Titanic ship description. How many people were on the Titanic? How many people survived and how many died on the Titanic? Crew and passengers

Disasters always excite people's minds, even after a hundred years. Interest in any event can now be fueled by cinema; just one successful film and society will never forget about any problem or event. This is how the owners and crew of the Titanic went down in history, although not in the best light. But before talking about the shipwreck, it would be useful to know where the Titanic came from and where it sailed?

Travel between continents

Today, to cover the distance between Europe and America, it is enough to buy a plane ticket. Already on the same day, with this coveted ticket, you can find yourself on the other side of the globe, having spent 7-8 hours and not such a large amount. But jet airliners appeared in civil aviation not so long ago; before that, things were a little different. It’s quite sad, in the opinion of the modern man in the street, it was a about the invention of airplanes:

  • The only possible travel option is by ship. The journey could take weeks.
  • At the end of the 19th century, steamships were designed that made it possible to cross the ocean in 5 days.
  • But even in this short period of time anything could happen; shipwrecks are not uncommon today.
  • But the main troubles that tormented the first pilgrims, in the form of scurvy and infectious diseases, faded into the background.

At the time of Titanic's commissioning there were two main companies, one of them focusing on travel speed , another on comfort and luxury . Looking at the interior of the Titanic, you can immediately understand which of the two offices it belonged to.

Defense of the unsinkable Titanic

Everyone has heard something about the unsinkability of the Titanic and some unique system installed on the ship. It all came down to to three points:

Bulkheads

Second bottom

Pumps

There were a total of 16 watertight bulkheads.

It was located at a height of 160 cm and protected from any damage.

They worked on electricity generated by engines.

Cast iron doors were installed between each of them for the team.

It had a cellular structure, which was supposed to prevent flooding.

Water entering bulkheads and compartments was pumped out.

Damage to even a few compartments would not lead to the sinking of the ship.

It was considered an ingenious engineering solution that would avoid the ship crashing.

They could only handle a certain amount of water.

Theoretically, any minor accident should not have led to the rapid sinking of the ship. Although it is difficult to talk about insignificance when we are talking about a collision with an iceberg. It was not even possible to cope with the consequences of such contact the most modern system, which only existed at that time.

The route of the Titanic and its passengers

As already mentioned, the ship’s route ran from Europe to America. But this is not the most accurate route:

  • The liner departed from Southampton. If today this English town is not familiar to many people, then a hundred years ago it was the largest port in all of Britain.
  • The ship made its first stop in France, visiting the port of Cherbourg.
  • After this, the Titanic entered the port of Queenstown, Ireland.
  • This was the last stop of the ship; then it had to continue to its final point, the port of New York.

Such an unusual route within Europe made it possible to gather everyone. Both from the islands and from the mainland of the continent. Sending to Ireland helped to reach the desired latitude and plot the optimal route.

At that time, the United States was a country of hope and new opportunities, but despite this, not only adventurers and thrill-seekers sailed to America. The aristocracy, businessmen and industrialists traveled first class. They all went with different intentions:

  • Someone was looking for new sensations and entertainment.
  • Others sought to conclude the most profitable contracts in new markets.
  • Some explored the New World in search of profits and opportunities for growth.

But regardless of their initial motives and desires, the same inglorious outcome awaited them all.

The cause of the sinking and death of the Titanic passengers

So what was it the problem of the unsinkable ship? Yes, the length of the hole from the iceberg was more than 90 m. It is easy to understand that more than one bulkhead was broken, not two, or even three. In an attempt to evade the ice giant, the ship attempted to veer sharply off course and pass by, but was instead hit tangently. It was just such a blow that tore the skin of 5 bulkheads to shreds. The engineering system was not designed for this level of damage.

