Detailed map of the Titanic wreck site. Titanic: the history of the creation and wreck of the liner

On the night of September 1, 1985, an American-French expedition led by oceanographer Robert Ballard discovered the Titanic's steam boiler at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Soon the remains of the ship itself were discovered. Thus ended the many-year epic search for the sunken steamship, which was carried out by several independent researchers, but for a long time was unsuccessful due to the incorrect coordinates of the ship’s death, broadcast on the fateful night of 1912. The discovery of the remains of the Titanic opened a new page in its history: answers to many controversial issues; a number of facts that were considered proven and irrefutable turned out to be erroneous.

The first intentions to find and raise the Titanic appeared immediately after the disaster. The families of several millionaires wanted to find the bodies of their dead relatives in order to properly bury them, and discussed the issue of raising the Titanic with one of the companies that specialized in underwater salvage work. But at that time there was no technical possibility to carry out such an operation. A plan was also discussed to drop charges of dynamite on the ocean floor so that some bodies would rise to the surface from the explosions, but these intentions were eventually abandoned.

Later, a whole series of crazy projects for raising the Titanic were developed. For example, it was proposed to fill the ship's hull with ping pong balls or attach helium cylinders to it, which would raise it to the surface. There were many other projects, mostly science fiction. In addition, before trying to raise the Titanic, it was necessary to first find it, and this was not so simple.

One of controversial issues In the history of the Titanic, for a long time there remained coordinates transmitted on the air along with a distress signal. They were determined by the fourth mate Joseph Boxhall based on the coordinates that were calculated several hours before the collision, the speed and course of the ship. There was no time to check them in detail in that situation, and Carpathia, which came to the rescue a few hours later, successfully reached the boats, but the first doubts about the correctness of the coordinates arose already during the investigation in 1912. At that time, the question remained open and , when the first serious attempts to search for the Titanic began in the 80s, researchers were faced with a problem: the Titanic was neither at the specified coordinates nor near them. The situation was also complicated by the local conditions of the disaster - after all, the Titanic was at a depth of almost 4 km and the search required appropriate equipment.

In the end, luck smiled on Robert Ballard, who had been preparing for the expedition step by step for almost 13 years. After almost two months of searching, when only 5 days remained until the end of the expedition and Ballard was already beginning to doubt the success of the event, some strange shadows appeared on the monitor connected to the video camera on the deep-sea descent vehicle. This happened at almost one in the morning on September 1, 1985. It soon became clear that this was nothing more than the wreckage of some kind of ship. After some time, one of the steam boilers was discovered and there was no doubt that the wreckage belonged to the Titanic. The next day, the front part of the ship's hull was discovered. The absence of a stern was a big surprise: after an investigation in 1912, it was officially considered that the ship had sunk entirely.

Ballard's first expedition answered many questions and gave the world a number of modern photographs of the Titanic, but much still remained unclear. A year later, Ballard again went to the Titanic, and this expedition already used a deep-sea descent vehicle that could deliver three people to the ocean floor. There was also a small robot that made it possible to conduct research inside the ship. This expedition clarified many questions that had remained open since 1912, and after it Ballard no longer planned to return to the Titanic. But what Ballard did not do, others did, and new expeditions soon flocked to the Titanic. Some of them were purely research in nature, some pursued the goal of lifting various objects from the bottom, incl. and for sale at auctions, which caused many scandals about the moral and ethical side of the issue. James Cameron also went down to the Titanic several times; not only for the filming of his 1997 film, but also for research using robotics inside the ship (see the documentary "Ghosts of the Abyss: Titanic"), which led to the discovery of many new facts about the condition of the ship and its once magnificent finish.

Regarding the issue of raising the Titanic, after Ballard’s expeditions it became obvious that this operation would not only be extremely complex and expensive; The ship's hull has been in such a state for a long time that it will simply fall apart, if not during lifting, then on the surface.

