RMS Titanic

RMS Titanic departing Southampton on 10 April 1912.
Career ( United Kingdom)	White Star Line
Name:	RMS Titanic[1]
Owner:	White Star Line[1]
Port of registry:	[2] Liverpool
Route:	Southampton to New York City
Ordered:	31 July 1908[1]
Builder:	Harland and Wolff, Belfast[1]
Yard number:	401[3]
Laid down:	31 March 1909[1]
Launched:	31 May 1911[1]
Christened:	Not christened
Completed:	31 March 1912
Maiden voyage:	10 April 1912[3]
In service:	1912[1]
Identification:	Radio Callsign "MGY" UK Official Number: 131428[4]
Fate:	Sank on 15 April 1912 after hitting an iceberg in middle of Atlantic Ocean[1]
General characteristics
Class and type:	Olympic-class ocean liner[3]
Tonnage:	46,328 gross register tons (GRT)[1]
Displacement:	52,310 tons[3]
Length:	882 ft 9 in (269.1 m)[5]
Beam:	92 ft 0 in (28.0 m)[5]
Height:	175 ft (53.3 m) (Keel to top of funnels)
Draught:	34 ft 7 in (10.5 m)[1]
Depth:	64 ft 6 in (19.7 m)[5]
Decks:	9 (Lettered A through G)
Installed power:	24 double-ended (six furnace) and 5 single-ended (three furnace) Scotch marine boilers Two four-cylinder reciprocating triple-expansion steam engines each producing 15,000 hp for the two outboard wing propellers at 75 revolutions per minute[6] One low-pressure turbine producing 16,000 hp[6] 46,000 HP (design) – 59,000 HP (maximum)[7]
Propulsion:	Two bronze triple-blade wing propellers One bronze quadruple-blade centre propeller.
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)[1] 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) (maximum)
Capacity:	Passengers and crew (fully loaded): 3547 Staterooms (840 total): First Class: 416 Second Class: 162 Third Class: 262 Plus 40 open berthing areas
Crew:	860[1]

Topics about Titanic
List of passengers List of crew members Films about Titanic Titanic Historical Society

RMS Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the world when she set off on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City on 10 April 1912. Four days into the crossing, at 23:40 on 14 April 1912, she struck an iceberg and sank at 2:20 the following morning, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.
An Olympic-class passenger liner, RMS Titanic was owned by the White Star Line and constructed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland. She set sail for New York City with 2,227 people on board. The high casualty rate when the ship sank was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship carried lifeboats for only 1,178 people. A disproportionate number of men died due to the women and children first protocol that was followed.
Titanic was designed by some of the most experienced engineers, and used some of the most advanced technologies available at the time. It was a great shock to many that, despite the extensive safety features, Titanic sank, and the fact that it sank on its maiden voyage added to the particularly ironic nature of the tragedy. The frenzy on the part of the media about Titanic's famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes to maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck have contributed to the interest in Titanic.

Contents [hide] 1 Construction 2 Features 2.1 Lifeboats 2.2 Pumps 2.3 Comparisons with the Olympic 3 Ship history 3.1 Sea trials 3.2 Maiden voyage 3.3 Sinking 3.4 Lifeboats launched 3.5 Final minutes 4 Aftermath 4.1 Arrival of Carpathia in New York 4.2 Survivors, victims and statistics 4.3 Retrieval and burial of the dead 4.4 Memorials 5 Investigations into the RMS Titanic disaster 5.1 SS Californian inquiry 6 Discovery of the wreck 6.1 Current condition of the wreck 6.2 Ownership and litigation 7 Possible factors in the sinking 7.1 Construction and metallurgy 7.2 Rudder construction and turning ability 7.3 Orientation of impact 7.4 Weather 7.5 Excessive speed 7.6 Alternative theories 8 Insufficient lifeboats 9 Legends and myths regarding RMS Titanic 9.1 Unsinkable 9.2 David Sarnoff, wireless reports and the use of SOS 9.3 Titanic's band 9.4 The stories of W.T. Stead 9.5 The Titanic curse 9.6 Alleged predictions of the disaster 10 See also 11 References 11.1 Explanatory notes 11.2 Notes 11.3 Bibliography 12 External links

