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History of Titanic
four 63 feet tall funnels were functional;
the fourth, which only served as a vent, was
added to make the ship look more impres-
sive. The ship could carry a total of 3,547
passengers and crew. Because she also car-
ried mail, her name was given the prefix
RMS (Royal Mail Steamer) as well as SS
(Steam Ship).
For its time, this ship was unsurpassed
in luxury and opulence. The domed Grand
Staircase formed a spectacular entrance wood paneling, expensive furniture and
to the reception area. The ship featured other elegant decorations. Three elevators
an onboard swimming pool, gymnasium, transported first-class passengers and, as
Turkish & electric baths, a library and an innovation, second-class passengers
squash court. First-class common rooms enjoyed one elevator as well. She also had
were ornately appointed with elaborate an extensive electrical system powered by
much harder for the lookouts to keep an ed, “bergs, growlers and field ice in Latitude
eye out for icebergs. 42° N, from Longitude 49° to 51° W.” At
Meanwhile, the crew was more worried 11:40am, the Dutch liner Noordam report-
about another problem. Coal in bunker ed “much ice” in roughly the same place. At Titanic’s Marconi Room show ing
No. 6 had spontaneously combusted and 1:42pm, the White Star Liner Baltic report- Operator Bride during her maiden voy-
tons of coal burned “red hot” against the ed icebergs and field ice about 250 miles age, April 1912. Double-image photo was
bulkheads, possibly weakening the steel. in front of the Titanic, while the German taken by Father Browne
The firemen had worked non-stop for days liner Amerika reported that it had passed 2
to put out the fire, but to no avail. “The large icebergs. Reports continued with the
stokers were alarmed over it, but the offi- Californian reporting 3 large icebergs at “A nu m b er of u s w h o
cers told us to keep our mouths shut. They 7:30pm. That message was never posted or enjoyed the crisp air were prom-
didn’t want to alarm the passengers,” told passed on to Captain Smith. At 9:30pm, the This iceberg may have sunk Titanic
Fireman J. Dilley. steamer Mesaba warned of heavy pack ice
enading about the deck. [First based on location & survivor’s descrip-
and large icebergs. If those on the bridge Officer Murdock] was on the tions (photo taken April 20, 1912 from
had plotted all the positions of ice report- bridge when the first cry from German Steamer Bremen). Icebergs are
chunks of ice that fall into the sea from
ed, they would have understood there was a the lookout came that there polar glaciers formed over thousands of
78-mile wide expanse of ice across Titanic’s was an iceberg ahead. It may
course. Then they could have made the years. Due to the density of ice only 10%
needed decision to change course and
have been 30 feet high when I to 20% of the iceberg may be seen above
reduce speed to avoid the danger. They also saw it. It was possibly 200 yards the water.
might have posted additional lookouts on away and dead ahead. [First
the bow to increase the chances of spotting Officer Murdock] shouted some Within a minute of the collision, Captain
icebergs early. orders… A number of us prom- Smith had raced up to the bridge. “What
Shortly after 10:00pm the watch changed, have we struck?” he asked Murdoch. “An
with Second Officer Lightoller relieved
enaders rushed to the bow of iceberg, sir,” he replied. “I hard a-star-
by First Officer Murdoch in command of the ship. When we saw he could boarded and reversed the engines and I was
Titanic and lookouts Archie Jewell and not fail to hit it, we rushed to going to hard a-port around it, but she was
George Symons relieved by Frederick Fleet the stern. Then came a crash, too close. I could not do any more.” “Have
and Reginald Lee in the Crows Nest located and the passengers [who saw it] you closed the watertight doors?” “They
on the forward mast. The newcomers were are already closed, sir.” “All stop.” Murdock
only told to watch for “small ice and growl-
were panic-stricken.” responded, “Aye, sir” and relayed the order
Titanic Advertising Poster 1912 ers”, not larger icebergs (growlers are the — George Brayton, to the engine room.
First Class Passenger
On April 11, 1912 at 1:40pm the Titanic
smallest icebergs at only 3 feet by 16 feet).
