The discovery of the wreck by oceanographer Robert Ballard on a Franco-American expedition in 1985 gave rise to a fresh wave of interest that continues to this day. The story captured the public imagination across the world, spawning countless books, films, plays, memorials, museums and exhibitions. For many, the tragic fate that befell Titanic would come to mark the passing of the opulence of the Edwardian era and foreshadowed the global tragedy of World War One. The sinking of Titanic claimed more than 1,500 lives. Less than three hours later Titanic lay at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, nearly four kilometres down. Titanic was designed to stay afloat with only four compartments flooded. Six of the watertight compartments at the front of the ship's hull were breached, five of them flooding within the hour. Upon inspecting the damage, Titanic's chief naval architect Thomas Andrews said to Captain Smith that the ship would certainly sink. In such conditions, sea ice is very hard to spot.Īt 11.40pm the lookout sounded the alarm and telephoned the bridge saying "Iceberg, right ahead." The warning came too late to avoid the iceberg and Titanic struck it less than 40 seconds later, tearing a series of holes along the side of the hull. On the night of Sunday 14 April 1912, the sea was flat calm, the sky clear and moonless, and the temperature was dropping towards freezing. Although Captain Edward Smith had plotted a new course upon hearing earlier reports of ice from other liners, there were many more communications that day of ice in Titanic's path. On board was a collection of passengers comprising millionaires, silent movie stars, school teachers and emigrants, in search of a better life in the United States.īy the fifth day of its journey, Titanic was making swift progress across the Atlantic. These magnificent vessels were the industrial marvels of their age and Titanic was to be the biggest, fastest and most luxurious liner yet.Īfter just three years, Titanic was finished - a floating city, ready to set sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Work on Titanic started soon after, on 31 March 1909. The berg scraped along the starboard or right side of the hull below the waterline, slicing open the hull between five of the adjacent watertight compartments. Construction began on the first of these great ships, Olympic, on 16 December 1908. The Iceberg that Sank Titanic Description (Brief) Titanic struck a North Atlantic iceberg at 11:40 PM in the evening of 14 April 1912 at a speed of 20.5 knots (23.6 MPH). Titanic was one of three 'Olympic Class' liners commissioned by the White Star Line to be built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
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