When the Titanic set sail. Where the Titanic sank photo

The sinking of the Titanic passenger liner, during which 1,517 of the 2,229 passengers and crew members died (official figures vary slightly), was one of the largest maritime disasters peacetime.

The 712 surviving passengers of the Titanic were picked up by the rescue ship Carpathia.

Few disasters have caused such a resonance and had such a strong impact on public consciousness. The disaster changed attitudes towards social injustice and influenced the rules for implementing passenger transportation in the Atlantic Ocean, contributed to stricter requirements for the presence of a sufficient number of lifeboats on board passenger ships and led to the creation of the International Ice Service.

April 14, 2016 marked the 104th anniversary of the disaster of the Titanic, which became one of the most famous ships in history. Many books and films, exhibitions and memorials are devoted to the theme of the Titanic sinking.

At 2:20 am, the Titanic broke into two parts and sank. At that time there were about a thousand people on board. People who found themselves in the icy water soon died from hypothermia. (Frank O. Brainard Collection)

The British passenger liner Titanic sails from Southampton, England, on her first and last voyage on April 10, 1912. Before heading to New York, the Titanic stopped at Cherbourg (France) and Queenstown (Ireland). Four days later, on April 14, 1912, at 23:40 local time, the liner collided with an iceberg 603 kilometers south of Newfoundland.

The disaster shocked the whole world. The investigation into the sinking of the Titanic, which began a few days after the disaster, contributed to significant improvements in shipping safety. (United Press International)

The passenger liner Titanic departs on her first and last voyage to New York from Queenstown, Ireland, 1912. On board the liner were the richest people of the time: millionaires John Jacob Astor IV, Benjamin Guggenheim and Isidore Strauss, as well as more than a thousand emigrants from Ireland, Scandinavia and other countries who were about to start new life in America.

Workers leave the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, where the Titanic was built between 1909 and 1911. At the time of its launch, the Titanic was the largest passenger liner in the world. In this 1911 photo, the Titanic is in the background.

Dining room on the Titanic, 1912. The liner was designed and built with the latest technology and served as the embodiment of luxury and comfort. On board there was a gym, a swimming pool, libraries, high-end restaurants and luxurious cabins.

Second class room on board the Titanic, 1912. More than 90% of the second class passengers were men, who remained on board the sinking liner, as women and children were the first to board the lifeboats.

The Titanic sails from Southampton, England, on April 10, 1912. Some experts believe that the cause of the Titanic disaster was the poor quality of the hull rivets that were used in the construction of the liner.

The height of the liner from the keel to the top of the chimneys was 53.3 meters, 10.5 of which were below the waterline. The Titanic was taller than most city buildings at the time.

Captain of the Titanic, Edward John Smith, captained the largest liner of his time. The length of the Titanic was 269.1 meters, width - 28.19 meters, displacement - more than 52 thousand tons.

An undated photograph of Titanic's first mate William McMaster Murdoch, who is revered as a hero in his homeland of Dalbeattie, Scotland. However, in the film Titanic, which received many Oscar awards, Murdoch's character is portrayed as a coward and a murderer.

At a ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, 20th Century Fox executive vice president Scott Neeson presented a check for $8,000 to Dalbeattie School to apologize to the officer's relatives.

Presumably, the iceberg that the Titanic passenger liner collided with on April 14, 1912. The photograph was taken from the cable-laying vessel Mackay Bennett, captained by Captain Descarteret.

The Mackay Bennett was one of the first to arrive at the site of the Titanic disaster. According to Captain Descarteret, this was the only iceberg near the wreck site. ocean liner.

Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which sailed only partially full. This photograph of lifeboats approaching the Carpathia was taken by Carpathia passenger Louis M. Ogden.

The photograph was presented at an exhibition of documents related to the Titanic disaster that Walter Lord bequeathed to the National maritime museum in Greenwich, England.

The rescue ship Carpathia picked up the 712 surviving passengers of the Titanic. A photograph taken by Carpathia passenger Louis M. Ogden shows lifeboats approaching the Carpathia.

This photograph was also exhibited in an exhibition of documents that Walter Lord bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Although the Titanic had advanced safety measures such as watertight compartments and remote-controlled watertight doors, the ship did not have enough lifeboats for all passengers.

There were only enough boats for 1,178 people - that's only a third of all passengers and crew. In this photo you see the rescue of passengers from the Titanic.

Reporters interview passengers of the sunken Titanic who disembarked from the rescue ship Carpathia on May 17, 1912.

Seven-year-old Eva Hart with her father Benjamin and mother Esther, 1912. Eve and her mother escaped the sinking Titanic, but her father died when the British liner sank on the night of April 15, 1912.

People stand on the street waiting for the arrival of the Carpathia ship.

A huge crowd of people gathered near the office of the White Shipping Company Star Line on Broadway in New York to find out last news about the sinking of the Titanic, April 14, 1912.

People read reports outside the offices of The Sun newspaper in New York after the sinking of the Titanic.

Two messages sent from America to Lloyds of London insurers in London erroneously claimed that other ships, including the Virginia, were nearby providing assistance during the Titanic disaster.

These lots will be auctioned at Christie's in London in May 2012.