But why did almost 70% of the passengers and crew die? But here a whole a number of errors and criminal negligence:

  1. The ship was sailing at full speed, despite warnings about the presence of icebergs in these waters.
  2. It is the high speed of the vessel that explains such massive damage.
  3. The capacity of the boats was designed for only a thousand people, despite the fact that the number of passengers exceeded two thousand.
  4. The protective system played a cruel joke, keeping the ship afloat without visible changes at first. For a couple of hours, no one could even understand that the ship was sinking. In this regard, it was difficult to convince passengers to leave the comfortable decks and go to the boats.
  5. The ships nearby were either too far away or did not come to the rescue.

The first and last flight of the liner

The Titanic made its only voyage along a simple route. It had only 4 points:

  1. Southampton.
  2. Cherbourg.
  3. Queenstown.
  4. NY.

England. France. Ireland. USA. Exactly in this sequence. But the ship never reached its final destination. As do most of the passengers and crew.

A project has already been launched to build a similar ship, which will follow the same route from where the Titanic sailed. Historic flight for fans " tickle your nerves“But it all sounds too tragic.

Video: Where was the Titanic headed?

Below is the documentary “Titanic's Destination,” in which historian Anton Makarov will talk about the departure point of the legendary ship and where it sailed. The moment of the sinking of the Titanic will also be shown:

Incredible facts

The sinking of the Titanic is one of the main tragedies of the 20th century.

This is a terrible event armed many myths, speculations and rumors.

But few people know what happened to the passengers of the fateful flight, who managed to survive the worst maritime disaster of the century.

The following selection of documentary photos will give a complete picture of what happened next to those who managed to escape from the sinking ship.


Titanic passengers photo

Frederick Fleet



This photo shows 24-year-old British sailor Frederick Fleet a few days after the sinking of the Titanic. The guy was the first to notice the iceberg.

He took part in two world wars. In 1965, after a prolonged depression, Fleet took his own life.

As for the events on the Titanic, events developed approximately as follows:

On April 10, 1912, the ship set out on its first and last voyage. The huge liner was racing at full speed from Southampton to New York.

On April 14, 1912, at 23.39 pm, Friedrich Fleet noticed an iceberg right ahead, which ultimately destroyed the Titanic.

Two hours and 40 minutes later, colliding with a huge boulder, he sank.

Of the 2,224 people on board the “unsinkable” ship, only about 700 people fit into the lifeboats, thanks to which they remained alive.

The remaining 1,500 people died stranded on the sinking ship or died within minutes of hitting the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Shortly before dawn on April 15, the flotilla of survivors was spotted by the steamship Carpathia, which arrived at the site of the sinking of the Titanic. By 9 am, all surviving passengers were aboard the Carpathia.

Titanic iceberg photo

Iceberg that sank the Titanic.



Surviving passengers of the Titanic in lifeboats approach the ship Carpathia, April 15, 1912.



All the same surviving passengers in boats after a shipwreck.





Sketch of the sinking Titanic.



Sketch of a sinking ship by surviving passenger John B. Thayer. After some time, the drawings were supplemented by Mr. P.L. Skidmore (P.L. Skidmore) is already on board the ship "Carpathia" April 1912.

The surviving passengers of the Titanic try to stay warm on board the Carpathia.



When Carpathia headed to New York, it was decided to send radio messages. So the news about the tragedy spread quite quickly.

People were shocked, relatives of the passengers were in panic. In search of information about their loved ones, they attacked the offices of the White Star Line shipping company in New York, as well as in Southampton.

Some of the rich and famous surviving passengers and victims were identified before the Carpathia arrived at port.

But relatives and friends of lower-class passengers, as well as the families of crew members, continued to remain in the dark about the fate of their relatives.

The lack of connections prevented them from knowing the news immediately and they had to wait in painful uncertainty.

Carpathia arrived in New York Harbor on the rainy evening of April 18th. The ship was surrounded by more than 50 tugboats carrying journalists. They shouted and called out to survivors, offering money for first-hand interviews.

A reporter from one of the major American publications, who was on board the Carpathia at that time, had already managed to interview the survivors. He placed his notes in a floating cigar box and threw them into the water so that the publication's editor could catch the message and get the scoop first.

