RMS Titanic

It was 105 years ago this month that the great ship sank. I read some things about the sinking that I was never taught in High School, when I read the book A Night To Remember. Many of those facts include that 1912 was a bad year for ice and because the moon had come closer to Earth then it had in 1800 years, it caused tectonic shifts in the Arctic. The winter of 1911-1912 was also a mild one and caused twice as much ice as usual to break off and drift into the North Atlantic. The first time in 50 years that happened. Another fact was Titanic did receive ice warnings and Captain Smith ordered a more southerly course. He didn't order to slow down though as they thought they would be clear of the ice. The problem was that ice was further south than usual and it took hours for other ships in the area to figure out how big the ice field really was. By the time Californian sent the last ice warning to Titanic, the radio operator was taking down messages for the passengers from Cape Race, Newfoundland and didn't receive Californian's warning. He just answered Shut up. Shut up. I am working Cape Race. Californian's radio operator assumed Titanic received the message and went to bed. Had he stayed at his post half an hour longer, Titanic may have been saved. Later after Titanic struck the iceberg and signaled for help, Carpathia was the only one who responded. Californian was nearby and only half and hour away, but wasn't receiving the SOSs. Officers on Californian could see Titanic and her flares, but assumed she was signaling one of her company ships. They noted she was sitting at an odd angle, but thought she was moving away. It wasn't until they spotted Carpathia steaming towards her and shooting off flares that they finally got their heads out of their asses and woke up Captain Stanley Lords and the radio operator. They turned the radio back on and realized what was going on. By the time they arrived, most of the survivors had been picked up by Carpathia and the remaining 1500 were dead. Stanley Lords was later convicted for his negligence. People also think Titanic's rudder was too small. Actually no it wasn't. It was a poorly designed tear drop shape, designed a century prior. Not like today's rudders which are rectangular shaped and are much more effective. If Titanic hadn't stopped her engines while trying to avoid the iceberg and maybe even sped up she would've missed it with feet to spare. She also could've struck the iceberg head on which would've breached only 2 compartments. Several would've been injured, but at least she wouldn't have sunk. Another is that she wasn't trying to set a speed record. White Star Line's rival company Cunard Line, had already set speed records with their ships (Mauritania and Lusitania), which were the fastest ships in the world at the time. Capable of 25 knots. They were also powered by steam turbines. Still the most powerful engines in the world today, but were expensive to operate back then. White Star Line realized they couldn't compete for speed, so instead they used old fashioned steam pistons that weren't as powerful, but consumed less coal and were cheaper to operate. They decided to compete with Cunard Line by building the most luxurious ships in the world. They would rival the most luxurious and expensive hotels in Europe.

The real reason Titanic didn't carry enough life boats for everyone was because at the time it was a standard practice. The laws governing maritime safety were written that way, because there were so many ships crossing the North Atlantic, they figured there would always be another ship nearby to provide assistance and the life boats were there to shuttle people to the rescue ship. In Titanic's case that would've been true, but it wasn't a standard practice to have the radios operating 24 hours a day. The reason they didn't slow down, or even stop for the night was because it was a standard practice that all ships must make port on time, regardless of weather and ice. Another was that the USA, Canada and Europe finally came together and agreed on laws that still govern maritime safety today. These were that all ships must carry enough life boats for her maximum capacity, have 2 radios. One for passenger messages and the other to receive and send weather and ice warnings, The radios also had to operate 24 hours a day. Ships were also equipped with spot lights to search for obstacles in the dark, since radar was still in development. The sea lanes were also moved further south. There was also a coast guard fleet to patrol and monitor ice and weather in the area and warn all ships. Another was all ships must use the same color flares to signal. Titanic's sister HMHS Britannic was returned to port and her launch was delayed until 1915. She was planned to be even more luxurious than Titanic. Because she underwent a major refit she never saw passenger service and was converted to a hospital ship. 6 of her watertight bulk heads were extended up to B-Deck, she had 48 life boats, (enough to carry more than 3000 people), which were hung on davits that could launch 6 fully loaded boats at a time. They were also designed for up to 75 people each. She had a double hull, which was also separated into watertight compartments and 2 radios. They also did away with women and children first. Since then it's been lifeboats for everybody. Because of her new safety features, only 30 died when she was sunk by either a naval mine, or a torpedo in 1916, during her 6th voyage. The only reason anyone died in the sinking was because they were attempting to beach her rather than let her sink and 2 lifeboats were lowered before Captain Bartlett gave the order to abandon ship, and by the time they realized the spinning propellers were out of the water and they wouldn't be able to beach the ship, it was too late to stop the engines, which chewed up 2 of the life boats and killed those 30 people. 

As sad as it is that Titanic sank, in many ways it's a good thing. Sometimes it takes disasters like this to get society to change it's ways to prevent such disasters from ever happening again. As I said in this video from James Cameron's film under my user name Bad Drivers of Moose Jaw: Shame the Titanic sank. She was beautiful lady. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vlRxlL1Po4&t=148s. The only complaint I have about that movie was when Titanic spotted the iceberg she only had 37 seconds to spare. Not 2 minutes. They were able to stop the engines, but no way would they have had enough time to put them in reverse. 
In conclusion I will say to those 1500 who lost their lives on that fateful night, may they rest in peace.