Construction

Main article: Olympic class ocean liner

Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, in the UK, and designed to compete with the rival Cunard Line's Lusitania and Mauretania. Titanic, along with her Olympic-class sisters, Olympic and the soon-to-be-built Britannic (which was to be called Gigantic at first), were intended to be the largest, most luxurious ships ever to operate. The designers were Lord Pirrie,^[8] a director of both Harland and Wolff and White Star, naval architect Thomas Andrews, Harland and Wolff's construction manager and head of their design department,^[9] and Alexander Carlisle, the shipyard's chief draughtsman and general manager.^[10] Carlisle's responsibilities included the decorations, the equipment and all general arrangements, including the implementation of an efficient lifeboat davit design. Carlisle would leave the project in 1910, before the ships were launched, when he became a shareholder in Welin Davit & Engineering Company Ltd, the firm making the davits.^[11]

Size comparison with the Airbus A380, a bus, a car, and an average-sized human

Construction of RMS Titanic, funded by the American J.P. Morgan and his International Mercantile Marine Co., began on 31 March 1909. Titanic's hull was launched on 31 May 1911, and her outfitting was completed by 31 March the following year. Her length overall was 882 feet 9 inches (269.1 m), the moulded breadth 92 feet 0 inches (28.0 m),^[12] the tonnage 46,328 GRT, and the height from the water line to the boat deck of 59 feet (18 m). She was equipped with two reciprocating four-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines and one low-pressure Parsons turbine, each driving a propeller. There were 29 boilers fired by 159 coal burning furnaces that made possible a top speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). Only three of the four 62 feet (19 m) funnels were functional: the fourth, which served only for ventilation, was added to make the ship look more impressive. The ship could carry a total of 3,547 passengers and crew.

Features

Gymnasium aboard Titanic

The first-class Grand Staircase aboard Olympic

Titanic surpassed all her rivals in luxury and opulence. The First-class section had an on-board swimming pool, a gymnasium, a squash court, Turkish bath, Electric bath and a Verandah Cafe. First-class common rooms were adorned with ornate wood panelling, expensive furniture and other decorations. In addition, the Café Parisien offered cuisine for the first-class passengers, with a sunlit veranda fitted with trellis decorations.^[13] There were libraries and barber shops in both the first and second-class.^[14] The third class general room had pine panelling and sturdy teak furniture.^[15] The ship incorporated technologically advanced features for the period. She had three electric elevators in first class and one in second class. She had also an extensive electrical subsystem with steam-powered generators and ship-wide wiring feeding electric lights and two Marconi radios, including a powerful 1,500-watt set manned by two operators working in shifts, allowing constant contact and the transmission of many passenger messages.^[16] First-class passengers paid a hefty fee for such amenities. The most expensive one-way trans-Atlantic passage was £875 (£64,204 as of 2011),^[17] or $4,375 ($99,237 as of 2011),^[18].

Lifeboats

For her maiden voyage, Titanic carried a total of 20 lifeboats of three different varieties:^[19]

• Lifeboats 1 and 2: emergency wooden cutters: 25'2" long by 7'2" wide by 3'2" deep; capacity 326.6 cubic feet (9.25 m³) or 40 people.^[20]
• Lifeboats 3 to 16: wooden lifeboats: 30' long by 9'1" wide by 4' deep; capacity 655.2 cubic feet (18.55 m³) or 65 people.^[20]
• Lifeboats A, B, C and D: Englehardt "collapsible" lifeboats: 27'5" long by 8' wide by 3' deep; capacity 376.6 cubic feet (10.66 m³) or 47 people.^[20]