After all the lifeboats were launched at Pier 59, owned by the White Star Line. The ship itself docked at Pier 54. In pouring rain, the ship was greeted by an anxious crowd of 40,000 people.

People wait outside the offices of the White Star Line shipping company in New York for news.



Lifeboats, thanks to which several hundred people survived.



Lifeboats berthed at the White Star Line in New York City, April 1912.

People await the arrival of Carpathia in New York.



Huge crowds of family and friends stand in the rain, awaiting the arrival of the steamship Carpathia in New York, April 18, 1912.

About 40 thousand people are waiting for Carpathia.



Those who managed to survive the fateful voyage on the Titanic were met at the port in New York by family and friends, as well as numerous media representatives.

Some mourned the dead, some wanted autographs, and some tried to interview survivors.

The next day, the US Senate convened a special hearing on the disaster at the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

The Titanic's entire crew numbered 885 people, of whom 724 were from Southampton. At least 549 people did not return home from the fatal flight.

Surviving crew members.



Surviving crew from left to right, first row: Ernest Archer, Friedrich Fleet, Walter Perkis, George Symons and Frederick Clachen.

Second row: Arthur Bright, George Hogg, John Moore, Frank Osman and Henry Etsch.

People surrounded the Titanic survivor.



A crowd of people in the port of Devonport surrounded a man who survived the Titanic to hear first-hand what it really was like.

Payment of compensation to victims.



April 1912

J. Hanson, seated on the right, is District Secretary of the National Seamen's and Firemen's Union. The people around him are the surviving passengers of the Titanic, who receive compensation as victims of the disaster.

Relatives await the surviving passengers of the Titanic.



People wait on the Southampton railway platform for their loved ones who survived the sinking of the Titanic.

Relatives in Southampton greet their loved ones.



Relatives are waiting for the surviving crew members.



Relatives are waiting for the surviving Titanic crew to disembark in Southampton.

People are returning to their homes in England. The disaster claimed the lives of 549 crew members. There were 724 people from Southampton who worked on the ship, ranging from seaman to cook or postman.

Relatives a few minutes before meeting with surviving relatives.




Survivors of the Titanic

Relatives welcome shipwreck survivors to Southampton.



A surviving crew member kisses his wife, who was waiting for him on land at Plymouth, April 29, 1912.



Stewards testifying after the shipwreck.



The surviving stewards stand outside the courthouse. They are invited to testify to the commission investigating the Titanic disaster.

A surviving passenger of the Titanic signs autographs for passers-by.



Titanic survivors

25. The Pascoe brothers, members of the crew of the ill-fated ship, were lucky, all four of them survived.



Orphans of the Titanic



April 1912

At first, the two children who miraculously escaped could not be identified.

The children were later identified as Michelle (4 years old) and Edmond (2 years old) Navratil. To get on the ship, their father took the name Louis Hoffman and used the fictitious names Lolo and Mamon for the children.

The father, with whom the children sailed to New York, died, as a result of which difficulties arose with the real names of the brothers.

However, later they were still able to be identified and the babies were safely reunited with their mother.


In this photo, Edmond and Michelle Navratil, now grown up, and their mother.

Cameraman Harold Thomas Coffin is questioned by a Senate committee at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, May 29, 1912.



29. Baby Titanic


A nurse holds newborn Lucien P. Smith. His mother Eloise was pregnant with him when she and her husband returned from their honeymoon aboard the Titanic.

The baby's father died in the accident.

Eloise subsequently married another survivor of the terrible flight, Robert P. Daniel.


And finally, a photograph of the Titanic itself on the day when it set out on its first and last fateful voyage...

100 years ago, on the night of April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Titanic liner sank, with more than 2,200 people on board.

Titanic is the largest passenger ship of the early 20th century, the second of three twin steamships produced by the British company White Star Line.

The length of the Titanic was 260 meters, width - 28 meters, displacement - 52 thousand tons, height from the waterline to the boat deck - 19 meters, distance from the keel to the top of the pipe - 55 meters, maximum speed - 23 knots. Journalists compared it in length to three city blocks, and in height to an 11-story building.

