The T I T A N I C Page

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Titanic Facts:

The Ship

White Star Line was the company that built the Titanic, and was owned by J.P. Morgan, an American tycoon. The cost to build the RMS Titanic was $7.5 million RMS stands for Royal Mail Steamer. It took 3,000 men two years to build the Titanic. Three million rivets held its massive hull together. The Titanic was never christened. It was not the practice of the White Star Line to hold such ceremonies. Price of a single first-class ticket was $4,700. (equals $50,000 in today's economy) Although there were 4 funnels (smoke stacks), only 3 were operational. The 4th funnel was for looks. As the Titanic was leaving the port, the suction it caused actually snapped the ropes of a nearby docked ship. (The S.S. New York) Tugboats had to race to the scene to prevent the New York from colliding with the Titanic. Some people aboard the Titanic and on the dock felt this occurrence to be a bad omen.



The Iceberg

There were 6 ice warnings received by Titanic on the day of the collision. They were all ignored by the wireless operator who was preoccupied with transmitting passenger messages. On the night of the collision, because the moon was not out, and the water was so still, it was very difficult to see the iceberg. A less calm water would have caused breakers around the iceberg making it easier to see it from afar. The iceberg that the Titanic struck was not a very big one. It did not even come up as high as the bridge of the ship. The iceberg that the Titanic struck was unusual in such a way that it was not white like most others, but more of a clear look caused by continuous melting. The clear surface in effect reflected the dark night sky and water like a mirror, thereby making it a black object, almost impossible to see from a certain distance. The term for this kind of iceberg is "blackberg", and is similar to the black ice found on cold icy roads. An iceberg exposes only 1/10th of it's mass above water. With the other 9/10ths of it's mass below water, It makes them impossible to budge. Even with a force of a ship like the Titanic.



Collision / Damage

The Titanic was traveling 22.5 knots while cruising through iceberg laden waters. Just .5 knot from her maximum speed capability. The collision occurred at 11:40 P.M. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. Murdoch had ordered the engines reversed which had, ironically, sealed the Titanic's doom. Like all ships, the Titanic turned more quickly the greater her forward motion. Had the Titanic proceeded ahead and turned, it is most likely that she would have avoided hitting the iceberg all together. The gash that the iceberg cut into the hull of the Titanic was between 220 to 245 feet long. The total length of the ship was approximately 882 feet. Though the damage in the hull was 220 to 245 feet long, the most recent evidence shows that there was only a 12 square foot opening (the size of a refrigerator) in the hull allowing water inside the ship. The "watertight" compartments of the Titanic's hull were not actually watertight. They were open at the tops, which aided in her demise. The ship could have stayed afloat had only four compartments flooded... Five became flooded.



Survivors / Casualties

1,503 people total died, including passengers and crew. Only 705 people survived. 962 lifeboat seats were required by law. 1,178 lifeboat seats were carried aboard. 2,208 lifeboat seats were needed. One of the first lifeboats to leave the Titanic carried only 28 people; it could have held 64 people. There were 472 lifeboat seats not used. There were enough life-jackets for all 2,208 people, and most everyone was wearing one. 300 dead bodies were pulled from the sea the next morning. They were found floating in their life-jackets. Many other floating bodies were not found because they had drifted off. Very few people actually went down with the ship. Most died and drifted away in their life-jackets. The temperature of the Atlantic at the time of sinking was 31 degrees. This temperature was the biggest cause of death among the population. There were many dogs aboard the Titanic. Two of the dogs survived. Orders from the Captain were that, women and children were to board the lifeboats first. One man, Daniel Buckley, disguised himself as a woman to get aboard a lifeboat. Charles Joughin was the only person to survive the ice cold Atlantic water...He reportedly had been drinking heavily. Of children fatalities, only 1 child from first class died, while 49 children from steerage died.



The Final Moments

Passengers rode the stationary bicycles in the Gymnasium to pass time before the ship sank! The band played music up to the last few minutes before the ship went under. None survived. One of the last songs the band reportedly played before their death was, "Songe d'Automne". As the ship was sinking, the stern rose out of the water, and broke into two pieces between the third and fourth funnels.



Titanic Today

The Titanic lies 12,600 feet (over 2.33 miles) at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The two pieces of the Titanic lay 1,970 feet apart from one another on the ocean floor. Because the front section of the Titanic went down nose first, the bow is buried 60 feet below the ocean floor. The huge gash is also buried. (Recent technology has allowed visual access to the damaged area of the hull) The Titanic was rediscovered on July 14th, 1986. 74 years after it sank. Since the death of Millvina Dean, May 31st of 2009, there are no longer any living survivors of the Titanic tragedy. Millvina Dean was just nine weeks old at the time of the Titanic's sinking. April 14th, 2012 will be the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's sinking.

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