Titanic survivors Laura Francatelli and her employers Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon and Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon stand aboard the rescue ship Carpathia. Francatelli said she heard a terrible crash and then cries for help as her boat sailed away from the sinking ocean liner Titanic on that tragic night in 1912.

The passenger liner Titanic shortly before departure on its first and last voyage, 1912.

The photo, released by Henry Aldridge & Son/Ho auction house in Wiltshire, UK, on April 18, 2008, shows an extremely rare artifact - a passenger ticket for the Titanic.

An exhibit bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England by Walter Lord is a Marconi telegram. Miss Edith Russell (journalist and Titanic survivor) wrote in Women's Wear Daily: "Saved on the Carpathia, tell mother." "Carpathia", April 18, 1912.

Lunch menu from the restaurant on board the Titanic, signed by the surviving passengers. Walter Lord bequeathed this document to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England.

The bow of the sunken Titanic, 1999.

One of the propellers of the Titanic passenger liner. The photo was taken during an expedition to the shipwreck on September 12, 2008. Five thousand artifacts will be sold at auction on April 11, 2012, almost 100 years after the Titanic disaster.

The starboard side of the Titanic's bow. This image was released by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on August 28, 2010.

Part of the Titanic's side, chains and an additional anchor buoy. Dr Robert Bollard, who discovered the wreck of the Titanic almost 20 years ago, returned to the site of the tragedy to look at the damage caused to the ship and its treasure by looters and seekers of easy enrichment.

The huge propeller of the sunken Titanic lies at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The photo is undated. The first tourists to visit the shipwreck in September 1998 saw the propeller and other parts of the famous liner.

This 17-ton fragment of the Titanic's hull was recovered during an expedition to the shipwreck in 1998.

A 17-ton fragment of the Titanic passenger liner, which was recovered from the ocean floor during an expedition to the shipwreck, July 22, 2009. On April 11, 2012, this exhibit will be sold at auction along with 5 thousand other artifacts.

A gold Waltham American pocket watch - a personal item of Karl Asplund - is seen in front of a painting of the Titanic painted by C.J. Ashford. The watch was found on the body of Karl Asplund, who sank with the Titanic.

Money from the Titanic. The owner of one of the richest collections of things found on the Titanic put it up for auction in 2012, the year of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the famous liner.

Photographs of Felix Asplund, Selma and Karl Asplund and Lillian Asplund in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. These photos are part of Lillian Asplund's collection of Titanic-related items.

Lillian was 5 years old in April 1912 when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage. The girl survived, but her father and three siblings were among the 1,514 people who died.

Artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck are on display at the TITANIC The Artifact Exhibit in California. scientific center: binoculars, comb, dishes and a cracked incandescent lamp. February 6, 2003.

Glasses found among the wreckage of the Titanic. The full collection of artifacts found at the Titanic wreck site will be auctioned in April 2012 - 100 years after the tragedy.

Golden spoon from the Titanic.

The chronometer from the captain's bridge of the Titanic is on display at the Science Museum in London. It is one of more than 200 objects recovered from the ocean floor where the Titanic sank.

Visitors to the exhibition at the museum can go through the entire history of the famous liner in chronological order - from the drawings for its construction to the moment of destruction after a collision with an iceberg.

The Titanic's speed measuring instrument and Gimbal lamp are among the artifacts on display at the museum in New York.

Objects from the sunken Titanic on display at the New York Museum.

A cup and pocket watch are among many items found on the Titanic, as well as a White Star Line flag button and a small porthole.

These spoons from the Titanic are part of an exhibit at the South Norwalk, Connecticut Museum.

The gold-plated handbag is one of the items from the Titanic.

The Titanic's stern, with two propellers sticking out of the mud and sand, rests on the ocean floor 600 meters south of the ship's bow.

The first complete image of the legendary wreckage. The photo mosaic consists of 1500 images high resolution made using sonar studies.

The starboard side of the ship. The bow of the Titanic was the first to sink to the bottom of the ocean, so that its front part was buried in the sand, forever closing the mortal wounds left by the iceberg.

The mutilated stern in profile.

The stern of the Titanic, top view. This interweaving of metal is a mystery to scientists. As one of them said: “If you decipher this, you will love Picasso.”

Two Titanic engines are visible through a crack in the stern. These huge structures, covered with rust, once powered the largest airliner in the world at that time.

To point 13.
Let me clarify: both the RMS Olympic and subsequent ships of the Titanic and Britannic series - transatlantic liners of the White Star Line had a unique design for their time: they could remain afloat if any 2 of the 16 waterproof compartments were flooded , any 3 of the first 5 compartments, or all 4 bow compartments in a row, starting from the forepeak.
Unfortunately, no one imagined that water would flow into six bow compartments at once and, as the trim on the bow increased, it would begin to overflow through the watertight bulkheads, because usually the above-mentioned ones do not reach the quarters of the masts and consistent flooding of the compartments would begin. It was not a warship...

To point 12.
And, for example: "Hans Hedtoft", January 7, 1959? SOS - January 7, 1959, around 02:00: "Encountered an iceberg. Position 59.5 north - 43.0 west." 02 "The engine room is flooded with water." 03 "We took a lot of water into the engine room." Approximately 05 "We are drowning and need immediate assistance." That's all... No one was rescued, no bodies or debris were found. 55 passengers and 39 crew members were killed.
For reference: "Hans Hedtoft": Danish cargo-passenger ship with a displacement of 3000 tons, second voyage on the line Greenland - continental ports. It was designed for navigation in ice (double the thickness of the sides in the ice belt, double bottom, 7 waterproof compartments, special reinforcement of the bow and aft end).