The Titanic had eight steel decks, located one above the other at a distance of 2.5-3.2 meters. To ensure safety, the ship had a double bottom, and its hull was separated by 16 waterproof compartments. Watertight bulkheads rose from the second bottom to the deck. The ship's chief designer, Thomas Andrews, stated that even if four of the 16 compartments were filled with water, the liner would be able to continue its journey.

The interiors of the cabins on decks B and C were designed in 11 styles. Third class passengers on decks E and F were separated from first and second class by gates located in different parts of the ship.

Before the Titanic set out on its first and last voyage, it was especially emphasized that there would be 10 millionaires on board the ship on its first voyage, and in its safes there would be gold and jewelry worth hundreds of millions of dollars. American industrialist, heir to a mining magnate Benjamin Guggenheim, millionaire with his young wife, assistant to US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft Major Archibald Willingham Butt, US Congressman Isidore Strauss, actress Dorothy Gibson, wealthy public figure Margaret Brown, British fashion designer Lucy Christiane Duff Gordon and many other famous and wealthy people of that time.

On April 10, 1912, at noon, the superliner Titanic set off on its only journey along the route Southampton (Great Britain) - New York (USA), with stops in Cherbourg (France) and Queenstown (Ireland).

During the four days' journey the weather was clear and the sea was calm.

On April 14, 1912, on the fifth day of the voyage, several ships sent reports of icebergs in the area of ​​the ship's route. The radio was broken for most of the day, and many messages were not noticed by the radio operators, and the captain did not pay due attention to others.

In the evening, the temperature began to drop, reaching zero Celsius by 22:00.

At 23:00, a message was received from the Californian about the presence of ice, but the Titanic's radio operator interrupted the radio exchange before the Californian had time to report the coordinates of the area: the telegraph operator was busy sending personal messages to passengers.

At 23:39, two lookouts noticed an iceberg in front of the liner and reported it by telephone to the bridge. The most senior of the officers, William Murdoch, gave the command to the helmsman: “Rudder to port.”

At 23:40 "Titanic" in the underwater part of the ship. Of the ship's 16 watertight compartments, six were cut through.

At 00:00 on April 15, Titanic designer Thomas Andrews was called to the bridge to assess the severity of the damage. After reporting the incident and inspecting the ship, Andrews informed everyone present that the liner would inevitably sink.

There was a noticeable tilt on the ship's bow. Captain Smith ordered the lifeboats to be uncovered and the crew and passengers to be summoned for evacuation.

By order of the captain, the radio operators began sending distress signals, which they transmitted for two hours, until the captain relieved the telegraph operators of their duties a few minutes before the sinking of the ship.

Distress signals, but they were too far from the Titanic.

At 00:25, the coordinates of the Titanic were accepted by the ship Carpathia, which was located 58 nautical miles from the site of the wreck of the liner, which was 93 kilometers. ordered to immediately head to the site of the Titanic disaster. Rushing to help, the ship was able to reach a record speed of 17.5 knots - with the maximum possible speed for the ship being 14 knots. To do this, Rostron ordered to turn off all appliances that consume electricity and heating.

At 01:30 the operator of the Titanic telegraphed: “We are in small boats.” By order of Captain Smith, his assistant, Charles Lightoller, who led the rescue of people on the left side of the liner, put only women and children in the boats. The men, according to the captain, were supposed to remain on deck until all the women were in the boats. First Mate William Murdoch on the starboard side to the men if there were no women or children in the line of passengers gathering on deck.

At about 02:15, the Titanic's bow dropped sharply, the ship moved forward significantly, and a huge wave rolled across the decks, washing many passengers overboard.

At about 02:20 minutes the Titanic sank.

At about 04:00 in the morning, approximately three and a half hours after receiving the distress signal, the Carpathia arrived at the site of the Titanic's wreck. The ship took on board 712 passengers and crew members of the Titanic, after which it arrived safely in New York. Among those rescued were 189 crew members, 129 male passengers and 394 women and children.

