Facts About the Titanic

Facts About the Titanic

"There will never be another ship like her," says Baker Charles Burgess, who ought to know. In 43 years on the Atlantic run he has seen them all -- Olympic ... Majestic ... Mauretania ... and so on. Today, as carver in the kitchen of the Queen Elizabeth, Burgess is probably the last crewman on active service.

"Like the Olympic, yes, but so much more elaborate," he reflects. "Take the dining saloon. The Olympic didn't even have a carpet, but the Titanic -- ah, you sank in it up to your knees. Then there's the furniture: so heavy you could hardly lift it. And that paneling...

"They can make them bigger and faster, but it was the care and effort that went into her. She was a beautiful, wonderful ship."

Burgess' reflections are typical. The Titanic has cast a spell on all who built and sailed her. So much that, as the years go by, she grows ever more fabulous. Many survivors now insist she was "twice as big as the Olympic" -- they were sister ships, with the Titanic just 1004 tons larger. Others recall golf courses, regulation tennis courts, a herd of dairy cows, and other little touches that exceeded even the White Star Line's penchant for luxury.

The Titanic was impressive enough without embellishment. Her weight -- 46,328 gross tons ... 66,000 tons displacement. Her dimensions -- 882.5 feet long ... 92.5 feet wide ... 60.5 feet from waterline to Boat Deck, or 175 feet from keel to the top of her four huge funnels. She was, in short, 11 stories high and four city blocks long.

Triple screw, the Titanic had two sets of four-cylinder reciprocating engines, each driving a wing propeller, and a turbine driving the center propeller. This combination gave her 50,000 registered horsepower, but she could easily develop at least 55,000 horsepower. At her full speed, she could make 24 to 25 knots.

Perhaps her most interesting feature was her watertight construction. She had a double bottom and was divided into sixteen watertight compartments. These were formed by 15 watertight bulkheads running clear across the ship. Curiously, they didn't extend very far up. The first two and the last five went only as high as D Deck, while the middle eight were carried only up to E Deck. Nevertheless, she could float with any two compartments flooded, and since no one could imagine anything worse then a collision at the juncture of two compartments, she was labeled "unsinkable".

The "unsinkable" Titanic was launched at the Belfast shipyard of Harland & Wolff on May 31, 1911. She completed her trials on April 1, 1912, and arrived in Southampton on April 3. A week later she sailed for New York. Here is a reconstructed log of the main events of her maiden voyage:

April 10, 1912.	12 Noon:	Leaves Southampton dock; narrowly escapes collision with American Liner New York.
	7:00pm:	Stops at Cherbourg for passengers.
	9:00pm:	Leaves Cherbourg for Queenstown.
April 11, 1912.	12:30pm:	Stops at Queenstown for passengers and mail. One crewman deserts.
	2:00pm:	Leaves Queenstown for New York, carrying 1316 passengers and 891 crew.
April 14, 1912.	9:00am:	Caronia reports ice Latitude 42º 3' N, and Longitude 49º 52' W.
	1:42pm:	Baltic reports ice Latitude 40º 51' N, Longitude 49º 52' W.
	7:00pm:	Temperature 43º.
	7:30pm:	Temperature 39º.
	7:30pm:	Californian reports ice Latitude 42º 3' N, Longitude 49º 9' W.
	9:00pm:	Second Officer Lightoller warns carpenter and engine room to watch fresh water supply -- may freeze up; warns crow's-nest to watch for ice.
	9:40pm:	Mesaba reports ice Latitude 42º N to 41º 25' N, Longitude 49º to 50º 30' W.
	10:00pm:	Temperature 32º.
	10:30pm:	Temperature of sea down to 31º.
	11:00pm:	Californian warns of ice, but cut off before she gives location.
	11:40pm:	Collides with iceberg Latitude 41º 46' N. Longitude 50º 14' W.
April 15, 1912.	12:05am:	Orders given to uncover the boats, muster the crew and passengers.
	12:14am:	First wireless call for help.
	12:45am:	First rocket fired.
	12:45am:	First boat, No. 7, lowered.
	1:40am:	Last rocket fired.
	2:05am:	Last boat, Collapsible D, lowered.
	2:10am:	Last wireless signals sent.
	2:18am:	Lights fail.
	2:20am:	Ship founders.
	3:30am:	Carpathia's rockets sighted by boats.
	4:10am:	First boat, No. 2, picked up by Carpathia.
	8:30am:	Last boat, No. 12, picked up.
	8:50am:	Carpathia heads for New York with 705 survivors.

So much for the basic facts. Beyond these, much is a mystery. Probably nothing will ever equal the Titanic for the number of unanswered questions she left behind. For instance --

How many lives were lost? Some sources say 1635 ... the American Inquiry, 1517 ... the British Board of Trade, 1503 ... the British Inquiry, 1490. The British Board of Trade figure seems most convincing, less Fireman J. Coffy, who deserted at Queenstown.

How did various people leave the ship? Nearly every woman survivor who was asked replied firmly, "In the last boat." Obviously, all these women didn't go in the same boat, yet to question the point is like questioning a lady's age -- one simply doesn't do it. Careful sifting of the testimony at the British and American hearings shows pretty clearly how the ship was abondoned, but even here there's conflicting evidence. At the British Enquiry each witness was asked how may people were lowered in his lifeboat. The minimum estimates were then added. The results show a good deal of wishful thinking: In short, about 70 percent more men and 45 percent fewer women went in the boats than even the most conservative survivors estimated. Plus, the fact that the boats pulled away with 25 percent fewer people than estimated.

What time did the various incidents happen? Everyone agrees that the time the Titanic hit the iceberg at 11:40pm and sank at 2:20am -- but there's disagreement on nearly everything that happened in between. The times given on this page are the honest estimates of people ultimately involved, but they are far from foolproof. There was simply too much pressure. Mrs. Louis M. Ogden, passenger on the Carpathia, offers a good example. At one point, while helping some survivors get settled, she paused long enough to ask her husband the time. Mr. Ogden's watch had stopped, but he guessed it was 4:30pm. Actually, it was only 9:30 in the morning. They were both so engrossed, they had lost all track of time.

What did the band play? The legend is, of course, that the band went down playing "Nearer My God to Thee." Many survivors still insist this was so, and there's no reason to doubt their sincerity. Others maintain the band played only ragtime. One man says he clearly remembers the band in its last moments, and they were not playing at all. In this maze of conflicting evidence, Junior Wireless Operator Harold Bride's story somehow stands out. He was a trained observer, meticulously accurate, and on board to the last. He clearly recalled that, as the Boat Deck dipped under, the band was playing the Episcopal hymn "Autumn."

The answer to all these Titanic riddles will never be known for certain. The best that can be done is to weigh the evidence carefully and give an honest opinion. Some will disagree, and they may be right. It is a rash man indeed who would set himself up as final arbiter on all that happened the incredible night the Titanic went down.

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