100 Years of the Titanic
100 Years of the Titanic
One hundred years ago, the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. It was a modern day Tower of Babel—an ill-fated engineering and technological marvel of colossal proportions.
A century on, our fascination with the Titanic's maiden voyage hasn't faded at all. We've gathered up some of the best pieces of the Titanic's legend, past and present, and collected them for you here.
Why the Titanic Sank
100 years ago today, the Titanic ran into some trouble. Obviously we know the iceberg was the cause, but what exactly did the iceberg damage that caused the ship to snap in half and fall to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean? Turns out, where the ship was hit proved just as important as the fact that it suffered a blow at all.
The CGI video put together by James Cameron and National Geographic is probably the best, most succinct explanation of the Titanic's demise to date. But there are many good explanations and theories as to why and how it sank the way it did. And all of those ideas don't always agree. So let's explore.
Here's the short version: The Titanic, upon encountering the iceberg, attempted to steer around the massive block of ice. But in doing so, the side of the Titanic scraped up against the iceberg—which was much more massive underwater than above water—ripping open a hole towards the front of the ship. Attempting to sail on, the ship filled full of water, causing the bow to dip down into the water. Discovery's recap of the last moments best sum up the tragedy:
At 2.15 a.m. the water had already reached the level of the first funnel. Rumbling, crackling and roaring noises followed. The lighting on board flickered and finally went out. The stern tilted up to a 45 degree angle. The critical load at a point between the third and fourth funnels had been reached and the ship split apart down the middle under its enormous weight. The larger part reared up again by 75 metres and then the ship that had been considered unsinkable went down, bow first. Although a few hundred places were theoretically still vacant, the people in the lifeboats rowed away from those in the water crying for help for fear that their boat would capsize if too many people tried to climb on board. Only lifeboat number four turned round and picked up five people floating in the water, two of whom died in the lifeboat.
Now for some finer points. According to Rough Guides' Greg Ward (who also maintains a prettycomprehensive Titanic blog), that the Titanic struck an iceberg was not the issue. Rather, it was the fact that the captain tried to steer around the Iceberg in the worst possible way: he order the engines to be put in reverse, which essentially threw the ship into a skid. Combine that with the possibility that the hullsman was briefly steering the wrong way, and you have a ship whose side is scraping the iceberg. What makes the incident even more baffling is that the ship would probably have been fine had it hit the iceberg head on.
Reuters, citing author Louise Patten, also puts forth the claim that the ship was steered in the wrong direction, and by the time anyone realized, it was too late. But at the urging of the chairman of the White Star Line—which owned the Titanic—the captain had the ship attempt to keep sailing, which only made it sink faster (presumably because the lower compartments were taking on water at a faster rate). Had the ship stopped immediately, it likely would not have sank until everyone was rescued.
Other theorists have put forth the theory that the Titanic sank because of faulty rivets, which let more water into the hull than expected. But U.S. News' Justin Ewers says that the rivets would not have saved the ship, but only kept it alive for longer than the few hours the Titanic stayed afloat.
Perhaps the most controversial view of them all is that the Titanic did not break into two pieces as nearly everyone suggests, but three. Why is that important? Well it leads some experts, such as Brad Matsen, to the conclusion that the Titanic was poorly constructed and that its flimsy hull was in no way equipped to handle such an incident.
Whether or not it was because of faulty materials, or human error, or simply fate, the Titanic is still a disaster that resonates with society 100 years later as a reminder that even the grandest and most indestructable of technological feats are still at the mercy of nature.
Still Sunk: The Last Great Mystery Wrecks of the Ocean Floor
The Titanic sat undiscovered on the ocean floor for 73 years before Robert Ballard found it. The ocean keeps its secrets hidden tight. Here are four other great wrecks that await discovery on the ocean floor.
USS Indianpolis
The Indianapolis played a pivotal role in winning World War II before it dropped below the waters of the Pacific, somewhere between Guam and the Philippines. The Portland class cruiser carried Little Boy, the nuclear bomb that the United States would later drop on Hiroshima, from San Francisco to Tinian in the Pacific Theater. And yet it is probably best known for its horrific sinking, which was immortalized (somewhat inaccurately) in the movie Jaws.
The Indianapolis was struck by Japanese torpedoes on July 30, 1945. Of her crew of 1,196, some 300 went down with the ship, while another 579 died in the water in the days that passed between her sinking and the Navy's discovery of it. Due to a series of blunders, including a drunk commander of a Navy signal station who didn't register the distress signal and the failure to note she had not arrived in port as due, it took the Navy four days to discover she had been sunk. Only 317 men were rescued. Many of those who died were eaten by sharks.
The Navy hung the blame for this on the ship's captain, Charles McVay. He was court-martialed, and although his sentence was remitted (and many years later he would be fully exonerated) he never escaped the tragedy. He shot himself in the head in 1968.
The wreck, despite multiple serious attempts, has never been found.
IJN Musashi
The Imperial Japanese Navy's Musashi was, along with her sister ship the Yamato, one of the two largest and most heavily armed battle ships ever made. At 862 feet long and 121 feet wide, she weighed 72800 tons and was postiively bristling with weaponry. The Musashi had 9 460mm guns, 6 155mm guns, 12 127mm guns, 35 3x25mm and 25 1x25mm anti-aircraft guns, and 4 13mm guns. She carried seven floatplanes. The launch platform alone took two years to build.
For a brief period, from December 1942 until October 1944, the Musashi reigned as the flagship of the Japanese fleet—despite seeing limited combat. But on October 24 1944 in the waters off of the Philippines, the Musashi ran into a wall of American airpower, while having no air support of her own. According to the World War II database "after the final attack ended at 1530, she suffered hits by twenty torpedoes, seventeen bombs, and eighteen near misses." 18 American aircraft, and 1,023 Japanese sailors were lost in the fight, including her captain Toshihira Inoguchi, who retired to his cabin to go down with the ship.