The death toll, according to various sources, ranged from 1,400 to 1,517 people. According to official data, after the disaster, 60% of passengers were in first class cabins, 44% in second class cabins, 25% in third class.

The last surviving passenger of the Titanic, who traveled on board the liner at the age of nine weeks, died on May 31, 2009 at the age of 97. The woman's ashes were scattered over the sea from the pier in the port of Southampton, from where the Titanic set off on its last voyage in 1912.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

DESCRIPTION OF THE SHIP: Titanic is a British transatlantic steamer, the second liner of the Olympic class. Built in Belfast at the Harland and Wolfe shipyard from 1909 to 1912 for the White Star Line shipping company. At the time of commissioning it was the largest ship in the world. On the night of April 14-15, 1912, during her maiden voyage, she crashed in the North Atlantic, colliding with an iceberg. The Titanic was equipped with two four-cylinder steam engines and a steam turbine. The entire power plant had a capacity of 55,000 hp. With. The ship could reach speeds of up to 23 knots (42 km/h). Its displacement, which exceeded the twin steamer Olympic by 243 tons, was 52,310 tons. The ship's hull was made of steel. The hold and lower decks were divided into 16 compartments by bulkheads with sealed doors. If the bottom was damaged, the double bottom prevented water from entering the compartments. Shipbuilder magazine called the Titanic virtually unsinkable, a statement that was widely circulated in the press and among the public. In accordance with outdated rules, the Titanic was equipped with 20 lifeboats, with a total capacity of 1,178 people, which was only a third of the ship's maximum load. The cabins and public areas of the Titanic were divided into three classes. First class passengers were provided with a swimming pool, a squash court, an A la carte restaurant, two cafes, and a gym. All classes had dining and smoking lounges, open and closed promenades. The most luxurious and sophisticated were the first class interiors, made in various artistic styles using expensive materials such as mahogany, gilding, stained glass, silk and others. The third class cabins and salons were decorated as simply as possible: steel walls were painted white or lined with wood panels.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DISASTER: On April 10, 1912, the Titanic set sail from Southampton on its first and only voyage. After making stops in Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, the ship entered the Atlantic Ocean with 1,317 passengers and 908 crew members on board. The ship was commanded by Captain Edward Smith. On April 14, the Titanic's radio station received seven ice warnings, but the liner continued to move almost at top speed. To avoid encountering floating ice, the captain ordered to go slightly south of the usual route. At 23:39 on April 14, the lookout reported to the captain's bridge about an iceberg directly ahead. Less than a minute later there was a collision. Having received several holes, the ship began to sink. Women and children were put on the boats first. At 2:20 on April 15, the Titanic sank, breaking into two parts, killing 1,496 people. 712 survivors were picked up by the steamship Carpathia.

SEARCHING FOR WRECKS: The wreckage of the Titanic rests at a depth of 3750 m. It was first discovered by Robert Ballard's expedition in 1985. Subsequent expeditions recovered thousands of artifacts from the bottom. The bow and stern parts are deeply buried in the bottom silt and are in a deplorable condition; raising them to the surface intact is not possible.

WHERE THE TITANIC SINKED: This question has received many answers from Internet users. Here are some of them:

1. For a long time, the exact coordinates of the location of the Titanic wreckage were kept secret and only inaccurate coordinates from the Titanic SOS were mentioned - “41 degrees 46 minutes North and 50 degrees 14 minutes West,” but after UNESCO recognized the Titanic wreck as a cultural heritage and took them under protection; the actual coordinates were published.

2. The wreck of the largest steamship at that time, the Titanic, occurred during its maiden voyage on the night of April 14-15, 1912 in the northern waters of the Atlantic Ocean, 645 kilometers west of Newdowland Island.

3. The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean more than halfway from Great Britain to New York on April 14, 1912, after hitting an iceberg. The remains of the Titanic lie on the bottom of the Atlantic, south of the Great Newfoundland Bank, at a depth of 3.75 km, but not compactly: separately, the bow part, which sank first, 700 meters to the south - the stern part of the Titanic, around several hundred meters - debris and individual components of the vessel.

