Biographies 

Where did the Titanic sink? Titanic: the history of the creation and crash of the liner

The Titanic was considered unsinkable, but on its first voyage it hit an iceberg and sank. Approximately 1,500 people died. Since then, the wreckage of the giant ship has been lying at the bottom of the North Atlantic at a depth of 3,800 m.

Scientists have managed to compile the most accurate map so far of the tragedy that happened on April 14, 1912. Some took about 130,000 photographs and recordings of sound waves. Usually the grave of the famous cruise ship is in absolute darkness.

Computer model of the wreck of the Titanic

The pictures were taken in 2010 from two remote controlled submarines. The Titanic and the seabed were filmed and measured using sound waves. Particular attention was paid to the piles of rubble. Oceanographers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US state of Massachusetts and US weather service NOAA provided support to the researchers. Now the History Channel will present the results to the public.

Pictures of an 8-by-5-kilometer section of the seabed show what happened on a night in April 100 years ago, says Paul-Henry Nargeoleth, the expedition leader. Traces on the bottom, for example, prove that the ship's stern rotated as it dived, like the back of a helicopter.

At the bottom are also five large steam boilers, a hatch, a revolving door, a piece of the ship's hull weighing 49 tons, and other items that apparently sank to the bottom on impact. Now computer simulations, which are based on photographs, should show the exact course of events during this historical disaster. Perhaps new data will be received on defects in the design of this huge ship, which was considered a marvel of technology.

Map of the wreck of the Titanic

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

Giants fight

The 20th century was the century of technological progress. Skyscrapers, cars, movies - everything developed at an uncanny pace. The process also affected the ships.

In the market in the early 1900s, there was a lot of competition for customers between the 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 larger, faster and more magnificent.

Why and how the Titanic sank is still a mystery. There are many versions. The most daring of them is a scam. It was held by the aforementioned Star Line company.

But he opened the world of amazing liners "Cunard Line". By their order, two extraordinary steamships "Mauritania" and "Lusitania" were built. The audience was amazed by their grandeur. 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 surpassed these parameters). Two twin giants were launched in 1906 and 1907. They won first places in prestigious competitions and beat all speed records.

For the competitors of "Kunard Line" 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 years of 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 Mauritania were launched, the Star Line engineers were tasked with creating fantastic designs that would surpass the offspring of competitors. The final decision was made in 1909. This is how the idea of ​​three ships of the Olympic class was born. 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" proved not by word but by deed that it cares about customers. So, in 1909, when two liners collided, their ship stood on the water for another two days, which proved its quality. However, the trio of “Olympic” misfortune befell. repeatedly got into accidents. So, in 1911, it collided with the Hawk cruiser, from which it received a 14-meter hole and went for repairs. Misfortune befell the Titanic. He found himself at the bottom of the ocean in 1912. "Britanic" found the First World War, where he played the role of a hospital, and in 1916 he 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 crashed.

The construction of the second of three Olympic-class vessels was not without casualties. 1500 people worked on the project. The conditions were not easy. There was little concern for safety. Due to the fact that they had to work at a height, many builders broke down. About 250 people were seriously injured. The wounds of eight men were incompatible with life.

The dimensions of the Titanic were astounding. 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 an unusually large ship,

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

fatal ticket

Its height was equal to an eleven-story building, and its length was four blocks of the city. Telephones, elevators, its own electrical grid, a garden, a hospital, shops - all this was placed on the ship. Luxurious halls, exquisite 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 rate, more than $50,000. Economical option from

The history of the Titanic is the history of different layers of the then society. Expensive cabins were occupied by successful, famous personalities. Tickets for the second class were bought by engineers, journalists, representatives of the clergy. The cheapest decks were for expats.

Landing began at 9:30 am on 10 April 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 they were kept in was missing. The ship followed the safest route. It was chosen according to 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 sailing were quiet. But already on April 14, radio operators received repeated warnings about icebergs, which were largely ignored. In addition, the temperature dropped significantly at night. As you know, the team did without binoculars, and such a grandiose 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 Murdoch gave the order: "Turn left" and "Reverse." This was followed by the command: "To the right." But the clumsy ship was slow to maneuver. The board collided with an iceberg. That is why the Titanic crashed.

Distress signal not heard

The collision happened at 23:40, when people were almost all asleep. On the upper deck, the impact was invisible. But the bottom was pretty shocked. Ice perforated 5 sections, they instantly began to fill with water. In general, the length of the hole was 90 meters. The designer said that with such damage, the ship would last a little more than an hour. The crew was preparing for an emergency evacuation. The radio operators broadcast an SOS signal.

