The Sinking of the Titanic was one of the most famous tragedies in the world. “God himself could not sink this ship!” was the most famous line about the RMS Titanic which sank at the deepest point of the Atlantic Ocean. It set sailed its voyage from Southampton, England to New York City on April 10, 1912. However, the ship never reached its destination, on April 14, the ship collided with an iceberg that caused this ship to sink in the Atlantic ocean with more than 1,500 passengers’ lives went at the bottom of the ocean.
So, let’s you jump and I jump into the conspiracy theories and mysteries of one of the luxurious ships of their time, the Royal Mail Ship Titanic.
- Conspiracy – Was Titanic not seaworthy?
Fact – No, it was not
Many conspiracy theories believed that White Star Chairman J. Bruce Ismay and Shipbuilder of Harland and Wolff William Pirrie wanted their ships to be on the waters to create a standard in the market. Therefore, they speeded up the construction and bribed the officers to avoid sea trials of the ship. They created three best-in-class vessels the Olympic, the Titanic, and the Britannic. On March 31, 1909, they began their work on the Olympics. The two ships were built simultaneously in a special gantry which was constructed to accommodate more people in its unprecedented size. The ships were designed by Thomas Andrews of Harland and Wolff. But in reality, in June 1911, the Titanic became fully constructed and underwent its sea trials in early April 1912, after which the ship was made seaworthy after a successful maiden voyage. The Titanic was one of the largest and most lavish ships in the World. It had a gross registered tonnage (i.e. carrying capacity) of 46,328 tons and has a height of 882.5 feet and 92.5 feet in width. The ship was captained by the “Millionaire’s Captain” Edward J. Smith with many wealthy and prominent people as its passengers.
- Conspiracy – Captain Smith was not aware of the iceberg warning?
Fact – No, it was not
Throughout the voyage, the wireless radio operators on the Titanic, Jack Phillips, and Harold Bride had been receiving iceberg warnings, most of which were passed to the bridge. At Approximately 11:40 PM, about 400 nautical miles (740 km) of Newfoundland, Canada, an iceberg was sighted and was notified about an iceberg ahead of them, First Officer William Murdoch ordered the ship “hard-a-starboard”—a maneuver that under the order system then in place would turn the ship to port (left). They immediately lowered tried to turn the ship to avoid collision with the iceberg and turned it to the very extent but unfortunately, the ship hit the iceberg and made a crack which Initiated the water to vehemently enter the ship’s lower segment (due to the ice effect on the ship because iron doesn’t expand like water, causing the iron to tear itself apart). Water-tight compartments didn’t stop the force, however, they provided a few hours to survive.
- Conspiracy – Captain Smith ordered any Distress Calls for help?
Fact – Yes
Many conspiracy theories claimed that captain smith was suffering from mental ailments which made him take improper decisions at the time of emergency and led to the sinking of the titanic along with the death of more than 1500 passengers.
The unsinkable titanic had started to sink in a couple of hours after the collision. Smith ordered Phillips to begin sending distress signals, one of which reached the Carpathia and the Cunard ship immediately. As attempts were made to contact nearby vessels, the lifeboats began to be launched, with orders of women and children first.
- Conspiracy – The Titanic had secret lifeboats for the wealthy people?
Fact – No, it was not
Some conspiracy theories stated that The RMS Titanic had a special compartment where they had additional sets of lifeboats which were reserved for the wealthy people so that they could escape easily in case of any calamities or emergencies. However, the truth is the Titanic had 20 boats that could carry only 1,178 people. This was far below the total number of passengers. As the Titanic’s bow continued to sink, the stern began to rise out of the water, placing incredible strain on the midsection. At about 2:00 AM the stern’s propellers were visible above the water. At approximately 2:18 AM, it broke in two, with the bow going underwater. The stern momentarily settled back in the water for a while. Then it began rising again, making the ship’s stern vertical for one last time. It briefly remained in that position before its final plunge. At 2:20 AM the stern also disappeared beneath the Atlantic. Hundreds of passengers and crew went into the icy water.
- Conspiracy – The Wealthy and prominent people were rescued first?
Fact – No, it was not
The rescued passengers in the lifeboats returned to the spot to rescue survivors. By the time they rowed back, almost all the people in the water had died from exposure and the freezing temperature of the water, leaving more than 1,500 perished in the ocean. The Carpathia arrived around 3.30 AM picking up all the survivors of the Titanic. Aside from the crew, which had about 700 fatalities, third class suffered the greatest loss: of approximately 710, only some 174 survived. The Majority of the members who were dead are crew members and third-class passengers. Many believed that it was a well-planned rescue mission to save only the wealthy people. But, many well-known and wealthy members too lost their lives on the Titanic, Isidor and Ida Straus, Thomas Andrews, John Jacob Astor, and many more famous people who died on that ship.
- Conspiracy– Captain Smith refused to decrease the speed?
Fact – Yes
An investigation was held in the United States and Great Britain regarding the issues and the cause of the sinking from April to May 1912. The U.S. investigation interviewed more than 80 people. Notable interviews included Second Officer Charles Lightoller, the most senior officer who survived. He defended the actions of Captain Smith and his refusal to decrease the ship’s speed. In May 1912 British officers Sir John Charles Bingham and Lord Mersey began their investigation with the British Board of Trade regarding the supply of lifeboats. New pieces of evidence were discovered during the 28 days of testimony. The final report stated that the sinking of the RMS Titanic was due to a collision with an iceberg at an excessive speed at which the ship was being navigated.
I loved that halfway through the third act, you think “holy shit, James Cameron did titanic twice. As you’ve been watching essentially 25 minutes of alien titanic and it’s stunning.
Interesting. Did you know the Titanic was on fire before it left the shipyard? There was a coal fire below decks for days before it left that the crew couldn’t put out. So it set out with a fire burning in the hull. The only thing they could do was keep shoveling the burning coal into the furnace or the whole ship would go up in flames. Then they realized they’d run out of fuel if they didn’t keep going at full speed because of the rate they had to keep tossing the burning coals into the furnace. The captain had to choose between slowing down, which came with a 100% chance of being stranded, or keep going at full speed, despite the warnings of icebergs. So it was either run out of fuel, power, and heat, or risk running into an iceberg.
The first Titanic movie was destroyed in a fire. It was released just a month after the disaster and some of the actors were real survivors of the ship who wore what they wore during the sinking. It left them traumatized. All that survive of the movie are a few stills. Filming of the movie began almost right after Carpathia arrived with survivors in New York.
Titanic. And not because the door scene is stupid. But because the old lady is a complete asshole for taking advantage of this crew looking for a specific priceless necklace, spending countless hours and resources on it, all for her just to have it hidden the whole time… and then she goes and tosses it overboard. What a bitch.