4. The sinking of the Titanic is one of the biggest tragedies in the world. This happened on April 14, 1912. The Titanic was making its maiden voyage, collided with an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Canada.

5. The Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. Twenty-five minutes after the Titanic's collision with the iceberg, at the captain's command, the radio operator sent the first signal asking for help and indicated the coordinates - 41 degrees 46 minutes north latitude and 50 degrees 14 minutes west longitude. The approximate coordinates of the location of the ship's remains are 41.43.16 N and 49.56.27 W. Approximate because the two largest parts of the ship are located at a distance of 600 meters from each other, and small parts are scattered within a radius of 3-4 kilometers. By the way, the underwater canyon where the Titanic sank now bears the name of the lost ship. (source National Geographic) The site of the sinking of the Titanic has now been determined precisely, and if we take as the reference point the location of the steam boilers that fell out of the interior of the broken, sinking ship and rapidly fell to the bottom almost vertically, then the coordinates of the site of the Titanic disaster are as follows: 41°43 "35" N and 49 ° 56 "50" W.

6. The Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean before reaching Bermuda. The exact coordinates are still disputed. "California" gave only coordinates by which it is known where exactly the collision with the iceberg occurred - at a point with coordinates 41 degrees 46 seconds; north latitude and 50 degrees 14 seconds; western longitude, but then it was found that they had calculated them incorrectly. After the collision, the ship continued to move for some time before it sank.

7. The Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, a little more than five hundred kilometers west of Newdowland Island. The exact coordinates of the site of the sinking of the Titanic are considered to be: 41 degrees 43 minutes 57 seconds north latitude and 49 degrees 56 minutes 49 seconds west longitude. This is the nose part. The stern part is located in a slightly different place: 41 degrees 43 minutes 35 seconds north latitude and 49 degrees 56 minutes 54 seconds west longitude.

8. If you are interested in the coordinates of the shipwreck, that is, the exact place where the Titanic sank, then it is 645 km west of the island called Newfoundland. By the way, they learned about the exact location of the Titanic’s wreck only in 1985. In 2012, the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic was celebrated. This was the first and last voyage of the Titanic.

9. The place where the Titanic sank has coordinates: 41 degrees 46 minutes north latitude and 50 degrees 14 minutes west longitude.

10. The Titanic sank off the coast of Canada during its very maiden voyage on April 14, 1912. Coordinates: 41°43min.55sec. north lat. 49°56 min.45 sec. zap. duty. The sinking of the Titanic impressed and continues to impress - the famous film Titanic only fueled interest in the disaster.

11. The Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 14, 1912. The exact coordinates of his shipwreck are 41 degrees 46 minutes north latitude and 50 degrees 14 minutes west longitude. Director James Cameron even made the film Titanic based on this event.

12. An expedition was able to determine the exact location where the remains of the Titanic liner are located only in 1985. The Titanic is located at a depth of 3925 meters in the Atlantic Ocean, 375 miles from the island of Newfoundland.

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One of the most tragic and at the same time of the 20th century remains the crash of the largest passenger liner of its time - the Titanic. There are still numerous disputes about the details of his death: how many were on the Titanic, how many of them survived and how many died, whose fault was in the disaster. Let's try to at least partially understand these nuances.

History of construction

In order to find out how many people were on the Titanic, you first need to determine the number of passengers and crew it could potentially accommodate. For this purpose, let’s dive into the history of construction
The very idea of ​​​​creating a giant passenger ship arose in connection with intense competition between the White Star Line and Cunard Line companies. By that time, the latter corporation had already been able to create several large intercontinental liners, the largest for its time. Naturally, the White Star Line did not want to lag behind. This is how the idea of ​​​​creating the Titanic was born, which was supposed to break records in size and capacity.

Construction began in the spring of 1909 at a shipyard in Belfast, Ireland. More than one and a half thousand workers took part in the construction of this giant. They were built using standard methods for that time, in which a vertical keel was mounted on the horizontal keel of the ship.