The captain gave the order to put women and children in the boats. The team itself also wanted to survive, so strong sailors took oars in their hands. The wealthy passengers of the Titanic were the first to escape. But there wasn't enough room for everyone.

From the very beginning, the liner was not sufficiently equipped with everything necessary. A maximum of 1,100 people could be 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 heavily, mass panic increased among the passengers.

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

At that time, the steamship Californian was passing nearby, but she did not receive a signal for help from a neighboring vessel. Their radio operator overslept messages. How the Titanic sank, and with what speed it went to the bottom, only Carpathia knew, which headed towards them.

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

Cold in the abyss

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

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

The captain went down with the ship. 712 people were saved from all those who bought a ticket for the Titanic. Those who died in 1496 were mostly representatives of the third class, people who, on this journey, wanted to touch something unrealizable and desirable.

Scam of the century

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

The version that the Titanic was under water was not accidental, was published by Robin Rardiner, an expert in shipping matters. According to his theory, the older and battered Olympic was sent to sail.

Ship change

The first liner was launched without insurance. Having survived several accidents, he became an unpleasant burden for the company. Permanent repairs required enormous funds. After the damage inflicted on him by the cruiser, the ship was again sent on vacation. Then it was decided to replace the old ship with a new one, which was insured and very similar to the Titanic. How the liner sank is known, 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 received a cosmetic overhaul, rebuilt the deck and stuck a new name. 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 magnates and successful, rich people abruptly and for no reason abandoned the long-awaited trip the day before. Among them was the owner of the company, John Pierpont Morgan. A total of 55 first class customers canceled their tickets. 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 still sailed 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, as 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 assistant to the captain, William Murdoch, who ordered to turn to the left and turn on the reverse gear. The correct solution in such a situation would be to go straight and wrinkle your nose. In this case, the Titanic would not have ended up at the bottom.

mummy's curse

For years, stories have circulated that untold treasures were left 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 water and this would happen under the screams 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 catastrophe was planned to suspend the technical 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, has repeatedly been in the research group.

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

On the night of September 1, 1985, an American-French expedition led by oceanologist Robert Ballard discovered the Titanic steam boiler at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Soon the remains of the ship itself were discovered. Thus ended the long-term saga of the search for the sunken ship, which was carried out by several independent researchers, but for a long time was unsuccessful due to incorrect coordinates of the death of the ship, broadcast on the fateful night of 1912. The discovery of the remains of the Titanic opened a new page in its history: the answers to many controversial issues; a number of facts that were considered proven and irrefutable turned out to be erroneous.

The first intentions to find and raise the Titanic appeared immediately after the disaster. The families of several millionaires wanted to find the bodies of their dead relatives in order to properly bury them, and discussed the issue of raising the Titanic with one of the companies that specialized in underwater rescue work. But at that time there was no technical possibility to carry out such an operation. A plan was also discussed to drop charges of dynamite on the ocean floor so that some bodies would rise from the explosions to the surface, but these intentions were eventually abandoned.

Later, a number of crazy projects were developed to raise the Titanic. For example, it was proposed to fill the ship's hull with ping-pong balls or attach helium tanks to it, which would lift it to the surface. There were many other projects, mostly fantastic. In addition, before trying to raise the Titanic, it had to be found first, and this was not so simple.

One of the controversial issues in the history of the Titanic for a long time remained the coordinates broadcast along with the distress signal. They were determined by the fourth assistant captain, Joseph Boxhall, based on the coordinates that were calculated a few hours before the collision, the speed and course of the vessel. There was no time to check them in detail in that situation, and Carpathia, who came to the rescue a few hours later, successfully reached the boats, however, the first doubts about the correctness of the coordinates arose already during the investigation of 1912. At that time, the question remained open and When the first serious attempts to search for the Titanic began in the 80s, the researchers faced a problem: the Titanic was neither at the indicated coordinates, nor near them. The situation was also complicated by the local conditions of the disaster - after all, the Titanic was at a depth of almost 4 km and the search required appropriate equipment.

In the end, luck smiled at Robert Ballard, who, step by step, was preparing for the expedition for almost 13 years. After almost two months of searching, when only 5 days were left before the end of the expedition and Ballard had already begun to doubt the success of the event, some strange shadows appeared on the monitor connected to the video camera on the descent vehicle. This happened at almost one in the morning on September 1, 1985. It soon became clear that this was nothing more than the wreckage of a ship. After some time, one of the steam boilers was discovered and there was no doubt that the wreckage belonged to the Titanic. The next day, the front of the ship's hull was discovered. The lack of a stern turned out to be a big surprise: after an investigation in 1912, it was officially considered that the ship sank entirely.

