Thrasher; for the rest, Robert Ballard simply explored the Atlantic and looked for the Titanic.

Robert Ballard. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

"Comet tail" at the bottom

He coped with the secret mission brilliantly, and on August 22, 1985, he was able to again begin the search for the liner that perished in 1912.

None of the most advanced technology would have ensured his success if not for the previously accumulated experience. Ballard, while examining the sinkhole sites of the submarines, noticed that they left at the bottom a kind of “comet tail” of thousands of fragments. This was due to the fact that the hulls of the boats were destroyed when sank to the bottom due to enormous pressure.

The scientist knew that during the dive on the Titanic, the steam boilers exploded, which meant that the liner should have left a similar “comet tail.”

It was this trace, and not the Titanic itself, that was easier to detect.

On the night of September 1, 1985, the Argo apparatus found small debris at the bottom, and at 0:48 the camera recorded the Titanic’s boiler. Then it was possible to discover the bow of the ship.

It was found that the bow and stern of the broken liner were located at a distance of approximately 600 meters from each other. At the same time, both the stern and the bow were seriously deformed when sank to the bottom, but the bow was still better preserved.

Ship model. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

House for underwater inhabitants

The news of the discovery of the Titanic became a sensation, although many experts hastened to question it. But in the summer of 1986, Ballard carried out a new expedition, during which he not only described in detail the ship at the bottom, but also made the first dive to the Titanic on a manned deep-sea vehicle. After this, the last doubts were dispelled - the Titanic was discovered.

The last resting place of the liner is located at a depth of 3750 meters. In addition to the two main parts of the liner, tens of thousands of smaller debris are scattered along the bottom over an area of ​​4.8×8 km: parts of the ship’s hull, remains of furniture and interior decoration, dishes, and personal belongings of people.

The wreckage of the ship is covered with multi-layered rust, the thickness of which is constantly growing. In addition to multi-layered rust, 24 species of invertebrate animals and 4 species of fish live on and near the hull. Of these, 12 species of invertebrates clearly gravitate towards shipwrecks, eating metal and wooden structures. The interior of the Titanic was almost completely destroyed. The wooden elements were consumed by deep sea worms. The decks are covered in layers of clam shells, and stalactites of rust hang from many of the metal pieces.

A wallet recovered from the Titanic. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Are all the people left with shoes left?

During the 30 years that have passed since the discovery of the ship, the Titanic has been rapidly deteriorating. Its current state is such that there can be no talk of any lifting of the vessel. The ship will forever remain at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

There is still no consensus on whether human remains were preserved on the Titanic and around it. According to the prevailing version, all human bodies completely decomposed. However, information periodically appears that some researchers have nevertheless stumbled upon the remains of the dead.

But James Cameron, director of the famous movie "Titanic", who personally has over 30 dives to the liner on the Russian Mir deep-sea submersibles, is sure of the opposite: “We saw shoes, boots and other footwear at the site of the sunken ship, but our team has never encountered human remains.”

Things from the Titanic are a profitable product

Since the discovery of the Titanic by Robert Ballard, about two dozen expeditions have been carried out to the ship, during which several thousand objects were raised to the surface, ranging from personal belongings of passengers to a piece of plating weighing 17 tons.

The exact number of objects recovered from the Titanic is impossible to establish today, since with the improvement of underwater technology, the ship has become a favorite target of “black archaeologists” who are trying to obtain rarities from the Titanic by any means.

Robert Ballard, lamenting this, remarked: “The ship is still a noble old lady, but not the same lady I saw in 1985.”

Items from the Titanic have been sold at auction for many years and are in great demand. So, in the year of the 100th anniversary of the disaster, in 2012, hundreds of items went under the hammer, including a cigar box that belonged to the captain of the Titanic ($40 thousand), a life jacket from the ship ($55 thousand), and a master key first class steward ($138 thousand). As for the jewelry from the Titanic, their value is measured in millions of dollars.

At one time, having discovered the Titanic, Robert Ballard intended to keep this place secret, so as not to disturb the resting place of one and a half thousand people. Perhaps he shouldn't have done this.

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Exactly 100 years have passed since the day the most famous maritime disaster in history - the sinking of the Titanic. On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the ship collided with an iceberg and sank in the waters of the North Atlantic.

Among all maritime disasters that occurred in peacetime, the Titanic ranks third in terms of the number of victims - 1,517 people.

We remember the events of 100 years ago.

The Titanic was built in 1909-1911 by the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff (Belfast, Northern Ireland). In the photo: workers walk from the Harland and Wolf plant in Belfast. A ship still under construction can be seen in the background, 1911. (Photo Photographic Archive | Harland & Wolff Collection | Cox):

The Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911. In the photo: the ship at the Harland and Wolf shipyard before launching, 1911:

In April 1912, the largest passenger liner in the world set sail from the English port of Southampton to New York. on your first and last trip. On board were the richest people in the world. (Photo by United Press International):

Departure from the English port of Southampton, April 10, 1912. The dimensions of the Titanic are 269 meters long, 28.2 meters wide, 18.4 meters high. The Titanic was taller than most city buildings at the time. (AP Photo):

The Titanic was not only the largest, but also the most luxurious liner of its time, with gyms, swimming pools, libraries, upscale restaurants and luxurious cabins. In the Foto: one of the restaurants. (Photo by The New York Times Photo Archives | American Press Association):

There were three classes on the Titanic: 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This photograph of the second class room. (Photo by The New York Times Photo Archives | American Press Association):

English naval officer (27 January 1850 - 15 April 1912). (Photo by The New York Times Archives):

William McMaster Murdoch - First Mate. It was he who was on watch and could not prevent a collision with the iceberg. William Murdoch died along with the Titanic.

James Cameron's film of the same name shows how Murdoch took money from a rich passenger for the right to board a boat, shot two passengers, and then shot himself. None of this is true. In fact, William Murdoch honestly fulfilled his duty and did everything to save as many people as possible. 75% of all those rescued from the Titanic were evacuated from the starboard side, where it was William Murdoch who commanded the rescue operation. (AP Photo):

A photograph of the 30-meter-high iceberg that the Titanic is believed to have collided with. The photo was taken from the cable-laying ship Mina, which was one of the first ships to discover the wreck of the Titanic. According to the Mina crew, it was the only iceberg near the disaster site.

The iceberg belonged to a rare type of “black iceberg”, i.e. turned over so that their dark underwater part reaches the surface. Because of this, he was noticed too late. At the moment of the collision of the iceberg with the Titanic, a pressure of 2.5 tons per square cm arose. Thick metal would have held up, but the rivets holding the metal sheets of the Titanic's hull could not. The seams spread over a length of about 90 meters, immediately damaging 5 of the 16 conditionally waterproof compartments of the ship. (Photo by United States Coast Guard):

Almost all the women and children from the 1st and 2nd class cabins were saved from the Titanic. More than half of the women and children from the 3rd class cabins died because... it was difficult for them to get up through the labyrinth of narrow corridors. Also, almost all the men died. Total from the sinking of the Titanic 1,517 people died.