With the sea “as smooth as a plate of pol-
Capt. Smith told Fourth Officer
Boxhall, “Go find the carpenter and get
him to sound the ship.” The carpenter, Jim below-freezing temperatures. They ban- emblem of death at sea, and each walked the lights and telegraph radios. They kept
Hutchinson, had already learned enough. tered various comments: “Oh, it’ll be a with his life-clutched pack to await the shutting down boiler after boiler as the
He blurted out, “She’s making water fast,” few hours then we’ll be on our way again.” coming horrors. It was a fancy-dress ball in waters rose to keep them from exploding
Right behind him was postal clerk Iago “Looks like we lost a propeller blade, but Dante’s Hell.” and sinking the ship immediately. They
Smith calling out, “The mail hold is filling it’ll give us more time for [playing] bridge.” Below deck Second Steward George worked until the end; few of them survived.
rapidly!” “We’ve struck an iceberg—a big one—but Dodd yells, “Get up lads, we’re sinking! Get They gave their lives to keep the ship afloat
After the report Capt. Smith turned to there’s no danger. An officer told me so.” every man up! Don’t let a man stay here!” as long as possible and save as many others
Chief Officer Wilde, “It is more than seri- “Oh, come and let’s see the berg—we’ve Bosun Nichols called out, “Turn out, you as they could.
ous.” He asked that Thomas Andrews, the never seen one!” fellows, you haven’t half an hour to live!
builder of the Titanic, be brought to the Awareness of the danger increased by That’s from Mr. Andrews. Keep it to your-
bridge immediately. He then checked the degrees. Miss Shutes wondered, “…What selves and let no one know.” The concern
commutator, the device that shows if a ship makes the ship list so?” She soon heard was that if passengers knew they would
is leaning to either side or front to back. an officer: “We can keep the water out for panic and make the situation even worse.
“Oh, my God,” was Smith’s response as a while.” A steward told a worried Mrs. Most passengers maintained their com-
he realized the Titanic was already listing Becker, “Nothing is the matter; we will be posure. Clinch Smith made an amusing
(leaning) to starboard (right) and toward on our way in a few minutes.” Reassured, remark to a young girl with a Pomeranian
the bow (forward). Bruce Ismay arrived she rested a while. But still concerned she puppy, “Well, I suppose we ought to put a
and asked, “Do you think the ship is seri- asked another steward who told her, “Put life preserver on the little doggie too.”
ously damaged?” Smith replied, “I’m afraid your lifebelts on immediately and go up to Capt. Smith, and especially First Officer
she is.” the Boat Deck.” She asked, “Do I have time Wilde, spent most of the evening on the
Titanic’s Boilers
Capt. Smith and Thomas Andrews went to dress?” “No, madam, you have time for bridge, not providing enough direction
to inspect the damage in person. They nothing!” to quell the chaos in order to save more
traveled by crew corridors to attract less lives, particularly related to the lifeboats. “I was on the whale deck in the bow call-
attention and not alarm the passengers. The Captain ordered women and children ing the watch that was to relieve when the
They kept straight faces so no one would to the lifeboats, but he and Wilde took no ice first came aboard. The collision opened
feel their concern. Their assessment: the decisive action to make sure the lifeboats the seams below the waterline but did not
iceberg had split seams, bent plates, and left full to save as many lives as possible. even scratch the paint above the line. I
popped rivets along a 300 foot length, and The five Postal Clerks worked valiantly know that because I was one of those who
6 watertight compartments were flood- to retrieve the mailbags and take them to helped to make an examination over the
ing. The ship could float with up to four higher decks. Water was rising rapidly and side with a lantern. I went down into the
compartments filled, but not six. A design mailbags were floating. All five clerks even- engine-room at 12:40am. We even made
flaw became apparent. As water filled the tually lost their lives trying to save the mail. coffee, so there was not much thought of
and besides, if the Titanic would only make matters even worse. some to believe they used their wealth to
really was unsinkable, there Meanwhile men were saying their final secure their own lifeboat and crew. Forever
wasn’t any need to bother goodbyes to their wives, children or women after they were criticized.