1. Let's see what the Titanic looks like now and what it looked like before. The Titanic sank in the Atlantic at a depth of almost 4 km. While diving, the ship broke into two parts, which now lie on the bottom about six hundred meters from each other. There are a lot of debris and objects scattered around them, incl. and quite a large piece of the Titanic's hull.

2. Model of the bow. When the ship fell to the bottom, the bow was very well buried in the silt, which greatly disappointed the first researchers, because it turned out to be impossible to inspect the place where it hit the iceberg without special equipment. The torn hole in the hull, which is visible on the model, was formed by hitting the bottom.

3. Panorama of the bow, collected from several hundred images. From right to left: the spare anchor winch protrudes directly above the edge of the bow, behind it there is a mooring device, immediately behind it is an open hatch to hold No. 1, from which the breakwater lines diverge to the sides. On the inter-superstructure deck there is a fallen mast, under it there are two more hatches into the holds and winches for working with cargo. In the front part of the main superstructure there used to be a captain's bridge, which collapsed when it fell to the bottom and can now be discerned only by individual details. Behind the bridge there is a superstructure with cabins for officers, captain, radio room, etc., which is crossed by a crack that formed at the site of the expansion joint. A gaping hole in the superstructure is the place for the first chimney. Immediately behind the superstructure, another hole is visible - this is the well in which the main staircase was located. To the left there is something very ragged - there was a second pipe.

4. Titanic's nose. The most fascinating object of underwater photographs of a ship. At the end you can see the loop on which the cable that held the mast was placed.

5. In the photo on the left you can see the spare anchor winch rising above the bow.

6. Main anchor on the port side. It's amazing how he didn't fly down when he hit the bottom.

7. Spare anchor:

8. Behind the spare anchor there is a mooring device:

9. Open hatch to hold No. 1. The lid flew off to the side, apparently when it hit the bottom.

10. On the mast there used to be the remains of a “crow’s nest”, where the lookouts were, but ten or twenty years ago they fell down and now only the hole in the mast reminds of the “crow’s nest”, through which the lookouts got to the spiral staircase. The protruding tail behind the hole is the fastening of a ship's bell.

11. Ship's side:

12. Only one of the steering wheels remains from the captain's bridge.

13. Boat deck. The superstructure on it was either uprooted or torn in places.

14. The preserved part of the superstructure in the forward part of the deck. Bottom right is the entrance to the 1st class grand staircase.

15. Surviving davits, a bathtub in Captain Smith's cabin and the remains of a steamship whistle, which was installed on one of the pipes.

16. In place of the main staircase there is now a huge well. No traces of the stairs remain.

17. Staircase in 1912:

18. And the same perspective in our time. Looking at the previous photo, it’s somehow hard to believe that this is the same place.

19. Behind the stairs there were several elevators for 1st class passengers. Some elements from them have been preserved. The sign shown below on the right was located opposite the elevators and indicated the deck. This inscription belonged to deck A; The bronze letter A has already fallen off, but traces of it remain.

20. 1st Class Lounge on Deck. This is the bottom of the main staircase.

21. Although almost all of the wooden trim of the ship has long been eaten by microorganisms, some elements are still preserved.

22. The restaurant and 1st class lounge on Deck D were separated from the outside world by large stained glass windows, which have survived to this day.

23. Remnants of former beauty:

24. From the outside, the windows are recognizable by the characteristic double portholes.

25. Chic chandeliers have been hanging in their places for more than 100 years.

26. The once magnificent interiors of the 1st class cabins are now littered with rubbish and debris. In some places you can find preserved elements of furniture and objects.

29. A few more details. The door to the restaurant on Deck D and the sign indicating the service doors:

30. The stokers had their own “front staircase”. To avoid encountering passengers, a separate staircase led from the boiler rooms to the stokers' cabins.

31. Hundreds of objects are scattered along the ocean floor, ranging from ship parts to personal belongings of passengers.