In the photo: the Titanic lifeboat, taken by one of the passengers of the Carpathia steamship. It was the Carpathia that removed from the lifeboats surviving passengers of the Titanic (712 people). (Photo: National Maritime Museum | London):

Another photograph taken by a passenger on the steamer Carpathia, showing the boats with the rescued passengers of the Titanic. (Photo: National Maritime Museum | London):

There were 2,229 people on board the Titanic, but the total capacity of the lifeboats was only 1,178 people. The reason was that, according to the rules in force at that time, the total capacity of lifeboats depended on the tonnage of the ship, and not on the number of passengers and crew members. And without a boat, only wearing a life jacket, it was almost impossible to survive: the temperature of the sea water was only 0.56 degrees Celsius.

In the photo: a boat picks up a passenger in a life jacket from the water. (Photo by Paul Treacy | EPA | PA):

Surviving passengers disembark from the rescue ship Carpathia, New York, April 17, 1912. (Photo by American Press Association):

Greeting survivors from the Titanic, New York. (Photo by The New York Times Photo Archives | Times Wide World):

In the photo: the family that was on board the Titanic. The daughter and mother survived, the father died. (AP Photo):

New York, April 14, 1912. People on the streets are waiting for news about the fate of the passengers of the sunken Titanic. (AP Photo):

The latest news about the number of survivors and deaths is posted on the street in New York. (Photo by The New York Times Photo Archives):

The very first articles from Ogonyok magazine, published in April 1912. This is how they found out details in Russia at a time when there was no Internet, television or even radio. It is worth noting that when the Titanic sank, in Russia it was the morning of April 2 according to the Julian calendar, and in Europe and America it was the night from 14 to 15 according to the Gregorian calendar:

Postcard of the Titanic, 1912. (Photo New York Times Archives):

A rare exhibit - ticket on the first and last voyage of the Titanic. (Photo):

The wreck of the Titanic was discovered on September 1, 1985. This was done by former US Navy Commander and Oceanology Professor Robert Dwayne Ballard. Initially, he planned to keep the coordinates of the ship's location secret so that no one could desecrate this place, which he considered a cemetery.

On the first dive, Ballard's team confirmed that the Titanic had broken in two during the dive.

In the photo: Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 3,750 meters. 1999 (Photo by P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology):

Among all the maritime disasters that occurred in peacetime, The Titanic ranks third in terms of the number of victims- 1,517 people.

Disappointing 1st place belongs to the Philippine ferry Dona Paz, which collided with an oil tanker in 1987. More than 4 thousand people died in the collision and subsequent fire.

2nd place belongs to the wooden paddle steamer Sultana, which sank on April 27, 1865 on the Mississippi River due to a steam boiler explosion and fire. More than 1,700 people died.

Starboard side of the Titanic, August 28, 2010. (Photo by Premier Exhibitions, Inc. | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution):

(Photo by Institute for Archaeological Oceanography & Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island Grad. School of Oceanography):

One of the ship's propellers lying on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by Ralph White | AP):

A 17-ton section of the Titanic's hull is raised to the surface, 1998. (Photo by RMS Titanic, Inc., via Associated Press):

The same 17-ton piece from the Titanic, July 22, 2009. (Photo by RMS Titanic, Inc., via Associated Press):

A huge number of different objects were scattered along the seabed, including parts of the ship, interior items and personal belongings of passengers. At an auction in April 2012 to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, 5,000 items were sold as a single lot.

A gold-plated pocket watch recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth Associated Press):

Money. (Photo by Stanley Leary | Associated Press):

Photos from the collection of Lilian Asplund (right), a survivor of the Titanic. She was 5 years old then. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth | Associated Press):

Binoculars, comb, dishes and a cracked lamp. (Photo by Michel Boutefeu | Getty Images, Chester Higgins Jr. | The New York Times):

Glasses. (Photo by Bebeto Matthews | Associated Press):

Chronometer from the captain's bridge. (Photo by Alastair Grant | AP):

(Photo by Chang W. Lee | The New York Times):

Spoons. (Photo by Douglas Healey | Associated Press):

Gilded handbag. (Photo by Mario Tama | Getty Images):

Some more photos of the Titanic. The bow and stern parts of the vessel were found on the ocean floor 650 meters from each other. (Photo COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution):

This is the first full image of the sunken Titanic, collected from 1,500 individual high-resolution images obtained using sonars - means of sound detection of underwater objects using acoustic radiation. View from above. (Photo COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI). (Clickable, 2400×656 px):

Starboard. When plunging into the ocean, the Titanic first hit the bottom with its bow. (Photo COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI). (Clickable, 2400×668 px):

Opened food. Side view. In addition, the best steel of the time, from which the Titanic was made, became brittle at low temperatures. (Photo COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI). (Clickable, 2400×824 px):

Opened food. View from above. (Photo COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI):

(Photo COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI). (Clickable, 2400×1516 px):

Two engines of the Titanic - the largest passenger liner in the world at the time of construction, which was considered unsinkable. (Clickable, 2400×1692 px):

Interesting fact: the last surviving passenger of the Titanic, Millvina Dean, who was 2.5 months old at the time of the sinking of the liner, died on May 31, 2009 at the age of 97 years.

Construction

Construction and equipment

Specifications

Bulkheads

The Titanic was built so that it could remain afloat if any 2 of its 16 watertight compartments, any 3 of the first 5 compartments, or all of the first 4 compartments were flooded.

The first 2 bulkheads in the bow and the last one in the stern were solid; all the rest had sealed doors that allowed the crew and passengers to move between compartments. On the flooring of the second bottom, in bulkhead “K,” there were only doors that led to the refrigerator compartment. On decks “F” and “E”, almost all bulkheads had hermetic doors connecting the rooms used by passengers; all of them could be sealed either remotely or manually, using a device located directly on the door and from the deck to which it reached bulkhead. To bolt such doors on passenger decks, a special key was required, which was available only to the chief stewards. But on G deck there were no doors in the bulkheads.

In the bulkheads “D” - “O”, directly above the second bottom in the compartments where the machines and boilers were located, there were 12 vertically closed doors; they were controlled using an electric drive from the navigation bridge. In case of danger or accident, or when the captain or watch officer considered it necessary, electromagnets, upon a signal from the bridge, released the latches, and all 12 doors were lowered under the influence of their own gravity and the space behind them was hermetically sealed. If the doors were closed by an electric signal from the bridge, then they could only be opened after removing the voltage from the electric drive.

Deck "G" covered only the bow and stern, between which the boiler rooms were located. The bow part of the deck, 58 m long, was 2 m above the waterline; towards the center of the liner it gradually lowered and at the opposite end was already at the waterline level. There were 26 cabins for 106 third-class passengers, the rest of the area was occupied by the luggage compartment for first-class passengers, the ship's mailroom and the ballroom. Behind the bow of the deck there were bunkers with coal, which occupied 6 waterproof compartments around the chimneys, followed by 2 compartments with steam lines for piston steam engines and a turbine compartment. Next came the aft deck, 64 m long, with warehouses, storerooms and 60 cabins for 186 third-class passengers, which was already below the waterline.

Masts

One was in the stern, the other in the forecastle, each was steel with a teak top. On the front, at an altitude of 29 m from the waterline, there was a top platform (“crow’s nest”), which could be reached via an internal metal ladder.