To point 9.
According to the investigation, 37.5 seconds passed between the call from lookout Frederick Fleet (10/15/1887 - 01/10/1965) and the moment the iceberg touched down. During this time, the airliner traveled 1,316 feet and deviated from course by 23 degrees (109 feet/33.22 meters to the left of the original trajectory).
By the way. Frederick Fleet was found hanged on January 10, 1965, in his Norman Street garden. The coroner's report indicated that he had suffered from mental confusion, but acquaintances believed that it was all due to his depressive state, which began after the death of his wife, and was partly caused by the fact that Fleet never got rid of the guilt he felt for the deaths of the passengers . He was buried without any honors in a pauper's grave in Hollybrook Cemetery, Southampton. There was not even a tombstone on his grave, and only in 1993 the Titanic Historical Society Inc. established with money from private donations memorial plate with an engraving of the Titanic. Another victim of the disaster, isn't it?

To point 8.
There was no "mirage". There was a “black” iceberg: when it turns over, the part that was previously in the water does not differ in color from the water. Especially on a moonless night. There was no rough sea at all, so there was no white strip of foam at the “waterline” of the iceberg either. And the lookouts didn’t have binoculars - historical fact. They just didn't see him...

To point 3.
Incorrect photo. It should have been signed like this: “The boats of the Titanic. In total, thirteen of them were found. And here they are at the 13th pier in New York, where this magnificent liner was supposed to arrive.”
...
This is a bit of a hobby of mine, in any case, I have collected a normal library in different languages and am familiar with the documents of the official investigation. To begin with, I recommend: www.titanicinquiry.org - complete breakdowns of investigations in the States and Britain ( English language).

Therefore, let me make a value judgment that the Titanic was destroyed by the command “Stop the car - full reverse” (movement of McMaster Murdoch’s hand), which could not be carried out.

Alas, it only took more than 15 minutes to completely reverse the machines “from full forward to full reverse” (an investigative experiment at the Olympic and I won’t describe the features of steam engines) - while the airliner went through about 2 miles - about 3.7 km. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the features of the rudder group. Three propellers, one rudder blade, were driven by steam engines (reversible), the middle one - by a turbine (non-reversible). "The airliner actually lost control and, instead of circulating (in a circle with a diameter of 3850 feet), began to move in a spiral with an increasing radius tending to infinity. At the same time, if the command “Full speed ahead, full steam forward” had been given, then the on the turn course of 23 degrees, he would have been 8 seconds earlier and by the time of “37.5” he would have gone 92.6 meters to the left. True, there were nuances, like the rolling of the stern, usually solved by the “coordinate” maneuver (Vicki?), but. that's a completely different story...

Meanwhile. It has been documented that closer to midnight on April 14, 1912, there were only two oilers at the control post of the Titanic’s engines (according to the table of ranks, they were at the level of ordinary stokers, only those were trained to use a shovel, and these were trained to use an oil can). This is not surprising - after all, the previous command from the bridge was received more than three days ago...

Sorry, it was long, but I haven’t said everything yet...

British transatlantic steamer The Titanic was built in Belfast at the Harland and Wolfe shipyard for the White Star Line shipping company. At the time of commissioning it was the largest ship in the world. On April 10, 1912, the Titanic sailed on its first and last voyage. The command of the Titanic on its first voyage was entrusted to Edward John Smith, the most experienced captain of the White Star Line, his captain's experience totaled 25 years. He led a crew of more than 900 people.

Passengers boarded the Titanic at 9:30 a.m. on April 10 at the port of Southampton. At 9:45 a.m. a special White Star Line train departed from London Waterloo Station, carrying first class passengers to Southampton. Around eleven o'clock the train arrived at the ocean dock where the Titanic was moored. 245 second and 497 third class passengers from London were carried by an earlier train, departing at 7:30 and arriving at 9:30.

At 11:50 the ship's whistle announced that the Titanic would set sail in ten minutes. Journalists, mourners and port officials left the ship. A pilot boarded the Titanic. Six tugboats began to pull the Titanic away from the pier and into the fairway of the Test River. When the tugs dropped the cables, the pilot commanded “Slow forward,” and the Titanic moved past the berth walls located behind the ocean dock under its own power. At that time, the steamships Oceanic and New York were moored there, the latter moored alongside the Oceanic. At that moment, when the Titanic caught up with the New York, the six steel cables that moored the ship burst, and the stern of the New York, which fell into a dangerous zone of external hydrodynamic pressure created by the movement of more large airliner, began to approach the Titanic. Captain Smith immediately ordered the vehicles to be stopped. One of the tugboats accompanying the Titanic went around the New York, secured the cable thrown to it from the deck, and with all the power of its machines began to pull the ship back to the shore. The Titanic passed the New York by just a few tens of centimeters. Two tugboats moved the Titanic, which had narrowly avoided a collision, back to allow two other tugboats to move the New York to its new berth.