The idea of building the largest ship in the world belongs to Bruce Ismay and James Pirrie, who combined the efforts of two companies - the shipbuilding Harland and Wolf and the transatlantic trade and passenger White Star Line. Construction of the Titanic began on March 31, 1909, and by 1912 it cost $7.5 million, an amount 10 times that amount today.

3,000 people worked on the creation of the giant ship. The Titanic weighed 66,000 tons and was the length of four city blocks. The liner was equipped with 10-meter lifeboats, with a capacity of 76 people and a quantity of 20. Since the number of passengers on the Titanic exceeded 2 thousand people, this number of boats was clearly not enough, since they could save only 30% of the planned load of people. The Titanic was equipped with the most modern high-power radio equipment at that time. The cabins were luxurious. Also on board the famous ship were a gym, a library, restaurants and swimming pools.

First voyage and sinking of the Titanic

May 31, 1911 year, the largest passenger liner was launched in Belfast ( Northern Ireland), which required a record amount of locomotive oil, grease and liquid soap to lubricate the gangway guides. This process lasted only 62 seconds. April 10, 1912 the ship sets sail on its first and, unfortunately, last voyage. There were 2,207 people on board the Titanic, including 898 crew members and 1,309 passengers, among whom were famous personalities, millionaires and industrialists, writers and actors. April 14, 1912 an iceberg was seen from the ship at a distance of about 450 meters. The Titanic made a maneuver, but still collided with an obstacle and received numerous holes 100 meters long. Thus, 16 watertight compartments were damaged, and the ship tilted very heavily under the weight. Water continued to flood all compartments. 2 hours 40 minutes after the impact, the liner sank completely.

Passenger rescue

The ship's captain, I. Smith, was afraid of panic among the passengers. Therefore, the stewards gently informed the inhabitants of the suites and two first classes about minor damage to the liner and asked to come on deck. The third class passengers were not even aware of the impending danger. In addition, the exit to the inhabitants of the lower deck was blocked and many of them, wandering along the corridors of the ship, were unable to escape from the trap. That is, priority for rescue was given to VIPs and representatives of the upper class. Most passengers were confident that the Titanic was unsinkable and refused to board the boats. The captain made every effort to persuade them to leave the ship.

By order of I. Smith, women and children were the first to be saved, but many men were among them. The first boats, which were already in short supply, left half full. So boat No. 1 received the name “millionaire” and was filled with only 12 people out of the required 40. Understanding the drama of the situation and in order to distract the attention of passengers, the captain of the Titanic asked the head of the orchestra to start playing. Eight professional musicians, realizing that they were playing for the last time in their lives, produced clear rhythmic sounds of jazz that drowned out the sounds of screams coming from the third deck and shots of revolvers. So, when the last boats were lowered, panic began, and the ship's officers had to use weapons. Work did not stop in the engine room until the last minute. So the mechanics and stokers made every effort to ensure that the liner was provided with electric lighting for the operation of the radio station. The Titanic did not stop sending requests for rescue to ships that were near the liner.

The first to respond to the SOS signal was the ship "Carpathia", which rushed to the rescue at maximum speed. Within two hours, 712 people were picked up, and the remaining 1,495 people died. People who did not get on the boats jumped into the water, wearing life jackets, but the water was icy, so even a healthy man could only survive in such conditions for about an hour. There were also two other ships near the scene of the tragedy. The fishermen on the schooner Samson were engaged in shady seal fishing, so when they saw the white signal lights of the Titanic, they thought it was the coast guard and hastened to move away from this place. If the liner had red warning lights, the lives of more people could have been saved. At the same time, the captain of the Californian, seeing the lights, thought about the fireworks being launched on the Titanic. The ship's radio station did not work, as the radio operator was resting after his watch. For failure to provide assistance during the sinking of the Titanic, the captain of the Californian was stripped of his rank.

