How long did the Titanic travel before it sank? How did the Titanic sink? The wreck of the Titanic: history. Technical characteristics and project budget

The ship sank in 2 hours 40 minutes. At the time of the disaster, there were 1,316 passengers and 891 crew members on board, for a total of 2,207 people. Of these, 705 people were saved, 1,502 died. The sinking of the Titanic caused widespread public outcry, becoming the largest maritime disaster of its time in terms of the number of victims. Currently, it is one of the five largest peacetime maritime disaster victims of all time.

April 14, 1912

23:00 The Californian warns of the presence of ice, but the Titanic's radio operator Jack Phillips interrupts radio communication before the Californian can report the coordinates of the area.

23:39 From the crow's nest on the Titanic's mast, lookout Frederick Fleet notices an iceberg just ¼ mile (663 meters) ahead of the ship. Flit immediately rings the bell three times and shouts into the phone: “The iceberg is straight ahead!” First Officer William Murdoch immediately gives the commands “Right to board!” (in the original “Hard a” starboard” - according to the command system used at that time, it corresponded to moving the tiller to the right; the rudder and therefore the bow of the ship turned to the left) and “Stop!”, and then “Full back!”, counting go around the iceberg on the left.

The Titanic does not have time to complete the maneuver and crashes into the underwater part of the iceberg with a glancing blow. At a depth of one to six meters below the waterline, the iceberg damages the hull of the liner for about 90 meters. As studies of the remains of the ship resting at the bottom have shown, the Titanic received several narrow but long holes.

The hull of the Titanic stood at an angle of 19 degrees and sank into the water up to the third chimney. The second chimney broke off underwater. Everyone who did not manage to catch on to the davit ropes or deck superstructures rolled into the water, knocked down by the chairs and sun loungers that flew down. Some did not try to climb back to the stern, but jumped down themselves.

The stern of the Titanic already rose 60 meters above the water, and passengers fell from the decks into the water.

The last SOS signal from the Titanic was recorded. On the Titanic, electrical equipment fails and the lights go out.

At an angle of 23 degrees, the ship's hull began to break between the second and third pipes. After the stern finally broke off, the third and fourth pipes fell into the water.

2 hours and 40 minutes after the collision with the iceberg, the stern of the Titanic stood almost vertically (at an angle of 70 degrees), tilted to the left side and began to quickly go under water. The last of those remaining on deck, seeing that there was no chance of salvation, jumped down themselves. Ocean waters broke through into the quickly sinking ship, breaking doors and bulkheads with their pressure. Just half a minute later, the water had already closed over the Titanic’s stern flagpole.

Victims of the collapsible lifeboat "D"

At about 13 mph bow The Titanic crashes into the ocean floor at a depth of 3,750 meters, burrowing into the sedimentary rocks of the bottom [ unreputable source?] .

The stern of the Titanic sinks to the ocean floor, rotating in a spiral, at a speed of about 4 miles per hour.

After the sinking of the Titanic, only one lifeboat returned to the sinking site to rescue survivors. Lifeboat 4 did not return, but was close and picked up 8 crew members, two of whom later died. Lifeboat 14 rescued 4 people, one of whom, William Haught, later died.

“Carpathia” gets to the scene of the disaster and picks up boat number 2.

Notes

Literature

Captain L. Marmaduke Collins. THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC. An Ice-Pilot's Perspective. - Breakwater Books, Limited, 2002. - 198 p. - ISBN 1-55081-173-8 Text for reference
Jay Henry Mowbray. The Sinking of the Titanic: Eyewitness Accounts. - Dover Pubns, 1998. - ISBN 0-486-40298-3 Text for reference
Robert Gannon. What Really Sank the Titanic? - Popular Science, vol. 246, no. 2 (February 1995). - P. 49-55, 83-84.(One of the chronology options)

Links

More than 100 years have passed since the tragic sinking of the Titanic. Largely thanks to the efforts of James Cameron and his film - one of the highest grossing and ratings in history, everyone learned about this ship. But despite the fact that every first person on our planet has heard about the Titanic, many fundamental details associated with the disaster on April 14, 1912, still remain little known. Let's correct this omission.

The weather was perfect

On the day the Titanic sank, there was absolute calm at sea.

It’s easy enough to imagine how the Titanic liner struggles with high waves, how fog and heavy rain hide the iceberg that later sent the ship to the bottom. But it wasn't like that at all. When the Titanic headed to the place of its destruction, the weather was beautiful, one might even say frighteningly calm. There was no wind or waves, and the surface of the sea was flawlessly smooth - like a mirror. Maybe, beautiful weather

and contributed to the tragedy.

Even a slight ripple on the water surface could push phosphorescent plankton right up to the edges of the iceberg, and it could be noticed in advance. The second captain of the Titanic, Charles Lightoller, singled out the lack of luminous plankton as one of the reasons for the disaster. Perhaps the absolute calm also prevented the sudden change in temperature that always warns the crew of a dangerous approach to an iceberg.

Unfortunately, when lookout Frederick Fleet noticed a block of ice directly ahead, it was already too late to avoid a collision. During an investigation in 1912, experts found that from the moment the iceberg was discovered, the ship had only 37 seconds to change course.

Other experts said that the time was slightly longer - about 65 seconds. In any case, the Titanic was doomed, because even if the “full stop” command had been given, the liner would have moved by inertia for about 3.5 minutes.