Office premises

In the front part of the boat deck there was a navigation bridge, 58 m away from the bow. On the bridge there was a pilothouse with a steering wheel and a compass, immediately behind it was a room where navigation charts were stored. To the right of the wheelhouse were the charthouse, the captain's cabin and part of the officers' cabins, to the left were the remaining officers' cabins. Behind them, behind the forward funnel, was the radiotelegraph cabin and the radio operator's cabin. At the front of Deck D there were living quarters for 108 stokers; a special spiral ladder connected this deck directly to the boiler rooms, so that stokers could go to work and return without passing by cabins or passenger lounges. At the front of E deck were living quarters for 72 stevedores and 44 sailors. In the first part of deck “F” there were quarters of 53 stokers of the third shift. On deck "G" there were quarters for 45 stokers and oilers. The RMS in the name stands for Royal Mail Ship. The ship had a post office and warehouse on decks "F" and "G", where 5 postal workers worked.

Second bottom

The second bottom was located approximately one and a half meters above the keel and occupied 9/10 of the length of the vessel, excluding only small areas in the bow and stern. On the second bottom, boilers, reciprocating steam engines, a steam turbine and electric generators were installed, all of which were firmly mounted on steel plates, the remaining space was used for cargo, coal and drinking water tanks. In the engine room section, the second bottom rose 2.1 m above the keel, which increased the protection of the liner in case of damage to the outer skin.

Power point

The Titanic's propellers before the ship's launch

The registered power of steam engines and turbines was 50 thousand liters. With. (actually 55 thousand hp). The turbine was located in the fifth waterproof compartment in the aft part of the liner, in the next compartment, closer to the bow, steam engines were located, the other 6 compartments were occupied by twenty-four double-flow and five single-flow boilers that produced steam for the main engines, turbines, generators and auxiliary mechanisms. The diameter of each boiler was 4.79 m, the length of the double-flow boiler was 6.08 m, the single-flow boiler was 3.57 m. Each double-flow boiler had 6 fireboxes, and the single-flow boiler had 3. In addition, the Titanic was equipped with four auxiliary machines with generators, each with a capacity of 400 kilowatts, producing electricity at 100 volts. Next to them were two more 30-kilowatt generators. High-pressure steam from the boilers went to 2 triple expansion steam engines, which rotated the side screws. From the machines, steam then entered a low-pressure turbine, which drove the middle propeller. From the turbine, the exhaust steam entered the condensers, from where fresh water went back to the boilers in a closed cycle. The Titanic developed a decent speed for its time, although it was inferior to the turboprops of its competitor, the Cunard Line.

Pipes

The liner had 4 pipes, the diameter of each of which was 7.3 m, height - 18.5 m. The first three removed smoke from the boiler fireboxes, the fourth, located above the turbine compartment, served as an exhaust fan, and a chimney for the ship's kitchens was connected to it . A longitudinal section of the ship is shown in its model exhibited at the Deutsches Museum Munich, where it is clearly seen that the last chimney was not connected to the fireboxes. The fourth pipe was purely cosmetic to make the ship appear more powerful.

Electricity supply

10 thousand light bulbs, 562 electric heaters, mainly in first class cabins, 153 electric motors, including electric drives for eight cranes with a total lifting capacity of 18 tons, 4 cargo winches with a lifting capacity of 750 kg, 4 elevators, each for 12 people, were connected to the distribution network. In addition, electricity was consumed by the telephone exchange and radio communications, fans in the boiler and engine rooms, apparatus in the gymnasium, dozens of machines and appliances in the kitchens, including refrigerators.

Connection

The telephone switch served 50 lines. The radio equipment on the liner was the most modern, the power of the main transmitter was 5 kilowatts, power came from an electric generator. The second, an emergency transmitter, was battery-powered. 4 antennas were stretched between the two masts, some up to 75 m long. The guaranteed range of the radio signal was 250 miles. During the day, under favorable conditions, communication was possible at a distance of up to 400 miles, and at night - up to 2000.

The radio equipment arrived on board on April 2 from the Marconi company, which by this time monopolized the radio industry in Italy and England. Two young radio officers spent the entire day assembling and installing the station, and a test connection was immediately made with the coast station at Malin Head for verification ( English), on the north coast of Ireland, and with Liverpool. On April 3, the radio equipment worked like clockwork; on this day, communication was established with the island of Tenerife at a distance of 2000 miles and with Port Said in Egypt (3000 miles). In January 1912, the Titanic was assigned the radio call sign " MUC", then they were replaced by " MGY", previously owned by the American ship "Yale". As the dominant radio company, Marconi introduced its own radio call signs, most of which began with the letter "M", regardless of its location and the home country of the ship on which it was installed.

Sailing and wrecking

Many celebrities of the time took part in the first voyage of the liner, including millionaire and major industrialist John Jacob Astor IV and his wife Madeleine Astor, businessman Benjamin Guggenheim, owner of the Macy's department store Isidor Strauss and his wife Ida, eccentric millionaire Margaret Molly Brown, who received the nickname “Unsinkable” after the death of the ship, Sir Cosma Duff Gordon and his wife, fashion designer Lady Lucy Duff Gordon, popular at the beginning of the century, businessman and cricketer John Thayer, British journalist William Thomas Steed, Countess of Rotskaya, military assistant to US President Archibald Butt , film actress Dorothy Gibson and many others.

Northern and Southern transatlantic routes. Ice conditions

A threat to shipping in the North Atlantic is represented by icebergs breaking off from glaciers in western Greenland and drifting under the influence of currents. Ice fields originating in the Arctic Basin, as well as off the coast of Labrador, Newfoundland and in the Strait of St. Lawrence, and drifting under the influence of winds and currents.

The shortest route from northern Europe to the USA lies near the coast of Newfoundland, directly through the zone of fog and icebergs. In order to streamline navigation in the North Atlantic, in 1898, shipping companies entered into an agreement establishing 2 transatlantic routes, passing much further south. For each route, separate routes were determined for steamships moving west and east, spaced up to 50 miles from each other. From mid-January to mid-August, during the season of greatest ice danger, ships moved along the Southern Route. During the rest of the year, the Northern Route was used. This order usually made it possible to minimize the likelihood of encountering drifting ice. But 1912 turned out to be unusual. From the Southern Highway, along the western route of which the Titanic also moved, reports of icebergs came one after another. In this regard, the US Hydrological Service raised the issue of moving the route to the south, but the corresponding decisions were made belatedly, after the disaster.

Chronology

• Wednesday 10 April 1912
  • 12:00 - The Titanic departs from the quay wall of the port of Southampton and narrowly avoids a collision with the American liner New York. There are 922 passengers on board the Titanic.
  • 19:00 - stop in Cherbourg (France) to take on board 274 passengers and mail.
  • 21:00 - The Titanic left Cherbourg and headed for Queenstown (Ireland).