Survivors and dead

Almost all the women and children living in the first and second class cabins were saved, unlike the passengers and their children from the lower decks, whose exit was blocked. As a percentage, 20% of men and 74% of all women were saved. 56 children survived, which was slightly more than half of the total. In 2006, American Lillian Gertrude Asplund, who witnessed the sinking of the Titanic, passed away. At that time she was five years old, and in this terrible disaster she lost her father and brothers. It is worth noting that they were third class passengers. Her mother and three-year-old brother were saved with her in boat number 15. Lillian rarely spoke about the tragedy and always avoided questions and public attention. In May 2009, the last passenger of the Titanic, who was only two and a half years old at the time of the shipwreck, died at the age of 97.

Crash hypotheses

Versions about the causes of the crash were completely different. But experts clearly name several of them. Titanic was built in as soon as possible and had many shortcomings. So, during the construction of the ship, in some places they used pins made of low-grade material that was brittle. Therefore, after colliding with an iceberg, the ship cracked in the hull exactly where low-grade steel rods were used. Due to its enormous dimensions and weight, the Titanic was clumsy, so it was unable to dodge the obstacle.

Study of the ship's remains

On September 1, 1985, the sunken remains of the liner were discovered by an expedition led by Dr. Robert Ballard, director of the Woodshall Institute of Oceanology in Massachusetts. The depth at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean was 3,750 meters. The wreck was located 13 miles west of the coordinates where the Titanic sent an SOS signal. The remains of the liner received protection under the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Marine cultural heritage in April 2012, a hundred years after the sinking. Thus, the ship has protection from plunder, destruction and sale. Such measures are necessary to ensure proper treatment of the remains of the deceased. In August 2001, the shipwreck site was explored by diving to the Titanic on the Russian deep-sea submersibles Mir-1 and Mir-2. The initiators of this were director James Cameron. Thanks to the use of small remote-controlled underwater vehicles "Jack" and "Elwood", unique material was filmed, which formed the basis documentary film"Ghosts of the Abyss: Titanic" (2003), where you can see the remains of the ship from the inside. In 1997, the public saw the film Titanic, which received an Academy Award. The film was made using underwater footage of the liner, capturing its interior and exterior.

Despite the fact that many years have passed since the crash of the liner, this topic is still relevant. So Australian millionaire Clive Palmer announced to the whole world his desire to build a copy of the sunken ship and create the Titanic 2 cruise liner. Hypothetically, the facility will be ready by 2016. It will have four steam pipes, like its counterpart, but at the same time it will be equipped with modern propulsion and navigation equipment.

Film "Ghosts of the Abyss" (2003)

The Titanic was considered unsinkable, but on its first voyage it hit an iceberg and sank. Approximately 1,500 people died. Since then the wreckage giant ship lie on the bottom of the North Atlantic at a depth of 3,800 m.

Scientists have managed to create the most accurate map so far of the site of the tragedy that happened on April 14, 1912. Some took about 130,000 photographs and recordings of sound waves. Usually the grave of a famous cruise ship is in absolute darkness.

Computer model of the Titanic wreck

The images were taken in 2010 from two remotely controlled submarines. The Titanic and the seabed were filmed and measured using sound waves. Particular attention was paid to the piles of debris. Oceanographers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US state of Massachusetts and the American meteorological service NOAA provided support to the researchers. Now the History Channel television company will present the results to the public.

Images of an 8-by-5-kilometer section of the seafloor show what happened on an April night 100 years ago, says Paul-Henry Nargeolet, the expedition's leader. Tracks on the bottom, for example, prove that the ship's stern rotated as it sank, like the back of a helicopter.

Also at the bottom are five large steam boilers, a hatch, a revolving door, a piece of ship's hull weighing 49 tons, and other items that apparently sank to the bottom upon impact. Now computer simulations, based on photographs, are expected to show the exact course of events during this historic disaster. Perhaps new data will be obtained about defects in the design of this huge ship, which was considered a miracle of technology

Map of the Titanic wreck

Hello, my dear readers! Today I would like to talk about serious, even more tragic, things. On April 15, the whole world celebrates a sad event... This is the date of the death of the Titanic, which contemporaries considered an unsinkable liner.