friends, as they were loaded into the life-
with lifeboats. Suddenly, as if boats. “Be brave. No matter what happens
to heighten the sense of secu- be brave!” were Dr. W.T. Minahans parting
rity aboard the ship, there was words to his wife. Women cried out for
music playing. Bandmaster At 12:45am, Lifeboat No. 7 was first their husbands and loved ones to come,
Wallace Hartley had assembled to be lowered to the sea by First Officer who responded that they “must be gentle-
Murdock. Movie star Dorothy Gibson and men” and stay behind. A crewman gave
the Titanic’s orchestra in the two honeymoon couples were among those his lifebelt to Minnie Coutts commenting,
First Class Lounge and quickly onboard. Murdock and other officers were “There, now, if the ship goes down, you’ll
launched into a set of lively rag- concerned that the lifeboats would buckle remember me.” She started for the Boat
time…The tempo was fast, the and break in the middle if they were fully Deck with her two young boys, but was
tone light and cheerful.” loaded. They were never informed that the blocked by a locked door. As her panic
Benjamin Guggenheim
lifeboats had been tested and could with- rose, a crewman showed up and led her to
— Daniel Allen Butler, stand the weight of passengers in every seat. the lifeboat. She never knew either of their
Author Unsinkable He told Fifth Officer Lowe, “That is enough names. Even though the order was “women and
before lowering. We can get a lot more in An older women, Mrs. Ida Straus, children first,” the fate of the men depend-
after she’s in the water.” Between the lack of stepped away from the lifeboat and to her ed on which side of the Titanic they were
The ship Carpathia missed the first dis- urgency on the part of passengers and the husband Isidor declaring, “We have been on. First Officer Murdock was much more
tress signal. Phillips reached them stating, Officer’s concern about weight, it was filled living together for many years: where you
“Come at once. We have struck a berg and with only 25 people, even though it could
require immediate assistance. It’s a CQD, hold 65! Lifeboat No. 7 and other lifeboats
old man…” Phillips received the first good were unable to load more people when they As I was put in the boat, he
news; Carpathia was only 58 miles away reached the water. Most of the lifeboats (husband), cried to me, ‘It’s all
and was “coming hard.” started rowing away from the Titanic to right, little girl. You go. I will
At 12:25am the order was given to put avoid being sucked down with the sinking stay.’ As our boat shoved off he
“women and children” into lifeboats. They ship. threw me a kiss, and that was
were given first priority. Bruce Ismay was trying to help evacuate the last I saw of him.”
“As I dressed, I heard the order shouted, the women and children. He felt a keen — Mrs. Daniel Marvin
‘All the passengers on deck with lifebelts responsibility. He had made the decision to (on her honeymoon)
on.’ We all walked up slowly with the life-
belts tied on over our clothing, but even
have only 20 lifeboats. He now knew most
passengers would die due to his choice to
Col. John Jacob Astor
lenient on his side of the ship than Second Passenger Category Saved % Saved Lost % Lost
Officer Lightoller was on his. Murdock “Some of the passengers
fought with such desperation Children, First Class 5 83% 1 17%
let men on the lifeboat if there were no
more women or children ready to get in. to get into the lifeboats that the Children, Second Class 23 100% 0 0%
Murdock also allowed some newlyweds officers shot them, and their Children, Third Class 26 40% 53 60%
celebrating their honeymoon on lifeboats bodies fell into the ocean. …I Women, First Class 139 97% 4 3%
together. This saved many men that would
have otherwise perished.
saw an officer of the Titanic Women, Second Class 79 84% 15 16%
Each man responded to his mortality dif- shoot down two steerage pas- Women, Third Class 76 46% 89 54%
ferently. Benjamin Guggenheim, founder of sengers who were endeavor-
Women, Crew 18 86% 3 14%
American Smelting & Refining Company, ing to rush the lifeboats. I have
and worth about $95 million, set aside his learned since that twelve of the Men, First Class 57 33% 118 67%
lifebelt and changed into fine evening wear. steerage passengers were shot Men, Second Class 14 8% 154 92%
He simply said, “We’ve dressed in our best
and are prepared to go down like gentle-
altogether, one officer shooting Men, Third Class 75 16% 381 84%
men.” down six. Men, Crew 193 22% 684 78%
Colonel John Jacob Astor, worth prob- — Dr. Washington Dodge of Total 705 32% 1502 68%
ably $150 million, heir of the famous San Francisco
house of Astor, was returning with his of 1st or 2nd class passengers. The greatest playing.” The band kept playing until the
bride from Egypt. As he helped her he said, loss, more that any of the three classes, was very end. The music ended as they were
“Get into the lifeboat, to please me.” He more. Lowe changed tactics, “For God sake, the crew, with only 214 out of 892 surviv- seen washed off the deck as the Titanic
asked Lightoller if he could join her. “No be a man. We’ve got women and children to ing. Many worked heroically at their posts began to sink. The last song thought to be
sir, no men are allowed in these boats until save.” The boy crawled out of the lifeboat. to the end to save lives. heard was the hymn “Nearer, My God, to
women are loaded first.” Astor told his wife, In another instance Lightoller found sev- Thee”, while others thought it was a song
“The sea is calm. You’ll be all right. You’re eral men, including crewmen, in a lifeboat. named “Autumn”.