• Sunday, April 14, 1912
  • 09:00 - "Caronia" reports ice in the area of ​​42° north latitude, 49-51° west longitude.
  • 13:42 - Baltic reports the presence of ice in the area of ​​41°51′ north latitude, 49°52′ west longitude.
  • 13:45 - "America" ​​reports ice in the area of ​​41°27′ north latitude, 50°8′ west longitude.
  • 19:00 - air temperature 43° Fahrenheit (6 °C).
  • 19:30 - air temperature 39° Fahrenheit (3.9 ° C).
  • 19:30 - Californian reports ice in the area of ​​42°3′ north latitude, 49°9′ west longitude.
  • 21:00 - air temperature 33° Fahrenheit (0.6 ° C).
  • 21:30 - Second Mate Lightoller warns the ship's carpenter and those on watch in the engine room that it is necessary to monitor the fresh water system - the water in the pipelines may freeze; he tells the lookout to watch for the appearance of ice.
  • 21:40 - Mesaba reports ice in the area of ​​42°-41°25′ north latitude, 49°-50°30′ west longitude.
  • 22:00 - air temperature 32° Fahrenheit (0 °C).
  • 22:30 - sea water temperature dropped to 31° Fahrenheit (−0.56 °C).
  • 23:00 - The Californian warns of the presence of ice, but the Titanic's radio operator interrupts the radio exchange before the Californian manages to report the coordinates of the area.
  • 23:39 - At a point with coordinates 41°46′ north latitude, 50°14′ west longitude (later it turned out that these coordinates were calculated incorrectly), an iceberg was spotted at a distance of about 650 meters straight ahead.
  • 23:40 - Despite the maneuver, after 39 seconds the underwater part of the vessel touched down, the hull received numerous small holes over a length of about 100 meters. Of the ship's 16 watertight compartments, 6 were cut through (the leak in the sixth was extremely insignificant).

Stages of the sinking of the Titanic

• Monday, April 15, 1912
  • 00:05 - The trim on the bow became noticeable. The order was given to uncover the lifeboats and call crew members and passengers to their assembly points.
  • 00:15 - the first radiotelegraph signal for help was transmitted from the Titanic.
  • 00:45 - the first flare is fired and the first lifeboat (No. 7) is launched. The bow deck goes under water.
  • 01:15 - 3rd class passengers are allowed on deck.
  • 01:40 - the last flare is fired.
  • 02:05 - the last lifeboat (collapsible lifeboat D) is lowered. The bow of the boat deck goes under water.
  • 02:08 - The Titanic shudders sharply and moves forward. A wave rolls across the deck and floods the bridge, washing passengers and crew members into the water.
  • 02:10 - the last radiotelegraph signals were transmitted.
  • 02:15 - The Titanic lifts its stern high, exposing the rudder and propellers.
  • 02:17 - the electric lights go out.
  • 02:18 - The Titanic, quickly sinking, breaks into two parts.
  • 02:20 - Titanic sank.
  • 02:29 - At a speed of about 13 miles per hour, the bow of the Titanic crashes into the ocean floor at a depth of 3,750 meters, burrowing into the sedimentary rocks of the bottom.
  • 03:30 - signal flares fired from the Carpathia are noticed from the lifeboats.
  • 04:10 - Carpathia picked up the first boat from the Titanic (boat No. 2).
  • 08:30 - Carpathia picked up the last (No. 12) boat from the Titanic.
  • 08:50 - Carpathia, taking on board 710 people who escaped from the Titanic, heads for New York.
• Thursday 18 April 1912
  • Carpathia arrives in New York

Collision

Photo of an iceberg taken by the chief steward of a German ship " Prince Adalbert"On the morning of April 16, 1912. The steward did not know about the disaster at the time, but the iceberg attracted his attention because it had a brown streak at its base, indicating that the iceberg had collided with something less than 12 hours earlier. It is assumed that this is what the Titanic collided with.

Recognizing an iceberg in the light haze, the lookout Fleet warned “there is ice in front of us” and rang the bell three times, which meant an obstacle straight ahead, after which he rushed to the telephone that connected the “crow’s nest” to the bridge. Sixth Officer Moody, who was on the bridge, responded almost instantly and heard the cry of “ice right on the nose!!!” (“ice right ahead!!!”) After politely thanking him, Moody turned to the officer of the watch, Murdoch, and repeated the warning. He rushed to the telegraph, put its handle on “stop” and shouted “starboard”, at the same time transmitting the order “full back” to the engine room, and pressed the lever that turned on the closing of the watertight doors in the bulkheads of the boiler room and the engine room.

Photo of an iceberg taken from a cable-laying ship " Mine", which was one of the first ships to discover the corpses of passengers and the wreckage of the ship. Presumably, the Titanic could have collided with this particular iceberg, since, according to the crew, “ Mines", this was the only iceberg near the disaster site.

According to the terminology of 1912, the command “starboard” meant turning the stern of the ship to the right, and the bow to the left (on Russian ships, since 1909, natural commands were already used, for example: “left rudder”). Helmsman Robert Hitchens ( English) put his weight on the handle of the steering wheel and quickly turned it counterclockwise until it stops, after which Murdoch was told, “The steering wheel is right, sir!” At that moment, the watch helmsman Alfred Oliver and Boxhall, who was in the chart room, came running to the bridge when the bell rang out in the crow’s nest. A. Oliver, in his testimony in the US Senate, however, definitely stated that upon entering the bridge he heard the command “left rudder” (corresponding to a turn to the right), and this command was carried out. According to Boxhall (British Inquiry, question 15355), Murdoch reported to Captain Smith: "I turned left and reversed, and was about to turn right to get around him, but he was too close."

It is known that the Titanic did not use binoculars for lookouts because the key to the safe with binoculars was missing. He was picked up by Second Mate Blair when the captain kicked him off the team, taking on board a crew member from Olympic. It is possible that the lack of binoculars was one of the reasons for the crash of the liner. However, the existence of binoculars became known only 95 years after the shipwreck, when one of them was exhibited at the Henry Eldridge and Sons auction house in Devizes, Wiltshire. David Blair was to become the second mate of the Titanic, for which he arrived on April 3, 1912 from Belfast to Southampton. However, the management of the White Star Line replaced him at the last moment with Henry Wild, the first mate from the similar ship Olympic, since he had experience in handling such large liners, as a result of which Blair, in his haste, forgot to hand over the key to the man who came to his place . However, many historians agree that the presence of binoculars would not have helped prevent the disaster. This is also confirmed by the fact that the lookouts in the “crow’s nest” noticed the iceberg earlier than those on the bridge, who had binoculars with them.

Titanic is sinking

Lifeboats

There were 2,224 people on board the Titanic, but the total lifeboat capacity was only 1,178. The reason was that, according to the rules in force at that time, the total capacity of lifeboats depended on the tonnage of the ship, and not on the number of passengers and crew members. The rules were drawn up in 1894, when the largest ships had a displacement of about 10,000 tons. The displacement of the Titanic was 46,328 tons.

But these boats were only partially filled. Captain Smith gave the order or instruction "women and children first." Officers interpreted this order in different ways. Second Mate Lightoller, who commanded the launch of the boats on the port side, allowed men to occupy places in the boats only if oarsmen were needed and under no other circumstances. First Officer Murdoch, who commanded the launch of the boats on the starboard side, allowed men to go down if there were no women and children. Thus, in boat number 1, only 12 of the 65 seats were occupied. In addition, at first many passengers did not want to take seats in the boats, because the Titanic, which had no external damage, seemed safer to them. The last boats were filled better because it was already obvious to the passengers that the Titanic would sink. In the very last boat, 44 of the 65 seats were occupied. But in the sixteenth boat that departed from the side, there were many empty seats; 1st class passengers were saved in it.

The crew did not even have time to lower all the boats that were on board. The twentieth boat was washed overboard when the front of the steamer went under water, and she floated upside down.