The surprising fact is that until now, despite official version disaster, there are different opinions and versions of what happened on that ill-fated night.

The place where the Titanic sank

The Titanic was rightfully considered the most luxurious ship of the beginning of the last century, so the news of its death shocked the entire world community. According to official figures, about 1,500 people died, including passengers and crew members. Despite the fact that the twentieth century brought many disasters, catastrophes and wars, the tragedy of the Titanic remains no less tragic event, interest in which continues to this day. The event that occurred near the island of Newfoundland on the night of April 14-15 was overgrown with many rumors and speculations that have a sufficient number of followers.

The place where the Titanic sank on the map has the following coordinates - 41046′ north latitude and 50014′ west longitude.

However, it was subsequently found that the stated data was incorrect, so even now there is no accurate information regarding the exact coordinates of the crash site. This is not the only oddity that accompanied this whole story, so let's try to understand some versions of what happened, because the tragedy itself is not limited to just a collision with an iceberg, it is more extensive and complex.

Versions of the tragedy

Perhaps we will not know until the end the whole truth of that night, despite the investigations carried out. Of course, they brought some clarity to what happened, but there are still a lot of “blank spots” that still remain a mystery. Some evidence contradicted others, some evidence, if checked and studied in more detail, became more than doubtful - all this gave rise to many speculations and legends on this topic, which have their followers even today.

Some of these versions may seem incredible, but history shows us that a rational explanation for what happens may not always be possible. Be that as it may, we need to talk about it, seek the truth, and then the truth will make us stronger. Another question is that the truth can hardly be known to you and me - ordinary inhabitants who get information from the Internet. In any case, we can study different versions and reasons for what happened, and everyone will decide for themselves which of them is close to them personally.

The first version is a conspiracy of the powers that be

We all love conspiracy theories, some of which smack a little of schizophrenia and paranoia. However, some facts seem so indisputable that you inevitably move from the category of skeptics to the group of doubters, at least. In the story of the Titanic, everything is also very mysterious and controversial. But let's start from the beginning.

Many people agree that the Titanic disaster was planned in advance. No matter how crazy it may sound, several interesting facts indicate this. For example, John Morgan, a famous American billionaire and part-time owner of the company that owned the liner, canceled his ticket exactly one day before the expected departure.

You will probably say that this is nothing more than an ordinary coincidence? Maybe, but Morgan's example was followed by 55 more people who were supposed to sail in first class. I think there is no need to remind you that only rich people travel in first class, and if you consider that among these 55 there are people such as John Rockefeller, Henry Frick and Alfred Vandelfeld, who were close friends of Morgan himself, then this suggests certain reflections.

I understand that the cancellation of the cruise cannot be considered the only evidence of this version

But there are several other points that indirectly confirm this interpretation of events or, at least, force us to take a fresh look at them.

Thus, in 1907, an agreement was signed on the creation of a new cruise ship, which had no analogues in the world. Two parties - Bruce Ismay (by the way, a close confidant of Rockefeller and Morgan) and Lord Pirrie started a truly large-scale production, the result of which should be that same unsinkable ship. Then they said that the liner had a super-strong bottom, and the Titanic itself could remain afloat even if four of its compartments were flooded.

However, in the 90s of the last century, Russian experts took samples of Titanic metal at depth to conduct research. The results shocked many. It turned out that it was not just ordinary metal, but also with a large addition of sulfur, which made it very fragile at subzero temperatures. Many are perplexed why such low quality steel was used in the production of the Titanic, an advanced liner at that time, the advertising campaign for which was in full swing. The explanation that a design error was made does not stand up to criticism.

There is a version that in this way the company saved its money, but they could not help but know that such steel would not withstand even the slightest collision in icy water, so such negligence also raises doubts. It also remains unclear why there were no spotlights on the Titanic, because this liner was considered the most modern and advanced. Also a miscalculation of the designers?

