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.