After the incident, the Titanic continued its journey at low speed an hour late. From Southampton Bay, the Titanic entered the Solent Strait, skirting the Isle of Wight on the eastern side. Having reached the eastern tip of the Isle of Wight, the ship slowed down again to allow the pilot to leave. After which, an order was transmitted from the bridge to the engine room to increase speed, and the Titanic headed south, towards the shores of France.

2 Cherbourg

The weather over the English Channel was windy and cloudy. The Titanic covered a distance of 147 km in six and a half hours and arrived in Cherbourg at about 18:30. The port of Cherbourg did not have a berth suitable for the Titanic, so the liner anchored in the middle of the bay. Passengers and cargo were delivered on board by auxiliary vessels Nomadik and Traffic. Many traveled to the Cherbourg maritime station by a special train, coordinated with the schedule of the ship, which departed from the Paris Saint-Lazare station at 9:40. A significant portion of the new passengers were wealthy Americans who had finished their winter season in Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes and other Riviera resorts. The stay in Cherbourg lasted an hour and a half; at 20:00 the Titanic weighed anchor and set off for Queenstown.

3 Queenstown

On April 11, the Titanic was already approaching the coast of Ireland. A few kilometers before the port, a pilot boarded the ship. At 11:55 am the Titanic dropped anchor in Cork Harbour, 6.5 km from Queenstown.

The auxiliary ships America and Ireland carried passengers (mostly young Irish emigrants, third class passengers), cargo and mail to the Titanic. In addition to passengers, journalists, photographers and local merchants boarded with the permission of the captain. At 1:30 p.m., after all the guests had left the ship, the anchor was raised and the Titanic set sail for New York with 2,208 people on board.

4 Transatlantic route

When the Titanic reached the Fastned lighthouse, which marked the beginning of the transatlantic route, the captain gave the command “Full speed ahead” and the ship reached a speed of 21 knots (39 km/h). In 1898, shipping companies whose ships provided communications between Europe and North America, have entered into an agreement to service certain lines used at different times of the year. First of all, this was to allow ships to avoid, especially during certain months, areas where there was a threat of ice and fog. In addition, precisely marked courses when moving from east to west and back should have helped to minimize the risk of collisions between ships going towards each other. And finally, in the event of an accident, the established corridors in navigation in the North Atlantic made it possible to count on quick help from another ship traveling the same route. From January 15 to August 14, ships were ordered to move along the southern route, the turning point to New York was located approximately 750 km southeast of the island of Newfoundland. This was done in order to bypass the area of the Great Newfoundland Bank, where a large number of icebergs accumulated. High tides caused by the record close approach of the Moon and Earth in January 1912 contributed to icebergs reaching the Great Bank of Newfoundland a month earlier. In April 1912, a north-northwest wind prevailed over the Atlantic. The coincidence of the directions of constant winds and ocean currents caused icebergs to penetrate further south than usual.

As soon as the Titanic left Ireland the skies cleared and the weather was good for the time of year throughout the voyage. During the second day (from noon on April 11 to noon on April 12), the Titanic covered 715 km, on the third day - 962 km, and on the fourth day - 1012 km.

On Sunday, April 14, the ship was already sailing at a speed of 22.75 knots (42 km/h), but in the morning, on the initiative of the captain, two more boilers were launched in boiler room No. 5. Early in the morning the weather was cloudy, light rain was falling, and a westerly wind was blowing up to 7 m/s. By midday the sky had cleared, but it had become colder. The air temperature was 6 °C

On April 14, Titanic's radio operators began receiving messages about icebergs and ice fields with their coordinates. The first ice warning came at 9:00 from the steamer Caronia, warning of ice fields and accumulations of icebergs and growlers (ice debris). Captain Smith acknowledged receipt of the message. At 11:40, the captain received a telegram from the steamer Noordam, which reported drifting ice in approximately the same area indicated by the Caronia.

At 13:42 the Baltic ship relayed the following message: “To Captain Smith, Titanic.” Clear weather since departure. The Greek steamer "Athens" reports the passage of icebergs and a large number of ice fields today in the area of 41°51′ north latitude and 41°52′ west longitude... I wish you and the Titanic success."

Smith, showing this warning to White Star Line managing director Bruce Ismay, calculated new route. The Titanic set course for Sandy Hook Spit an hour after passing the turning point where transatlantic ships usually headed for New York. The liner continued to go southwest and traveled about 40 km in this direction before, at 17:50, First Mate Wild commanded the helmsman: “Rudder 47 degrees to the right,” and the Titanic changed from heading 242° to heading 289°. This was done in order to definitely avoid encountering icebergs.

At 13:45 the German ship "America" reported that it had encountered two big icebergs 620 km south of Newfoundland. However, this warning was not transmitted to the bridge. The reasons for this have not been clarified; perhaps the radio operators forgot to convey the information to the captain, as they were busy troubleshooting the equipment.

At 19:30 an ice warning was received from the steamer Californian: “...Ice in the area between 42° and 41°25" north latitude and 49°30" west longitude. We saw large cluster broken ice and many large icebergs. There are ice fields too. The weather is good and clear."

