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 liner 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 through Atlantic Ocean in New York City, stopping along the way at small ports to deliver and receive cargo, as well as disembark and pick up passengers. The fifth day of an exciting journey became fatal for all passengers on 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 plating was so thin that even the smallest piece of ice could have caused enormous damage to it, and if we take into account the huge Iceberg, the damage was not very great, 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 included the use of necessary materials, but most of them were of poor quality or 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 with exact coordinates already from 20-00 on the evening of 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. The last passenger on the Titanic died in 2009. This was the woman who was on Titanic 5 summer 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 is on her 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 swam away, a lot of people would have been saved more people, 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

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

History of construction

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

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

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

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

Technical characteristics of the Titanic

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

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

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

Departure

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

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

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

Number of passengers and crew

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swimming

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

During the trip I stood Nice weather. The voyage itself took place without any special incidents or deviations from the course.

April 14, 1912, having passed to total 2,689 kilometers into the Atlantic, the Titanic reached a point near Newfoundland where it had its fatal encounter with an iceberg.

Collision

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

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

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

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

Passenger evacuation

An order was immediately given to rescue the passengers, primarily women and children. The crew prepared the boats.

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

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

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

The sinking of the Titanic

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

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

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

Number of people saved

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

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

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

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

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

How many people died?

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

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

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

Causes of the disaster

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

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

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

The meaning of the disaster

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

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

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

On Sunday, April 14, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank. After the release of the 1997 film, almost all of humanity knew the basic details about this tragedy. But some interesting facts were not mentioned in the film. At the time of construction, the Titanic was the largest of the ships. While most companies built their boats for speed, the owners of the Titanic wanted to build a ship for luxury. At that time there were no trucks, so it took twenty horses to deliver just one anchor. More than 14,000 people worked on the ship with 50-hour work weeks to complete it on time. I present to your attention 13 interesting facts about the Titanic that you might not know.

Dimensions

The Titanic was much smaller than most modern cruise ships. Royal Caribbean International owns the largest ship in the world, the Allure of the Seas. The Charm was built in 2008 and can accommodate up to 6,300 people, while the Titanic could only accommodate 2,435. Almost all of the Charm of the Seas' characteristics are approximately double those of the Titanic, including length, weight, and even the number of crew members. Read more about

More than 100 years have passed since the terrible disaster of one of the largest liners of its time. But the world still does not know all the secrets that the huge and seemingly indestructible Titanic hides. The material will tell you how the ship sank.

Fight of giants

The twentieth century has become a century technical progress. Skyscrapers, cars, cinema - everything developed at supernatural speed. The process also affected ships.

In the market in the early 1900s there was a lot of competition for customers between the two large companies. Cunard Line and White Star Line, two hostile transatlantic carriers, have been competing for the right to be the leader in their field for several years in a row. opened up interesting opportunities for companies, so over the years their ships became bigger, faster and more luxurious.

Why and how the Titanic sank still remains a mystery. There are many versions. The boldest of them is a scam. It was carried out by the above-mentioned Star Line company.

But he discovered the world of amazing Cunard Line liners. By their order, two extraordinary steamships “Mauritania” and “Lusitania” were built. The public was amazed by their greatness. The length is about 240 m, the width is 25 m, the height from the waterline to the boat deck is 18 m. (But after a few years, the dimensions of the Titanic exceeded these parameters). The two giant twins were launched in 1906 and 1907. They won first places in prestigious competitions and broke all speed records.

For Cunard Line's competitors, it became a matter of honor to give a worthy answer.

The fate of the troika

The White Star Line was founded in 1845. During the gold rush, she made money by flying from Britain to Australia. Throughout the years, the company competed with Cunard Line. Therefore, after the Lusitania and Mauretania were launched, Star Line engineers were tasked with creating fantastic designs that would outperform their competitors. The final decision was made in 1909. This is how the idea of ​​three Olympic class ships arose. The order was carried out by Harland and Wolfe.

This maritime organization was famous throughout the world for the quality of its ships, comfort and luxury. Speed ​​was not a priority. Several times Star Line has proven, not in word, but in deed, that it cares about its customers. So, in 1909, when two liners collided, their ship remained on the water for another two days, which proved its quality. However, misfortune befell the Olympic trio. repeatedly got into accidents. So, in 1911, it collided with the cruiser Hawk, from which it received a 14-meter hole and was repaired. Misfortune also befell the Titanic. He ended up at the bottom of the ocean in 1912. "Britanic" found the First World War, where he served as a hospital, and in 1916 he was blown up by a German mine.