The report of the British commission on the results of the investigation into the circumstances of the sinking of the Titanic states that “if the boats had been delayed a little longer before being launched, or if the passage doors had been opened to passengers, more of them might have gotten onto the boats.” The reason for the low survival rate of 3rd class passengers can most likely be attributed to the obstacles caused by the crew to allow passengers to get onto the deck and the closing of the passage doors. People in boats, as a rule, did not save those in the water. On the contrary, they tried to sail as far as possible from the site of the wreck, fearing that their boats in the water would capsize or that they would be sucked into the crater of the sinking ship. Only 6 people were picked up alive from the water.

Failure to provide assistance by the Californian

"Californian"

Serious criticism fell on the crew of the SS Californian and personally on the ship's captain, Stanley Lord. The ship was only a few miles from the Titanic, but did not respond to its distress calls and missile signals. The Californian warned the Titanic by radio about ice accumulation, which caused the Californian to stop for the night, but the warnings were condemned by the Titanic's senior wireless operator Jack Phillips.

Evidence from the British investigation showed that at 10:10 pm, the Californian observed the lights of a ship to the south. Captain Stanley Lord and third officer S. W. Groves (who was released by Lord at 11:10 pm) later decided that it was a passenger liner. At 11:50 p.m., the officer saw the ship's lights flash as if they were turned off or turned sharply, and that a port light appeared. On Lord's orders, Morse light signals were sent to the ship between 11:30 pm and 1:00 am, but they were not received.

Captain Lord retired to his cabin at 11:00 pm to spend the night, however, Second Officer Herbert Stone, while on duty, notified Lord at 1:10 that the ship had fired 5 missiles. Lord wanted to know if these were company signals, that is, colored flashes used for identification. Stone replied that he did not know and that the missiles were white. Captain Lord instructed the crew to continue signaling the ship with a Morse lamp, and went to bed. Three more missiles were spotted at 1:50 a.m. and Stone noted that the ship looked strange in the water, as if it was tilted. At 2:15 am, Lord was notified that the ship was no longer visible. The Lord asked again if the lights were of any color and was informed that they were all white.

The Californian eventually responded. At approximately 5:30 a.m., Chief Officer George Stewart awakened wireless operator Cyril Farmstone Evans and informed him that missiles had been sighted during the night and asked him to contact the ship. He received news of the sinking of the Titanic, Captain Lord was notified and the ship set out to provide assistance. It arrived long after the Carpathia, which had already picked up the survivors.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that the ship seen by the Californian was actually the Titanic, and that the Californian could have come to its aid, so Captain Lord acted inappropriately by not doing so. However, Lord maintained his innocence for the rest of his life, and many researchers argue that the famous positions of the Titanic and Californian make it impossible that the former was the infamous "Mystery Ship", a topic that "has generated...millions of words and ... hours of heated debate,” and continues to do so [ unreputable source?] .

Composition of the dead and survivors

Almost all the women and children from the 1st and 2nd class cabins were saved. More than half of the women and children from the 3rd class cabins died because they had difficulty finding their way up through the labyrinth of narrow corridors. Almost all the men also died. The tragedy of the Paulson family claimed the lives of Alma's mother and all her four young children, for whom father Nils waited in vain in New York.

338 men (20% of all adult men) and 316 women (74% of all adult women) survived, including Violet Jessop, Dorothy Gibson, Molly Brown, Lucy Duff Gordon, Countess of Rothe and others. Of the children, 56 survived (slightly more than half of all children).

The last of the Titanic passengers, Millvina Dean, who was two and a half months old at the time of the sinking of the liner, died on May 31, 2009 at the age of 97 years. Her ashes were scattered to the wind on October 24, 2009 in the port of Southampton, where the Titanic began its only voyage.

A unique record belongs to Jessop's maid, Violet, who survived accidents on all 3 Olympic-class ships. She was working on the Olympic when it collided with the cruiser Hawk; escaped from the Titanic and subsequently survived the sinking of the Britannic by a mine during the First World War.

The death of the Titanic is one of the largest maritime disasters

Vessel	A country	Tonnage	Year	Number of victims	Cause of death
Goya		5230	, April, 4	7000 ~ 7000	Attack of the submarine L-3
Junyo-maru	Japan	5065	, September 18	5620 5620	Attack of the submarine HMS Tradewind
Toyama-maru ( English Toyama Maru)	Japan	7089	, June 29	5600 5600	Attack of the submarine USS Sturgeon
Cap Arcona		27561	, May 3	5594 5594	Air attack
Wilhelm Gustloff		25484	, January 30	9343	Attack of the submarine S-13
Armenia	USSR	5770		5000 ~ 5000	Air attack
Ryusei-maru ( English SS Ryusei Maru)	Japan	4861	, 25 February	4998 4998	Attack of the submarine USS Rasher
Dona Paz	Philippines	2602		4375 ~ 4375	Tanker collision and fire
Lancastria		16243		4000 ~4000	Air attack
General Steuben		14660		3608 3608	Attack of the submarine S-13
Tilbek		2815	, May 3	2800 ~ 2800	Air attack
Salzburg		1759		2000 ~ 2000	Attack of the submarine M-118
Titanic		52310		1514 1514	Iceberg collision
Bismarck		50900	, May 27	1995	battle with British ships
Hood, battlecruiser		41125	, May 24	1415 1415	battle with German ships
Lusitania		31550		1198 1198	Attack of submarine U-20

Among disasters that occurred outside of hostilities, the Titanic ranks third in terms of the number of victims. The sad leadership is behind the Dona Paz ferry, which collided with an oil tanker in 1987. More than 4 thousand people died in the collision and subsequent fire. Second place is held by the wooden paddle steamer Sultana, which sank on April 27, 1865 on the Mississippi River near Memphis due to a steam boiler explosion and fire. The total number of deaths on the ship exceeded 1,700 people, this is the worst disaster on river vessels.

Theories about the causes of the accident

Sheathing

On the other hand, this test only proves that modern steel is much better than what was used at the beginning of the 20th century. It does not prove that the steel used to build the Titanic was of poor quality (or not the best) for its time.

In the first years of the 21st century, a number of media outlets, with reference to the latest research of the ship's hull by deep-sea submersibles, expressed the opinion that when it collided with an iceberg, the ship was not holed, and its hull withstood the impact. The cause of death was that the hull rivets could not prevent the divergence of its sheets, and sea water began to flow into the long gap that formed.

Radio operators

The internal communication system of the liner was extremely unsatisfactory; there was no direct communication with the captain - all messages had to be reported to him orally. The reason was that a radiotelegraph station was considered a luxury, and the main task of telegraph operators was to serve especially wealthy passengers - it is known that in just 36 hours of work, radio operators transmitted more than 250 telegrams. Payment for telegraph services was made on the spot, in the radio room, and at that time it was very expensive, tips were received in large quantities.

The radio log from the Titanic did not survive, but based on the surviving recordings from various ships that had contact with the liner, it was possible to more or less restore a picture of the work of the radio operators. Reports of drifting ice and icebergs began to arrive on the morning of the fateful date - April 14, and the exact coordinates of the high-risk zone were indicated. The Titanic continued to sail further, without turning off course or slowing down. At 19:30, a telegram came from the transport ship Mesaba: “I report ice from 42 degrees to 41 degrees 25 minutes north latitude and from 49 degrees to 50 degrees 30 minutes west longitude. I saw a large number of icebergs and ice fields.” At this time, the Titanic's senior communications officer Jack Phillips was working for the benefit of passengers, transmitting an inexhaustible stream of messages to the Cape Ras station, while the most important message never reached the captain, getting lost in a heap of paper - the Mesaba radio operator forgot to mark the message as "Ice Report" with prefix MSG, which meant “personally to the captain.” This small detail overshadowed Phillips' dedication.