As luck would have it, immediately after the accident a strong cold wind arose, which literally froze people struggling for life in the icy water.

This is interesting: In total, during the sinking of the Titanic, 1,514 people on board (including the crew) died, 710 were saved. 76% of women, 51% of children and only 18% of men were able to survive. Of the 908 crew members, 696 were killed.

The whole trip was accompanied by fire

The surviving fireman, John Dilley, said: “We were unable to put out the fire, and the stokers said that when we disembarked the passengers, we would have to empty all the large coal bunkers, and then call the fire boats to help us put out the fire.” John claims that the flames only went out when a block of ice ruptured the hull. The water instantly flooded the bunkers.

Some other crew members claim that the fire was successfully extinguished on the morning of April 14 - that same fateful day. Be that as it may, the Titanic burned throughout its entire maiden voyage. It is not certain that the fire would have led to catastrophic consequences, because the designers designed the steel bunkers to withstand coal fires. Nevertheless, the risks increased many times over.

This is interesting: Managing Director of White Star Line“Bruce Ismay later claimed that John Pierpont Morgan, the owner of the IMM company, which owned the Titanic, forced the crew to sail at maximum speed in order to “sail to New York and disembark the people before the inevitable explosions occurred.”

By the way, Morgan himself was supposed to be among the passengers, but a few minutes before departure for some reason he changed his mind and got off the ship.

William Steed's tragic foresight of disaster

William Steed is a man who foresaw the disaster... And died in it

Even 26 years before the sinking of the Titanic, British journalist William Steed wrote a fictional story about the sinking of a large Atlantic mail steamer.

In the story, most of the passengers drowned due to a shortage of lifeboats. With this story, Steed wanted to draw public attention to the fact that ship crews do not demand that there be a sufficient number of boats to save all passengers on board.

William Steed returned to this topic again in 1892. In the climactic chapter, a ship crosses the Atlantic Ocean with hundreds of tourists on board. Here is an excerpt: “There was a roar, as if a steamship had hit ice. The propellers spun, cutting through ice blocks. All passengers carefully climbed onto the deck. The weather was damp and very cold. Every half minute a whistle blew from somewhere in the fog. The roar of the ship grinding against the side and the ice being ground by the screws made it impossible to talk or be heard. But suddenly a desperate cry was heard from the darkness: “Iceberg on the starboard side!”

20 years later, Steed died while on board the Titanic...

Captain Edward Smith was shocked when he realized that all the passengers could not be saved.

The captain of the infamous ship, Edward John Smith, has become the hero of dozens of legends since the day he sank with the Titanic. Many claim that he managed to personally save the child’s life before dying. But it is worth noting that his heroic image is slightly embellished.

In addition to the captain ignoring iceberg warnings and not keeping the Titanic at a reasonable speed, Smith also allowed several lifeboats to leave the Titanic half empty. It is known that in the first departing boat (out of sixteen), designed for 65 people, there were only 28 passengers, in the second - 36, in the third - 32, in the fourth and fifth - 28 each.

They say that when Smith learned that the Titanic could not be kept afloat, he realized that even with the maximum load of lifeboats, at least 1,000 people would remain on the sinking ship. The realization of this fact horrified him. The captain temporarily lost his resolve: he did not demand an early evacuation, did not organize the work of the team, gave only vague and contradictory orders, and did not answer the officers and sailors who asked him about something. Edward Smith did not give the order to load the boats to the maximum due to their shortage, and did not monitor the evacuation and the accuracy of the execution of his orders.

Later, when the last boat was launched, Smith walked along the boat deck for the last time. He ordered all crew members to stop working and try to save themselves. The captain repeated, “From now on, every man for himself.”

This is interesting: When the Titanic sank, out of the hundreds of people who found themselves in the water, only a few survived. Crew members Charles Lightoller, Jack Thayer, Archibald Gracie and about 30 other people managed to climb onto the folding boat turned upside down. Realizing the danger of complete flooding of the boat, they were forced to push away people floating nearby with oars, not paying attention to pleas for help. Later in his book, Gracie admired the behavior of those left in the icy water: “I did not hear a single reproach after the refusal of help. Refusals were met with courageous words: “Okay, good luck, guys, and God bless you!”

It was only in 2012 that it became known that Smith had failed a navigation test on his first try. He managed to do this only in 1888. However, the initial failure was perhaps not a good sign.

The only Japanese on board

Masabumi Hosono was hated and treated like a coward in Japan

The only Japanese passenger on the Titanic was civil servant Masabumi Hosono. Before boarding the ship and starting his journey home, he spent several months studying railway systems in Europe. As the Titanic began to sink, Hosono made his way to the upper deck to face death with dignity. He understood that there was practically no chance of survival, because the crew members put only women and children in the boats, and drove the men away at gunpoint. Suddenly, Hosono found that he could save himself.

The opportunity arose when a crew member shouted that there were 2 empty seats left in the lowered lifeboat. Seeing someone jump into the water, Hosono did the same. If he could have known what consequences this would lead to in the future, he might have chosen to die.

It was then believed that it was better for a worthy man to die with honor than to survive in a disgraceful manner. After returning to Japan, Hosono was branded a coward and hated by almost the entire country. He was fired from his government job, although he was hired back a few years later. Negative reviews about the Asian man who survived in boat No. 13, lead to the conclusion that it was Hosono.