in good hands. I’ll meet you in the morn- Drawing his revolver he shouted furiously, At 12:55am, Fourth Officer Boxhall and
ing.” He walked away to his fate. “Get out of there, you damn cowards! I’d Quartermaster Rowe started firing the first
Some men built their own rafts of deck- like to see every one of you overboard!” emergency rockets. A total of eight rockets
chairs and other buoyant items they could The men scrabbled out of the boat. were fired between then and 1:40am. It is
find in an effort to save themselves and Women also gave up their seat for other unclear why more rockets were not fired
others. women. One lifeboat had only one seat left since more were available. They also were
Bruce Ismay, on the other hand, jumped for two women. Miss Evans said to Mrs. not fired based on emergency protocol. so
giving orders on Titanic, Capt. Rostron in a dreadful huddled mass. Those that ship. The elderly, the weak, or just plain a faint distress message. Three minutes
was absolutely clear, resolute, and deci- didn’t disappear under the water right away, unlucky, slid down into the sea. Titanic later, at 2:20am on Monday, April 15, 1912,
sive. At the Carpathia’s top speed of 14 instinctively started to clamber up that part was crashing and groaning as furnishings
knots, it would take four hours to reach the of the deck still out of water, and work their fell and walls gave way inside. Booms came
Titanic, which in this emergency was not way towards the stern, which was rising from within the ship as watertight bulk- “…I jumped
good enough for Rostron. He swung into steadily out of the water as the bow went heads gave way under the immense pres- out, feet first. I
action. He charted the new course to reach down. It was a sight that doesn’t bear dwell- sure of the sea. Titanic rose higher until her
was clear of the
Titanic. He wanted more speed. He aroused ing on… watching the frantic struggles to massive propellers extended above the sea.
all off-duty crewmen and coal stokers. climb up the sloping deck, utterly unable to As the ship sank, Father Thomas Boyle, ship; went down,
Looking each man eye-to-eye, he paused, even hold out a helping hand.” — Charles a Roman Catholic priest, heard confes- and as I came up
and intoned, “Every man to his post and let Lightoller, Second Officer sions and led prayer at the stern of the ship: I was pushed away
him do his duty like a true Englishman. If At 2:15 the bridge succumbed to the sea “Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with from the ship by
the situation calls for it, let us add another some force. I came up facing
glorious page to British history.” He cut the
the ship, and one of the fun-
heat and hot water to the passengers and
had the stokers heat the boilers to capacity nels seemed to be lifted off and
so as to put every ounce of steam the ship fell towards me about 15 yards
could muster to the task of increased speed. away, with a mass of sparks and
The Carpathia surged ahead gaining speed steam coming out of it. I saw
beyond her usual range to 15, then 16, to the ship in a sort of a red glare,
17 knots (nearly 20 mph).
and it seemed to me that she
broke in two just in front of the
third funnel. …The partly filled
lifeboat standing by about 100
yards away never came back.
Why on Earth they never came
back is a mystery. How could
any human being fail to heed
those cries.”
— Jack B. Thayer, Titanic
Carpathia
Painting © Ken Marschall
Survivor, Age 17
“The sounds of people drowning are some-
thing that I cannot describe to you, and nei-
ther can anyone else. Its the most dreadful
sound and there is a terrible silence that fol-
lows it.”