Ballard's first expedition gave answers to many questions and gave the world a number of modern photographs of the Titanic, but much remained unexplained. A year later, Ballard again went to the Titanic, and this expedition already used a deep-sea descent vehicle that could deliver three people to the ocean floor. There was also a small robot that allowed research inside the vessel. This expedition clarified many questions that had remained open since 1912, and after it Ballard no longer planned to return to the Titanic. But what Ballard did not do, others did, and new expeditions soon reached the Titanic. Some of them were purely research in nature, some pursued the goal of lifting various objects from the bottom, incl. and for sale at auctions, which caused many scandals about the moral and ethical side of the issue. James Cameron also descended to the Titanic several times; not only for the filming of his 1997 film, but also for research using robotics inside the ship (see the documentary "Ghosts of the Abyss: Titanic"), which revealed a lot of new facts about the condition of the ship and its once magnificent finish.

As for the issue of raising the Titanic, it became clear after Ballard's expeditions that this operation would not only be daunting and expensive; the ship's hull has long been in such a state that it will simply crumble into pieces, if not during lifting, then on the surface.

1. Let's see how the Titanic looks now and how it looked before. The Titanic sank in the Atlantic at a depth of almost 4 km. During the dive, the ship broke into two parts, which now lie on the bottom about six hundred meters apart. A lot of debris and objects are scattered around them, incl. and a pretty big piece of the Titanic's hull.

2. Model of the bow. When the ship fell to the bottom, the nose was very well buried in the silt, which greatly disappointed the first researchers, because it turned out to be impossible to inspect the place of impact on the iceberg without special equipment. The ragged hole in the body, which is visible on the layout, was formed from hitting the bottom.

3. Panorama of the bow, assembled from several hundred photographs. From right to left: the winch of the spare anchor sticks out directly above the edge of the bow, behind it there is a mooring device, immediately behind it is an open hatch into hold No. 1, from which the breakwater lines diverge to the sides. A fallen mast lies on the deck between the superstructure, under it there are two more hatches into the holds and winches for handling cargo. In front of the main superstructure, there used to be a captain's bridge, which collapsed during the fall to the bottom and is now guessed now only in separate details. Behind the bridge, a superstructure with cabins for officers, a captain, a radio room, etc., has been preserved, which is crossed by a crack formed at the site of the expansion joint. A gaping hole in the superstructure - a place for the first chimney. Immediately behind the superstructure, another hole is visible - this is a well in which the main staircase was located. To the left is something very torn - there was a second pipe.

4. The nose of the Titanic. The most button accordion object of underwater photographs of the ship. At the end, you can see a loop on which a cable was put on that held the mast.

5. The photo on the left shows the winch of the spare anchor towering over the bow.

6. The main anchor of the port side. It's amazing how he didn't fly down when he hit the bottom.

7. Spare anchor:

8. Behind the spare anchor is a mooring device:

9. Open hatch to hold No. 1. The lid flew off to the side, apparently when it hit the bottom.

10. There used to be the remains of a "crow's nest" on the mast, where the lookouts were, but ten or twenty years ago they fell off and now only a hole in the mast reminds of the "crow's nest", through which the lookouts got to the spiral staircase. The protruding tail behind the hole is the fastening of the ship's bell.

11. Board of the vessel:

12. Only one of the steering wheels remained from the captain's bridge.

13. Boat deck. The superstructure on it in some places is either uprooted or torn.

14. The preserved part of the superstructure in front of the deck. Below on the right is the entrance to the front staircase of the 1st class.

15. Surviving davits, a bath in Captain Smith's cabin and the remains of a steamship whistle that was installed on one of the pipes.

16. A huge well now gapes in place of the front staircase. There are no traces of the stairs.

17. Staircase in 1912:

18. And the same perspective in our time. Looking at the previous photo, it's hard to believe that this is the same place.

19. Behind the stairs there were several elevators for 1st class passengers. Separate elements have been preserved from them. The inscription, depicted at the bottom right, was placed opposite the elevators and denoted the deck. This inscription belonged to deck A; the bronze letter A has already fallen off, but traces of it remain.

20. 1st class lounge on deck D. This is the bottom of the main staircase.