On the other hand, on April 14, in addition to this message, several more warnings about icebergs were received from other ships. The captain took certain measures, in particular, the officers were warned verbally and in writing about the danger, and those looking ahead were ordered to look for the presence of icebergs. Therefore, it cannot be said that Captain Smith did not know about them.

Iceberg

The news about the lack of binoculars from the lookout was received with criticism (according to many eyewitness accounts, binoculars were only on the Belfast-Southampton section; after this stop, Hogg, on the captain’s orders, for some reason put them in his cabin). There is an opinion that if you had binoculars looking ahead, despite the moonless night, you would notice the iceberg not a quarter of a mile (450 m) away, but 2 or 3 miles (4-6 km) away. On the other hand, binoculars narrow the field of view, so they are used only after after the lookout noticed something. Lookouts without binoculars spotted the iceberg before the watch officer with binoculars.

If there had been even a slight disturbance or swell in the ocean, he would have seen white caps at the “waterline” of the iceberg. As it later became known, the Titanic collided with a “black” iceberg, that is, one that had recently capsized in the water. The side facing the liner was dark blue, because of this there was no reflection (an ordinary white iceberg under such conditions could be seen a mile away).

The question of what prevented First Officer W. Murdoch from discovering the iceberg in a timely manner remains open. Captain Rostron of the Carpathia said that 75% of objects in the sea are detected from the bridge earlier than from the crow's nest. When his ship sailed at night to the site of the Titanic accident, all the icebergs on their way were noticed from the bridge before the lookouts discovered them (British investigation, questions 25431-25449).

Maneuvering

There is an opinion that if Murdoch had not given the order to reverse immediately after the command to "left rudder", the Titanic would probably have avoided the collision, since reverse negatively affects the efficiency of the steering wheel. In this case, however, the time required to execute the command is ignored. This takes at least 30 seconds and the command was probably received with a delay; - commands for the engine room along the route of the liner are rarely given (the last one was given three days before), so no one is standing at the engine telegraph. The command simply did not have time to be carried out, otherwise the Titanic would have experienced strong vibration, but no one mentions it. According to the testimony of survivors, the cars stopped and reversed after the collision, so this command had no practical significance.

There is also an opinion that the best decision would be to put only the left car in reverse. Working the propellers against each other would help speed up the turn and reduce the speed. The middle propeller was driven by a steam turbine that ran on residual steam from the onboard engines; this turbine had no reverse gear. Thus, a stopped propeller, behind which there was a single rudder of a very small area, created a turbulent flow, in which the already ineffective rudder almost completely lost its effectiveness. Perhaps even in order to avoid a collision, it would be necessary, on the contrary, to increase the speed of the middle propeller to increase the efficiency of the steering. Moreover, performing the reverse takes considerable time, and, therefore, there was practically no chance to quickly reduce the speed.

Attention should be paid to the fact that the disaster occurred on the first voyage. The navigators had no experience in operating this vessel, which explains the untimely and ineffective attempts to maneuver. At the same time, Captain Smith, First Officer Wilde, and First Officer Murdoch, who was on watch during the accident, had experience working on the Olympic, built according to a similar project. In 1903, in a critical situation, Murdoch, with his timely and decisive actions, overruled the command of his superiors, saved the Arabik steamship from a collision.

There are also suggestions that the Titanic would have remained afloat if the rudder had not been shifted and the ship would have “rammed” the iceberg, taking the blow on the stem. The design of the partitions was precisely aimed at the “survival” of the ship in a head-on collision, but the sides of the ship were not protected. “Wilding, a shipbuilder from Belfast, calculated that the bow of the ship would have been dented by 25-30 meters, but the ship would not have died. It would be instant death for those who were in the bow of the ship at that time, but the loss of inertia would be quite slow, comparable to a car traveling at that speed, whose brakes were instantly pulled all the way,” Barnaby reports. However, Murdoch is justified by the fact that he did not have the opportunity to measure the distance to the iceberg and could not know that the maneuver he had undertaken would not succeed. Therefore, one can hardly blame him for not giving a command that would obviously kill people.

Buoyancy

The liner was not designed to flood all of the first five compartments. Although such a design is possible, it is extremely expensive - the only ship built this way, the Great Eastern, was unprofitable. The unprofitability of this gigantic ship is confirmed by the fact that it was not found possible to use it for its intended purpose, and it went down in history as a cable ship used in laying the transatlantic telegraph cable. The likelihood of risk cannot be ignored either. After all, except for the Titanic, no ship suffered such damage in peacetime.

Reducing speed or avoiding an iceberg field

Despite warnings about icebergs, the captain of the Titanic did not slow down or change the route. But this was standard practice in those days. Thus, during the investigation into the circumstances of the death of the Titanic, Captain Gerard C. Affeld, who commanded 5 transatlantic ships, testified that, having received warnings about icebergs, he never changed the route and reduced speed only in case of fog or bad weather. He studied the logs of the ships entrusted to him. According to these logs, other captains, having received warnings about icebergs, also did not change their route and, as a rule, did not reduce speed. On the other hand, not everyone followed this practice: the ship closest to the Titanic, the Californian, having reached the iceberg field, stopped at its border (and gave the Titanic a warning, which was ignored).

Late reaction on the bridge

Lookout Reginald Lee testified that he spotted the iceberg from a distance of "half a mile, maybe more, maybe less." The Titanic would have covered half a mile in 80 seconds. Helmsman Hichens testified that by the time of the collision the ship had turned 2 points. Since the wheelhouse windows were completely darkened so that light would not interfere with observation from the bridge, Hichens did not see the iceberg. An experiment on the twin steamship Olympic showed that a turn of 2 points would take 37 seconds, counting from the moment the command was given. The authors of the book Report into the Loss of the SS Titanic: A Centennial Reappraisal, published on the centenary of the shipwreck, restore the timing of the accident, and put forward a version of the “lost 30 seconds” after the signal from the lookouts, who left Murdoch for then to visually detect an iceberg, assess the situation and make a decision.

Causes of the tragedy

Subjective reasons

The main subjective reason for the loss of life was the outdated rules of the British Merchant Shipping Code, which made the number of lifeboats dependent on the tonnage of the ship, and not on the number of passengers. The rules were established in 1894, when the tonnage of passenger ships did not exceed 12,952 tons, and all ships of 10,000 tons and above fell into the same category. For such ships, the rules required that the lifeboats have enough space for 962 people. The Titanic's tonnage was 46,328 tons.

The owners of the Titanic, having formally followed the instructions (and even slightly exceeded them, since the Titanic's boats had 1,178 seats, not 962), supplied the ship with an insufficient number of boats. Despite the fact that there were enough lifeboats to land 1,178 people, only 704 were saved. There were certain subjective reasons for this. For example, Second Mate Charles Lightoller, who commanded the launch of the boats on the port side, carried out Captain Smith's order “women and children first” literally: he allowed men to occupy places in the boats only if oarsmen were needed and under no other circumstances.

