By MLBaron Correspondent
As we recognize the 101st anniversary of the sinking of RMS TITANIC, the fascination of that disaster still persists. I have been researching RMS TITANIC for years and have an extensive library on the ship. I went to the extent in 1997 to build a couple of six foot models of the hull and simulate the sinking in my kids swimming pool. I punctured small holes on the starboard bow and along side. As the water came in and filled up one compartment to another and eventually spill over above E deck to the fifth - the ship was doomed. My models broke in half and sank according to theories right by the book.
Titanic could handle 4 compartments flooded but not 5. The 882 ft ship was destined to go to the bottom in two and half hours. On April 14, 1912 flare signal colors had certain meaning. But in a frenzy the crew fired up white flares which meant “keep clear we are maneuvering” to any possible nearby ships. The California just 50 miles away saw the flares but stayed at anchor because of the severe ice flows. Even if the ship proceeded to the scene it couldn’t have maneuvered through the icebergs at full speed and it’s arrival would have been too late anyway. A series of apparent mistakes before the disaster contributed to the ships inevitable fate. The weather was clear and the sea flat calm. The lookout in the crows nest 90ft up couldn’t see any breaking waves on the iceberg they were approaching. Another suggestion indicates the iceberg wasn’t white because it may have flipped over at one time and was opaque and dark green in color making it even more invisible in the calm night sky. Numerous iceberg warnings received by the Marconi Morse Code radio crew on board went virtually ignored. The ship steamed on at full speed at 23 knots.
Some facts about RMS TITANIC
Although the ship was built by 11,000 workers in Belfast by The White Star Line, it was actually an American owned vessel along with its two other sister ships. The Brittanic and Olympic which were built side by side. The project started in 1909. All White Star Line ships had names that ended in IC. Example Brittanic, Gigantic, Baltic, Celtic, Olympic. The competing liner Cunard had their ships names in IA. As Lusitania, and Mauritania. The morse code SOS was used for the first time when the ship sent out a distress signal. Contrary to popular belief SOS didn’t mean “Save Our Ship” It was actually a discernable signal that was easily recognizable by morse code operators. Phonetically the Morse Code beeps sounded like this: DIT DIT DIT DA DA DA DIT DIT DIT. The original distress signal was CQD.After sighting the iceberg a mile away - the ships rudder was too small for its size to steer away at this distance. There were three propellers but only two went into reverse by the huge reciprocating engines. When they engaged in reverse the steering became useless.
The collision was inevitable.The families of the band members that played on deck right to the end received bills for their uniforms from The White Star Line a few months later after the sinking.Although the 1 inch thick iron hull was considered “battleship quality” steel it had a flaw of high sulphur content called “****” which made it and the rivets very fragile in icy waters. Recent deep water expeditions revealed there wasn’t a gash along the hull when it struck the iceberg from previous theories. The iceberg scraped along side and popped the rivets over 300 feet separating the hull plates and allowed thousands of tons of water to pour in.There was discussion with Captain E. J. Smith at the time of the sinking to open all the bulk head water tight doors from bow to stern and flood all the compartments evenly to stabilize the ship and slow it’s list from the bow. Scientific tests of hull models of the ship decades later proved that this procedure could have capsized the ship creating a greater disaster. Most of the 1503 passengers and crew that died did not drown, but succumbed to hypothermia in the 28 degree icy water in their life jackets within about 4 minutes. Only 680 passengers survived on the ships lifeboats and were later rescued by The Carpathia several hours later.
Upon arrival to New York the lifeboats, the last remains of Titanic were tied up first at the dock before the rescued passengers departed.It is estimated that the decent of the sinking 50,000 ton ship may have reached up to 40 miles MPH as it plunged two and a half miles down and buried most of the hull 60feet deep into the sediment of the ocean floor.The RMS initials before the name TITANIC stand for Royal Mail Steamer. For more information on The RMS Titanic visit the Marine Museum in Fall River. This is must see for Titanic buffs where they have the largest model of Titanic on display in the world. It was used in the classic movie of Titanic ”A Night To Remember” 1958. For more info visit this link to the museum: http://www.marinemuseum.org/home.html
I touched a salvaged 25 ton hull section of TITANIC at The World Trade Center in Boston 13 years ago at The Titanic Exhibition where salvaged items from the wreck were displayed. The portholes were still in place and it was an eerie sight. They had an opaque green film and you couldn’t see through. One can just imagine who was the last passenger to peer through them. The iron remains of RMS Titanic are deteriorating and soon will be just an orange rust stain on the ocean floor in decades to come. For more information on future Titanic exhibits and artifact display visit:http://www.titanictix.com/ Illustration / Engraving photo by MLBaron