This message was also not conveyed to the bridge watch. Apparently, radio operator Jack Phillips did not understand him because he was busy sending to the relay station at Cape Race (Newfoundland) private telegrams that had accumulated while the radio transmitter was faulty. The last ice warning was received at 22:30 from the Californian, which was drifting on the edge of an ice field about 50 km from the Titanic. The Californian's radio operator, Cyril Evans, began to transmit the coordinates of the danger zone, but Phillips rudely interrupted him: “Shut up! I am working. I have a connection with Cape Race.” Thus, the most important ice warning was ignored.

At 21:20, the captain left the bridge and went to a dinner in his honor, hosted by the Widener couple. At 10:30 p.m., the Titanic parted ways with the Rappahannock, which was heading in the opposite direction from Halifax. Shortly before this, the Rappahannock, maneuvering among drifting ice floes, received damage to its stern. As soon as both ships were within sight of each other, Albert Smith, who was acting as captain on the Rappahannock, used a Morse lamp to establish contact with the Titanic: “We have just passed through an ice field and between several icebergs,” in response with “ Titanic" signaled: "Message received. Thank you. Good night" No measures were taken after this: the number of patrolmen was not increased, the ship continued to sail at the same high speed.

At 21:30, another warning about the presence of icebergs was received - this time from the Mesaba steamship, which was addressed to all ships going east: “Ice conditions. Today, icebergs and extensive ice fields have been spotted in the area of 41°25′ north latitude, between 49° and 50°3′ west longitude. The weather is good, clear.”

In the evening it became very cold, in two hours the air temperature dropped from 6 °C to 0 °C, there was complete calm, there were not even ripples on the surface of the water. The night from April 14 to 15 was windless, cold, clear and moonless. The Titanic was sailing almost at top speed, more than 22 knots.

5 Crash

At twelve o'clock at night most of the passengers went to bed. First mate William Murdock took over the watch, replacing Charles Lightoller, the second mate. On the top platform, at an altitude of 29 m above the waterline, two lookouts were on duty: Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee. The air temperature dropped to −1°C, and there was no excitement. The ship was traveling at a speed of 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h).

Visibility was about six kilometers, but the moon did not shine that night. The lookouts were warned about the danger of ice, and they and other crew members were ordered to look especially carefully for icebergs and ice debris at sea.

At 23:30, Fleet and Lee noticed a slight haze ahead on the horizon, but did not attach any importance to it. Nine minutes later, Fleet saw the outline of an iceberg straight ahead, about 600 m away. He rang the bell three times, indicating an obstacle ahead, and contacted sixth mate James Moody by telephone. He reported the iceberg to William Murdoch, who commanded helmsman Robert Hichens: “Right board” (in 1912 terminology, the command “Right board” meant turning the helm as far as possible to the left). He himself moved the handles of the machine telegraphs to the “Stop machine” position. A little later, so that the stern did not hit the iceberg, he commanded “Left on board”, thus trying to go around the iceberg. It took about 30 seconds for the steam drive to turn the rudder. Stopping the propellers led to a decrease in angular speed (turnability decreased).

The iceberg was approaching the ship, which continued to move forward at high speed by inertia. Only after 25-30 seconds the Titanic’s bow began to slowly deviate to the left. At the last second, the iceberg passed the stem and smoothly passed along the starboard side. The Titanic managed to turn 2 points, which was enough to avoid a head-on collision, but not enough to avoid contact with the iceberg. At 23:40, the starboard side of the liner touched the underwater part of the iceberg. On the upper decks, people felt a weak push and a slight trembling of the hull; on the lower decks the blow was a little more noticeable. As a result of the collision, six holes with a total length of about 90 m were formed in the skin of the starboard side. As a result of contact with the iceberg, five bow compartments were damaged; the unsinkability system of the liner was not designed for this. Designer Thomas Andrews, called by the captain for consultation, stated that the ship could remain afloat for no more than an hour and a half.

At 00:05, Captain Smith ordered the crew to prepare the lifeboats for launch, then went into the radio room and ordered the radio operators to broadcast a distress signal. The boarding of the first passengers into the boats began at about 00:20; on the orders of the captain, children and women were placed in them first. Since the collision was practically not felt by the passengers, they were reluctant to leave the ship, on which everything was outwardly in order: there were no power outages, the trim on the bow increased slightly during the first hour. To prevent panic, crew members reported that the evacuation was being carried out as a precaution. The captain's assistants supervised the boarding of passengers into the boats. During the first hour, only 180 people were evacuated; the boats were lowered half-empty. At 1:20 am, water began to flood the forecastle. At this time, the first signs of panic appeared. The evacuation went faster.

7 ships responded to the distress signal and went to the disaster site. Of these, the closest (about 93 km) was the steamship Carpathia. Heading towards the sinking Titanic, he reached his maximum speed of 14 knots.

After 1:30 the bow trim began to grow rapidly, and panic began on board. The boats at the stern on the starboard side were lowered overcrowded. The crew tried their best to hold back the onslaught of the crowd and let women and children into the boats first. The members of the engine team did not stop working. Through the efforts of boilermakers, machinists, and mechanics, the system maintained the steam pressure necessary to generate electricity and operate the pumps that pump out water.

After 2:05 the last boat was lowered, and around 2:10 water began to flood the boat deck and captain's bridge. The 1,500 people remaining on board rushed towards the stern. The trim began to grow before our eyes, and at 2:15 the first chimney collapsed. At 2:16 the power went out. At 2:18, with a bow trim of about 23°, the liner broke apart. The bow part, having fallen off, immediately sank to the bottom, and the stern filled with water and sank in two minutes. At 2:20 the Titanic completely disappeared under water.