Miracle of the Seas

Now we can safely say that great ambitions were the reason why the Titanic sank.

The construction of the second of three Olympic-class vessels was not without casualties. 1,500 people worked on the project. The conditions were difficult. There was little concern for safety. Due to the fact that they had to work at heights, many builders lost their tempers. About 250 people were seriously injured. The wounds of eight men were non-life-threatening.

The size of the Titanic was amazing. Its length was 269 m, width 28 m, height 18 m. It could reach speeds of up to 23 knots.

On the day the liner was launched, 10,000 spectators, including VIP guests and the press, gathered on the embankment to see the unusually large ship,

The date of the first flight was tentatively announced. The voyage was scheduled for March 20, 1912. But due to the collision of the first ship in September 1911 with the cruiser Hawk, some of the workers were transferred to the Olympic. The flight was automatically rescheduled to April 10. It is from this date that the fateful history of the Titanic begins.

Fatal ticket

Its height was equivalent to an eleven-story building, and its length was four city blocks. Telephones, elevators, its own electrical grid, garden, hospital, shops - all this was placed on the ship. Luxurious halls, gourmet restaurants, a library, a swimming pool and a gym - everything was available to high society, first class passengers. Other clients lived more modestly. The most expensive tickets cost, in today's exchange rates, more than $50,000. Economical option from

The history of the Titanic is the history of different layers of society of that time. Expensive cabins were occupied by successful, famous personalities. Tickets for second class were purchased by engineers, journalists, and representatives of the clergy. The cheapest decks were for emigrants.

Boarding began at 9:30 a.m. on April 10 in London. After several scheduled stops, the liner headed for New York. A total of 2,208 people boarded.

Tragic meeting

Immediately after entering the ocean, the team realized that there were no binoculars on the ship. The key to the box in which they were kept was missing. The ship followed the safest route. It was chosen depending on the season. In the spring, the water was full of icebergs, but theoretically they could not seriously damage the liner. Nevertheless, the captain gave the order to drive the Titanic at full speed. How the ship sank, which, according to the owners, could not be sunk, was later told by passengers who were lucky enough to survive.

The first days of the voyage were quiet. But already on April 14, radio operators received repeated warnings about icebergs, which to a greater extent ignored. In addition, by nightfall the temperature had dropped significantly. As you know, the team did without binoculars, and such a grand ship was not equipped with searchlights. Therefore, the lookout noticed the iceberg only 650 meters away. The man signaled to the bridge, where First Officer Murdock gave the order: “Turn left” and “Start reverse.” This was followed by the command: “To the right.” But the clumsy ship was slow to maneuver. The board collided with an iceberg. This is why the Titanic sank.

An unheard distress signal

The collision happened at 23:40, when almost all of the people were already asleep. On the upper deck the impact was unnoticeable. But the bottom was pretty shaken. The ice made holes in 5 sections, they instantly began to fill with water. In total, the length of the hole was 90 meters. The designer stated that with such damage the ship would last a little over an hour. The crew was preparing for an emergency evacuation. Radio operators transmitted an SOS signal.

The captain gave the order to put women and children into the boats. The team itself also wanted to survive, so strong sailors took up the oars. The rich passengers of the Titanic were the first to be saved. But there weren't enough places for everyone.

From the very beginning, the liner was not sufficiently equipped with everything necessary. At most, 1,100 people could have been saved. In the first minutes, it was completely imperceptible that the ship began to sink, so the relaxed passengers did not understand what was happening and reluctantly climbed into the half-empty boats.

The last moments of the miracle ship

When the nose of the liner tilted strongly, mass panic among passengers increased.

The third grade was left closed in its unit. Riots began, and people in horror tried to escape as best they could. The security tried to restore order and scared the crowd with pistol shots.

At that time, the steamer Californian was passing nearby, but it did not receive a signal for help from a neighboring ship. Their radio operator slept through the messages. How the Titanic sank, and at what speed it went to the bottom, only the Carpathia knew, which headed in their direction.

