At a dinner party at William J. Pirrie's London mansion in 1907, J. Bruce
Ismay (son of Thomas Ismay who was now managing director for the White Star Line)
discussed the construction of two huge ships to compete with luxury, size and speed of
rival lines
On July 31, a contract letter was signed for the construction in Belfast for the Olympic
and Titanic. The R.M.S. Titanic was to be 882ft 9in long, 94 feet wide, and 100 feet high
to bridge level. The final cost of the Titanic was $75,000,000. On March 31, the keel was
laid down at Harland and Wolff's shipyard. On May 31, 1911, the Titanic's hull was
successfully launched. The event was witnessed by more than 100,000 people (at the time
she was the largest man made object ever moved. After the launching, the ship was towed by
tugs to a fitting-out basin.
In October, White Star officially announced the date of her maiden voyage in the London
Times as April 12, 1912. Later, the Titanic was successfully dry-docked at Belfast's
Thompson Graving Dock. While at Thompson, she was fitted out with 46,000 horse power
engines, 29 huge boilers, 159 furnaces, and four funnels rising 73 feet above the boat
deck. Her final weight was a whopping 46,329 gross tons with a water displacement of
522,250 tons.
On April 2, she had her sea trials where she was tested for speed and durability. Titanic
successfully passed the test on the same day. On April 8, fresh food supplies were taken
aboard while her designers pranced about the ship making final inspections. All seemed
"A-Okay" for the maiden voyage.
~April 10, 1912 - Sailing Day~
Captain Edward J. Smith boards the Titanic at 7:30 in the morning with a full crew.The
captain then receives the sailing report from chief officer Wilde and a half an hour
later, part of the crew perform a brief lifeboat drill using starboard lifeboats 11 and
15. The second and third class passengers board the ship between 9:30 and 11:00. After
they had all boarded, the first class passengers started
boarding and were being escorted to their cabins
It’s now noon and the Titanic is cast off from dry dock by tugs. During down stream
passage, the water displacement by the Titanic's movement cause six mooring ropes on the
R.M.S. New York to break and her stern swings toward the Titanic. Quick action narrowly
averts a collision by only four feet - departure is delayed for an hour.
An hour later and the Titanic resumes a 24 mile trip downstream to the English Channel on
her way to Cherbourg, France. At 5:30 p.m. she arrives at Cherbourg, France and the
passengers board. Anchor is raised (at 8:10) and the Titanic leaves for Queenstown,
Ireland taking her through
the English Channel.
~April 11~
The Titanic arrives in Queenstown Harbor about two miles from land at 11:30 in the
morning. Seven passengers disembark as one hundred and thirteen Third class and seven
Second class passengers board from 2 ferry tenders with 1385 bags of mail. The anchor is
raised for the last time at 1:30 p.m., and the Titanic departs on her first and final
transatlantic crossing. The Titanic covers 386 miles in fine, calm, clear weather.
~April 12 - 13~
The Titanic covers 519 miles in fine, calm, clear, weather conditions. Various ice
warnings are received which is nothing uncommon for April crossings.
~April 14~
Sunday at 9:00 a.m, the Titanic picks up a wireless message from the S.S. Caronia warning
the Titanic of a field of ice at 42`N from 49` to 51`W. Soon after being sent, the
Caronia's message is received by Captain Smith. It reads as follows:
Captain, Titanic
West-bound steamer reports bergs growers and field of ice 42°N from
49° to 51°W
Compliments-Barr
At 10:30 in the morning, passengers from all classes gathered in the First-Class Dining
room for Divine Services. Captain Smith led the shipboard congregation, reading from White
Star Line's own prayer book. Although Sunday services were usually followed by a lifeboat
drill for passengers and crew, Captain Smith elected to forgo this formality on Titanic's
first Sunday at sea.
However, things were hectic in the Titanic's Wireless room. The ships Macroni, John
Phillips and his young assistant Harold Bride, were receiving and transmitting private
telegrams across the ocean for the Titanic's wealthy guests. At nine o'clock in the
morning, the Carolina had signaled: "Bergs, growlers and field ice 42 degrees to 51
degress W." At 11:40 AM, the Noordam imformed the
Titanic of "Much ice", and around 1:45 PM the Baltic cautioned: "Bergs, and
large quantites of field ice in 41 degrees 51' N, 40 degrees 52' W," a position close
to Titanic's route. At 5:03 PM, Phillips intercepted another ice warning from the Amerika,
"2 Icebergs in 41 degrees 27'. 50 degrees 8' W on April 14."
To most on board, the warnings meant nothing becuase the Titanic couldn't sink. But by
5:30 PM, the temperature had rapidly dropped to 39 degrees. Many of the passengers fled
from the deck for the warmer conditions inside the ship.
At 5:50 p.m, Captain Smith alters this ship's course slightly to the south and west of the
normal course possibly as a precaution to avoid ice.
