The R.M.S. Titanic: A short history. - General

This has been an interest to me since I saw Titanic over 10 years ago, and since the Titanic's 99th anniversary is ten days away. In this thread I will show to you The White Star Line's (now Cunard Lines) ill fated ship. :siren: Warning: This thread is going to be fucking long :siren: [B]The R.M.S. Titanic [/B] [img]http://cruiselinehistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/rms_titanic.JPG[/img] 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, 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,and Alexander Carlisle, the shipyard's chief draughtsman and general manager. 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. 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), the tonnage 46,328 GRT, and the height, from the water line to the boat deck, 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 foot (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. [B]Features[/B] 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. There were libraries and barber shops in both the first and second-class. The third class general room had pine panelling and sturdy teak furniture. The ship had 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), or $4,375 ($99,237 as of 2011). [B]Her maiden voyage [/B] The vessel began her maiden voyage from Southampton, bound for New York City on 10 April 1912, with Captain Edward J. Smith in command. As Titanic left her berth, her wake caused the liner SS New York, which was docked nearby, to break away from her moorings, whereupon she was drawn dangerously close (about four feet) to Titanic before a tugboat towed New York away. The incident delayed departure for about half an hour. After crossing the English Channel, Titanic stopped at Cherbourg, France, to board additional passengers and stopped again the next day at Queenstown (known today as Cobh), Ireland. As harbour facilities at Queenstown were inadequate for a ship of her size, Titanic had to anchor off-shore, with small boats, known as tenders, ferrying the embarking passengers out to her. When she finally set out for New York, there were 2,240 people aboard. John Coffey, a 23-year-old stoker, jumped ship at Queenstown by stowing away on a tender and hiding amongst mailbags destined for the shore. A native of the town, he had probably joined the ship with this intention, but afterwards he said that the reason he had smuggled himself off the liner was that he held a foreboding about the voyage.[34] He later signed on to join the crew of Mauretania. On the maiden voyage of Titanic some of the most prominent people of the day were travelling in first class. Among them were millionaire John Jacob Astor IV and his wife Madeleine Force Astor, industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim, Macy's owner Isidor Straus and his wife Ida, Denver millionairess Margaret "Molly" Brown (known afterward as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" due to her efforts in helping other passengers while the ship sank), Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon and his wife, couturière Lucy (Lady Duff-Gordon), George Dunton Widener, his wife Eleanor, and son Harry, cricketer and businessman John Borland Thayer with his wife Marian and their seventeen-year-old son Jack, journalist William Thomas Stead, the Countess of Rothes, United States presidential aide Archibald Butt, author and socialite Helen Churchill Candee, author Jacques Futrelle and his wife May and their friends, Broadway producers Henry and Rene Harris and silent film actress Dorothy Gibson among others.[36] Banker J. P. Morgan was scheduled to travel on the maiden voyage, but cancelled at the last minute. Traveling in first class aboard the ship were White Star Line's managing director J. Bruce Ismay and the ship's builder Thomas Andrews, who was on board to observe any problems and assess the general performance of the new ship. The Collision [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/TitanicRoute.svg/800px-TitanicRoute.svg.png[/img] On the night of Sunday, 14 April 1912, the temperature had dropped to near freezing and the ocean was calm. The moon was not visible (being two days before new moon), and the sky was clear. Captain Smith, in response to iceberg warnings received via wireless over the preceding few days, had drawn up a new course which took the ship slightly further southward. That Sunday at 13:45, a message from the steamer America warned that large icebergs lay in Titanic's path, but as Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, the Marconi wireless radio operators, were employed by Marconi and paid to relay messages to and from the passengers, they were not focused on relaying such "non-essential" ice messages to the bridge. Later that evening, another report of numerous large icebergs, this time from Mesaba, also failed to reach the bridge. At 23:40, while sailing about 400 miles (640 km) south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, lookouts Fredrick Fleet and Reginald Lee spotted a large iceberg directly ahead of the ship. Fleet sounded the ship's bell three times and telephoned the bridge exclaiming, "Iceberg, right ahead!". First Officer Murdoch gave the order "hard-a-starboard", using the traditional tiller order for an abrupt turn to port and adjusted the engines (he either ordered through the telegraph for "full reverse" or "stop" on the engines; survivor testimony on this conflicts). The iceberg brushed the ship's starboard side (right side), buckling the hull in several places and popping out rivets below the waterline over a length of 299 feet (90 m). As seawater filled the forward compartments, the watertight doors shut. However, while the ship could barely stay afloat with the foremost four compartments flooded, the foremost six were filling with water. The water-filled compartments weighed down the ship's bow, allowing much water to flood the vessel, accelerated by secondary flooding as regular openings in the ship's hull became submerged. Additionally, about 130 minutes after the collision, water started pouring from the sixth into the seventh compartment over the top of the bulkhead in between. Captain Smith, alerted by the jolt of the impact, arrived on the bridge and ordered a full stop. Shortly after midnight on 15 April, following an inspection by the ship's officers and Thomas Andrews, the lifeboats were ordered to be readied and a distress call was sent out. Photograph of an iceberg in the vicinity of RMS Titanic's sinking taken on 15 April 1912 by the chief steward of the liner Prinz Adalbert who stated the berg had red anti-fouling paint of the kind found on the hull from below Titanic's waterline. Wireless operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bride were busy sending out CQD, the international distress signal. Several ships responded, including Mount Temple, Frankfurt and Titanic's sister ship, Olympic, but none was close enough to arrive in time.The closest ship to respond was Cunard Line's Carpathia 58 miles (93 km) away, which could arrive in an estimated four hours—too late to rescue all of Titanic's passengers. The only land–based location that received the distress call from Titanic was a wireless station at Cape Race, Newfoundland. From