This is interesting: The water temperature outside was −2°C (freezing threshold). Some people, once in it, died of a heart attack immediately. Others died after about half an hour. At first, due to severe hypothermia, severe trembling appeared, then the pulse and body temperature slowed down. Soon the man lost consciousness and died.

In 1997, Masabumi's reputation was partially restored when a handwritten description of the tragedy was found among his belongings. In a letter to his wife, Hosono mentioned that he was in boat No. 10. If this is true, then he could not be that Asian.

Real Titanic necklace

The Heart of the Ocean Necklace Really Existed

In the movie Titanic, a magnificent necklace was mentioned called the Heart of the Ocean. You might think that this is the director's invention. But it turns out that a similar story happened on a real ship: passenger Kate Phillips was given a valuable sapphire necklace by her lover Henry Morley.

A wealthy 40-year-old confectionery owner fell in love with 19-year-old Kate, who worked as an assistant for his competitor. Soon Morley decided to leave his wife and little daughter for Kate. The couple boarded the Titanic to escape and start a new life in California. On the night of the disaster, Kate managed to get on board the last rescue boat. And Henry Morley died.

After 9 months, Kate gave birth to a baby, whom she named Ellen. Only at the age of 76 did Ellen learn that her father was one of dead passengers"Titanic". When she talked to her mother about it, she learned that Kate still had that same sapphire necklace.

Errors and theories

Perhaps the Supermoon is to blame for the disaster

Researchers have repeatedly tried to figure out why the Titanic collided with an ice block. Immediately after the disaster, British and American experts decided that the ship was moving too fast. At low speeds the damage would be much less, and the chances of avoiding a collision would increase. And so the iceberg, like a can opener, ripped open 5 bow compartments of the Titanic. During the collision, 6 holes appeared in the starboard side skin, the total length of which reached 90 meters.

This is interesting: The hull of the liner was divided into 16 watertight compartments using 15 bulkheads built across the ship. The designers calculated that the Titanic would be able to stay afloat if any 2 compartments or 4 adjacent ones (bow or stern) were flooded at the same time.

In 2010, journalist Louise Patton, the granddaughter of one of the Titanic's officers, suggested that the ship would have avoided the collision if helmsman Robert Hitchins had not panicked after reporting the iceberg and first turned the wheel in the opposite direction. Louise is sure that her grandfather conspired with other crew members to try to keep this mistake a secret. The truth could destroy the reputation of the White Star Line and all its colleagues.

At the same time, two astronomers from the University of Texas suggest that a rare “Supermoon” could have caused the movement of the iceberg. Note that a “Supermoon” occurs when, at the moment of the full moon, our satellite approaches the Earth at its closest close quarters. It is known that on January 4, 1912, the Moon approached the Earth at its closest distance in the last 1.5 thousand years. This happened the day after the so-called perihelion of the Earth (the planet's closest approach to the Sun). As a result of the combined gravitational influence of the Sun and Moon, unusually strong tidal forces could arise.

Astronomers believe that powerful flows of water set in motion many icebergs along the path of the Titanic, which created all the preconditions for a disaster.

Elizabeth Shutes

Titanic passenger Elizabeth Shutes claimed that shortly before the disaster she was shocked by the smell of ice, which did not allow her to sleep properly. He reminded her of a huge ice cave

, which Shutes once visited. Elizabeth survived and later wrote her own account of the tragedy. Shutes was the governess of 19-year-old First Class passenger Margaret Gramm. When the liner vibrated and shuddered slightly for the first time, the girl was not very worried about it, being sure that nothing threatened the huge ship. Elizabeth was lying in her cabin when her friend knocked on the door and reported that she had seen through the window of her cabin huge iceberg

, which the airliner collided with. Then Elizabeth asked the stewards if this was true, but received a negative answer.

It was only after the first-class passengers were herded to the upper deck that Shutes realized the gravity of the situation. As she wrote in her memoirs, there were only 36 people in the lifeboat she was in (even though it was designed for 65 seats). Elizabeth was almost forced into the boat against her will. The girl wanted to stay on the ship, because she did not believe that such a huge liner could sink. But when the boat sailed a sufficient distance, the Titanic broke into two parts and disappeared under water in a matter of seconds.

Parallels with the crash of the Costa Concordia liner Is there a connection between the death " Costa Concordia

"and 'Titanic'?

This is interesting: Many people draw parallels between the sinking of the Italian ship Costa Concordia and the sinking of the Titanic. First, some surviving Concordia passengers claimed that Celine Dion's famous song "My Heart Will Go On" was playing in the dining room when the ship hit the rock. Secondly, both liners met their end within 100 years of each other. There are other strange coincidences. The christening of both ships was unsuccessful - a bottle of champagne did not break on the side of the Costa Concordia.

They say that the same thing happened to the Titanic. Both disasters were caused by human error. Finally, both ships were sailing at maximum speed at the time of the disaster.

Perhaps the most significant difference is the reputations of the two captains. When people remember the captain of the Titanic, Edward Smith, as a hero who died along with the ship and previously saved the life of a child, only curses are heard against Francesco Schetino. Shchetino, along with the second officer, fled from the ship when there were still 300 passengers on board who could have been saved.