Indeed, there are a lot of strange things

By the way, one of the first to escape that tragic night was our old friend Bruce Ismay. It was he who was among the first to board the lifeboat, after which he waited for the arrival of the steamer RMS Carpathia, which also belonged to the White company Star Line", who made the Titanic. An order was even given to rescue the first class passengers first, and the lower deck was ordered to be locked. It was there that there were 1,500 people, among whom were many women and children who died on that fateful night.

The second version is a substitution

The next version, which can also be attributed to a conspiracy theory, is the story of Olympic. Few people know, but this is an exact copy of the Titanic, which was only two inches shorter than it, i.e. the length of a regular matchbox. Do you feel what I'm getting at?

The fact is that it was visually impossible to distinguish one ship from another. In addition, a separate book could be written about the misadventures of Olympus. So, immediately after launching, he collided with a dam. Then a large number of minor and major accidents happened to it, so we can confidently call it an “unlucky ship.”

That is why many insurance companies did not want to deal with such an unlucky liner, not wanting to insure it, which the owners of the ship so zealously sought. It was decided to dock Olympic until a decision was made on its future fate.

We have a plan

Here a version began to emerge, according to which the White Star Line company wanted to get rid of the Olympic in a very original way, passing it off as the Titanic, which, by the way, was insured. Considering that they are very similar structurally and externally, this was not at all difficult to do.

It is enough just to replace the sign with the name of the liner, change some interior items, etc. The plan really looks logical, because no one will even suspect a substitution, quite reasonably believing that in front of him is the same “unsinkable” Titanic, and not the “eternal loser” Olympic.

Naturally, no one intended to intentionally sink the liner, because hardly anyone was convinced by the version that the modern Titanic could sink from a simple collision with an iceberg. It is reasonable to believe that

The plan was as follows: to provoke a collision of the ship, after which it would sail safely to New York, and the owners of the company, in turn, would receive an impressive amount that was due to them under insurance.

Considering that Edward Smith, the captain of the ship, literally deliberately drove at high speed along dangerous route, ignoring all sorts of warnings about icebergs nearby, then this version becomes quite plausible.

But in 1985, when the hull of a sunken ship was discovered at depth, this version was officially refuted. The fact is that the number 401 was clearly visible on the propeller of the liner, i.e. the serial number of the Titanic, while the Olympic number was 400. One could also question this fact, suggesting that the company replaced the propeller after a collision with another ship (and there were many of them in the history of the Olympic), but the Titanic serial number is found on others parts of the ship, so this moment can be closed. Although I agree, the version is interesting.

The third version is the fight for the Blue Ribbon

If you are a pragmatic person, then you will probably be interested in the version about “ Blue ribbon" This award was given to those ships that crossed the fastest Atlantic Ocean. Naturally, serious competition immediately flared up between the companies, because winning this award promised quite big advantages.

No, the winner did not receive a cash prize, but the ship itself received something more - this is worldwide honor in the maritime industry, as well as authority, which can hardly be achieved in other ways. Such prestige inevitably led to material gain, because the ship that received this award received a contract for the delivery of all kinds of mail - a very profitable business at that time. And judge for yourself, if you were a millionaire, what kind of liner would you sail on? Of course, on the one that has received a prestigious award.

At that time, the ship that owned the Blue Riband was the Mauritania, owned by a long-time competitor of the White Star Line. It is clear that the owners of the company were asleep and saw how they would wipe the enemy’s nose, so they bet on the Titanic, hoping that it would cross the Atlantic Ocean faster than the Mauritania. That is why the captain of the Titanic walked along dangerous area, deliberately taking shortcuts.

Initially, the route included a small detour to avoid collisions with icebergs, which are abundant in that stretch of water. But Smith deliberately ignored the danger, racing at all speeds in a straight line, wanting to beat. This may seem crazy, but Smith naively assumed that even if a collision occurred, it would not lead to tragic consequences, and the record itself could only be postponed to a later date.