Despite the distress signals being sent, independent attempts to escape did not stop. Pumps pumped out water, and there was still electricity. At 2:15 a pipe fell. Then the light went out. Experts believe that the plane was torn in half because the bow took on water and sank. The stern first rose upward, and then, under the pressure of its own weight, the ship broke apart.

Cold in the abyss

The nose sank quickly. Within a few minutes the stern also went under water. But at the same time, its lining, body, and furniture floated to the top. At 2:20 a.m. the great ship Titanic was completely submerged. How the ship sank is shown today in dozens of feature films and documentaries.

Some passengers tried hard to survive. Dozens jumped in vests into the black abyss. But the ocean was merciless towards man. Almost everyone froze to death. After some time, two boats returned, but only a few remained alive at the scene. An hour later, Carpathia arrived and picked up those who remained.

The captain went down with the ship. Of all those who bought tickets for the Titanic, 712 people were saved. The dead 1496 were mainly representatives of the third class, people who on this journey wanted to touch something unrealistic and desirable.

Scam of the century

Two Olympic class vessels were built according to the same design. After the first ship set sail, all its shortcomings came out. So, the management decided to add some details to the Titanic. The space for walking has been reduced and cabins have been added. A cafe was added to the restaurant. To protect passengers from bad weather, the deck was closed. As a result, it appeared external difference, although previously it could not be distinguished from the Olympic liner.

The version that the Titanic ended up under water was not accidental was made public by Robin Rardiner, an ace in matters of shipping. According to his theory, the older and battered Olympic was sent sailing.

Ship swapping

The first airliner was launched without insurance. Having survived several accidents, he became an unpleasant burden for the company. Constant repairs required enormous amounts of money. After the damage caused by the cruise, the ship was sent on vacation again. Then it was decided to replace old ship new, which was insured and very similar to the Titanic. It is known how the liner sank, but few people know that after the tragedy, the White Star Line company received round compensation.

It wasn't hard to create a disaster. Both ships were in the same place. The Olympic was given a facelift, the deck was rebuilt and a new name was added. The hole was patched with cheap steel, which weakens in icy water.

Confirmation of the theory

An important proof of the veracity of the version is indisputable facts. For example, the fact that the world's tycoons and successful, rich people abruptly and for no reason abandoned their long-awaited trip the day before. Among them was the owner of the company, John Pierpont Morgan. A total of 55 first class customers had their tickets cancelled. Also, all expensive paintings, jewelry, gold reserves and treasures were removed from the liner. The idea arises that the privileged passengers of the Titanic knew some secret.

Interestingly, Edward John Smith, who was still sailing on the Olympic, was appointed captain. He repeatedly noted that this was his last flight in his life. Those around him took the words literally, since the sailor was about to retire. Researchers believe that this was a punishment to the commander for past mistakes on the previous ship.

Many questions also arise because of the first mate William Murdock, who ordered to turn left and engage reverse. The correct solution in such a situation would be to walk straight and squash your nose. In this case, the Titanic would not have ended up at the bottom.

Curse of the Mummy

For years there have been stories of untold treasures remaining on board. Among them is the mummy of the seer of Pharaoh Amenhotep. Even 3000 years ago, a woman predicted that her body would fall under the water and this would happen amid innocent screams dead people. But skeptics do not consider the prophecy to be true, although they do not exclude the possibility that the secrets of the Titanic have not yet been discovered.

There is also this version: the disaster was planned in order to stop the technical progress. But this theory is even less plausible than the myth of the mummy.

The ruins lie at a depth of 3750 meters. Dozens of grandiose dives were carried out to the liner. James Cameron, the film director of the famous film, was also in the group of researchers on several occasions.

A century has passed, and the secrets of the Titanic still interest and excite humanity.

Titanic is a British steamship of the White Star Line, one of three twin ships of the Olympic class. The largest passenger airliner in the world at the time of its construction. During its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, it collided with an iceberg.

and sank after 2 hours 40 minutes.

There were 1,316 passengers and 892 crew members on board, for a total of 2,208 people. Of these, 704 people survived, over 1,500 died. The Titanic disaster became legendary and was one of the largest shipwrecks in history. Several feature films have been shot based on its plot.

Construction

Laid down on March 31, 1909 at the shipyards of the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding company in Queens Island (Belfast, Northern Ireland), launched on May 31, 1911, and underwent sea trials on April 2, 1912.