Distress signals from the Titanic were interpreted by the crew of a nearby ship as mirages.

The sinking Titanic sent distress signals several times. In addition, 8 signal flares were launched. The California ship, closest to the crash site, ignored the missiles, although they brightly lit up the night sky. The California captain later lost his job due to the scandal, as many people believed that he deliberately ignored signals. But further investigation into the causes of the Titanic disaster allows us to give a more plausible explanation for its behavior - the refraction of light.

It is important to note that on the night of April 14-15, the Titanic sailed through areas of the so-called thermal inversion. It causes incorrect refraction of light, which causes mirages to appear. According to historian Tim Maltin, dozens of mirages were observed from several ships close to the accident site on the fateful night. Maltin is confident that temperature conditions caused anomalous refraction of light. This can explain, for example, why the Titanic's lookouts reported that the ship was heading towards the iceberg too late.

These mirages kept the California crew from correctly interpreting distress signals. Maltin made this conclusion in 2012, 20 years after the British government officially closed its own investigation into the influence of light refraction on the sinking of the Titanic.

The sinking of the Titanic, even more than a hundred years later, remains one of the most famous disasters in history. The dramatic events that took place on board the ship on the night of April 15, 1912 are reflected in art. Interest in the death of the ship, which was considered unsinkable, continues to this day. Hundreds of books, thousands of articles have been written about the Titanic, documentaries and feature films have been made. And in memory of the victims of the disaster in different countries ah monuments and memorials have been erected.

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 the jetliners civil aviation appeared 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.
IN late XIX centuries, 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 prevent the ship from 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 familiar to few people, then a hundred years ago it was the most major port all over 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 unusual route within Europe, it allowed us to gather everyone who wanted it. 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 amateurs sailed to America. thrills. 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.
Someone mastered New World in search of profits and growth opportunities.

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:

The ship was sailing at full speed, despite warnings about the presence of icebergs in these waters.
It is the high speed of the vessel that explains such massive damage.
The capacity of the boats was designed for only a thousand people, despite the fact that the number of passengers exceeded two thousand.
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.
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:

Southampton.
Cherbourg.
Queenstown.
NY.

England. France. Ireland. USA. Exactly in this sequence. That's just up to final destination The ship never reached its 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 point of departure legendary ship and where he was going. The moment of the sinking of the Titanic will also be shown:

Most of the photos were taken father Frank Brown.

From 1911 to 1916, Frank Brown studied theology at Milltown Park Institute in Dublin. During this period, his uncle Robert (Bishop of Cloyne) sent him an unusual gift: a ticket for a short journey on board " Titanic", heading on his first voyage. My uncle gave Frank traveling from Southampton to Cherbourg and then to Queenstown (Cobh), County Cork, Ireland.

While sailing on " Titanic", Father Brown became friends with a couple of American millionaires who sat with him at the same table in the first class dining room of the liner. They suggested that he send a message to his superior in Dublin (the archbishop) to ask his permission to remain on board until the end of the voyage to New York. American couple offered to pay for his passage. The message was immediately telegraphed, and the answer was waiting Frank upon arrival in Queenstown. It consisted of five words:

"Get off this ship! Archbishop".

The photograph was taken at Waterloo Station on Wednesday at 9:45 a.m. April 10, 1912. The photographer captured the first and last train that brought passengers to " Titanic"

For many years it was believed that the gentleman on the left was John Jacob Astor, who died in the sinking of the T itanica" (see below). In fact, this is his cousin, William Weldorf Astor, who moved to England from the USA in 1980

Two out of three screws" Titanic" (left and middle)

"Olympic" And " Titanic" (right) at Belfast. This is the only photograph of the two ships together. (Shipping Company White Star Line built three huge liners: « Titanic», « Olympic" And " Britannic»)

Crow's nest on " Titanic". Observation platform on the foremast for lookouts

"Titanic" in Southampton on April 5, 1912, when the "Great Flag of Glory" was raised on it for the first and last time.

Before you come on board" Titanic", Frank Brown took this photo. In the distance is a second-class gangplank identical to the one he's standing on

April 10, 1912, 12.00. "Titanic"set sail from Southampton

The photographer leaned over the side of the ship to take pictures of the tugboats below. In the distance you can see the shore of the River Test and several private yachts at anchor. To the left of the photographer is lifeboat number seven. When " Titanic"starts to sink, this boat will be the first to be launched

Moving along the deck of the ship, Frank Brown photographed the crowd, consisting mainly of local residents, seeing off " Titanic"

"Titanic"barely avoids a collision with the American ship New York. The tug is trying to pull the stern of the New York away from the side" Titanic".

"Titanic"has already rounded the end of the pier, where he passed the New York liner, which had already unmoored and began to turn towards " Titanic"Passengers can be seen leaning out of the windows of the large promenade deck to view the suspected collision

The photograph taken by F.H. Ernott shows the tug "Vulcan" alongside the " Titanic"The ship's departure from Southampton was delayed for an hour after it nearly collided with the New York."