21. Although almost all the wooden trim of the ship has long been eaten away by microorganisms, some elements are still preserved here.

22. The restaurant and the 1st class lounge on deck D were separated from the outside world by large stained glass windows that have survived to this day.

23. Remains of former beauty:

24. From the outside, the windows are guessed by the characteristic double portholes.

25. Chic chandeliers have been hanging in their places for over 100 years.

26. The once-splendid interiors of 1st class cabins are now littered with debris and debris. In some places you can find preserved elements of furniture and objects.

27.

28.

29. Some more details. The door to the restaurant on deck D and a sign indicating service doors:

30. The stokers had their own "front staircase". In order not to meet passengers, a separate staircase led from the boiler rooms to the cabins of the stokers.

31. Hundreds of items are scattered across the ocean floor, ranging from ship parts to personal belongings of passengers.

32. Some pairs of shoes lie in a very characteristic position: for some, this place has become a grave.

33. In addition to personal belongings and items, large parts of the plating are also scattered along the bottom, which they also repeatedly tried to raise to the surface.

34. If the bow was preserved in a more or less decent condition, then the aft part, after falling down, became a shapeless pile of metal. Starboard:

35. Left side:

36. Feed:

37. On the promenade deck of the 3rd class, individual details of the vessel are hardly guessed.

38. One of the three huge screws:

39. After the ship broke into two parts, even steam boilers spilled to the bottom.

40. The engine room was just at the fault point, and now these giants, the height of a three-story house, are available to the gaze of researchers. Piston device:

41. Both steam engines together:

42. Drydock in Belfast, where the final painting of the ship's hull was carried out, still exists in the form of a museum exhibit.

43. And this is how the Titanic would have looked against the background of the largest passenger liner of our time, Allure of the Seas, commissioned in 2010:

Comparison in numbers:
- The displacement of "Allure of the Seas" is 4 times greater than that of the "Titanic";
- The length of the modern liner is 360 m (100 m more than the Titanic);
- The greatest width is 60 m against 28 for the Titanic;
- Draft is approximately the same (about 10 m);
- The speed is also almost the same (22-23 knots);
- The number of the team - 2.1 thousand people (there were up to 900 on the Titanic, many of whom were stokers);
- Passenger capacity - up to 6.4 thousand people (up to 2.5 thousand on the Titanic).


The Titanic is a British steamship operated by the White Star Line, one of three Olympic-class twin ships. The largest passenger liner in the world at the time of its construction. During the first voyage on April 14, 1912, she collided with an iceberg and sank after 2 hours and 40 minutes. There were 1,316 passengers and 892 crew members on board, for a total of 2,208 people. Of these, 704 people survived, more than 1,500 died. The Titanic disaster became legendary and was one of the largest shipwrecks in history. Several feature films have been shot on its plot.

Statistics

General information:

  • Port of registry - Liverpool.
  • Board number - 401.
  • The call sign is MGY.
  • Ship dimensions:
  • Length - 259.83 meters.
  • Width - 28.19 meters.
  • Weight - 46328 tons.
  • Displacement - 52310 tons.
  • The height from the waterline to the boat deck is 19 meters.
  • From the keel to the top of the pipe - 55 meters.
  • Draft - 10.54 meters.

Technical data:

  • Steam boilers - 29.
  • Waterproof compartments - 16.
  • Maximum speed - 23 knots.

Rescue equipment:

  • Standard boats - 14 (65 places).
  • Collapsible boats - 4 (47 seats).

Passengers:

  • I class: 180 men and 145 women (including 6 children).
  • II class: 179 men and 106 women (including 24 children).
  • III class: 510 men and 196 women (including 79 children).

Team members:

  • Officers - 8 people (including the captain).
  • Deck crew - 66 people.
  • Engine room - 325 people.
  • Service staff - 494 people (including 23 women).
  • In total, there were 2201 people on board.

officers

  • Captain - Edward J. Smith
  • Chief Officer – Henry F. Wild
  • First Mate – William M. Murdoch
  • Second Officer – Charles G. Lightoller
  • Third Mate - Herbert J. Pitman
  • Fourth Mate – Joseph G. Boxhall
  • Fifth Mate – Harold P. Lowe
  • 6th Mate – James P. Moody
Building
It was laid down on March 31, 1909 at the shipyards of the Harland and Wolf shipbuilding company in Queens Island (Belfast, Northern Ireland), launched on May 31, 1911, and passed sea trials on April 2, 1912.