Specifications

height from the keel to the tops of the pipes - 53.3 m;

engine room - 29 boilers, 159 coal fireboxes;

The ship's unsinkability was ensured by 15 watertight bulkheads in the hold, creating 16 conditionally “watertight” compartments; the space between the bottom and the second bottom flooring was divided by transverse and longitudinal partitions into 46 waterproof compartments.

Bulkheads

Watertight bulkheads, designated from stem to stern by the letters "A" to "P", rose from the second bottom and passed through 4 or 5 decks: the first two and last five reached the "D" deck, eight bulkheads in the center of the liner reached only the deck "E". All bulkheads were so strong that they had to withstand significant pressure if they were breached. The Titanic was built so that it could remain afloat if any two of its 16 watertight compartments, any three of its first five compartments, or all of its first four compartments were flooded.

The first two bulkheads in the bow and the last one in the stern were solid; all the rest had sealed doors that allowed the crew and passengers to move between compartments. On the flooring of the second bottom, in bulkhead “K,” there were only doors that led to the refrigerator compartment.
On decks “F” and “E”, almost all bulkheads had hermetic doors connecting the rooms used by passengers; all of them could be sealed either remotely or manually, using a device located directly on the door and from the deck to which it reached bulkhead. To bolt such doors on passenger decks, a special key was required, which was available only to the chief stewards. But on G deck there were no doors in the bulkheads.

In the bulkheads “D” - “O”, directly above the second bottom in the compartments where the machines and boilers were located, there were 12 vertically closed doors; they were controlled using an electric drive from the navigation bridge.
In case of danger or accident, or when the captain or watch officer considered it necessary, electromagnets, upon a signal from the bridge, released the latches and all 12 doors were lowered under the influence of their own gravity and the space behind them was hermetically sealed. If the doors were closed by an electric signal from the bridge, then they could only be opened after removing the voltage from the electric drive.

There was an emergency hatch in the ceiling of each compartment, usually leading to the boat deck. Those who did not manage to leave the premises before the doors closed could climb up its iron ladder.

Lifeboats

In formal compliance with the current requirements of the British Merchant Shipping Code, the ship had 20 lifeboats, which were sufficient to board 1,178 people, that is, for 50% of the people on board at that moment and 30% of the planned load. This was taken into account with the expectation of increasing the walking space on the deck for the ship's passengers.

Decks

The Titanic had 8 steel decks, located above each other at a distance of 2.5 - 3.2 m. The topmost one was the boat deck, below it there were seven others, designated from top to bottom with the letters “A” to “G”. Only decks "C", "D", "E" and "F" extended along the entire length of the ship. The boat deck and deck “A” did not reach either the bow or the stern, and deck “G” was located only in the front part of the liner - from the boiler rooms to the bow and in the stern - from the engine room to the stern. There were 20 lifeboats on the open boat deck, and there were promenade decks along the sides.

Deck “A”, 150 m long, was almost entirely intended for first class passengers. Deck "B" was interrupted at the bow, forming an open space above deck "C", and then continued in the form of a 37-meter bow superstructure with equipment for handling anchors and mooring gear.

At the front of deck "C" were the anchor winches for the two main side anchors, and there was also a galley and a dining room for sailors and stokers. Behind the bow superstructure there was a promenade (the so-called inter-superstructure) deck for third-class passengers, 15 m long. On deck “D” there was another, isolated, third-class promenade deck.
Along the entire length of deck "E" were cabins for first and second class passengers, as well as cabins for stewards and mechanics. In the first part of deck “F” there were 64 cabins for second class passengers and the main living quarters for third class passengers, stretching 45 m and occupying the entire width of the liner.

There were two large salons, a dining room for third-class passengers, ship laundries, a swimming pool and Turkish baths. Deck "G" covered only the bow and stern, between which the boiler rooms were located.
The bow part of the deck, 58 m long, was 2 m above the waterline; towards the center of the liner it gradually lowered and at the opposite end was already at the waterline level. There were 26 cabins for 106 third-class passengers, the rest of the area was occupied by the luggage compartment for first-class passengers, the ship's mailroom and the ballroom.
Behind the bow of the deck there were bunkers with coal, which occupied 6 watertight compartments around the chimneys, followed by 2 compartments with steam lines for piston steam engines and a turbine compartment. Next came the aft deck, 64 m long, with warehouses, storerooms and 60 cabins for 186 third-class passengers, which was already below the waterline.

