RMS Titanic sunk 100 years ago today

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Titanic sunk 100 year ago today, April 15th, at 2:20am less than three hours after hitting an iceberg on at 11:40pm April 14th.

Titanic’s was hull was laid on March 31, 1909 and 26 months later she was ready for her first sea trials and was launched at 12:15 pm on May 31, 1911 but not yet christened. 22 tons of soap and tallow were spread on the slipway to lubricate the ship's passage into the River Lagan.

(Ship yard pics)

After a near miss with SS City of New York and carrying 2.223 souls, she set sail on her maiden voyage on April 10th on a trip across the Atlantic headed towards New York. Titanic's passengers numbered around 1,317 people: 324 in First Class, 284 in Second Class and 709 in Third Class. 869 (66%) were male and 447 (34%) female. There were 107 children aboard, the largest number of which were in Third Class and 885 crew. The ship was considerably under capacity (luckily) on her maiden voyage, as she could accommodate 2,566 passengers.

(Near miss with SS City of New York)

 

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Re: RMS Titanic sunk 100 years ago today

After traveling 1,620 nautical miles over the first four days of her journey and despite multiple iceberg warnings she steamed at full speed (standard practice at the time) until an iceberg was spotted just before 11:40pm (April 14th).

(Picture of actual iceberg)

First Officer William Murdoch ordered the ship to be steered around the obstacle and the engines to be put in reverse but it was too late. She struck the iceberg along her starboard side and opened 5 of 16 watertight compartments to the freezing ocean’s water and it soon became clear that the ship was doomed, as she could not survive more than four compartments being flooded.

Titanic began sinking bow-first, with water spilling from compartment to compartment as her angle in the water became steeper.

Two hours and forty minutes after Titanic struck the iceberg, her rate of sinking suddenly increased as her forward deck dipped underwater and the sea poured in through open hatches and grates. As her unsupported stern rose out of the water, exposing the propellers, the ship split apart between the third and fourth funnels due to the immense strain on the keel.

 

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Re: RMS Titanic sunk 100 years ago today

The stern remained afloat for a few minutes longer, rising to a nearly vertical angle with hundreds of people still clinging to it. At 2.20 am, it sank, breaking loose from the bow section. The remaining passengers and crew were plunged into lethally cold water with a temperature of only 28 °F. Almost all of those in the water died of hypothermia or cardiac arrest within minutes or drowned. Only 13 of them were helped into the lifeboats though these had room for almost 500 more occupants.

(actual Titanic lifeboat pics from rescue ship)

Distress signals were sent by wireless, rockets and lamp, but none of the ships that responded were near enough to reach her before she sank. A nearby ship, the Californian, which was the last to have been in contact with her before the collision, saw her flares but failed to assist. Around 4 am, RMS Carpathia arrived on the scene in response to Titanic's earlier distress calls. 710 people survived the disaster and were conveyed by Carpathia to New York, Titanic's original destination, while 1,517 people lost their lives.

 

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Re: RMS Titanic sunk 100 years ago today

The wreck is located 13.2 miles from the inaccurate coordinates given by Titanic's radio operators on the night of her sinking.

Titanic now lies in two pieces 1/3 mile apart and over 12,000’ under the North Atlantic where pressures exceed 6,500PSI and has a debris field measuring approximately 5 by 3 miles.