The boy on the right is Jack Odell, a member of the family with whom he is traveling Frank Brown, and in the distance is the major Archibald Butt, military aide-de-camp to President William Howard Taft

Captain Smith on a 187 yard deck

This is obviously an American novelist Jacques Fotrell standing on the deck next to the gym" Titanic". The author of the popular detective stories "Thinking Machine", he took on board many unpublished stories that would be lost forever. Having celebrated his 37th birthday the day before sailing, he would die in a disaster

The gentleman in the white flannel suit is T. W. McCauley, a 34-year-old PE teacher from Aberdeen. One of the passengers a few years later will remember McCauley as a very strict person in relations with passengers. But with children on board he behaved more gently

Taken from the stern of the A-deck, this photograph shows the rear of the ship's superstructure. On the upper deck a group of second class passengers

Frank Brown ran into an unfamiliar couple taking a morning walk. Upstairs, at the railing of the second class promenade deck, benches are assembled

Sexennial Robert Douglas Steedman from Tuxedo Park, New York, spins a top, and his father Frederick looks. During the sinking of the ship, both father and son were saved, but the photographs taken by Frederick using a camera hanging on his shoulder were not.

Vertically lowering doors (closed in photo) in one of the watertight bulkheads

Boilers " Titanic"

Junior radio operator Titanic", Harold Bride, at his post. Since this is the only photograph ever taken of the airliner's radio room, Frank Brown kept it despite the double exposure

Third-class passengers crowd at the stern of the ship, where a sign warning of the dangers of the propellers below can be seen. The small dot on the fourth chimney is the soot-covered face of a fireman who climbed up to get a bird's-eye view of the Irish port. To some he seemed like a black specter of death looking down. Superstitious passengers saw this as a bad omen

Bedroom 1st class (B-57)

Coupe - luxury 1st class (D-19)

Bedroom 1st class (B-38)

Bedroom 1st class (B-64)

Hall with fireplace in a luxury apartment

Bedroom in the apartment Frank Brown number A-37 on board"Titanic "

Cafe on Deck B, starboard

Deck" Titanic"

Staircase under the dome. 1 class

Ticket for " Titanic". Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Kimbell. Departure April 10, 1912. Cabin D-19

Lunch menu card for April 14, 1912, which Frank Brown purchased as an illustration for my lectures

1st class lounge

Common room 1st class

Smoking room 1st class

Cafe on the veranda. 1 class

Canteen for 1st class passengers

Reading room on A-deck

Library 2nd grade

Dining room 3rd class

Common room 3rd class

3rd class menu

Captain's bridge on " Olympic". "Titanic" And " Olympic"almost identical. This is the only photograph of the captain's bridge

Swimming pool on " Olympic", completely identical to the pool on " Titanic"

On April 11, 1912, the Titanic stopped at Queenstown to take on passengers and mail.

Queenstown. White Star Marina. Crowd waiting to board messenger ships

Passengers" Titanic"going ashore from the messenger ship "America"

Queenstown merchants had licenses to sell lace and other Irish souvenirs on board transatlantic liners

Loaders waiting to work on delivering correspondence

Illegal trade takes place on board the ship

Loading mail

The messenger ships "Ireland" and "America" with passengers and mail dock at " Titanic"

Giant right deadlift anchor" Titanic" raised for the last time. It took several minutes for the anchor to reach the surface. The liner used a chain of 6 wrought iron anchor chains. Each chain was 15 fathoms long.

One of their later photographs, Frank Brown made it immediately after sailing" Titanic" from Queenstown with 1,316 passengers and 891 crew on board,at 13:55 April 11, 1912

Bruce Ismay(first class passenger, cabins No. B52, 54, 56, ticket No. 112058) Executive Director of White Star Line. He survived, but was branded with shame. I could never forgive myself for being one of the first to take my place on the boat. He soon left his post and spent the rest of his life as a hermit.

Edward John Smith- captain " Titanic".

Smith enjoyed high popularity among crew members and passengers.

Due to his wealth of experience, he was entrusted with command of a passenger liner" Titanic" on his first voyage, after which the captain had to retire.

At 2.13 a.m., just 10 minutes before the ship finally sank under water, Smith returned to the captain's bridge, where he met death.

William McMaster Murdoch . First mate" Titanic". Died

William Murdoch honestly fulfilled his duty and did everything to save as many people as possible. Seventy-five percent of all those rescued from the Titanic were evacuated from the starboard side, where the rescue operation was commanded by William Murdoch.

Second Mate " Titanic» Charles Herbert Lightoller. Jumping off the ship as one of the last and miraculously avoiding being sucked into the ventilation shaft, he swam to the collapsible boat B, which was floating upside down. A pipe that came off and fell into the sea next to him " Titanic» moved the boat further away from the sinking ship and allowed it to remain afloat

In total, there were 30 people on the overturned boat, Lightoller I tried to organize them somehow, but in vain. By dawn they were picked up by boats from the ship." Carpathia", by that time there were already 27 people left on the boat. These were the last passengers of the Titanic to be saved. Lightoller helped lift passengers and was the last to board. (on the pictureLightoller on right)

Frederick Fleet - one of six lookouts aboard the Titanic.The first to see the iceberg and raise the alarm. Died

Thomas Andrews -(first class passenger, cabin No. A 36, ticket No. 112050), Irish businessman and shipbuilder, chief executive of the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding company in Belfast. Andrews was the designer Titanic" and one of the 1,517 dead. During the evacuation Thomas helped passengers board boats, and was last seen in the first class smoking room near the fireplace, where he was looking at a painting of Port Plymouth. His body was never found after the crash. He played him in Cameron's filmVictor Garber.