the bridge, the lights of a nearby ship could be seen off the port side. The identity of this ship remains a mystery but there have been theories suggesting that it was probably either SS Californian or a sealer called Samson. As it was not responding to wireless, Fourth Officer Boxhall and Quartermaster Rowe attempted signalling the ship with a Morse lamp and later with distress rockets, but the ship never appeared to respond.Californian, which was nearby and stopped for the night because of ice, also saw lights in the distance. Californian's wireless was turned off, and the wireless operator had gone to bed for the night. Just before he went to bed at around 23:00, Californian's radio operator attempted to warn Titanic that there was ice ahead, but he was cut off by an exhausted Jack Phillips, who had fired back an angry response, "Shut up, shut up, I am busy; I am working Cape Race", referring to the Newfoundland wireless station. When Californian's officers first saw the ship, they tried signalling her with their Morse lamp, but also never appeared to receive a response. Later, they noticed Titanic's distress signals over the lights and informed Captain Stanley Lord. Even though there was much discussion about the mysterious ship, which to the officers on duty appeared to be moving away, the master of Californian did not wake her wireless operator until morning. [B]Her Final Moments[/B] [img]http://www.anunews.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/aa-Titanic-sinking.jpg[/img] Around 02:10, the stern rose out of the water exposing the propellers, and by 02:17 the waterline had reached the boat deck. The last two lifeboats floated off the deck, collapsible B upside down, collapsible A half-filled with water after the supports for its canvas sides were broken in the fall from the roof of the officers' quarters. Shortly afterward, the forward funnel collapsed, crushing part of the bridge and people in the water. On deck, people were scrambling towards the stern or jumping overboard in hopes of reaching a lifeboat. The ship's stern slowly rose into the air, and everything unsecured crashed towards the water. While the stern rose, the electrical system finally failed and the lights went out. Shortly afterward, the stress on the hull caused Titanic to break apart between the last two funnels, and the bow went completely under. The stern righted itself slightly and then rose vertically. After a few moments, at 02:20, it also sank. Only two of the 18 launched lifeboats rescued people after the ship sank. Lifeboat 4 was close by and picked up five people, two of whom later died. Close to an hour later, lifeboat 14 went back and rescued four people, one of whom died afterward. Other people managed to climb onto the lifeboats that floated off the deck. There were some arguments in some of the other lifeboats about going back, but many survivors were afraid of being swamped by people trying to climb into the lifeboat or being pulled down by the suction from the sinking Titanic, though it turned out that there had been very little suction. As the ship fell into the depths, the two sections behaved very differently. The streamlined bow planed off approximately 2,000 feet (609 m) below the surface and slowed somewhat, landing relatively gently. The stern plunged violently to the ocean floor, the hull being torn apart along the way from massive implosions caused by compression of the air still trapped inside. The stern smashed into the bottom at considerable speed, grinding the hull deep into the silt. After steaming at 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h) for just under four hours, RMS Carpathia arrived in the area and at 04:10 began rescuing survivors. By 08:30 she picked up the last lifeboat with survivors and left the area at 08:50 bound for New York. round 02:10, the stern rose out of the water exposing the propellers, and by 02:17 the waterline had reached the boat deck. The last two lifeboats floated off the deck, collapsible B upside down, collapsible A half-filled with water after the supports for its canvas sides were broken in the fall from the roof of the officers' quarters. Shortly afterward, the forward funnel collapsed, crushing part of the bridge and people in the water. On deck, people were scrambling towards the stern or jumping overboard in hopes of reaching a lifeboat. The ship's stern slowly rose into the air, and everything unsecured crashed towards the water. While the stern rose, the electrical system finally failed and the lights went out. Shortly afterward, the stress on the hull caused Titanic to break apart between the last two funnels, and the bow went completely under. The stern righted itself slightly and then rose vertically. After a few moments, at 02:20, it also sank. Only two of the 18 launched lifeboats rescued people after the ship sank. Lifeboat 4 was close by and picked up five people, two of whom later died. Close to an hour later, lifeboat 14 went back and rescued four people, one of whom died afterward. Other people managed to climb onto the lifeboats that floated off the deck. There were some arguments in some of the other lifeboats about going back, but many survivors were afraid of being swamped by people trying to climb into the lifeboat or being pulled down by the suction from the sinking Titanic, though it turned out that there had been very little suction. As the ship fell into the depths, the two sections behaved very differently. The streamlined bow planed off approximately 2,000 feet (609 m) below the surface and slowed somewhat, landing relatively gently. The stern plunged violently to the ocean floor, the hull being torn apart along the way from massive implosions caused by compression of the air still trapped inside. The stern smashed into the bottom at considerable speed, grinding the hull deep into the silt. After steaming at 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h) for just under four hours, RMS Carpathia arrived in the area and at 04:10 began rescuing survivors. By 08:30 she picked up the last lifeboat with survivors and left the area at 08:50 bound for New York. [B]The Titanic Today[/B] Today, the Titanic lies at the bottom of the Atlantic about two miles down, a massive heap of corroded metal. Here are some pictures of the once mighty steamer. [img]http://www.maritimequest.com/liners/titanic/photos/titanic_wreck_marschall_1.jpg[/img] [img]http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj44/Romano-Chan_photos/Red%20Alert%202/titanic_stern_marschall.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/Documents/titanic-wreck-up-full.jpg[/img] [B]Media[/B] Some videos on the sinking. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKGYJac0GU[/media] [B]Deep inside the Titanic[/B] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5QGlenfj6M&feature=related[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9DtRhnL4K4&feature=related[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dszOX4qybJQ&feature=related[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdPVOEtFn70&feature=related[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VryGy6Hc3OE&feature=related[/media] I hope you have enjoyed my thread on the once great ship that once was the R.M.S. Titanic. TL;DR: A ship sank