Hundreds of people swam to the surface, but almost all of them died from hypothermia: the water temperature was −2 °C. About 45 people were saved on two folding boats that did not have time to be lowered from the liner. Eight more were rescued by two boats that returned to the wreck site (No. 4 and No. 14). An hour and a half after the Titanic was completely submerged, the steamship Carpathia arrived at the disaster site and picked up 712 survivors of the wreck. As a result of the tragedy, 1,496 people died.

Many people have heard, many people have read, but many still do not know the real and bitter truth about the death of the world’s largest passenger liner with the mighty name “Titanic”. It belonged to the British company White Star Line. In just two years, shipbuilders managed to construct the impossible, and on May 31, 1911, the Titanic was launched. His first cruise voyage turned into a huge tragedy, news of which spread throughout the world within two days. What happened? How did the Titanic sink? How could the most unsinkable ship in the world end up at 4 km depth? The owners of the company stated that God himself could not sink the Titanic. Maybe he got angry at people?

But let's move on to more real facts. So, on April 10, 1912, the greatest ship of all time, the Titanic, set sail from the port of Southampton, on board which at that moment were the most famous people Great Britain. These were businessmen, actors and actresses, scientists and writers, etc. The Titanic set off on a 7-day voyage through Atlantic Ocean in New York City, stopping along the way at small ports to deliver and receive cargo, as well as disembark and pick up passengers. The fifth day of an exciting journey became fatal for all passengers of the liner. While crossing the Atlantic, at about 3-00 am, the starboard side of the ship was cut by a small iceberg, which was not immediately noticed by the watching sailor. As many as five lower compartments were flooded in a matter of minutes.

After 2.5 hours, the Titanic disappeared into sea depths. Of the 2,200 people, only 715 were able to escape. Almost 1,500 people tragically died. And now the most intriguing question arises: who is to blame for this tragedy? God? Shipbuilders? or not the professionalism of the ship's captain? But still, after numerous investigations, objective and subjective reasons for the death of the Titanic were collected, but we will talk about them a little later. First, we need to delve into these facts and analyze the broader reasons that influenced the outcome of events and the death of innocent people.

Those responsible for the sinking of the Titanic

Shipbuilders

Let's start, perhaps, with the shipbuilders, namely with the ship's hull itself. In 1994, a study was conducted with a piece of the plating of the sunken Titanic. The results were very disastrous, because... the lining was so thin that even the smallest piece of ice could cause enormous damage to it, and if we take into account huge iceberg, then the damage was not yet very large, thanks to the actions of the ship’s captain. The blow caused by the iceberg was tragic because the ship's hull hull contained phosphorus, which caused the hull to break at low temperatures. The inability of shipbuilders to create high-quality steel at that time, as well as ship designs, makes them also guilty of this tragedy. It was also known that the design of the Titanic's structure included the use of necessary materials, but most of them were of poor quality or were absent altogether. This is proven by the fact that some people made a lot of money from this and the shipbuilders may not be to blame for this.

Radio operators

Now about the equally important workers of the ship - the radio operators. In 1912, radio communication on the high seas was a novelty, and not every ship could install it. The point is that radio operators, not known reason were not part of the ship’s crew, but worked for the Marconi company, which was engaged in the transmission of paid messages in the form of Morse code. These days they can be matched with SMS messages over the phone.

Based on the surviving records, the radio operators managed to transmit on April 14, more than 250 radio telegrams, and the signals that came from other ships that were also sailing across the Atlantic were simply ignored by the radio operators, because. It was important for them to earn money. According to the records of the radio operators, which were not taken into account by them, it became known that the Titanic was notified of the danger from exact coordinates already from 20-00 pm on April 14. There were even messages sent personally to the captain, in which it was written about nearby icebergs, but the radio operators were too lazy to deliver this information to the captain, and continued to send paid messages. But the entire crew of the ship was briefed in advance about possible glaciers, because... the route passed through them.

Iceberg

Video - Titanic. Mysteries of the death of the liner

As you can see, the Titanic was still able to sink, and not only for the above reasons, there are several more. Perhaps the most important of them is the lack of binoculars from the watching sailor, who was on the ship, but was locked in a safe, and the key was in the hands of the second mate. It was David Blair, who was removed from the flight for unknown reasons. He simply forgot to give this key to his replacement, so the lookout sailor could not see the danger. Having binoculars, trouble could be foreseen 6 km away, but without binoculars the sailor could notice it just 400 meters away. It was calm and the night was moonless. Even weather that night they were against the ship, because In any case, the light of the moon was able to reflect on the iceberg and give it away in advance.

It was also known that the iceberg was black, which means that it had turned upside down shortly before. It is possible that even under the moon the shine of the iceberg might not be noticeable, because... its white side was under water.

It is unclear that the senior officer did not notice the iceberg first, because... You can always see better on the bridge than from the sailor’s “eagle’s nest.”