Benjamin Guggenheim - wealthy American businessman. Died

John Jacob and Madeleine ASTOR - millionaire, science fiction writer with his young wife, who was one year younger than John Jacob's son from his first marriage to Ava Willing. They say, John Jacob, like many other influential people, was advised not to board this liner. However, the multimillionaire decided to try his luck and nevertheless went on his last voyage on the doomed liner. Madeleine escaped on lifeboat No. 4. John Jacob's body was recovered from the depths of the ocean 22 days after his death. The writer and multimillionaire was discovered by a signet with the letters J.J.A.

Margaret (Molly) Brown - American socialite, philanthropist and activist. Survived. When on " Titanic"There was a panic Molly putting people into lifeboats, she herself refused to get in: “If the worst happens, I’ll swim out,” but in the end someone forcefully pushed her into lifeboat number 6, which made her famous.

The boat could have accommodated 65 passengers, but in reality there were only 26 of them. As they set sail, the boilers on the ship began to explode. “Suddenly the sea opened up, and it was as if giant arms clasped the ship,” she wrote Margaret. Sitting in a lifeboat with 24 women and two men, she argued frantically with the captain of the boat. Robert Hitchens, demanding to return to the crash site and pick up the drowning people. When one of the passengers felt cold, Molly I gave her my fur coat. And when the cold “finished off” even her, she ordered the women to sit down at the oars and row to keep warm

Molly hands the captain " Carpathia"To Arthur Rostron a cup of love on behalf of the surviving passengers" Titanic»

On " Carpathia» Margaret I took up what I knew how to do best: organization. She knew several languages and could speak with passengers from different countries. She looked for blankets and food for them, compiled lists of survivors, collected money for those who lost along with " Titanic“everything: family and savings. By the time of arrival " Carpathia"At the port she collected $10,000 for the survivors. When the ship arrived in New York and the reporters asked Margaret, which she owed to her luck, she replied: “Usual Brown luck. We are unsinkable!”

She played in the filmKathy Bates

Lucy Christina, Lady Duff Gordon - one of the leading British fashion designers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known in the professional arena as Lucille. Survived

Dorothy Gibson - American silent film actress, model and singer. Survived. In 1912 she played her most famous role in the film " Titanic survivors»

"Titanic" (eng. Titanic) - British transatlantic steamer, the second Olympic class airliner. 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.

Vessel information

The Titanic was equipped with two four-cylinder steam engines and a steam turbine.

All power point had a power of 55,000 hp. With.
The ship could reach speeds of up to 23 knots (42 km/h).
Its displacement, which exceeded the twin ship 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 covered with wooden panels.

1 On April 0, 1912, the Titanic set sail from Southampton on its first and only voyage. After stopping in Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, the ship sailed into 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 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.

The wreckage of the Titanic rests at a depth of 3,750 m. They were 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.

The wreck of the Titanic

The disaster claimed the lives, according to various sources, from 1,495 to 1,635 people. Until December 20, 1987, when the Philippine ferry Dona Paz sank, killing more than 4,000 people, the sinking of the Titanic remained the deadliest maritime disaster in history. Peaceful time. Informally, it is the most famous disaster of the 20th century.

Alternative versions of the ship's death

And now - alternative versions, each of which has its adherents in the worldwide club of mystery lovers.

Fire

A fire in the coal compartment that broke out before sailing and provoked first an explosion and then a collision with an iceberg. The ship's owners knew about the fire and tried to hide it from passengers. This version was put forward by British journalist Shanan Moloney, writes The Independent. Moloney has been researching the causes of the Titanic's sinking for more than 30 years.

In particular, he studied photographs taken before the ship left the Belfast shipyard. The journalist saw black marks along the right side of the ship's hull - exactly where the iceberg hit it. Experts subsequently confirmed that the marks were likely caused by a fire that started in a fuel storage facility. “We looked at exactly where the iceberg was stuck and it appears that part of the hull was very vulnerable at that location, and that was before it even left the Belfast shipyard,” Moloney says. A team of 12 tried to put out the flames, but they were too big to bring under control quickly. It could reach temperatures of up to 1000 degrees Celsius, making the Titanic's hull very vulnerable in this area. And when it hit the ice, experts say, it immediately broke. The publication also added that the liner's management forbade passengers from talking about the fire. “This is a perfect confluence of unusual factors: fire, ice and criminal negligence. No one had investigated these marks before. It changes the story completely,” says Moloney.

CONSPIRACY

Conspiracy theory: this is not the Titanic at all! This version was put forward by experts who studied the causes of the death of the ship, Robin Gardiner and Dan Van Der Watt, published in the book “The Mystery of the Titanic.” According to this theory, the sunken ship is not the Titanic at all, but its twin brother, the Olympic. These ships looked practically no different from each other. On September 20, 1911, the Olympic collided with the British Navy cruiser Hawk, causing both ships to be seriously damaged. The owners of "Olympic" suffered heavy losses, since the damage that was caused to "Olympic" was not enough for an insurance payment.