Specifications
height from the keel to the tops of the pipes - 53.3 m;
engine room - 29 boilers, 159 coal furnaces;
The unsinkability of the ship was ensured by 15 watertight bulkheads in the hold, creating 16 conditionally "watertight" compartments; the space between the bottom and the flooring of the second bottom was divided by transverse and longitudinal partitions into 46 watertight compartments.

Bulkheads
Watertight bulkheads, marked from bow to stern with the letters "A" to "P", rose from the second bottom and passed through 4 or 5 decks: the first two and the last five reached deck "D", eight bulkheads in the center of the liner reached only the deck "E". All bulkheads were so strong that they had to withstand significant pressure when getting a hole.
The Titanic was built to stay afloat if any two of its 16 watertight compartments, any three of the first five compartments, or all of the first four compartments were flooded.
The first two bulkheads in the bow and the last 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 the bulkhead "K", there were the only doors that led to the cooling chamber. On decks "F" and "E" in almost all bulkheads there were airtight doors connecting the rooms used by passengers, all of them could be battened down both remotely and manually, using a device located directly on the door and from the deck to which it reached bulkhead. To batten down such doors on the passenger decks, a special key was required, which was available only to the senior stewards. But on deck "G" 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 closing doors, they were controlled by an electric drive from the navigation bridge. In case of danger or accident, or when the captain or watch officer deemed it necessary, electromagnets released the latches on a signal from the bridge and all 12 doors fell under their own gravity and the space behind them turned out to be hermetically closed. If the doors were closed by an electric signal from the bridge, then it was possible to open them only after removing the voltage from the electric drive.
In the ceiling of each compartment was a spare hatch, usually leading to the boat deck. Those who did not have time to leave the room before the doors closed could climb its iron ladder.

boats
In formal accordance with the current requirements of the British Merchant Shipping Code, the ship had 20 lifeboats, which were enough to board 1178 people, that is, for 50% of the people on board at that moment and 30% of the planned load. This was taken into account with the expectation of increasing the walking space on the deck of the passengers of the ship.

Decks
On the Titanic there were 8 steel decks located one above the other at a distance of 2.5-3.2 m. The uppermost one was a boat deck, under it there were seven others, indicated from top to bottom with letters from “A” to “G”. Only decks "C", "D", "E" and "F" stretched along the entire length of the vessel. The boat deck and the "A" deck did not reach either the bow or the stern, and the "G" deck was located only in the front of the liner - from the boiler rooms to the bow and in the aft - from the engine room to the stern cut. On the open boat deck there were 20 lifeboats, along the sides there were promenade decks.
Deck "A" with a length of 150 m was almost entirely intended for first-class passengers. Deck "B" was interrupted at the bow, forming an open space above deck "C", and then continued in the form of a 37-meter bow superstructure with anchor handling equipment and a mooring device. In front of deck "C" there were anchor winches for the two main side anchors, there was also a galley and a dining room for sailors and stokers. Behind the bow superstructure there was a promenade (the so-called inter-superstructure) deck for third-class passengers 15 m long. On deck “D” there was another, isolated, third-class promenade deck. Along the entire length of deck "E" were the cabins of passengers of the first and second classes, as well as the cabins of the stewards and mechanics. In the first part of deck "F" there were 64 second-class cabins and the main living quarters of third-class passengers, stretching for 45 m and occupying the entire width of the liner.
There were two large salons, a dining room for third-class passengers, ship's laundries, a swimming pool and Turkish baths. Deck "G" captured only the bow and stern, between which the boiler rooms were located. The forward part of the deck, 58 m long, was 2 m above the waterline, gradually lowered towards the center of the liner and at the opposite end was already at the level of the waterline. 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 mail and the ball room. Behind the bow of the deck there were coal bunkers, which occupied 6 watertight compartments around the chimneys, followed by 2 compartments with steam pipes for reciprocating steam engines and a turbine compartment. This was followed by the aft part of the deck 64 m long with warehouses, pantries and 60 cabins for 186 third-class passengers, which was already below the waterline.

Masts
One was aft, the other was on the forecastle, each was steel with a teak top. On the front, at a height of 29 m from the waterline, there was a mars platform (“crow's nest”), which could be reached by an internal metal ladder.