— Eva Hart, Titanic Survivor, Age 7, seen
with her parents. Mr. Hart died when Titanic
sank. Eva lived to age 91.
continued looking for another hour, but to His lookouts called out, “iceberg,” then couldn’t live in the cold water. We had room we saw the lights of that ship,
no avail. (Only 12 people total were pulled again, more bergs came into view. Perfectly for a dozen more people in my boat, but it about 4 miles away, we rowed
from the water alive after Titanic sank.) timing his orders, he moved past the bergs was dark after the ship took the plunge. We like mad, & passed icebergs
and the fields of ice never slowing his didn’t pick up any swimmers. I fired flares.
charge to Titanic. There was still a glim- …I think that the people were drawn down like mountains, at last about
“Icebergs mer of hope that her passengers might be deep by the suction. The other boats are 6:30[am] the dear Carpathia
lo omed saved. Below deck his crew shoveled coal at somewhere nearby.” picked us up, our little boat
up and fell a frantic pace and the ship literally shook as As dawn broke the rest of the lifeboats
if possessed by some god of the sea. came into view spread out over five miles.
was like a speck against that
astern and giant. Then came my weakest
Fourth Officer Boxhall was firing green Cheers and cries of relief rose from many
we never flares. They became a beacon for other lifeboats, while others were solemn, speech- moment, they lowered a rope
s l a c ke n e d . lifeboats to row towards. This was what less with grief and shock. But they were swing, which was awkward to
It w a s a n Rostron had seen, not flares from the saved. They rowed toward the Carpathia.
Titanic. There was still work to be done. Fifth sit on… Then they hauled me
anxious
time with the Titanic’s fateful Perhaps in shock, some in the lifeboats Officer Lowe, who had searched during up, by the side of the boat. Can
bickered. Some took control of their boat the night for survivors, swung back into you imagine, swinging in the
experience very close in our like little tyrants with newfound power. action. Collapsible lifeboat A was low in the
minds. There were 700 souls However, most comforted and took care of water. Half the survivors on her had died
air over the sea, I just shut my
on Carpathia and those lives each other. As they settled into the alone- during the night. Lowe quickly got the liv- eyes & clung tight saying “Am I
as well as the survivors of the ness of floating on the sea, the initial shock ing onboard his lifeboat. He then turned to safe.” At last I felt a strong arm
wore off giving way to hysteria for some as Collapsible B and towed her as he sailed his
Titanic herself depended on pulling me onto the boat... we
they cried out for their lost loved ones, and lifeboat toward the Carpathia.
the sudden turn of the wheel. an intense silent grief for others. Mrs. Vera There were a few happy reunions as lived in for the next four days &
When day broke, I saw the ice Dick lamented, “Oh my poor father! He put loved ones were reunited, but also tragic nights on the darling Carpathia.
I had steamed through dur- me on the boat, and wouldn’t save himself! realizations that family and friends were Oh but they were so kind to us,
ing the night. I shuddered, and Why didn’t I die? Why can’t I die now?” gone. “There was scarcely anyone who had
At 3:30am, a little over an hour after not been separated from husband, child everybody lent us everything,
could only think that some & their beds, but of course, all
Titanic sank, the lifeboats heard a boom or friend… We could only rush frantically
other hand than mine was on and spotted a rocket fired by the Carpathia. from group to group, searching the hag- had to sleep on tables, floors, or
that helm during the night.” People bolted upright filled with hope. gard faces, crying out names, and endless
anywhere.”
— Captain Arthur H. Rostron, Soon they could see a light on the mast- questions. No survivor knows better than
Commander of Carpathia head of an approaching ship, coming hard, I the bitter cruelty of disappointment and — Laura Mabel Francatelli,
10 continuing to fire rockets.