I think the Great Eastern was a better ship. [img]http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/upload/img_400/PY0306.jpg[/img] Titanic ain't got shit on it, it's so great it has "Great" in the name. It even hit a rock and got a gash 60 times BIGGER than the gash the puny Titanic had and it didn't sink at all, the passengers didn't even notice.

No offense but you might as well have just posted a link to Wikipedia because this is entirely copied from [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic[/url]

Big fucking deal. The titanic was poorly constructed. If they had a CAD system, the outcomes would be different.

You bastard YOU BASTARD I WAS JUST ABOUT TO MAKE THIS THREAD [editline]5th April 2011[/editline] And it wouldn't have been copypasta either

[QUOTE=Richard Simmons;29006338]Big fucking deal. The titanic was poorly constructed. If they had a CAD system, the outcomes would be different.[/QUOTE] poorly constructed? are my eyes failing me?? fyi, titanic used some of the most advanced technology available at the time

[QUOTE=belopk;29006421]poorly constructed? are my eyes failing me?? fyi, titanic used some of the most advanced technology available at the time[/QUOTE] The ship's designer, Thomas Andrews, suggested a wealth of safety features for all three Olympic-class ships, but they were deemed unnecessary by the White Star Line's boss, J. Bruce Ismay, who didn't know shit about shipbuilding. [editline]5th April 2011[/editline] Also I would love to assist you, Hardpoint, in answering any questions.

The R.M.S Titanic: A [I]short[/I] history......

Titanic was [i]gorgeous[/i].

I'm surprised you didn't add "TL;DR: A Boat Sank"

[QUOTE=JohnStamosFan;29006591]I'm surprised you didn't add "TL;DR: A Boat Sank"[/QUOTE] added

how did ice make it sink??? metal is harder then ice??