In the late spring of 1911, the Titanic was finally launched. But this did not mean that the construction was completed. Next, equipment was installed in the engine room and finishing work was carried out.

In February 1912 the ship was completely ready, and in April it was put into operation.

Technical characteristics of the Titanic

The Titanic, at the time of its creation, was the largest ship that had ever existed. Its length was 259.8 m, height - 18.4 m, width - more than 28 m, draft - 10.54 m, displacement - 52,310 tons, weight - 46,330 tons. At the same time, it had a power of 55,000 horsepower and developed a speed of 24 knots, which was achieved thanks to three propellers, two four-cylinder engines and a steam turbine. Such dimensions and the presence of fifteen partitions created the illusion of unsinkability.

Now let's find out how many people could be on board the Titanic at the same time. According to technical specifications, the ship could accommodate 2,556 passengers and 908 crew members. Total - 3464 people. At the same time, there were only 20 lifeboats on the Titanic, which could accommodate only 1,178 passengers. That is, even initially it was assumed that in the event of a large-scale disaster, less than half of the people who could potentially be on the liner would be able to escape. But, most likely, no one even thought that such a disaster could happen on an “unsinkable” ship.

But, of course, the potential capacity of the ship does not yet give an exact answer to the question of how many people were on the Titanic at the time of the disaster. We'll talk about this below.

Departure

The Titanic made its first and, as it turned out, last voyage in the direction of Southampton (Britain) - New York (USA) across the Atlantic Ocean. The departure was scheduled for April 10, 1912.

Smith, one of the most experienced sailors of that time, was appointed captain. He had twenty-five years of command experience behind him.

After loading passengers on the appointed day at 12:00, the Titanic set off on its final journey.

Number of passengers and crew

Now let's find out how many people were on the Titanic when it set off on its fateful voyage.

According to the official chronicle, the number of crew on the liner when it left Southampton was 891 people. Of these, 390 were ship crew, eight of whom were officers, the rest were service personnel.

The situation with counting passengers is more complicated, since their number was constantly changing. This was due to the fact that some passengers disembarked, while others, on the contrary, boarded the ship at intermediate stops in Cherbourg and Queenstown.

943 passengers departed from Southampton, of whom 195 traveled first class. But by the time it entered the open ocean, the number of passengers had increased to 1,317 people. 324 of them were lucky enough to travel in first class; 128 and 708 people were in second and third class, respectively. It should be noted that there were 125 children among the passengers.

Thus, we see that with the Titanic’s total passenger capacity of 2,556 people, on its first and last voyages it was slightly more than half loaded. It should be noted that the provided number of boats would not even be enough to save all the passengers, not to mention the crew.

Among the famous passengers of the Titanic are millionaires John Jacob Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, journalist William Stead, and assistant to American President Archibald Bath.

Thus, we answered the question of how many people were on the Titanic.

Swimming

As already mentioned, after calling at Cherbourg and Queenstown, the liner entered the open ocean and headed along the transatlantic route to the shores of North America. The Titanic was given a speed of 21 knots, with a maximum speed of 24 knots.

The weather was excellent during the trip. The voyage itself took place without any special incidents or deviations from the course.

On April 14, 1912, having covered a total of 2,689 kilometers of the Atlantic route, the Titanic reached a point near Newfoundland where it had its fatal encounter with an iceberg.

Collision

Icebergs are quite common companions for ships in the North Atlantic. But the Titanic was moving, as it was believed, along a safe course, on which there should be no ice blocks at that time of year. Nevertheless, on April 14, closer to midnight, their meeting took place.

The commands “Left aboard” and “Full back” were immediately given. But it was already too late. Such a huge ship as the Titanic could not successfully maneuver in such a narrow space. The collision occurred at 11:40 p.m.

The blow was not particularly strong. Nevertheless, even this was enough to play a fatal role in the fate of many passengers and crew members. How many people died on the Titanic because of this fatal blow...