Although Capt. Rostron had kept faith,
despair. I had a husband to search for, a
husband whom in the greatness of my faith,
Titanic survivor
way, pulled aside. By 9:00am Carpathia was America reported the story. Later that eve-
loaded with 705 survivors. Tragically 1,502 ning Frank could not contain himself and U.S. Senate Inquiry Results
lives were lost, more than two-thirds of the tearfully relayed more information: “We
passengers. very much fear there has been a great loss U.S. Senator William Alden Smith
Shortly after all survivors were picked up of life” and then later announced a “hor-
the ship Mount Temple arrived. She was rific loss of life.” The Titanic disaster domi- …No sufficient tests were made of boilers or
asked to search the area one more time. nated the world’s newspapers for many
Then the Californian, the only ship close days. Shock ensued along with questions:
bulkheads or gearing or equipment, and no life-
enough at 12 miles away to have saved How could such a modern ship hit an ice- saving or signal devices were reviewed; officers and
those lost, arrived. She soon headed west- berg? How could an “unsinkable” ship go crew were strangers to one another and passengers
ward, seemingly more concerned about down with such catastrophic loss of life? to both; neither was familiar with the vessel or its implements or tools;
being on time to Boston, than the heart- Who was at fault and who would be held no drill or station practice or helpful discipline disturbed the tranquil-
breaking loss of life she could have helped responsible? ity of that voyage, and when the crisis came a state of absolute unpre-
The Carpathia arrived in New York on
Thursday, April 18, 1912 with the 705 survi-
paredness stupefied both passengers and crew, and in their despair the
vors. Over 30,000 people had gathered in a ship went down…a sacrifice of noble women and brave men…
cold rain punctuated by thunderstorms. As Titanic though she was, [Captain Smith’s] indifference to danger
the ship entered the harbor, a fleet of boats was one of the direct and contributing causes of this unnecessary
greeted her blasting their steam whistles. tragedy, while his own willingness to die was the expiating evidence of
Photoflashes lit the night. Reporters were his fitness to live. Those of us who knew him well — not in anger, but
so eager to interview the survivors that
some chartered boats to sail alongside her,
in sorrow — file one specific charge against him: Overconfidence and
shouting questions through megaphones. neglect to heed the oft-repeated warnings…
Some tried to force their way or sneak on …When other and less pretentious vessels doubled their lookout
board. They were held back by force. or stopped their engines, …overconfidence seems to have dulled the
avoid. The ship first stopped at the White Star faculties usually so alert. With the atmosphere literally charged with
Guests on Carpathia gave generously of dock to drop off the lifeboats that had held warning signals and wireless messages registering their last appeal, the
their clothes, toiletries, and other necessi- the survivors, returning them to their own-
ties to the survivors. But some women were ers. Then she docked before the masses.
stokers in the engine room fed their fires with fresh fuel, registering in
inconsolable. Upon being offered a cup of Carpathia’s original passengers left the that dangerous place her fastest speed.
coffee, a couple of women snapped, “Go ship first to save them from the tumult of
away! We’ve just seen our husbands drown.” reporters clamoring for stories from the
Recent expeditions have revealed new The mistake was not realized until they
owners as those of the ill-fated ship. insights that help answer all of these ques- began towing operations, a few days out
— Excerpts from Senator William Alden Smith speech, U.S. Senate tions. But the first major breakthrough of port. “And all of a sudden, the pipe
Inquiry came in 1985 when the Titanic wreck site, broke. Everything went and the counter
…It seems to be universally conceded that this ship was not which occupies more than a square mile, weight came running down, right towards
was discovered by an American-French us, ‘cause we were in a room underneath all
equipped with a sufficient number of lifeboats to provide for the joint expedition led by Jean-Louis Michel that, and then hit it [smack noise]. … And
safety of its passengers… The failure of foreign steamships to carry and Dr. Robert Ballard. then we ran out and everything was gone.”
searchlights is utterly inexcusable; [with] …a proper searchlight…the In the 1970s, Ballard was a young sci- The 1977 accident sent Ballard and his
accident could have been avoided. The failure to supply the proper entist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic team at Woods Hole back to the drawing
officers with binoculars was unquestionably an act of negligence… Institution. He and his colleagues decided board. They would not mount another
to use their developing technology to solve expedition for Titanic until 1985.
There was not the proper attention paid to the wireless messages the greatest maritime mystery of all time The scientists, engineers and technicians
that the ship received… The speed of the vessel was not lowered, as it — finding Titanic. The plan blossomed at Woods Hole worked on a concept they
should have been when notice was received that she was in a danger- in 1977, when the Alcoa Corporation lent were convinced would open the mystifying
ous zone… their salvage vessel, the Seaprobe, to the ocean floor to the world dubbed “telepres-
— Excerpts from Senator Ididor Raynor speech, U.S Senate Inquiry Institution. The ship featured a huge pipe ence,” they planned on bringing video cam-
apparatus that could send instruments eras to the depths of the ocean.
