R.M.S. Titanic Essay, Research Paper
The R.M.S. Titanic was called the ?ship of dreams?, and some
called her the ?unsinkable ship?. It was the largest steam
engine ever built in the world. She was the most beautiful
and biggest ship ever to set sail to the sea. In the summer of
1907, Lord Pierrie, Harland & Wolf, J. Bruse Ismay, and
White Star Line planned to build three giant ships (Olympic,
Titanic, and Britannic). They were to be designed as the
most luxurious ships in the world, and to be built with the
finest woods and furnishings. They would cater to the rich
and affluent that traveled the North Atlantic. The three ships
would give customers luxury and they would travel at greater
speeds than ever before. In March 1909, the keel was laid
down for yard number 401, where the Titanic would be built.
It took two years to complete the construction of the ship
and cost approximately $7,500,000. She was 882.9 feet long,
92.6 feet wide, and weighted 46,329 tons. Titanic was the
largest ship ever to be built by man in the world. Twenty- two
tons of tallow, soap, and train oil were used to grease the
slipway bed to coat and protect it against the enormous
three-tons-per-square-inch pressure of the freshly painted
hull.
In January of 1912, sixteen lifeboats were installed,
which later became a total of twenty lifeboats in all. There
were three different types of lifeboats on the Titanic:14 wood
lifeboats, 2 wood cutters, and 4 Englehardt collapsible
boats. The capacity of the twenty lifeboats total was 1178,
which would not save all the ship?s passengers if it were fully
loaded (3547 passengers). In addition to the life boats the
Titanic carried 3560 life jackets and 49 buoys.
On the 3rd of February 1912, the gigantic ship
dry-docked at the Belfast?s Thompson Graving Dock. In
March the engineering crew began to assemble in Belfast
and some lived abroad the ship. They tested the lifeboats by
swinging them out, lowering, and hoisting them back into
position under davits, preparing for the maiden voyage
on April 10, 1912. Except for a few minor details, the Titanic
was complete. She could hold weight up to 46,382 tons with
a displacement of approximately 52,250 tons.
The ship had 46,000 horsepower with 29 boilers, 159
furnaces, and funnels 73 feet above the Boat Deck. The
ship had three propellers and could reach the estimated
speed of 24 knots (43 km/h: 27 mph). She also had 12
water tight doors that would close automatically if water
should reach them, which were controlled electrically
by a push of a button from the Bridge and would close fully
between 25-30 seconds.
On April 6, 1912, the majority of the crew came abroad
the ship and 5892 tons of coal were loaded abroad. On April
8, 1912, food supplies were taken abroad and all final
preparations were made for the Titanic?s maiden voyage.
Two days later Captain Edward J. Smith came abroad with a
full crew. The day had come Titanic was to set sail for New
York in a matter of hours.
Passengers started loading this wonderful ship all day.
The third-class passengers had through inspections for lice
and any kind of diseases that might spread in America.
By noon time the Titanic was ready to set sail for New York.
The first class passengers was listed as having 416
rooms, 928 berths, 106 sofas and 554 seats in the salon.
Third class, also known as steerage, had 928 rooms, 40
open berths, and 473 seats in the saloon.
Some of Titanic?s passengers included some of the
richest passengers on board ship such as; Colonel John
Jacob Astor, Benjamin Guggenheim, Isidor and Ida Straus.
Also the most famous heroin was ?The Unsinkable? Molly
Brown, who was a native of Hannibal Missouri. She played a
heroic role during the sinking of the Titanic. She argued
fiercely with the quartermaster who refused to return to the
wreck site for fear that the survivors left would swamp the
boat. She also taught the woman on the boat to fight the
bitter cold by rowing and sharing her sable coat. Once in
command Mrs. Brown ordered the women to row to
safety. {Rogers 45}
Everything was going smoothly for the first four and a
half days, (until an iceberg warning)from the German
Steamer Amerika that the Titanic received. Captain Stanley
Lord of the Californian reported passing three icebergs three
miles south. Captain Smith never received any of those
warnings. Two officers were up in the crows nest looking
out for icebergs. That night the weather was clear, but
apparently there was some surface haze. The water was
calm which made it difficult to look for the ice. By 11:40 p.m.
the R.M.S. Titanic collided with the iceberg, which was
located off the banks of Newfoundland, with a speed
of 22 1/2 knots (41.7 km /hr)
The collision caused six of the 15 transverse watertight
bulkheads to flood. The Titanic would have survived if all
the first four were flooded — but not the first five.
{Ballard 22} The critical compartment was broiler room
number six ; with these first five compartments breached,
water would eventually fill them and overflow into the
compartments. Titanic had an hour to an hour and a half
at the most till she was consumed by the sea.
The lifeboats started to fill with woman and children
first. Woman and children were crying and saying there last
good-byes to their husbands and fathers. The lifeboats were
being filled half full while the band played music to calm the
passengers during this tragic time. It was the saddest time
for everyone not knowing if they were going to see each
other ever again. Rockets were being fired for help as a
distress signal.
At 2:20 A.M. in the morning on April 15, 1912, Titanic
took the final plunge into the sea. The Carpathia was the
ship who rescued the survivors. Over 1500 people died that
night and only 705 passengers and crew members survived.
Out of 898 crew members only 210 survived and out of the
73 third class children only 23 survived. All but two children
were saved in the first and class.
Titanic was called the ?unsinkable? ship, but on the
night of April 14 and early morning on April 15, 1912, the
unsinkable became sinkable. This was the most tragic
maritime disaster of the century. Titanic was discovered
in 1986 by Canadian scientist, Dr. Robert Ballard. They
have tried to surface the ship, however they have yet to
succeed.