About the maneuver

It should be clarified that the captain of the ship was not on the bridge at the time of the crash; he was replaced by first mate Murdoch. The results of the research indicate that the first officer gave the order “Left Handle” and immediately after that gave the order “Reverse”. But the second command was carried out late and the reverse was made after a collision with an iceberg. There is an opinion that if Murdoch had ordered the opposite, to increase the speed, then the turn of the ship would not have been smooth, but sharp. Perhaps the team’s experience let us down in this situation, because... they did not participate in testing the ship after launching, and it is very difficult to maneuver such a huge ship without preparation. Some believe that if the Titanic had not changed course, but had rammed the iceberg, it would have remained unharmed, because... the bow of the ship was protected and could, at most, only receive a small dent.

Having considered the expanded picture of the circumstances of that night, we should return to the objective and subjective reasons for the sinking of the Titanic.

Subjective reasons for the sinking of the Titanic

1. The rules of the British Merchant Shipping Code were outdated. They stated that lifeboats were placed on a ship depending on its tonnage, and not on the number of passengers. This means that there were not enough lifeboats on the Titanic, so about 500 more people were not saved.

2. There is information that the helmsman, at the command “Take to the left,” turned the steering wheel to the right.

3. The director of the company, J. Ismay, was sailing on board the ship, but he ordered the captain to sail further and not take any action so as not to incur losses. The captain complied with his order, but water entered the compartments at a speed of 350 tons per minute.

4. To date, there is no one left alive after the crash. Those who escaped died a natural death. Last passenger Titanica died in 2009. This was a woman who was on the Titanic as a 5 year old child. Only she knew the true truth of the ship's death, which her relatives told her, but the secret died with her.

Objective reasons for the sinking of the Titanic

1. Due to the fact that the iceberg turned over, because. At that time it was melting, it was not visible from the ship.

2. The speed of the ship was very high. As a result, the blow was as strong as possible. The fault here lies solely with the captain of the ship.

3. The radio operators, busy sending paid messages, did not convey to the captain important information about danger. Considering that they were not part of the team, this does not relieve them of responsibility.

4. The steel of the Titanic was not at that time best quality. The pressure on it from low temperatures led it to fragility and brittleness. The shipbuilders are not to blame here, because... they carried out work with the raw materials that were purchased by the management of the shipbuilding company.

5. All compartments of the ship were fenced with iron doors, but the water pressure was so strong that they simply shattered into small pieces. Thus, compartment after compartment was filled with water.

6. The lookout did not have binoculars, which reduced the radius of his vision from the “eagle’s nest”.

7. The ship did not have red flares, the launch of which meant a signal of danger. As a result of this, white missiles were launched, which had no meaning for neighboring ships.

This article did not discuss the ships that came to the aid of the Titanic on that fateful night, but it is worth noting the fact that the closest ship that was near the Titanic was a ship with poachers who were hunting seals that night, but after seeing the launch white rockets, they thought that this was a signal that they needed to stop and the captain of this ship ordered his crew to sail as quickly as possible in the opposite direction. Perhaps, thanks to these poachers, if they had not sailed away, many more people would have been saved, but there was no radio communication on their ship.

Thus, having analyzed the most true facts about how the Titanic sank, one can only guess which reason is still the most truthful.

The sinking of the Titanic scientific facts video

You have already read and heard about the Titanic many times. The history of the creation and crash of the liner is overgrown with rumors and myths. For more than 100 years, the British steamship has been exciting the minds of people trying to find the answer - why did the Titanic sink?

The history of the legendary liner is interesting for three reasons:

Departure day

it was the largest ship in 1912;
the number of victims turned the disaster into a global failure;
finally, James Cameron, with his film, singled out the story of the liner from the general list of maritime disasters, and.

We will tell you everything about the Titanic, as it happened in reality. About the length of the Titanic in meters, how long the Titanic sank, and who really was behind the large-scale disaster.

Where and where did the Titanic sail from?

From Cameron's film, we know that the liner was heading to New York. The American development city was to be the final stop. But not everyone knows exactly where the Titanic sailed from, believing that London was the starting point. The capital of Great Britain was not among the seaports, and therefore the ship could not depart from there.

The fatal voyage began from Southampton, a major English port from where transatlantic flights. The Titanic's path on the map clearly shows the movement. Southampton is both a port and a city located in the southern part of England (Hampshire).

See the route of the Titanic on the map:

Dimensions of the Titanic in meters

To understand more about the Titanic, the causes of the disaster need to be revealed, starting with the dimensions of the ship.

How many meters is the Titanic in length and other dimensions:

exact length – 299.1 m;
width – 28.19 m;
height from the keel - 53.3 m.

There is also the following question: how many decks did the Titanic have? There were 8 in total. Boats were located on top, which is why the upper deck was called the boat deck. The rest were distributed according to letter designation.

A – 1st class deck. Its peculiarity is its limited size - it does not fit the entire length of the vessel;
B - anchors were located in the front part of the deck and its dimensions were also shorter - 37 meters on deck C;
C – deck with galley, crew mess and promenade for III class.
D – walking area;
E – cabins of I, II classes;
F – cabins of II and III classes;
G – deck with boiler rooms in the middle.

Finally, how much does the Titanic weigh? The displacement of the largest ship of the early 20th century is 52,310 tons.