3000 feet into the ocean. By 1982, the Office of Naval Research
“The committee is forced to the inevitable conclusion that the “I went to Westinghouse Corporation. I contributed $2.8 million for the develop-
Californian, controlled by the same company, was nearer the Titanic borrowed a deep tow Sonar System. I went ment of the telepresence system, particu-
than the nineteen miles reported by her captain, and that her officers larly the “Argo” camera apparatus, named
and crew saw the distress signals of the Titanic and failed to respond after the mythical ship that carried Jason
and the Argonauts in their search for the
to them in accordance with the dictates of humanity, international Golden Fleece. To test Argo, they had their
usage and the requirements of law. The only reply to the distress sig- own golden fleece: Titanic. But the funds
nals was a counter signal from a large white light, which was flashed weren’t enough to mount an expedition.
for nearly two hours from the mast of the Californian. In our opinion So Ballard “…Went deeper into the Navy
such conduct, whether arising from indifference or gross carelessness, [he laughed]. And being a Naval officer,
and having been involved in a lot of pro-
is most reprehensible and places on the commander of the Californian grams, I went to the other side of the Navy,
a grave responsibility. the more classified side of the Navy. And I
— U.S. Inquiry Committee
12 Alcoa Seaprobe
talked to them.”
The Cold War was still raging, and Argo
could help the Navy with another prob- the American portion of the quest, the part 4 days from their return date. It seemed
lem: locating two sunken submarines. The that was supposed to be a photo opportu- Titanic was about to elude yet another
USS Thresher had sunk due east of Woods nity after the SAR found Titanic. determined and skilled search party.
Hole in 1963. The USS Scorpion sank just The 245-foot Woods Hole ship Knorr left Then just before 1:00a.m. on September
five years later 400 miles southwest of the dock from Ponta Delgada, in the Azores. 1, 1985, everything changed.
Azores off the coast of Portugal. The Navy But first, Ballard had a top-secret com-
wanted Dr. Ballard to use the new technol- mitment to the Navy to keep – the sur-
ogy to monitor the nuclear stability –– or vey of the other sunken nuclear sub, the
instability –– of those sunken subs and USS Scorpion, 400 miles southwest of the
their nuclear reactors. Azores.
With the additional Navy funding,
Woods Hole engineers and technicians
started bringing Argo to life in 1982. The
4,000-pound cage the size of an automobile
filled with three specialized dark-vision Titanic Boiler on Sea Floor: Courtesy
cameras and sonar were a leap ahead in NOAA
deep-sea imaging. In 1984, Argo started its
secret mission at the USS Thresher. Ballard Woods Hole Ship Knorr had a clean top. We had just done some-
found the sunken sub. “The Thresher was thing that none of us had ever done before.
just destroyed. …It was just like blasted “It was just another watch…we had all And we knew we were at the edge of the
through a shredding machine…” been used to staring at black and white technology. We pushed it to its limit and we
Sonar Acoustic Remorque (SAR) images of the deep seafloor…a featureless got out free… That was cool. It’s worth all
deep seafloor, for watch after watch after the…troubles and trials and tribulations…
With each of these sub hunts, Ballard watch,” said Bill Lange. “And in this watch [laughs] I’ll never, I’ll never forget those
was learning more about how he might we started to pick up little objects here and moments.”
find Titanic. The Thresher had been com- there.” Dana Yoerger expressed her excitement.
pletely blown apart, while the Scorpion was “They weren’t rocks. They weren’t fish. “And I remember those first passes with the
basically intact. Yet they had similar debris They weren’t sand waves. They were very Argo sled over the ship, and how absolutely
fields — ones that showed up right away on angular bits of something,” shared Cathy thrilled we were that we immediately rec-
Argo’s cameras. “You pass this line. It’s like Offinger “And as it turns out…the first ognized what we were seeing. There it was.
just a line. There’s nothing and then there’s images that were coming back were of the It wasn’t a pile of scrap where maybe you
everything. …You come into a debris field,” boiler with the very recognizable pattern of could identify some of the pieces. I mean,
ANGUS snapped thousands of pictures, a closer look at what happened to the ship ing, they were ready to attempt their first arrived on the site – not to leave plaques,
including the world’s first up-close look at during three quarters of a century in the dive with the submersible, with Jason Jr. but to bring pieces of Titanic back. Was it
the debris field. Those images of everyday deep ocean. Several months after their dis- tucked into its cage aboard Alvin. There for this purpose that science had found the
items bridged the years from 1912 to 1985 covery of Titanic in 1985, the researchers was a heightened state of anxiety among wreck?