After the collision with the iceberg, six holes were formed in five compartments. The Titanic was not designed for such a turn of events. The command realized that the fate of the ship was sealed. The designer stated that the ship will remain on the surface for no more than an hour and a half.

Passenger evacuation

The order was immediately given to rescue the passengers; first of all, the crew prepared the boats.

To prevent panic among the passengers, the true reasons for the evacuation were hidden from them; they said that it was being carried out to prevent a possible collision with an iceberg. Convincing people of this was not particularly difficult, because, as mentioned above, the impact on the Titanic was practically unnoticeable. Many did not even want to leave the comfortable ship and transfer to boats.

But when the water began to gradually flood the ship, it was no longer possible to hide the true state of things. There was panic on board, which intensified after the Titanic began to list. It became clear that there were not enough boats for all. The stampede began. Everyone wanted to be among the rescued, although the team made every effort to let women and children through first.

Two hours after midnight, the last boat with passengers set sail from the sinking ship. There was nothing else to transport the remaining people.

The sinking of the Titanic

Meanwhile, water filled the ship more and more. The captain's bridge was the first to be flooded. The bow of the ship went under the water, and the stern, on the contrary, rose up a little. The people remaining on the Titanic rushed there.

As the ship sank, the angle between the ship's stern and bow began to increase, causing the Titanic to break in two. At 2:20 the liner finally sank.

But how many people died on the Titanic? Did any of the remaining passengers and crew on the ship survive? And how many people were saved from the Titanic? We will try to answer these questions below.

Number of people saved

In order to find out how many people died on the Titanic, you need to determine two mandatory inputs. With their help it will be possible to answer this question. First of all, we need to find out how many people were on the Titanic. We defined this above. You also need to know how many people were saved from the Titanic. Below we will try to answer this question.

According to official statistics, a total of 712 people were rescued. Of these, 212 are crew members and 500 passengers. The largest percentage of people saved were among first class passengers, 62%. The survival rates in second and third grade were 42.6% and 25.6%, respectively. At the same time, only 23.6% of the team members were able to escape.

These figures are explained by the fact that the order was given to rescue passengers first, and not crew members. The greater number of survivors traveling in first class is due to the fact that the lower the class, the further it was located from the deck of the ship. Consequently, people had less access to lifeboats.

If we talk about how many people on the Titanic survived among those passengers and crew members who could not be evacuated, then we need to state the fact that it was simply impossible to save one’s life in these conditions. The sufferer sucked everything into the abyss.

Now it will not be difficult for us to determine how many people drowned on the Titanic.

How many people died?

Having determined how many people survived on the Titanic, and also keeping in mind the original number of passengers and crew members, it is not difficult to answer the question of the number of deaths during the sinking.

1,496 people died, that is, more than 67% of the people on the ship at the time of the collision with the ice block. Including 686 casualties among crew members and 810 passengers. These figures indicate poor organization of rescue of people in distress.

Thus, we found out how many people died on the Titanic.

Causes of the disaster

It is difficult to judge how great the guilt of the crew members who were unable to notice the iceberg in time was. But it should be noted that the collision occurred late at night, and in latitudes where no one expected to see a block of ice at this time of year.

Another thing is that the designers of the ship and the organizers of the voyage relied too much on the unsinkability of the Titanic. For this reason, only half of the required number of boats were located on the ship. In addition, when organizing the evacuation, the crew members did not know their exact capacity, so the first rescue boats were only half full.

How many people died on the Titanic, how many families lost relatives only because no one even seriously thought about the possibility of a disaster...

The meaning of the disaster

It is difficult to overestimate the impact that the sinking of the Titanic had on the minds of contemporaries. It was perceived as a response from the forces of nature to the aspirations of a man who, in his pride, decided that he had created an unsinkable ship.

There were also disputes among experts about the true causes of the tragedy and whether it could have been avoided, how many people survived on the Titanic and how many died.

The death of this miracle of human thought still haunts the consciousness of people. This disaster continues to influence culture to this day. Books are written and films are made about the fate of the Titanic and the people who were on it at the time of the disaster.

 

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