Service premises
In front of the boat deck there was a navigation bridge, 58 m away from the bow. On the bridge there was a wheelhouse 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 navigational cabin, the captain's cabin and part of the officers' cabins, to the left - the rest of the officers' cabins. Behind them, behind the front funnel, was the cabin of the radiotelegraph and the cabin of the radio operator. In 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 the stokers could leave for work and return without passing by the cabins or saloons for passengers. In front of deck "E" there were living quarters for 72 loaders and 44 sailors. In the first part of the "F" deck there were quarters of 53 stokers of the third shift. Deck G contained quarters for 45 stokers and oilers.

Size comparison of the Titanic with the modern cruise ship Queen Mary 2, A-380 aircraft, bus, car and person

Second bottom
The second bottom was located about one and a half meters above the keel and occupied 9/10 of the ship's length, not capturing only small areas in the bow and stern. On the second day, boilers, reciprocating steam engines, a steam turbine and electric generators were installed, all firmly fixed 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 registered power of steam engines and turbines was 50 thousand liters. with. (actually 55 thousand hp). The turbine was located in the fifth watertight compartment in the stern 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 machines, 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 a current of 100 volts. Next to them were two more 30-kilowatt generators.

Pipes
The liner had 4 tubes. The diameter of each was 7.3 m, height - 18.5 m. The first three removed smoke from the boiler furnaces, the fourth, located above the turbine compartment, served as an exhaust fan, a chimney for ship kitchens was connected to it. A longitudinal section of the vessel is presented on its model exhibited at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, where it is clearly seen that the last pipe was not connected to the fireboxes. There is an opinion that when designing the vessel, the widespread opinion of the public was taken into account that the solidity and reliability of the vessel directly depends on the number of its pipes. It also follows from the literature that in the last moments of the ship leaving the water almost vertically, its fake pipe fell off its place and, falling into the water, killed a large number of passengers and crew members in the water.

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

Connection
The telephone exchange serviced 50 lines. The radio equipment on the liner was the most modern, the power of the main transmitter was 5 kilowatts, the power came from an electric generator. The second, an emergency transmitter, was powered by batteries. 4 antennas were strung between the two masts, some up to 75 m high. 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.
Radio equipment came on board on April 2 from Marconi, which by that time had monopolized the radio industry in Italy and England. Two young radio officer officers assembled and installed the station all day, for verification, a test connection was immediately made with the coast station at Malin Head, on the north coast of Ireland, and with Liverpool. On April 3, the radio equipment worked like clockwork, on this day a connection 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 radio call signs "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 country of home of the vessel on which it was installed.

clash

The iceberg believed to have hit the Titanic

Recognizing an iceberg in a light haze, the forward looking Fleet warned “there is ice in front of us” and struck the bell three times, which meant an obstacle straight ahead, after which he rushed to the telephone connecting the “crow’s nest” with the bridge. Moody's sixth mate, who was on the bridge, responded almost immediately and heard a cry of "ice right ahead". With a polite thank you, Moody turned to the officer of the watch, Murdoch, and repeated the warning. He rushed to the telegraph, put his handle on "stop" and shouted "rudder right", at the same time transmitting the order "full back" to the engine room. According to the terminology of 1912, "rudder right" meant turning the ship's stern to the right, and the bow to the left. The steersman, Robert Hitchens, leaned on the handle of the steering wheel and quickly turned it counterclockwise to the stop, after which Murdoch was told "rudder to the right, sir." At that moment, Alfred Oliver, the helmsman of the watch, and Boxhall, who was in the chart house, came running to the bridge when the bells rang out in the "crow's nest". Murdoch pulled the lever, which included the closing of watertight doors in the bulkheads of the boiler rooms and the engine room, and immediately gave the order "left rudder!"