The theory is based on the assumption of possible fraud in order for the owners of the Titanic to receive insurance payments. According to this version, the owners of the Titanic intentionally sent the Olympic to an area of possible ice formation and at the same time convinced the captain not to slow down so that the ship would suffer serious damage when colliding with a block of ice. This version was initially supported by what was from the bottom Atlantic Ocean, where the Titanic lies, a fairly large number of objects were raised, but nothing was found that would bear the name “Titanic”. This theory was refuted after parts were brought to the surface, on which the Titanic’s side (construction) number was stamped - 401. The Olympic had a side number of 400. In addition, the minted side number of the Titanic was discovered and on the propeller of a sunken ship. And even despite this, the conspiracy theory still has a number of followers.

German attack

1912 With the First World War two years away, the prospect of armed conflict between Germany and Great Britain is becoming increasingly likely. Germany owns several dozen submarines, which during the war will launch a merciless hunt for enemy ships trying to cross the ocean. For example, the reason for America’s entry into the war will be the fact that the U-20 submarine will sink the Lusitania in 1915, a twin of the same Mauritania that set the speed record and won the Atlantic Blue Ribbon - remember?

Based on these facts, some Western publications proposed their own version of the death of the Titanic in the mid-nineties: a torpedo attack by a German submarine secretly accompanying the liner. The purpose of the attack was to discredit the British fleet, famous for its power throughout the world. In accordance with this theory, the Titanic either did not collide with the iceberg at all, or received very minor damage in the collision and would have remained afloat if the Germans had not finished off the ship with a torpedo.

What speaks in favor of this version? Honestly, nothing.

There was a collision with an iceberg - this is beyond doubt. The deck of the ship was even covered with snow and ice chips. Cheerful passengers started playing football with ice cubes - it would become clear later that the ship was doomed. The collision itself was surprisingly quiet - almost none of the passengers felt it. The torpedo, you must admit, could hardly have exploded completely silently (especially since some claim that the submarine fired as many as six torpedoes at the ship!).

Proponents of the theory of the German attack claim, however, that people in the boats heard a terrible roar just before the Titanic sank - well, this was two and a half hours later, when only the stern raised into the sky remained above the water and the death of the ship did not raise any doubts. It’s unlikely that the Germans would have fired a torpedo at an almost sunken ship, would it? And the roar that the survivors heard was explained by the fact that the stern of the Titanic rose almost vertically and huge steam boilers fell from their places. Also, do not forget that at about the same minutes the Titanic broke in half - the keel could not withstand the weight of the rising stern (however, they will learn about this only after the liner is discovered at the bottom: the break occurred below the water level), and this, too, is unlikely to have happened silently . And why would the Germans suddenly start drowning two years before the start of the war? passenger airliner? This seems dubious, to put it mildly. And to put it bluntly, it’s absurd.

A curse

Mystical version: curse of the pharaohs. It is known for certain that one of the historians, Lord Canterville, transported a perfectly preserved Egyptian mummy priestesses - soothsayers. Since the mummy had a fairly high historical and cultural value, it was not placed in the hold, but placed directly next to the captain's bridge. The essence of the theory is that the mummy influenced the mind of Captain Smith, who, despite numerous warnings about ice in the area where the Titanic was sailing, did not slow down and thereby doomed the ship to certain death. Well-known cases support this version mysterious death people who disturbed the peace of ancient burials, especially the mummified Egyptian rulers. Moreover, the deaths were associated precisely with clouding of mind, as a result of which people committed inappropriate actions, and cases of suicide often occurred. Did the pharaohs have a hand in the sinking of the Titanic?

Steering error

One of latest versions The sinking of the Titanic deserves special attention. She appeared after the novel by the granddaughter of the second mate of the Titanic, Charles Lightoller, Lady Patten, “Worth Its Weight in Gold,” was published. According to Patten's book, the ship had enough time to avoid the obstacle, but helmsman Robert Hitchens panicked and turned the wheel the wrong way.

A catastrophic mistake led to the iceberg causing fatal damage to the ship. The truth about what really happened that fateful night was kept secret by the family of Lightoller, the oldest surviving officer of the Titanic and the only survivor who knew exactly what caused the ship's sinking. Lightoller hid this information out of fear that the White Star Line, which owned the ship, would go bankrupt and his colleagues would lose their jobs. The only person to whom Lightoller told the truth was his wife Sylvia, who conveyed her husband’s words to her granddaughter. In addition, according to Patten, such a large and reliable liner as the Titanic sank so quickly because after colliding with an ice block it was not immediately stopped, and the rate of water entering the holds increased hundreds of times. The liner was not immediately stopped because White Star Line manager Bruce Ismay convinced the captain to continue sailing. He feared that the incident could cause considerable material damage to the company he headed.

Chasing the Atlantic Blue Riband

There were and still are many supporters of this theory, especially among writers, since it appeared precisely in literary circles. “ Blue ribbon Atlantic” is a prestigious prize in shipping awarded to ocean liners for achieving record speeds across the North Atlantic.

At the time of the Titanic, this prize was awarded to the ship Mauritania of the Cunard company, which, by the way, was the founder of this award, as well as the main competitor of the White Star Line. In defense of this theory, it is argued that the president of the company that owned the Titanic, Ismay, encouraged the captain of the Titanic, Smith, to arrive in New York a day ahead of schedule and receive an honorary prize. This allegedly explains the high speed of the vessel in dangerous area Atlantic. But this theory can easily be refuted, because the Titanic simply physically could not have reached the speed of 26 knots at which the Cunard Mauritania set a record that, by the way, lasted for more than 10 years after the disaster in the Atlantic.