[QUOTE=The Mighty Boatman;29006695]how did ice make it sink??? metal is harder then ice??[/QUOTE] frozen ice, not just regular ice

[QUOTE=The Mighty Boatman;29006695]how did ice make it sink??? metal is harder then ice??[/QUOTE] The force of the ice pushing against the hull made the rivets pop off. For example, if you taped a piece of paper between two tables and karate-chopped the paper, the tape would pop off. Same principle. [editline]5th April 2011[/editline] Fuck I'm hijacking the thread

[QUOTE=The Mighty Boatman;29006695]how did ice make it sink??? metal is harder then ice??[/QUOTE] The Titanics builders fastened the rivets on the hull too tightly, thus making them susceptible to breaking. [img]http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/images/272/27200.png[/img]

[QUOTE=FreakySoup;29006778]The force of the ice pushing against the hull made the rivets pop off. For example, if you taped a piece of paper between two tables and karate-chopped the paper, the tape would pop off. Same principle. [editline]5th April 2011[/editline] Fuck I'm hijacking the thread[/QUOTE] how can cold water break boat??? [editline]6th April 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Hardpoint Nomad;29006802]The Titanics builders fastened the rivets on the hull too tightly, thus making them susceptible to breaking. [img_thumb]http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/images/272/27200.png[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] ok thank u for showing me in picture now i understend [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Shitposting" - Orkel))[/highlight]

I've always loved the titanic ever since I saw Alvin at the WHOI.

[QUOTE=Hardpoint Nomad;29006802]The Titanics builders fastened the rivets on the hull too tightly, thus making them susceptible to breaking. [img_thumb]http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/images/272/27200.png[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] why did they not fix it? it looks like a small leak. and why did the titanic hit an iceberg? was it because the captain was too busy staring at rose and jack making out?

[QUOTE=belopk;29006919]why did they not fix it? it looks like a small leak. and why did the titanic hit an iceberg? was it because the captain was too busy staring at rose and jack making out?[/QUOTE] the captain was assassinated by a communist so nobody could steer and it was a communist iceberg so they got communism all over the hull so nobody could fix it or theyd turn into a communist

[QUOTE=belopk;29006919]why did they not fix it? it looks like a small leak. and why did the titanic hit an iceberg? was it because the captain was too busy staring at rose and jack making out?[/QUOTE] [img]http://images.memegenerator.net/Are-You-Fucking-Kidding-Me/File/131882/Are-You-Fucking-Kidding-Me.jpg[/img] This interrupted my documentary.

[QUOTE=Hardpoint Nomad;29006968][img_thumb]http://images.memegenerator.net/Are-You-Fucking-Kidding-Me/File/131882/Are-You-Fucking-Kidding-Me.jpg[/img_thumb] This interrupted my documentary.[/QUOTE] its ok no need to explain i cleared it all up for him

[QUOTE=belopk;29006919]why did they not fix it? it looks like a small leak. and why did the titanic hit an iceberg? was it because the captain was too busy staring at rose and jack making out?[/QUOTE] The shitty ship building meant that the gash was more severe than it should have been, and since it was underwater with the weight of water pressing on it it would be very difficult to stop or slow the flow of water. Also it hit it because the Captain ignored the iceberg warnings and the ship did not notice and steer in time. It would of been better had it hit it head on because whilst the front would be bashed it would not sink.

[QUOTE=Jo The Shmo;29006893]I've always loved the titanic ever since I saw Alvin at the WHOI.[/QUOTE] You went to WHOI? lucky!

Didn't a large section of the bottom also fall off? Like, an alarming [i]"wow this thing was built like a piece of shit"[/i] size of the hull?

[QUOTE=OvB;29007044]Didn't a large section of the bottom also fall off? Like, an alarming [i]"wow this thing was built like a piece of shit"[/i] size of the hull?[/QUOTE] I don't think so, I think you're thinking of the big piece. [url]http://www.titanic-titanic.com/big_piece.shtml[/url]

[QUOTE=The Mighty Boatman;29006954]the captain was assassinated by a communist so nobody could steer and it was a communist iceberg so they got communism all over the hull so nobody could fix it or theyd turn into a communist[/QUOTE] but the titanic sank in 1912. how could it be communists when they didnt even exist at the time??

[QUOTE=belopk;29007194]but the titanic sank in 1912. how could it be communists when they didnt even exist at the time??[/QUOTE] time machine dumbass

[QUOTE=Hardpoint Nomad;29007107]I don't think so, I think you're thinking of the big piece. [url]http://www.titanic-titanic.com/big_piece.shtml[/url][/QUOTE] I distinctly remember them finding a large section of the underside upside down on the ocean floor away from the "landing site". A whole section, keel and all. Trying to find pictures. They found it with the submarine and never brought it up because it was literally the whole width of the ship. [url]http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20041101/titanic.html[/url]

[QUOTE=The Mighty Boatman;29007218]time machine dumbass[/QUOTE] it all makes sense now. the ussr and britain were rivals during the cold war. the ussr must have gone through time to cause some damage to great britain. but if thats the truth, does russia still posses this time machine??

[QUOTE=The Mighty Boatman;29006695]how did ice make it sink??? metal is harder then ice??[/QUOTE] I know. Seriously there's probably some sort of conspiracy behind all this. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saHs6J0OXVI[/media]