At 7:35 the temperature again took a dive, dipping down to 33 degrees and at 8:45, the
cold temperatures had alarmed Second Officer Lightoller sent the ships carpenter to look
over the ships fresh water supply, becuase he was worried it would freeze.At 7:30 PM they
intercepted yet another
caution from the nearby Californian whice read, "Three large bergs southward of
us." Captain Smith never recieved this navigational warning because he was the guest
of honor at a dinner party. The last ice warning was received at 9:40 PM by the Mesaba,
"Ice warning, saw much heavy pack ice
and a great number of large icebergs; also field ice." TheCalifornian had tried to
signal the Titanic that it was completly surronded by ice but the Titanic's wireless
officer Phillips told the Californain to shut up becuase he was busy. The Californain then
turned off her Macroni set and no more ice warnings were sent.
The Titanic cruises at 20 1/2 knots when the ship's lookout (Frederick Fleet) sees an
iceberg dead ahead (11:40 p.m.), 500 yards away towering 55 to 60 feet above the water.
Fleet immediately sounds the warning bell with three sharp rings. Then he calls the bridge
and says "iceberg dead
ahead." First officer Murdoch calls a hard a starboard. After a few seconds, the
Titanic begins to veer to port, but the iceberg strikes the starboard bow side and brushes
along side of the ship.
During the first 10 minutes after impact, water rises 14 feet from the bow and the first
five compartments begin to take on water.
~April 15~
It’s now midnight and Captain Smith asks Thomas Andrews (ship's designer) for his
assessments. He accumulates that the ship can stay afloat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours only. The
ship is doomed. Captain Smith orders C.Q.D. (S.O.S. now), a distress call. Fifteen minutes
after the ship struck the iceberg orders are given to uncover lifeboats and muster the
crew and passengers.
Between 12:10 and 1:50 a.m., several crew members on the S.S. Californian, which is
positioned some 10 to 14 miles away, ignore the Titanic's rockets and the lookout comments
"They don't seem like distress signals."
The Titanic's band begins to play lively Ragtime tunes in the first class lounge on A Deck
at about 12:15. Later, they move to the Boat Deck near the port entrance to the Grand
Staircase.
At 12:25 a.m. the order is given to start loading the lifeboats. The strict tradition of
"women and children first" is strongly used. The Carpathia, steaming southeast
some 58 miles away receives the distress call and immediately heads full speed to the
rescue. The first lifeboat (No. 7) is safely lowered on the starboard side (12:45 a.m.)
and was safely lowered away. It can carry 68 people but leaves with 28 people aboard. Ten
minutes later the first port side lifeboat (No.6) is lowered down with only 28 aboard
including the famous Molly Brown and Major Peuchen. At 1:15 a.m. the water begins to reach
the Titanic's name on the bow and she lists to port. An hour and forty minutes after the
Titanic struck the iceberg, the third lifeboat, starboard lifeboat No. 9, leaves with 56
people.
At this point, the ship has developed a noticeable list to starboard. Signs of panic begin
to appear among some of the passengers on the ship and crew members get worried
themselves. Port side boat No. 16 is lowered with 50 people at 1:35 a.m. and starboard
boat 15 follows 30 seconds later
with 70 aboard. Most of the forward boats have now been cast away and remaining passengers
begin to move to the stern area. Ismay leaves on collapsible C with 39 others aboard and
the last lifeboat on the starboard side is launched.
It’s now 2:00 a.m. and the sea is only 10 feet below Promenade deck and there are
still 1500+ people left on the sinking ship. Five minutes later the Titanic's forecastle
deck sinks underwater and the tilt begins to grow steeper. Captain Smith releases wireless
operaters Bride and Phillips
from their duty at 2:10. Disregarding Smith's command, Phillips continues to send
C.Q.D.'s.
Phillips sends the last radio message at 2:17 while Captain Smith tells the remaining crew
members, "It's every man for himself." Smith then returns to the bridge where as
most cases have it, he is never seen again. A minute later a huge roar is heard as all
movable objects inside crash toward the submerged bow. The ship's lights blink once and
then turn off for good. The R.M.S. Titanic break's apart.
Now at 2:20 a.m. and the Titanic's broken stern section settles back into the water
righting itself for a moment. It slowly fills with water and tilts its stern higher in the
air before sinking into the sea. In the short period of about 2 hours following this, the
remaining 1500+ souls drown or freeze in the icy cold waters. The Titanic disaster becomes
one of the greatest maritime tragedies in history.
In the end, the Titanic had recieved six ice warnings and ignored every one of them!
A Wonderful Book
In terms of size, it is one of the smallest books dealing with the doomed
liner... but it has maintained itself through the years as being the most accurate and
compelling retellings of not just the disaster, but the events leading to the Titanic's
foundering and the personalities of those directly involved, be they crew, passengers, or
"those who merely sit and watch."
Still in print in paperback, A Night To Remember written by Walter Lord, is
a great literary work for anyone interested in the ship.
back home!