But what was it really like?

Sadly, but, studying the history of the most famous maritime disaster, we have to admit that the Titanic owes its death to a long chain of fatal accidents. If at least one link of the ominous chain had been destroyed, the tragedy could have been avoided.

Perhaps the first link was the successful start of the journey - yes, that’s right. On the morning of April 10, during the departure of the Titanic from the quay wall of the port of Southampton, the superliner passed too close to the American ship New York, and a phenomenon known in navigation as ship suction arose: the New York began to be attracted to the one moving nearby. "Titanic". However, thanks to the skill of Captain Edward Smith, a collision was avoided.

Ironically, if the accident had happened, it would have saved one and a half thousand lives: if the Titanic had been delayed in port, the ill-fated encounter with the iceberg would not have happened.

This time. It should also be mentioned that the radio operators who received the message from the Mesaba ship about the ice fields of icebergs did not transmit it to Edward Smith: the telegram was not marked with a special prefix “personally to the captain”, and was lost in a heap of papers. That's two.

However, this message was not the only one, and the captain knew about the ice danger. Why didn't he slow down the ship? Chasing the Blue Ribbon is, of course, a matter of honor (and, more importantly, big business), but why did he risk the lives of passengers? It wasn't that much of a risk, really. In those years the captains ocean liners passed often dangerous with ice areas without slowing down: it was like crossing the road at a red light: it seems like you shouldn’t do that, but it always works out. Almost always.

To the credit of Captain Smith, it must be said that he remained faithful to maritime traditions and remained on the dying ship until the very end.

But why was the bulk of the iceberg not noticed? Here everything came together: a moonless, dark night, windless weather. If there were even small waves on the water surface, those looking ahead could see whitecaps at the foot of the iceberg. Calm and moonless night are two more links in the fatal chain.

As it turned out later, the chain was continued by the fact that the iceberg, shortly before the collision with the Titanic, turned over with its underwater, water-saturated, dark part upward, which is why it was practically invisible at night from afar (an ordinary, white iceberg would have been visible a mile away ). The watchman saw him only 450 meters away, and there was almost no time left for maneuver. Perhaps the iceberg would have been noticed earlier, but here another link in the fatal chain played a role - there were no binoculars in the “crow’s nest”. The box where they were kept was locked, and the key to it was hastily taken with him by the second mate, who had been removed from the ship just before departure.

After the lookout nevertheless saw the danger and reported the iceberg to the captain's bridge, there was a little more than half a minute left before the collision. Officer of the watch Murdoch, who was on watch, gave the order to the helmsman to turn left, while simultaneously transmitting the command “full astern” to the engine room. Thus, he made a grave mistake, adding another link in the chain that led the liner to death: even if the Titanic had crashed into an iceberg head-on, the tragedy would have been less. The bow of the ship would have been crushed, part of the crew and those passengers whose cabins were located in front would have died. But only two watertight compartments would have been flooded. With such damage, the liner would have remained afloat and could have waited for help from other ships.

And if Murdoch, having turned the ship to the left, had ordered an increase rather than a decrease in speed, the collision might not have happened at all. However, frankly speaking, the order to change the speed hardly plays a significant role here: in thirty seconds it was hardly executed in the engine room.

So, the collision happened. The iceberg damaged the ship's fragile hull along six compartments on the starboard side.

Looking ahead, let's say that only seven hundred and four managed to escape: the next link in the chain of failures was that some sailors took too literally the captain's order to put women and children in the boats, and did not allow men there, even if they remained free places. However, at first no one was particularly eager to get into the boats. The passengers did not understand what was happening and did not want to leave the huge, comfortably lit, such a reliable liner, and it was unclear why they should go down in a small unstable boat down to the icy water. However, pretty soon anyone could notice that the deck was tilting forward more and more, and panic began.

But why was there such a monstrous discrepancy between the places on the lifeboats? The owners of the Titanic, praising the merits of the new ship, stated that they even exceeded the instructions of the code: instead of the required 962 life-saving seats on the ship, there were 1178. Unfortunately, they did not attach any importance to the discrepancy between this number and the number of passengers on board.

It is especially bitter that not far from the sinking Titanic there stood another passenger ship, "The Californian". A few hours ago, he notified neighboring ships that he was locked in ice and was forced to stop so as not to accidentally run into an ice block. The radio operator from the Titanic, who was almost deafened by the Morse code from the Californian (the ships were very close, and the signal of one echoed too loudly in the headphones of the other), impolitely interrupted the warning: “Go to hell, you are interfering with my work!” What was the radio operator of the Titanic so busy with?

The fact is that in those years, radio communication on a ship was more of a luxury than an urgent necessity, and this miracle of technology aroused great interest among the wealthy public. From the very beginning of the voyage, the radio operators were literally inundated with private messages - and no one saw anything reprehensible in the fact that the Titanic’s radio operators paid such attention to wealthy passengers who wished to send a telegram to the ground directly from the liner. And at that moment, when colleagues from other ships reported floating ice, the radio operator was transmitting another message to the continent. Radio communication was more like an expensive toy than a serious tool: ships of that time did not even have a 24-hour watch at the radio station.

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