lifeboats
There were 2,208 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 then in force, 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 even these boats were only partially filled. Captain Smith gave the order or instruction "women and children first". The officers interpreted this order in different ways. Second mate Lightoller, who commanded the launching of the boats on the port side, allowed the men to take places in the boats only if rowers were needed and under no other circumstances. First mate Murdoch, who commanded the launch of the boats on the starboard side, allowed the men to go down if there were no women and children. So, in boat number 1, only 12 seats out of 40 were occupied. In addition, at first, many passengers did not want to take seats in boats, because the Titanic, which had no external damage, seemed safer to them. The last boats filled better, because it was already obvious to the passengers that the Titanic would sink. In the very last boat, 44 seats out of 47 were occupied. But in the sixteenth boat that left the side there were many empty seats, passengers of the 1st class were saved in it.
As a result of the analysis of the operation to rescue people from the Titanic, it is concluded that with adequate actions by the team of victims, there would have been at least 553 fewer people. The reason for the low survival rate of passengers on the ship is the installation given by the captain to save, first of all, women and children, and not all passengers; the interest of the crew in this order of boarding the boats. By preventing male passengers from accessing the boats, the men from the crew got the opportunity to take places in the half-empty boats themselves, covering their interests with the “noble motives” of caring for women and children. In the event that all passengers, men and women, took their places in the boats, the men from the crew would not get into them and their chances of salvation would be equal to zero, and the crew could not help but understand this. The men from the crew occupied part of the seats in almost all boats during the evacuation from the ship, on average 10 people from the crew per 1 boat. 24% of the crew were saved, about the same as 3rd class passengers were saved (25%). The team had no reason to consider their duty fulfilled - most of the passengers remained on the ship with no hope of salvation, even the order to save women and children in the first place was not fulfilled (several dozen children, and more than a hundred women never got into the boats).
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 launching, or if the doors of the passage had been opened for passengers, more of them could have got on the boats." The reason for the low survival rate of class 3 passengers with a high degree of probability can be considered obstacles placed by the crew for the passage of passengers to the deck, closing the doors of the passage. Comparison of the results of the evacuation from the Titanic with the results of the evacuation from the Lusitania (1915) shows that the evacuation operation on ships like the Titanic and Lusitania can be organized without a disproportion in the percentage of survivors depending on the sex or class of passengers.
People in boats, as a rule, did not save those who were in the water. On the contrary, they tried to sail as far as possible from the wreck, fearing that those in the water would capsize their boats or be sucked into the funnel from a sinking ship. Only 6 people were picked up alive from the water.

Official data on the number of dead and rescued
Category Percentage rescued Percentage of dead Number of rescued Number of dead How much was
Children, first grade 100.0 00.0 6 0 6
Children, second grade 100.0 00.0 24 0 24
Women, first class 97.22 02.78 140 4 144
Women, crew 86.96 13.04 20 3 23
Women, second class 86.02 13.98 80 13 93
Women third grade 46.06 53.94 76 89 165
Children, third grade 34.18 65.82 27 52 79
Men, first class 32.57 67.43 57 118 175
men, crew 21.69 78.31 192 693 885
Men, third grade 16.23 83.77 75 387 462
Men, second class 8.33 91.67 14 154 168
Total 31.97 68.03 711 1513 2224

The path of the Titanic and the place of its crash.

Chronology
The path of the Titanic and the place of its crash.

April 10, 1912
- 12:00 - "Titanic" departs from the quay wall of the Southampton port and narrowly avoids a collision with the American liner "New York".
-19:00 stop in Cherbourg (France) to pick up passengers and mail.
-21:00 - The Titanic left Cherbourg and headed for Queenstown (Ireland).

April 11, 1912
-12:30 - stop in Queenstown to pick up passengers and mail; one member of the crew deserts from the Titanic.
-14:00 - The Titanic departs Queenstown with 1,316 passengers and 891 crew members on board.

April 14, 1912
-09:00 - "Caronia" reports ice in the region of 42 ° north latitude, 49-51 ° west longitude.
-13:42 - "Baltik" reports the presence of ice in the area of ​​41°51' north latitude, 49°52' west longitude.
-13:45 - "America" ​​reports ice in the region of 41°27'N, 50°8'W.
-19:00 - air temperature 43 ° Fahrenheit (6 ° C).
-19:30 - air temperature 39 ° Fahrenheit (3.9 ° C).
-19:30 - Californian reports ice at 42°3'N, 49°9'W.
-21:00 - air temperature 33 ° Fahrenheit (0.6 ° C).
-21:30 - the second officer of the captain Lightoller warns the ship's carpenter and watchmen 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 the appearance of ice.
-21:40 - "Mesaba" reports ice in the region of 42°-41°25' north latitude, 49°-50°30' west longitude.
-22:00 - Air temperature 32° Fahrenheit (0 °C).
-22:30 - the 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 cuts off the radio traffic before the Californian manages to report the coordinates of the area.
-23:40 - 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 noticed at a distance of about 450 meters straight ahead. Despite the maneuver, after 39 seconds, the underwater part of the ship touched, and the ship's hull received numerous small holes for a length of about 100 meters. Of the 16 watertight compartments of the vessel, 6 were cut through (in the sixth, the leak was extremely insignificant).
April 15, 1912
-00:05 - an order was given to uncover the lifeboats and convene crew members and passengers to the muster points.
-00:15 - the first radiotelegraph signal for help was transmitted from the Titanic.
-00:45 - the first flare was fired, and the first lifeboat (No. 7) was launched.
-01:15 - Class 3 passengers are allowed on deck.
-01:40 - the last flare was fired.
-02:05 - the last lifeboat is launched.
-02:10 - the last radiotelegraph signals were transmitted.
-02:17 - Electric lighting goes out.
-02:18 - "Titanic" breaks into three parts
-02:20 - Titanic sank.
-03:30 - flares fired from the Carpathia are noticed in lifeboats.
-04:10 - "Carpathia" picked up the first lifeboat from the "Titanic" (boat number 2).