Her sister ship the Yamato was sunk the next year, in August 1945, but was discovered until 1982. The Musashi's location, however, remains a mystery.
Las Cinque Chagas
In 1594, a Portuguese ship named for the five wounds of Christ sailed for Lisbon from Goa with a cargo of 3,500,000 Portuguese Cruzados, plus 22 treasure chests of diamonds, rubies and pearls estimated to be worth well over $1 billion in today's dollars—hundreds of years of rumors and legends claim it to be the richest ship to ever sail from Asia.
Las Cinque Chagas was a 1200-ton Portuguese carrack that was 150 feet long and 45 feet wide—an utter monster for that era. In addition to treasure it carried more than 1000 people, of whom 400 were reported to be slaves. (Imagine that, in such a small space.) But between the islands of Pico and Faial, she was attacked by British privateers—the Mayflower, the Royal Exchange and the Sampson—who attacked for two full days before she caught fire and went down off the coast of the Azores on July 13, 1594. It's suspected that the wreck could lie in water as deep as 2,500 feet.
And so The Five Wounds remains the stuff of legend. It's found in virtually every dive book of sunken treasure, both those for serious salvage operators and armchair dreamers.
The San Jose
The San Jose was a Spanish galleon that reportedly carried two tons of platinum along with emeralds and other gems valued at estimates ranging from $2 billion to $17 billion. It is the richest wreck of the Western hemisphere. In 1708, she ran into the British Navy off of the coast of Colombia during the War of Spanish Succession—and while trying to outrun them, sank in more than 800 feet of water.
Fast forward nearly 300 years. A private company named Sea Search Armada—whose founders included the late actor Michael Landon—claims to have located the wreck. And it probably has. But political intrigue keeps this wreck and its treasure concealed by the waters still.
Everything about the Sea Search Armada deal is controversial and confusing (the best explanation is found on this international law site, Letters Blogatory) but the basic facts are that 30 years ago the Colombian government made a deal with a company called Glocca Mora to recover the ship, which in turn contracted with Sea Search Armada, granting it rights to 35 percent of the treasure. But subsequently, the Colombian government changed the terms of the deal, and a long legal battle ensued. The Colombian courts ruled that Sea Search Armada had rights to 50 percent of any treasure that wasn't national patrimony. In turn Sea Search Armada sued the Colombian government in the U.S. courts, but its case was dismissed late last year,ruling that is was outside the statute of limitations.
Sea Search Armada claims to have found the wreck, and has even brought up some artifacts to prove it. But without a deal in place to recover it, that matters little. And for all practical purposes, the San Jose, possibly the richest find of any ship ever, remains lost to the deep.
Smoking, Drinking, Gambling, and Long Repetitive Walks: Killing Time on an Old-Time Ocean Liner
There wasn't exactly high-speed Internet and streaming video aboard luxury ocean liners like the Titanic, yet these ships were stocked with amenities to keep passengers occupied during transatlantic voyages that typically lasted about 5-9 days.
A century later, our chaotic, over-saturated noggins might be bored to tears.
Opulent and fashionable, the Titanic, which was the creme della creme in 1912, spared no frills, including a gymnasium, a squash court, and a swimming pool—the first ever to appear on a boat. The delicious fare served onboard the ship was no excuse to pack on the pounds; the gym even had an an electric camel, electric horse, and cycling and rowing machines. After sweating it out, passengers were probably a little sore, so they could head to the Turkish bath where there was a steam room, a sauna, and electric beds, the 1912 version of a tanning bed.
They could also cruise the ship's protected promenades, two 50-foot walkways located on either side of the ship. Similarly, the RMS Mauretania had a Verandah Cafe where people could have a coffee, insulated from the chill of the Atlantic.
But none of this mattered if you weren't riding in style in first class. For the record, one of these tickets cost $2,500, which amounts to around $57,000 in today's dollars. Suites were more expensive—the equivalent of around $103,000.
While in 1912, the Titanic was the most extravagant beast to brave the seas, much of the onboard entertainment was standard, it was just presented in a more elaborate package. Second- and first-class passengers alike could play games like shuffleboard and ring toss and boardgames like backgammon and chess. But the lesser of these two classes was relegated to the boat deck to do so. There would have been chairs and chaises for lounging, though most of the furniture on these liners was bolted to the ground.
The third class didn't have many formal activities, but honestly, it sounds far more fun and loads less stuffy. That famous scene in Titanic where (spoiler alert!) Jack and Rose dance to tunes played by a band in steerage? Something like that very well may have happened. These mostly-immigrant passengers were confined to their sub-par lodgings, where they had to make due with what they had, meaning it was a hotbed of drinking and gambling.
Though there were ways to occupy yourself, transatlantic treks were monotonous. Reading was, of course a centerpiece of leisure, with libraries and dedicated reading and writing rooms standard on most ships. Though, like most everything, there were separate facilities for each class—and steerage passengers were just SOL.
Men-only smoking rooms, as well as gender-specific lounges were also standard, a nod to the fact that socializing was one of the main time-killers on the sea. Guys would jabber into the early hours of the morning over cigars and booze, while women would chat, knitting and playing cards in their respective haunts.
Dining—especially supper—was an event in and of itself. On both the Titanic and the Olympic, the ill-fated steamer's sister ship, first-class passengers would first gather on the elaborate grand staircases of the ship to meet one another, and take their socializing into a reception room before the meal.
Music was involved in all of these activities, with orchestras playing throughout. Often there would be dancing. The orchestra on the Titanic, as legend has it, continued to play as the ship was sinking.
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