Based on the stories of Charles Lightoller, his granddaughter Lady Patten put forward a new version of the death of the transatlantic liner. According to the writer, the Titanic sank not because it sailed too fast, which is why it simply did not have time to avoid a collision with an iceberg. There was plenty of time to avoid the ice block, but helmsman Robert Hitchens panicked and turned the wheel in the wrong direction. The ship received a hole, due to which it eventually sank. However, passengers and crew could have been saved if the Titanic had stopped immediately after the collision. Moreover, the nearest ship was only a few miles from the liner. The manager of the company that owned the huge ship, Joseph Bruce Ismay, convinced the captain to continue sailing, fearing that the incident could cause him considerable material damage. He wanted to save the Titanic, but thought exclusively about the financial side of the matter. The rate of water entering the liner's holds increased exponentially. Water entered the housing at a rate of approximately 400 tons per minute. As a result, the ship sank in a matter of hours. Lightoller told only his family about why the liner sank. According to Patten, her relatives feared for their reputation and therefore did not want to divulge the true causes of the 1912 disaster. “My relatives died a long time ago, and I realized that I was the only one in the world who knew about the true cause of the death of the Titanic,” the writer said.

Objective reasons

The cause of the collision and death of the vessel was a combination of unfavorable factors:

• The iceberg belonged to a rare type of so-called. “black icebergs” (overturned so that their dark underwater part reaches the surface), which is why it was noticed too late.
• The night was windless and moonless, otherwise the lookouts would have noticed “lambs” around the iceberg.
• The speed of the ship was too high, due to which the iceberg hit the hull with maximum force. If the captain had ordered the ship’s speed to be reduced in advance when entering the iceberg belt, then perhaps the force of the impact on the iceberg would not have been enough to break through the Titanic’s hull.
• The failure to transmit several telegrams from neighboring ships by members of the radio room, busy sending private telegrams to wealthy passengers for money, about the dangerous proximity of icebergs to Captain Smith, which reduced his vigilance.
• The best steel of the time, from which the Titanic was made, became brittle at low temperatures. The water temperature that night was +2…+4 °C, which made the ship’s hull very vulnerable.
• The quality of the rivets that were used to connect the sheets of the ship’s side plating was poor; when an iceberg hit, the heads of the forged iron rivets, which replaced the originally provided steel ones, crumbled due to their “porosity” due to the inclusion of foreign impurities in them.
• The construction of partitions between the compartments was made with the expectation of a frontal impact, and the doors between the partitions simply could not withstand the pressure of water and broke under its pressure.

Flood depth

On September 1, 1985, an expedition led by the director of the Institute of Oceanology in Woods Hall, Massachusetts, Dr. Robert D. Ballard, discovered the site of the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 3,750 meters.

The distance between the remains of the bow and stern of the Titanic is about 600 meters.

The remains of the ship were discovered 13 miles west of the coordinates that the Titanic transmitted in its SOS signal.

In April 2012, one hundred years after the shipwreck, the ship's remains gained protection under the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. From now on, states parties to the Convention have the right to prevent the destruction, looting, sale and unauthorized distribution of objects found at the shipwreck site. They can take all necessary measures to protect the wreck and ensure proper treatment of the human remains contained therein.

Conspiracy theory

Reflection of the Titanic in art

The crash of the airliner became one of the most famous disasters in human history. To some extent, the image of the Titanic became a symbol of the death of something that seemed powerful and unsinkable, a symbol of the weakness of human technogenic civilization in front of the forces of nature. The disaster was widely reflected in art, especially mass art. The first film dedicated to the disaster - “Rescue from the Titanic” - appeared in May 1912, a month after the crash. Also in 1912, but before the disaster occurred, Morgan Robertson's book "Futility, Or the Wreck of the Titan" was published, the action of which took place on board a passenger ship " Titan", similar in description and displacement to the Titanic. In this book, the Titan succumbs to an iceberg in the fog while sailing from New York to Great Britain. As a result, a legend appeared about Morgan Robertson’s “prediction” of the Titanic disaster. This fact is reinforced by the fact that despite the book being published in 1912, it was written in 1898.

The film “Titanic”, released in 1997, was the leader in box office receipts at the global box office for 13 years ($1,845,034,188, of which $600,788,188 in the USA), but in 2010, the record for “Titanic” was broken by the film “Avatar”, released by the same director; In April 2012, on the centenary of the disaster, Cameron released his old film, but in 3D format.

Many songs by performers and groups playing in different genres were dedicated to the death of the ship. In particular, in the song of the same name by the Austrian performer Falco (1992), the Titanic is seen as a symbol of decadence, the end of an era; in the song of the Russian group “Nautilus Pompilius” from the album of the same name “Titanic” (1994), the sailing ship appears as a symbol of death and doom.

see also

• Titanic Belfast (museum)

Notes

1. About the fate of the White Star Line superliners (Retrieved April 8, 2012)
2. Did you know | RU
3. Titanic Belfast Museum

More than 100 years have passed since the terrible disaster of one of the largest liners of its time. But the world still does not know all the secrets that the huge and seemingly indestructible Titanic hides. The material will tell you how the ship sank.

Fight of giants

The 20th century was a century of technological progress. Skyscrapers, cars, cinema - everything developed at supernatural speed. The process also affected ships.

In the market in the early 1900s, there was a lot of competition for customers between two large companies. Cunard Line and White Star Line, two hostile transatlantic carriers, have been competing for the right to be the leader in their field for several years in a row. opened up interesting opportunities for companies, so over the years their ships became bigger, faster and more luxurious.

Why and how the Titanic sank still remains a mystery. There are many versions. The boldest of them is a scam. It was carried out by the above-mentioned company “Star Line”.

But he discovered the world of amazing Cunard Line liners. By their order, two extraordinary steamships “Mauritania” and “Lusitania” were built. The public was amazed by their greatness. The length is about 240 m, the width is 25 m, the height from the waterline to the boat deck is 18 m. (But after a few years, the dimensions of the Titanic exceeded these parameters). The two giant twins were launched in 1906 and 1907. They won first places in prestigious competitions and broke all speed records.

For Cunard Line's competitors, it became a matter of honor to give a worthy answer.

The fate of the troika

The White Star Line was founded in 1845. During the gold rush, she made money by flying from Britain to Australia. Throughout the years, the company competed with Cunard Line. Therefore, after the Lusitania and Mauretania were launched, Star Line engineers were tasked with creating fantastic designs that would outperform their competitors. The final decision was made in 1909. This is how the idea of ​​three Olympic class ships arose. The order was carried out by Harland and Wolfe.

This maritime organization was famous throughout the world for the quality of its ships, comfort and luxury. Speed ​​was not a priority. Several times Star Line has proven, not in word, but in deed, that it cares about its customers. So, in 1909, when two liners collided, their ship remained on the water for another two days, which proved its quality. However, misfortune befell the Olympic trio. repeatedly got into accidents. So, in 1911, it collided with the cruiser Hawk, from which it received a 14-meter hole and was repaired. Misfortune also befell the Titanic. He ended up at the bottom of the ocean in 1912. The Britannic was caught up in the First World War, where it served as a hospital, and in 1916 it was blown up by a German mine.

Miracle of the Seas

Now we can safely say that great ambitions were the reason why the Titanic sank.

The construction of the second of three Olympic-class vessels was not without casualties. 1,500 people worked on the project. The conditions were difficult. There was little concern for safety. Due to the fact that they had to work at heights, many builders lost their tempers. About 250 people were seriously injured. The wounds of eight men were non-life-threatening.

