What do you remember about the sinking of the Titanic?

[Zebra]

Now that this submarine is lost, I sometimes think of the Titanic

3 facts I remember:

- that it was seen as "un-sinkible"
- that it had not enough life boats
- that their distress signal rockets were of the wrong colour and therefore mistaken as a joyful fireworks celebration

 

[Grumblenuts]

Can't recall 1912 for some reason? Pretty sure my parents weren't even born yet

 

[Dekster]

There was some change in how commands are given after that. IIRC it had to do with the hard to port or hard to starboard because different captains and boats did those commands opposite. One group would use hard to starboard to mean turn the tiller full starboard so the bow went hard to port and one would use it to mean turn the tiller full to port so the bow went hard to starboard.

 

[Zebra]

Can't recall 1912 for some reason? Pretty sure my parents weren't even born yet

I expected an answer of this kind.

What I mean is:
I think we have all read about the sad story of the Titanic.
What details impressed you - what do you remember?

 

[Zebra]

There was some change in how commands are given after that. IIRC it had to do with the hard to port or hard to starboard because different captains and boats did those commands opposite. One group would use hard to starboard to mean turn the tiller full starboard so the bow went hard to port and one would use it to mean turn the tiller full to port so the bow went hard to starboard.

From what I read:

The best would have been to stay on course and hit that iceberg with the front of the ship.
Because the front is made of robust material - better than the material of the side.
So the ship got sliced open.

Otherwise there would have been an enormous shock, but the ship would have stayed intact.

 

[Dekster]

From what I read:

The best would have been to stay on course and hit that iceberg with the front of the ship.
Because the front is made of robust material - better than the material of the side.
So the ship got sliced open.

Otherwise there would have been an enormous shock, but the ship would have stayed intact.

Perhaps but 20/20 hindsight and all that. They were trying to port around the iceberg which was sort of how big ships were doing it back then, but made the first turn too late and then ran into an underwater ice shelf they couldn't see. Who knows if they really could have survived t-boning it, but they probably could have bought themselves significantly more time to evacuate the ship and have help get to them at least. T-boning probably would have put the bow so down with water, they wouldn't have been seaworthy I would think to continue onto port.

It is kind of like I used to hear a lot when I lived in the DC area. There were lots of accidents caused by people swerving to miss something in the road. They would always preach at people to hit it, no matter what it was, instead of trying to avoid it because then other cars are taken out of the equation. It is easy to say, but in that moment, it is very hard to apply that when all your instincts are to turn that wheel to avoid the collision.

 

[Orangecat]

What do you remember about the sinking of the Titanic?​

The dumb old lady threw away the jewel at the end.

 

[Grumblenuts]

I expected an answer of this kind.

What I mean is:
I think we have all read about the sad story of the Titanic.
What details impressed you - what do you remember?

Yeah, I know. Sorry. Never really thought of it as sad. More of a wash. Lives and material lost, but lessons learned. People were still dying left and right at sea back then. "Otto Weddigen in his small U-9 sank 3 British cruisers in less than hour on 22 Sep 1914."

"Right!"
"Left!"
"Your other left, dummkopf. Mach Schnell!"

 

[Zebra]

Perhaps but 20/20 hindsight and all that.

Exactly.
One always knows better later ....

 

[basquebromance]

i was like 10 years old when the Titanic MOVIE came out!

 

[Zebra]

What else I have read:

Why Titanic’s first call for help wasn’t an SOS signal​

Maritime vessels had already been calling for help using wireless since 1899, but international wireless operators had not yet come up with a standardized distress call. In 1904, Marconi operators adopted a general call sign commonly used by British telegraphers: CQ (“seek you”), plus D for “distress or danger.”

But by 1912 when Titanic sailed, there was another, competing distress signal on the scene: “SOS.” There’s a common misnomer that the distress call is short for “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls,” but the letters didn’t stand for anything—it was an adaptation of an existing German radio call. The signal consisted of three dots, three dashes, and another three dots—simple to tap out in Morse code during an emergency and easy to understand, even in poor conditions.

Why Titanic’s first call for help wasn’t an SOS signal

The wireless technology that saved hundreds from the shipwreck was in its infancy, and competing distress signals didn’t help.

www.nationalgeographic.com

 

[whitehall]

If you were an adult in 1912 you have to be about 120 years old. You may have seen the movie or read stuff but nobody remembers the sinking.

 

[jackflash]

Now that this submarine is lost, I sometimes think of the Titanic

3 facts I remember:

- that it was seen as "un-sinkible"
- that it had not enough life boats
- that their distress signal rockets were of the wrong colour and therefore mistaken as a joyful fireworks celebration

The humor of it all! I especially liked the scene where the stud bailed over the aft & collided with the propeller with that distinctive "THUNK" indicating a hit to the head! WHY jump into ice cold water when he was on a perfectly good sinking ship? Other ludicrous scenes were the state of the art communications equipment & the band on the deck playing the tune "It's All Over Now Baby!" I especially liked the scene of captain "Suicide Sammy" heroically locking himself into the wheel house & going down with the ship. In all reality the chintzy glass they had in those days would have exploded @ 3 inches under water from water pressure blowing captain Suicide Sammy out & into the water & floating around with the rest of the folks treading water. That would be abandoning the crew & passengers in the face of imminent danger, a criminal offense! The only way the movie could have been made better would to have had Pee Wee Herman as the captain & the 3 Stooges as the lifeboat lowering crew! Thank God that the British don't construct ships out of 0.16 thick sheet metal anymore!

 

[Zebra]

If you were an adult in 1912 you have to be about 120 years old. You may have seen the movie or read stuff but nobody remembers the sinking.

Again:

I did not ask about your personal experience.
I trust that we all have read the story or maybe seen the film.

 

[Zebra]

In accordance with existing practice, Titanic's lifeboat system was designed to ferry passengers to nearby rescue vessels, not to hold everyone on board simultaneously; therefore, with the ship sinking rapidly and help still hours away, there was no safe refuge for many of the passengers and crew with only 20 lifeboats, including 4 collapsible lifeboats. Poor management of the evacuation meant many boats were launched before they were completely full.

Sinking of the Titanic - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org