The lifeboats were predominantly stowed in chocks on the boat deck, connected to the falls of the davits. All of the lifeboats, including the collapsibles, were placed on the ship by the giant gantry crane at Belfast. Those on the starboard side were odd-numbered 1–15 from bow to stern, while those on the port side were even-numbered 2–16 from bow to stern. The emergency cutters (lifeboats 1 and 2) were kept swung out, hanging from the davits, ready for immediate use while collapsible lifeboats C and D were stowed on the boat deck immediately in-board of boats 1 and 2 respectively. Collapsible lifeboats A and B were stored on the roof of the officers' quarters, on either side of number 1 funnel. However there were no davits mounted on the officers' quarters to lower collapsibles A and B and they weighed a considerable amount empty. During the sinking, lowering collapsibles A and B proved difficult as it was first necessary to slide the boats on timbers and/or oars down to the boat deck. During this procedure, collapsible B capsized and subsequently floated off the ship upside down.^[20]
At the design stage Carlisle suggested that Titanic use a new, larger type of davit, manufactured by the Welin Davit & Engineering Co Ltd, each of which could handle four lifeboats. Sixteen sets of these davits were installed, giving Titanic the ability to carry 64^[21] wooden lifeboats—a total capacity of over 4,000 people, compared with Titanic's total carrying capacity of about 3,600 passengers and crew. However, the White Star Line, while agreeing to the new davits, decided that only 16 wooden lifeboats (16 being the minimum required by the Board of Trade, based on Titanic's projected tonnage) would be carried (there were also four folding lifeboats, called collapsibles), which could accommodate only 1,178 people (33% of Titanic's total capacity). At the time, the Board of Trade's regulations stated that British vessels over 10,000 tons must carry 16 lifeboats with a capacity of 5,500 cubic feet (160 m³), plus enough capacity in rafts and floats for 75% (or 50% in case of a vessel with watertight bulkheads) of that in the lifeboats. Therefore, the White Star Line actually provided more lifeboat accommodation than was legally required.^[22]
The regulations had made no extra provision for larger ships since 1894, when the largest passenger ship under consideration was the Cunard Line's Lucania, only 13,000 tons. Sir Alfred Chalmers, nautical adviser to the Board of Trade from 1896 to 1911, had considered the matter "from time to time", but because he thought that experienced sailors would have to be carried "uselessly" aboard ship for no other purpose than lowering and manning lifeboats, and the difficulty he anticipated in getting away a greater number than 16 in any emergency, he "did not consider it necessary to increase [our scale]".^[23]
Carlisle told the official inquiry that he had discussed the matter with J. Bruce Ismay, White Star's Managing Director, but in his evidence Ismay denied that he had ever heard of this, nor did he recollect noticing such provision in the plans of the ship he had inspected.^[11][24] Ten days before the maiden voyage Axel Welin, the maker of Titanic's lifeboat davits, had announced that his machinery had been installed because the vessel's owners were aware of forthcoming changes in official regulations, but Harold Sanderson, vice-president of the International Mercantile Marine and former general manager of the White Star Line, denied that this had been the intention.^[25]

Pumps

Titanic was fitted with five ballast and bilge pumps, used for trimming the vessel, and three bilge pumps.^[26] Two 10-inch (250 mm) main ballast pipes ran the length of the ship and valves controlling the distribution of water were operated from the bulkhead deck, above.^[27] The total discharge capacity from all eight pumps operating together was 1,700 tons or 425,000 gallons per hour.^[26] During the disaster, the engineers reported that the pumps succeeded in slowing the flooding of No. 6 boiler room in the first ten minutes after the collision. The pumps also kept pace with the flooding on No. 5 boiler room. This does not indicate that the vessel could have maintained buoyancy indefinitely, but as long as the pumps had steam to power them, the ship could slow down the flooding. Titanic could not founder until these sections were flooded and the inrush of water overwhelmed the pumps. This did not happen until 23:50 pm on the night of the sinking.^[28]

Comparisons with the Olympic

Olympic and Titanic under construction

Titanic closely resembled her older sister Olympic. Although she enclosed more space and therefore had a larger gross register tonnage, the hull was almost the same length as Olympic's. Two of the most noticeable differences were that half of Titanic's forward promenade A-Deck (below the boat deck) was enclosed against outside weather, and her B-Deck configuration was different from Olympic's. As built Olympic did not have an equivalent of Titanic's Café Parisien: the feature was not added until 1913. Some of the flaws found on Olympic, such as the creaking of the aft expansion joint, were corrected on Titanic. The skid lights that provided night time illumination on A-deck were round, while on Olympic they were oval. Titanic's wheelhouse was made narrower and longer than Olympic's.^[29] These, and other modifications, made Titanic 1,004 gross register tons larger than Olympic and thus the largest active ship in the world during her maiden voyage in April 1912.

Ship history

Sea trials

Titanic's sea trials took place shortly after she was fitted out at Harland & Wolff shipyard. The trials were originally scheduled for 10.00am on Monday, 1 April, just nine days before she was due to leave Southampton on her maiden voyage, but poor weather conditions forced the trials to be postponed until the following day.^[3]
Aboard Titanic were 78 stokers, greasers and firemen, and 41 members of crew. No domestic staff appear to have been aboard. Representatives of various companies travelled on Titanic's sea trials, including Harold A. Sanderson of I.M.M and Thomas Andrews and Edward Wilding of Harland and Wolff. Bruce Ismay and Lord Pirrie were too ill to attend. Jack Phillips and Harold Bride served as radio operators, and performed fine-tuning of the Marconi equipment. Mr Carruthers, a surveyor from the Board of Trade, was also present to see that everything worked, and that the ship was fit to carry passengers. After the trial, he signed an 'Agreement and Account of Voyages and Crew', valid for twelve months, which deemed the ship sea-worthy.^[30]