Titanic: the story of the wreck

In what year did the Titanic sink? The famous disaster occurred on the night of April 14, 1912. This was the fifth day of the trip. Chronicles indicate that at 23:40 the liner survived a collision with an iceberg and after 2 hours 40 minutes (2:20 a.m.) it went under water.

Further investigations showed that the crew received 7 weather warnings, but this did not prevent the ship from reducing its maximum speed. The iceberg directly ahead was spotted too late to take precautions. The result is holes in the starboard side. Ice damaged 90 m of skin and 5 bow compartments. This was enough to sink the liner.

Tickets to new airliner were more expensive than other ships. If a person was used to traveling in first class, then on the Titanic he would have to change to second class.

Edward Smith, the ship's captain, began the evacuation after midnight: a distress signal was sent, the attention of other ships was attracted by flares, and lifeboats were launched into the water. But the rescue was slow and uncoordinated - there was empty space in the lifeboats while the Titanic was sinking, the water temperature did not rise above two degrees below zero, and the first steamer arrived only half an hour after the disaster.

Titanic: how many people died and survived

How many people survived on the Titanic? No one will tell you the exact data, just as they could not say this on the fateful night. The list of Titanic passengers initially changed in practice, but not on paper: some canceled the trip at the moment of sailing and were not crossed off, others traveled anonymously under assumed names, and still others were listed as dead on the Titanic several times.

It is only possible to say approximately how many people drowned on the Titanic - about 1500 (minimum 1490 - maximum 1635). Among them was Edward Smith with some assistants, 8 musicians from the famous orchestra, large investors and businessmen.

Class was felt even after death - dead bodies the first class were embalmed and placed in coffins, the second and third class received bags and boxes. When the embalming agents ran out, the bodies of unknown third-class passengers were simply thrown into the water (according to the rules, unembalmed corpses could not be brought to the port).

Bodies were found within a radius of 80 km from the crash site, and due to the Gulf Stream, many were scattered even further.

Photo dead people

Initially, it was known how many passengers were on the Titanic, although not thoroughly:

crew 900 people;
195 first class;
255 second class;
493 third class people.

Some passengers disembarked at intermediate ports, while others entered. It is believed that the liner set out on the fatal route with a crew of 1,317 people, of which 124 were children.

Titanic: sinking depth - 3750 m

The English ship could accommodate 2,566 people, of which 1,034 seats were for first class passengers. The airliner's half occupancy is explained by the fact that transatlantic flights were not popular in April. At that time, a coal miners' strike broke out, which disrupted coal supplies, schedules and changes in plans.

The question of how many people were saved from the Titanic was difficult to answer because the rescue operations took place from different ships, and slow communications did not provide fast data.

After the crash, only 2/3 of the delivered bodies were identified. Some were buried locally, the rest were sent home. For a long time, bodies in white vests were found in the area of the disaster. Out of 1500 dead people Only 333 bodies were found.

At what depth does the Titanic lie?

When answering the question about the depth at which the Titanic sank, you need to remember about the pieces that were carried away by currents (by the way, they learned about this only in the 80s; before that it was believed that the liner sank to the bottom entirely). On the night of the crash, the wreckage of the liner was deposited at a depth of 3,750 m. Bow part thrown 600 m from the stern.

The place where the Titanic sank on the map:

In which ocean did the Titanic sink? - in the Atlantic.

The Titanic was raised from the bottom of the ocean

They wanted to raise the ship from the moment of the crash. Initiative plans were put forward by the relatives of the victims from the first class. But 1912 did not yet know the necessary technologies. The war, lack of knowledge and funds delayed the search for the sunken ship for a hundred years. Since 1985, 17 expeditions have been carried out, during which 5,000 objects and large hulls were brought to the surface, but the ship itself remained on the ocean floor.

Titanic underwater. Photo

What does the Titanic look like now?

In the time since the crash, the ship has become covered in marine life. Rust, the painstaking work of invertebrates and natural processes of decomposition have changed the structures beyond recognition. By this time, the bodies had already decomposed completely, and by the 22nd century, only the anchors and boilers - the most massive metal structures - would remain from the Titanic.

Photo of the sunken Titanic

Already, the interiors of the decks have been destroyed, the cabins and halls have collapsed.

Titanic, Britannic and Olympic

All three ships were produced by the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolf. Before the Titanic, the world saw the Olympic. It is easy to see a fatal predisposition in the fate of the three ships. The first airliner crashed as a result of a collision with a cruiser. Not such a large-scale disaster, but still an impressive failure.

Then the story of the Titanic, which received wide resonance in the world, and, finally, Gigantic. They tried to make this ship especially durable, taking into account the mistakes of previous liners. It was even launched, but the First World War disrupted the plans. Gigantic became a hospital ship called Britannic.

Titanic: photos underwater now

He just managed to carry out 5 calm flights, and on the sixth there was a disaster. Having been blown up by a German mine, the Britannic quickly sank. The mistakes of the past and the preparedness of the captain made it possible to save the maximum number of people - 1036 out of 1066.

Comparison of the Titanic with modern liners: photos

Is it possible to talk about evil fate when remembering the Titanic? The history of the creation and crash of the liner was studied in detail, the facts were revealed, even through time. And yet the truth is only now being revealed. The reason why the Titanic attracts attention is to hide the true motive - the creation of a currency system and the destruction of opponents. Do you have any doubts? Then read.

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