The size of the Titanic was amazing. Its length was 269 m, width 28 m, height 18 m. It could reach speeds of up to 23 knots.

On the day the liner was launched, 10,000 spectators, including VIP guests and the press, gathered on the embankment to see the unusually large ship,

The date of the first flight was tentatively announced. The voyage was scheduled for March 20, 1912. But due to the collision of the first ship in September 1911 with the cruiser Hawk, some of the workers were transferred to the Olympic. The flight was automatically rescheduled to April 10. It is from this date that the fateful history of the Titanic begins.

Fatal ticket

Its height was equivalent to an eleven-story building, and its length was four city blocks. Telephones, elevators, its own electrical grid, garden, hospital, shops - all this was placed on the ship. Luxurious halls, gourmet restaurants, a library, a swimming pool and a gym - everything was available to high society, first class passengers. Other clients lived more modestly. The most expensive tickets cost, in today's exchange rates, more than $50,000. Economical option from

The history of the Titanic is the history of different layers of society of that time. Expensive cabins were occupied by successful, famous personalities. Tickets for second class were purchased by engineers, journalists, and representatives of the clergy. The cheapest decks were for emigrants.

Boarding began at 9:30 a.m. on April 10 in London. After several scheduled stops, the liner headed for New York. A total of 2,208 people boarded.

Tragic meeting

Immediately after entering the ocean, the team realized that there were no binoculars on the ship. The key to the box in which they were kept was missing. The ship followed the safest route. It was chosen depending on the season. In the spring, the water was full of icebergs, but theoretically they could not seriously damage the liner. Nevertheless, the captain gave the order to drive the Titanic at full speed. How the ship sank, which, according to the owners, could not be sunk, was later told by passengers who were lucky enough to survive.

The first days of the voyage were quiet. But already on April 14, radio operators received repeated warnings about icebergs, which they largely ignored. In addition, by night the temperature dropped significantly. As you know, the team did without binoculars, and such a grand ship was not equipped with searchlights. Therefore, the lookout noticed the iceberg only 650 meters away. The man signaled to the bridge, where First Officer Murdock gave the order: “Turn left” and “Start reverse.” This was followed by the command: “To the right.” But the clumsy ship was slow to maneuver. The board collided with an iceberg. This is why the Titanic sank.

An unheard distress signal

The collision happened at 23:40, when almost all of the people were already asleep. On the upper deck the impact was unnoticeable. But the bottom was pretty shaken. The ice made holes in 5 sections, they instantly began to fill with water. In total, the length of the hole was 90 meters. The designer stated that with such damage the ship would last a little over an hour. The crew was preparing for an emergency evacuation. Radio operators transmitted an SOS signal.

The captain gave the order to put women and children into the boats. The team itself also wanted to survive, so strong sailors took up the oars. The rich passengers of the Titanic were the first to be saved. But there weren't enough places for everyone.

From the very beginning, the liner was not sufficiently equipped with everything necessary. At most, 1,100 people could have been saved. In the first minutes, it was completely imperceptible that the ship began to sink, so the relaxed passengers did not understand what was happening and reluctantly climbed into the half-empty boats.

The last moments of the miracle ship

When the nose of the liner tilted strongly, mass panic among passengers increased.

The third grade was left closed in its unit. Riots began, and people in horror tried to escape as best they could. The security tried to restore order and scared the crowd with pistol shots.

At that time, the steamer Californian was passing nearby, but it did not receive a signal for help from a neighboring ship. Their radio operator slept through the messages. How the Titanic sank, and at what speed it went to the bottom, only the Carpathia knew, which headed in their direction.

Despite the distress signals being sent, independent attempts to escape did not stop. Pumps pumped out water, and there was still electricity. At 2:15 a pipe fell. Then the light went out. Experts believe that the plane was torn in half because the bow took on water and sank. The stern first rose upward, and then, under the pressure of its own weight, the ship broke apart.

Cold in the abyss

The nose sank quickly. The stern also went under water within a few minutes. But at the same time, its lining, body, and furniture floated to the top. At 2:20 a.m. the great ship Titanic was completely submerged. How the ship sank is shown today in dozens of feature films and documentaries.

Some passengers tried hard to survive. Dozens jumped in vests into the black abyss. But the ocean was merciless towards man. Almost everyone froze to death. After some time, two boats returned, but only a few remained alive at the scene. An hour later, Carpathia arrived and picked up those who remained.

The captain went down with the ship. Of all those who bought tickets for the Titanic, 712 people were saved. The dead 1496 were mainly representatives of the third class, people who on this journey wanted to touch something unrealistic and desirable.

Scam of the century

Two Olympic class vessels were built according to the same design. After the first ship set sail, all its shortcomings came out. So, the management decided to add some details to the Titanic. The space for walking has been reduced and cabins have been added. A cafe was added to the restaurant. To protect passengers from bad weather, the deck was closed. As a result, an external difference appeared, although previously it could not be distinguished from the Olympic liner.

The version that the Titanic ended up under water was not accidental was made public by Robin Rardiner, an ace in matters of shipping. According to his theory, the older and battered Olympic was sent sailing.

Ship swapping

The first airliner was launched without insurance. Having survived several accidents, he became an unpleasant burden for the company. Constant repairs required enormous amounts of money. After the damage caused by the cruise, the ship was sent on vacation again. Then it was decided to replace the old ship with a new one, which was insured and very similar to the Titanic. It is known how the liner sank, but few people know that after the tragedy, the White Star Line company received round compensation.

It wasn't hard to create a disaster. Both ships were in the same place. The Olympic was given a facelift, the deck was rebuilt and a new name was added. The hole was patched with cheap steel, which weakens in icy water.

Confirmation of the theory

An important proof of the veracity of the version is indisputable facts. For example, the fact that the world's tycoons and successful, rich people abruptly and for no reason abandoned their long-awaited trip the day before. Among them was the owner of the company, John Pierpont Morgan. A total of 55 first class customers had their tickets cancelled. Also, all expensive paintings, jewelry, gold reserves and treasures were removed from the liner. The idea arises that the privileged passengers of the Titanic knew some secret.

Interestingly, Edward John Smith, who was still sailing on the Olympic, was appointed captain. He repeatedly noted that this was his last flight in his life. Those around him took the words literally, since the sailor was about to retire. Researchers believe that this was a punishment to the commander for past mistakes on the previous ship.

Many questions also arise because of the first mate William Murdoch, who ordered to turn left and engage reverse. The correct solution in such a situation would be to walk straight and squash your nose. In this case, the Titanic would not have ended up at the bottom.

Curse of the Mummy

For years there have been stories of untold treasures remaining on board. Among them is the mummy of the seer of Pharaoh Amenhotep. Even 3000 years ago, a woman predicted that her body would fall under the water and this would happen amid the cries of innocent people who died. But skeptics do not consider the prophecy to be true, although they do not exclude the possibility that the secrets of the Titanic have not yet been discovered.

There is also such a version: the disaster was planned to stop the technical progress. But this theory is even less plausible than the myth of the mummy.

The ruins lie at a depth of 3750 meters. Dozens of grandiose dives were carried out to the liner. James Cameron, the film director of the famous film, was also in the group of researchers on several occasions.

A century has passed, and the secrets of the Titanic still interest and excite humanity.