Technological Triumph to Tragedy of the Century

Photo courtesy of NBCNews.com

The Titanic was meant to be the technological triumph of the 20th Century.  This 46,000 ton vessel would set records in crossing the Atlantic, while its elaborate interior was befitting of the World's elite.  Thus, in 1912, the Titantic represented wealth, power, and status. Nicknamed the "Millionaire's Special," the rich and famous flocked to get this seat on this historical voyage.  The combined wealth aboard the Titanic exceeded $100 Million.  "[T]ransatlantic passenger trade was highly profitable and competitive, with ship lines vying to transport wealthy travelers and immigrants."  In addition to the rich and famous that were travelling on the ship, its designer, Thomas Andrews, was aboard the Titanic.  (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013) The ship was scheduled to leave from Southhampton, England and travel to New York City.

The Titanic was the result of two competing shipping lines, the White Star Line and the Cunard.  The technology involved in making the liner was remarkable at this time.  Cunard was known for its record speed across the Atlantic Ocean.  The turbine engines were powered by 29 coal fire boilers that were powerful enough to the move the Titanic, which weighed approximately 46,000 ton, by 22 knots per hour.  In 1907, the company set a world record for the fastest transatlantic crossing and it held the record for 22 years. (History.com, 2013)  It's need to cross the Atlantic in record time would also lead to the demise of the Titantic and all of those aboard this most talked about ship.  "The Titantic was one of the biggest and most state-of-the-art ocean liners of its day.  With all of the ship's safety measures, the Titanic was thought to be unsinkable."  (Bolan, 2013) Unfortunately, for the hundreds of passengers aboard the ship, this would prove to be untrue.

Nonetheless, the Titantic was built with 15 or 16 compartments that would contain water in a specific area if the ship became compromised and the Cunard claimed that up to four of those compartments could be flooded at one time and still keep afloat. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013)

According to an article published by History.com:

"Titanic was doomed from the start by the design so many lauded as state-of-the-art. The Olympic-class ships featured a double bottom and 15 watertight bulkheads equipped with electric watertight doors which could be operated individually or simultaneously by a switch on the bridge. It was these watertight bulkheads that inspired Shipbuilder magazine, in a special issue devoted to the Olympic liners, to deem them “practically unsinkable.” But the watertight compartment design contained a flaw that may have been a critical factor in Titanic’s sinking: While the individual bulkheads were indeed watertight, water could spill from one compartment into another. Several of Titanic’s Cunard-owned contemporaries, by contrast, already boasted innovative safety features devised to avoid this very situation. Had White Star taken a cue from its competitor, it might have saved Titanic from disaster." (paragraph 5)

Couple that with the fact that there was not nearly enough lifeboats on board.  It has been reported that these lifeboats could only accommodate 1/3 of the passengers aboard, and the Titanic was carrying approximately 3,300 passengers.  (History.com, 2013)

The Titanic set sail for its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912 from England bound to New York.  It would travel through the icy waters of the North Atlantic.  Throughout the day, the Captain had received iceberg warnings.  The course was changed, but the speed of the vessel was never lowered.  At around 11:40 PM the ship scrapes alongside an iceberg, and soon after, the mail room begins fill with water.  Other reports come in of water filling in at least five of the ship's compartments.  The ships designer, Mr. Andrews, surveyed the damage and estimated that the ship had only one to two hours before sinking. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013)  

The Titanic is one of the most memorable tragedies of the 20th Century.  Over 1,500 perished when the world's unsinkable ship was sunk.

Works Cited

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2013). Titanic: The Unsinkable Ship. Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Brittannica, Inc.: http://www.britannica.com/titanic/timeline?tocId=9574268

History.com. (2013). Titanic. Retrieved from A&E Television Networks, LLC: http://www.history.com/topics/titanic