They Don't Build 'Em Like This Anymore

Note figure for scale

How long did it take to build her?
Just under three years.

How long was she in service?
Just under six days.

How long did it take her to sink?
A little over two and a half hours.

When did she start on her maiden voyage?
RMS Titanic left the English port of Southampton on this day in 1912. Her voyage almost ended right there. She was so huge (she was the largest ship in the world at the time) that her wake caused another ship to break her lines and start heading toward Titanic. A tugboat was able to stop the other ship from hitting Titanic by about four feet.
Later that day Titanic was in France picking up more passengers. The next morning she picked up another load in southern Ireland and by the evening of the 11th she was on her way to New York.
A prestige ship like the Titanic could expect to be fully booked on her maiden voyage, but there was a coal strike going on in England. Many people put off travel during this time of uncertainty. Titanic was only able to leave England by borrowing coal from other ships.

How any passengers were onboard?
Total capacity was 2453: 833 in First class, 614 in Second, and 1,006 in Third, but due to the coal strike, there were only 324 in First, 284 in Second, and 709 in Third for a total of 1317. Crossing the Atlantic was not cheap. Even a one-way third class ticket cost $850 in today's dollars. The most luxurious First Class suites went for $105,000 in the high season.

How about the crew?
 Titanic had a crew of 885. In those days ships did not have crews permanently assigned to them. Crews were signed up a few days before a voyage and came aboard a few hours before the ship left port. The largest contingent, 494, were stewards and galley staff. There 325 in the engine crew, and only 66 actual seamen. There were 23 female crew members, mostly stewardesses. Monthly pay ranged from the captain, $12,000 per month (in today's dollars) to $400 per month for the female stewardesses, who could supplement their income with tips. The worst job on the ship was that of the 176 firemen who shoveled 600 tons of coal per day into the ship's 159 furnaces. They were well paid, but as a group had a high rate of suicide.

Who was the captain?
Edward Smith. He had been captain of White Star Line ships for the past 25 years and had an excellent reputation for safety. Some travelers would only sail on ships on which he was the captain. Smith's fortunes began to change the previous year when he was in command of the White Star liner Olympic. Just a few months before Titanic was launched Olympic passed a British warship. Olympic's great bulk sucked the smaller ship into Olympics's side. Olympic limped into the shipyard for repairs. Work on Olympic delayed the launch of Titanic. Back at sea, Olympic lost a propeller blade and repairs to that further delayed the launch of Titanic.

How did the maiden voyage go?
After leaving Ireland on April 11, everything went swimmingly. Day two was  a little rough, but by the 14th, the seas had calmed and it was clear and very cold. Titanic began to receive iceburg warnings from other ships as she approached the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland. Titanic continued to steam along at 22.5 knots, close to full speed. There's a myth that Titanic was trying to set a speed record, but this is not true. She was merely trying to reach New York on schedule on the 17th. Near misses with iceburgs were common and even collisions occasionally happened. Captain Smith along with most other seafaring men believe that shipbuilding had reached the point that ships could no longer sink.

If the night was clear, why didn't they see the iceberg?
There were two lookouts posted in the crow's nest. They should have had binoculars, but the key to the binocular locker had been left back in Southampton. Most other ships were equipped with powerful searchlights, but not British merchant ships. British naval ships had searchlights, but the navy had decreed that merchant ship could not have them. The navy didn't like merchant ships shining their lights in their eyes.
By the time the lookouts spotted the iceberg, it was too late to avoid a collision. It took a ship like Titanic about a half a mile to come to a stop.

What happened next?
The ship grazed the side of the iceberg. It was thought for years that the iceberg had torn a hole in the side of the ship. After Titanic was found in the 1980s, sonar equipment found the force of the collision had forced open several of the ships iron plates. The ship's hull was compartmentalized. Unfortunately, the compartments were not sealed at the top and as the ship began to sink, water could flow from compartment to compartment.

Why weren't the compartments sealed?
Sealing the compartments properly would have made walking around the decks more difficult. No one foresaw that a ship of this size could ever sink.

How about the lifeboats?
Titanic had enough lifeboats for about half of the passengers, so it was a blessing she did not have a full load of passengers. The original design of the ship called for 64 lifeboats, which would have been more than enough for all the passengers and crew. But that many lifeboats would have blocked the view of many of the cabins, so White Star opted for 16 lifeboats, which, by the way, was all the Board of Trade called for. Titanic was legal. Lifeboats were seen as a means to ferry passengers from a sinking ship to a rescue ship. And again, no one thought Titanic could ever sink.

It didn't help that the crew had received no training in the use of the lifeboats. Or that the crew did not start putting passengers in the lifeboats for an hour after the collision with the iceberg. Women and children got most of the seats. It paid to be a First Class passenger, especially if you were a woman. The crew did not know the capacity of the lifeboats and almost five hundred seats went empty.

What happened to the survivors?
One of the real tragedies is that there was a ship only a few miles away. But it had shut off its engines for the night because of the ice and also turned off its radio. The officer on duty saw Titanic's emergency flares and reported them to the captain, but the captain failed to respond. He was later reprimanded.
A second merchant ship did hear the distress calls, but was unable to respond until 4:00 a.m., two hours after Titanic sank. This ship altered course and took the survivors to New York.

What was the aftermath?
Inquiries in Washington and London both determined that the cause of the disaster was steaming into a dangerous area at a high rate of speed. Neither inquiry found Captain Smith negligent since he had been following standard practices. The disaster was deemed "an act of God".

Safety standards were raised. Ships were required to carry enough lifeboats for passengers and crew. Lifeboat drills and inspections were also required. Ships had to maintain radio operations around the clocks and respond to emergency flares. Finally, an International Ice Patrol was organized. Since it began in 1913 no life has been lost due to a collision with an iceberg in the Patrol's area.
And British merchant ships got searchlights.

What was the toll?
Male passengers: 659
Female passengers: 106
Children: 53
Crew: 696 (including three female stewardesses)
Total: 1514

And survivors?
710

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