Masts

One was in the stern, the other in the forecastle, each was steel with a teak top. On the front, at an altitude of 29 m from the waterline, there was a top platform (“crow’s nest”), which could be reached via an internal metal ladder.

Office premises

In the front part of the boat deck there was a navigation bridge, 58 m away from the bow. On the bridge there was a pilothouse with a steering wheel and a compass, immediately behind it was a room where navigation charts were stored. To the right of the wheelhouse were the charthouse, the captain's cabin and part of the officers' cabins, to the left were the remaining officers' cabins.
Behind them, behind the forward funnel, was the radiotelegraph cabin and the radio operator's cabin. At the front of Deck D there were living quarters for 108 stokers; a special spiral ladder connected this deck directly to the boiler rooms, so that stokers could go to work and return without passing by cabins or passenger lounges.
At the front of E deck were living quarters for 72 stevedores and 44 sailors. In the first part of deck “F” there were quarters of 53 stokers of the third shift. On deck "G" there were quarters for 45 stokers and oilers.

Second bottom

The second bottom was located approximately one and a half meters above the keel and occupied 9/10 of the length of the vessel, not capturing only small areas in the bow and stern.

On the second bottom, boilers, reciprocating steam engines, a steam turbine and electric generators were installed, all of this was firmly fixed on steel plates, the remaining space was used for cargo, coal and tanks with drinking water. In the engine room section, the second bottom rose 2.1 m above the keel, which increased the protection of the liner in case of damage to the outer skin.

Power point

The registered power of steam engines and turbines was 50 thousand liters. With. (actually 55 thousand hp). The turbine was located in the fifth waterproof compartment in the aft part of the liner, in the next compartment, closer to the bow, steam engines were located, the other 6 compartments were occupied by twenty-four double-flow and five single-flow boilers that produced steam for the main engines, turbines, generators and auxiliary mechanisms.
The diameter of each boiler was 4.79 m, the length of double-flow boilers was 6.08 m, single-flow boilers were 3.57 m. Each double-flow boiler had 6 fireboxes, and single-flow boilers had 3.
In addition, the Titanic was equipped with four auxiliary engines with generators, each with a capacity of 400 kilowatts, producing a current of 100 volts. Next to them were two more 30-kilowatt generators.

Pipes

The liner had 4 pipes. The diameter of each was 7.3 m, height - 18.5 m. The first three removed smoke from the boiler furnaces, the fourth, located above the turbine compartment, served as an exhaust fan, and a chimney for the ship's kitchens was connected to it. A longitudinal section of the ship is presented on its model, exhibited at the German Museum in Munich, where it is clearly visible that the last pipe was not connected to the fireboxes.
There is an opinion that when designing the vessel, the widespread opinion of the public was taken into account that the solidity and reliability of a vessel directly depends on the number of its pipes.
It also follows from the literature that in the last moments of the ship going into the water almost vertically, its false pipe fell from its place and, falling into the water, killed a large number of passengers and crew members in the water.

Electricity supply

10 thousand light bulbs, 562 electric heaters, mainly in first class cabins, 153 electric motors, including electric drives for eight cranes with a total lifting capacity of 18 tons, 4 cargo winches with a lifting capacity of 750 kg, 4 elevators, each for 12 people, were connected to the distribution network, and a huge number of telephones. In addition, electricity was consumed by fans in the boiler and engine rooms, equipment in the gymnasium, and dozens of machines and appliances in the kitchens, including refrigerators.

Connection

The telephone switch served 50 lines. The radio equipment on the liner was the most modern, the power of the main transmitter was 5 kilowatts, power came from an electric generator. The second, an emergency transmitter, was battery-powered. 4 antennas were strung between two masts, some up to 75 m high.
The guaranteed range of the radio signal was 250 miles. During the day, under favorable conditions, communication was possible at a distance of up to 400 miles, and at night - up to 2000. The radio equipment arrived on board on April 2 from the Marconi company, which by that time monopolized the radio industry in Italy and England.
Two young radio officers spent the entire day assembling and installing the station, and test communications were immediately carried out with the coast station at Malin Head, on the north coast of Ireland, and with Liverpool. On April 3, the radio equipment worked like clockwork; on this day, communication was established with the island of Tenerife at a distance of 2000 miles and with Port Said in Egypt (3000 miles).
In January 1912, the Titanic was assigned the radio call sign "MUC", then they were replaced by "MGY", which previously belonged to the American ship "Yale". As the dominant radio company, Marconi introduced its own radio call signs, most of which began with the letter "M", regardless of its location and the home country of the ship on which it was installed.