in a way that no one could have predicted. started to make preparations to document the crew. Diving near a wreck in freezing By the autumn of 1986, Titanic’s loca-
The scientists and crew returned to the site up close. water 2 1/2 miles under the ocean is not a tion was no longer a secret. But it still held
Woods Hole, happy to have proven their The only way to do that was in a special- routine task. many mysteries, and as it turned out, many
equipment worked, but not fully under- ized submarine called a Deep Submergence On July 13 the Alvin crew was filled with artifacts – objects that people around the
standing the import of what they accom- Vehicle – and Woods Hole happened to both fear and expectation. The three men, world were interested in seeing for them-
Titanic’s anchor weighs over seven tons. Hanging down around and over it are “rus-
Shoes, Bench, and Dishes in Debris Field & Telemotor Where Bridge Had Been: ticles” — icicle-like secretions — the waste product of deep-sea bacteria that eat iron
14 Courtesy NOAA in the steel: Courtesy NOAA
was not advancing. Hundreds of photos why some Titanic survivors described the and cutting-edge technology.
they believed that had taken, and hope to scene aboard after the iceberg hit as one of The ability to map the whole wreck site
analyze, were never captured. Their theo- relative calm, rather than complete panic. has enabled the expedition team to close-
ries were compelling, but their chance to Perhaps Titanic passengers thought the ly analyze the evidence in order to fully
gather new evidence was lost. Concannon’s boat would stay afloat for much longer understand the timeline and mechanics
hypothesis inspired future expeditions to than it ultimately did. of the wreck. The release of the expedi-
test his theories. The 2005 expedition uncovered new tion’s most recent findings is scheduled to
Beginning in 2005, the History Channel information and surprising revelations. Yet correspond with the 100th Anniversary
sponsored an expedition to the Titanic site after this expedition, over 40% of the wreck of the disaster. History Channel will fea-
to shed new light on the sinking. Led by site was still unexplored. ture a full-length program entitled Titanic
veteran wreck divers John Chatteron and In 2010, an unprecedent expedition at 100: Mystery Solved on April 15, 2012
Titanic Propeller: Courtesy NOAA
Richie Kohler, this expedition used forensic led by RMS Titanic, Inc., Woods Hole (check local listings for air times, or visit
techniques to pursue lingering mysteries Oceanographic Institute, and History History.com) which will unveil these find-
selves. about the wreck. Channel documented the entire wreck site ings, promising to close the book on many
In 1987, IFREMER, the French Naval Architect Roger Long describes of Titanic, using high-resolution optical questions that still linger about the disaster.
Oceanographic Institute, was at the Titanic the efforts of the 2005 expedition team video, sonar, and acoustic imaging. For Even 100 years later, Titanic continues to
site with their 20 million dollar submers- to reconstruct Titanic and put together the first time, this technology enabled the intrigue people worldwide.
ible, Nautile. Their goal was to collect rel- the pieces of the wreck like a puzzle. Long experts to map the entirety of the wreck
ics, in conjunction with a for-profit com- explained that “to really understand what site, using autonomous underwater vehicles
pany funded by international investors. happened here you have to look at where
In this expedition 1,800 artifacts were
brought back to land. The salvage com-
things are on the bottom, and then you
have to figure out how fast they fell and
Learn more about Titanic
pany went public in 1993 under the name where they are. Draw that all back to the These sites and books were used for research Images:
RMS Titanic, Incorporated and was named surface, in a way that makes sense, with for this supplement. www.maritimequest.com/liners/titanic_
“Salvor in Possession” by a federal judge in putting together the structural pieces to
HISTORY: www.history.com/topics/titanic page_1.htm
1994 with complete right to the Titanic and really reconstruct the event.”
Academic: www.titanichistoricalsociety.org Inquiries - U.S. & British:
all it’s artifacts. Their first step was to conduct a detailed
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org http://www.titanicinquiry.org
As the centennial of the sinking of the forensic photographic examination of the
Titanic approached, RMS Titanic, Inc. wreck site. Expedition team members had http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic Paintings:
made plans to sell many artifacts, worth hundreds of hours of video to study to www.titanic-nautical.com www.kenmarschall.com
millions of dollars, to the highest bidders. piece together the story of the wreck. Team www.titanicuniverse.com Newspaper Stories:
Artifacts like the ship’s tri-tone whistle, member Bill Lange explains that they spent www.webtitanic.net www.lva.virginia.gov/exhibits/titanic
16
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MYSTERY
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FINALLY
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