Lifeboat "Titanic", filmed by one of the passengers of the "Carpathia"

-08:30 - Carpathia picked up the last (No. 12) lifeboat from the Titanic.
-08:50 - Carpathia, taking on board 704 people who escaped from the Titanic, heads for New York.

Many have seen a film about the catastrophe of the largest liner in the history of mankind, the Titanic. They know, for example, in which ocean the Titanic sank, and also that the cause of its death was a collision with an iceberg, but, unfortunately, not everyone is well aware of the history of this disaster, as well as the true causes of the shipwreck.

This ship was indeed a marvel of the time, built by the English company White StarLine. In height, it was about the size of an eleven-story high-rise building, and in length - like three large blocks. The ship was equipped with 8 decks and had 16 watertight compartments, which ensured a high level of safety for this liner.

Despite such a powerful and sturdy design, the Titanic sank on its first voyage. There are still many discussions around the death of this giant of shipbuilding and many questions arise related to its disaster. For example, how and why the ship went to the bottom, in what year the Titanic sank, etc.

In what year did the Titanic sink, the first test and access to the ocean

Let's try to figure it out in order with all the nuances and reveal all the secrets of the death of this giant ship. So, the Titanic set off on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. Before that, in 1911, the liner was first released into the waters of the oceans for a test voyage. The ship was on this test cruise until April 1912, when it arrived in the English port of Southampton, and on April 10 of the same year, the Titanic set off on its first and, unfortunately, last voyage. Five days later, on the night of April 14-15, the ship collided with an iceberg, as a result of which it sank in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Of all the passengers on board, more than 1,500 people died.

Secrets and mysteries of the Titanic disaster

The commission that investigated the death of this ship was unequivocal in its conclusions and placed all responsibility on the captain of the ship, Smith. He was accused of moving too fast at night on the ice field, although he was warned of the danger. But there are many other mysteries and mysteries in this story.

So, in 1985, a group of oceanographers led by Robert Ballard managed to raise a lot of debris from the ship from the bottom and examine them in detail. As a result, scientists made a sensational discovery. It turns out that the structure of the ship was made of low grade steel, which caused the ship's bottom to split.

And there was also a hypothesis that the Titanic broke up even before it collided with the iceberg. Low-quality steel could not withstand such loads and cracked. After carefully examining the metal from which the rods and rivets were made in the structure of the ship, scientists found a high level of scale concentration in it. It makes the steel very brittle, which can subsequently lead to its rapid destruction. As proof of the validity of this version is the fact that the creators of the Titanic planned to complete its construction as soon as possible. This haste was the second reason for the death of the ship.

Scientists believe that if high-quality steel was used as the material for the manufacture of rods and rivets, which play a major role in the safety of the vessel, then perhaps the disaster could have been avoided.

Of course, in the crash of the Titanic, in addition to the use of low-quality material, other factors also played a role:

  • ignoring the ice danger at night by the captain's staff;
  • negligent attitude of the ship's crew to their duties (after all, the entire captain's staff was warned that there was an iceberg ahead);
  • inconsistency of seats in lifeboats - for example, out of more than 2 thousand passengers, only about 700 were landed on boats, the rest went under water. But also in confirmation of this there is the fact that these boats were originally designed only for 1178 people, and according to various sources, there were more than 2 thousand people on board.

findings

As you can see, despite the fact that the Titanic was one of the largest liners of that time and was equipped in accordance with all safety rules, the slightest neglect of simple rules, the negligent attitude of the captains to their duties and the haste in the process of building this ship led to its collapse during the first exit to the open ocean. Until 1985, not all the facts were known about this terrible disaster. People knew in which ocean the Titanic sank, how many people died approximately, and also that the ship was wrecked as a result of a collision with an iceberg. But after the research, a team of scientists led by Ballard managed to reveal many new details about the true cause of the disaster of this ship.