Such carelessness was very costly

By coincidence, after the collision with the iceberg, five compartments were flooded, i.e. one more than the Titanic could carry. In addition, the captain hoped that the iceberg would not break through the strong steel of the liner, because, in his opinion, this should not happen. Here we again return to the issue of the quality of the metal used in the production of the Titanic.

In addition, many supporters of this version overlook one important point. The fact is that the speed of the Mauritania, the last owner of the Blue Ribbon before the Titanic, was 26 knots. The maximum speed of the Titanic itself was no more than 24 knots, so it is not clear how it could get ahead of the Mauritania. Again, many will say that the captain knew this, so he deliberately did not slow down, moving along the shortest route, so there is no consensus. Riddles, riddles, riddles.....

Schizoteric causes of the sinking of the Titanic

In short, there are quite a few versions on the theme of the tragic death of the Titanic. I haven’t yet told you about the German torpedo that allegedly sank the Titanic and the curse Egyptian mummy! This is where the real schizophrenia is, which I spoke about at the beginning. So that you can appreciate the full scale of the rumors that are still circulating around this tragedy

on the story about the mummy - I’ll dwell in more detail

In general, it happened a very long time ago (we are talking about a mummy); there lived in Egypt a certain person who had the gift of foresight. I will not undertake to say whether this was actually the case or not, and this is not relevant to the matter. So, our soothsayer died, after which they made a mummy from her according to a long-standing tradition. It was found during excavations that were carried out near Cairo at the end of the nineteenth century.

The mummy was buried with big amount various treasures, among which was an image of Osiris. There was an inscription there and its meaning was literally the following: you will crush with your gaze anyone who dares to stand in your way. This therefore applied to the mummy and those likely offenders who would encroach on it.

The mummy was bought first by one collector, then by another, and so on, down the chain. They all died from a terrible curse that circled around the mummy, but who will understand the true reasons for their death? If a person dies at 90, it is unlikely that the mummy could be the cause. In the end, the mummy is bought by an unnamed American millionaire who wanted to transport it from England to the United States.

I think there is no need to explain which ship he chose for this

According to legend, the mummy was kept in an ordinary wooden box in the immediate vicinity of the captain's bridge. Naturally, the rascal Smith, being a curious fellow by nature, looked into this treasured box. Having met the eyes of the mummy, the captain immediately lost his mind. This forced him to drive through a dangerous section of water where icebergs were drifting, without slowing down.

Surprisingly, this theory also has supporters.

However, they miss one point. The meaning of mummies is the ability to preserve the shell of the body so that the soul of the deceased can return. Return to the place from which she actually fluttered out. It would be logical to assume that main task mummy, there would be relief from all risks and situations where her precious body could suffer.

It is clear that after she was in icy water, the mummy would have survived for no more than a couple of days. Quite a dubious approach to self-preservation, frankly speaking... In general, this kind of version is the prerogative of the yellow press, so let’s not judge them about it.

A thinking person simply will not pick up such a newspaper, but let the rest of us entertain themselves at their leisure with such fables.

By the way, I would like to apologize to Edward Smith, whose image I portrayed somewhat frivolously. Even though he took the Titanic along a dangerous route, he was a man of honor to the end. He remained on the already dying ship, making no attempt to escape. This is a long-standing maritime tradition when the captain does not abandon a sinking ship, and it literally takes your breath away every time.

In general, you and I are unlikely to learn everything about the events that took place on the night of April 15th. Therefore, our best action would be to honor the memory of everyone dead passengers and crew members, remembering them once again.

In contact with

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

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

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

Those responsible for the sinking of the Titanic

Shipbuilders

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

Radio operators

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

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

Iceberg

Video - Titanic. Mysteries of the death of the liner

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

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

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

About the maneuver

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

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

Subjective reasons for the sinking of the Titanic

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

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

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

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

Objective reasons for the sinking of the Titanic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The sinking of the Titanic scientific facts video

It might be useful to read:

﻿ Detailed map of the Titanic wreck site. Titanic: the history of the creation and wreck of the liner