Collision

Recognizing an iceberg in the light haze, the lookout Fleet warned “there is ice in front of us” and rang the bell three times, which meant an obstacle straight ahead, after which he rushed to the telephone that connected the “crow’s nest” to the bridge.
Sixth Officer Moody, who was on the bridge, responded almost instantly and heard a cry of “ice right ahead.” After politely thanking him, Moody turned to the officer of the watch, Murdoch, and repeated the warning.
He rushed to the telegraph, put its handle on “stop” and shouted “right rudder”, at the same time transmitting the order “full back” to the engine room.

In 1912 terminology, “right rudder” meant turning the stern of the ship to the right and the bow to the left. Helmsman Robert Hitchens put his weight on the handle of the steering wheel and quickly turned it counterclockwise as far as it would go, after which Murdoch was told “steer to starboard, sir.”
At that moment, the helmsman on duty, Alfred Oliver, and Boxhall, who was in the chart room, came running to the bridge when the bell rang out in the crow’s nest. Murdoch pressed the lever that closed the watertight doors in the bulkheads of the boiler room and engine room, and immediately gave the order “left rudder!” Lifeboats.

There were 2,208 people on board the Titanic, but the total capacity of the lifeboats was only 1,178. The reason was that, according to the rules in force at that time, the total capacity of lifeboats depended on the tonnage of the ship, and not on the number of passengers and crew members. The rules were drawn up in 1894, when the largest ships had a displacement of about 10,000 tons.

The displacement of the Titanic was 46,328 tons.

But these boats were only partially filled. Captain Smith gave the order or instruction "women and children first." Officers interpreted this order in different ways.
Second Mate Lightoller, who commanded the launch of the boats on the port side, allowed men to occupy places in the boats only if oarsmen were needed and under no other circumstances.
First Officer Murdoch, who commanded the lowering of the boats on the starboard side, allowed men to go down if there were no women and children.
Thus, in boat number 1, only 12 of the 40 seats were occupied. In addition, at first many passengers did not want to take seats in the boats, because the Titanic, which had no external damage, seemed safer to them. The last boats were filled better because it was already obvious to the passengers that the Titanic would sink.
In the very last boat, 44 of the 47 seats were occupied. But in the sixteenth boat that departed from the side there were many empty seats; 1st class passengers were saved in it.

As a result of the analysis of the operation to rescue people from the Titanic, it is concluded that with adequate actions of the crew there would have been at least 553 fewer victims.
The reason for the low survival rate of passengers on the ship is the installation given by the captain to save primarily women and children, and not all passengers; the crew's interest in this order of boarding the boats. By preventing male passengers from accessing the boats, men from the crew were able to take seats in half-empty boats themselves, covering their interests with “noble motives” of caring for women and children.
If all the passengers, men and women, occupied seats in the boats, the men from the crew would not get into them and their chances of salvation would be zero, and the crew could not help but understand this.
Men from the crew occupied part of the seats in almost all boats during the evacuation from the ship, on average 10 crew members per boat.
24% of the crew were saved, approximately the same number as 3rd class passengers were saved (25%). The crew had no reason to consider their duty fulfilled - most of the passengers remained on the ship without hope of salvation, even the order to save women and children first was not carried out (several dozen children, and more than a hundred women never got into the boats).

The British commission's report on the results of the investigation into the sinking of the Titanic states that "if the boats had been delayed a little longer before launching, or if the passage doors had been opened for passengers, larger number some of them could get onto the boats.”
The reason for the low survival rate of 3rd class passengers can most likely be attributed to the obstacles caused by the crew to allow passengers to get onto the deck and the closing of the passage doors.
A comparison of the results of the evacuation from the Titanic with the results of the evacuation from the Lusitania (1915) shows that the evacuation operation on ships like the Titanic and Lusitania can be organized without a disproportion in the percentage of survivors depending on the gender or class of passengers.

People in boats, as a rule, did not save those in the water. On the contrary, they tried to sail as far as possible from the site of the wreck, fearing that their boats in the water would capsize or that they would be sucked into the crater of the sinking ship. Only 6 people were picked up alive from the water.