THE TITANIC SINKS ON HER MAIDEN VOYAGE
On this day 112 years ago, RMS Titanic, the unsinkable ship, was at the bottom of the sea….
Timeline of events…..
At 9.40pm 14th April – RMS Titanic received its final ice warning.
At 10.00pm, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee commence their watch in the crow’s nest, looking out for growlers more than larger icebergs.
First Officer Murdoch takes over the bridge from Lightoller.
At 11.40pm 14th April – Titanic hits the iceberg.
The iceberg lies just 1,000 yards ahead, but the moonless conditions mean the lookouts cannot see it still.
30 seconds later, Frederick Fleet spots the iceberg, calling the bridge to proclaim, “Iceberg, right ahead!”…..but it is too late to avoid a collision.
Many passengers were in bed at the time, and a few survivors said they noticed nothing more than a slight vibration, if even that.
When stewards eventually came knocking to rouse the passengers and suggest they get dressed and come on deck, it was the first hint most of them had that anything was wrong.
Within minutes of hitting the iceberg the boat begins to take on thousands of tonnes of sea water through holes in its hull.
At 12.30am, 15 April 1912 – Lifeboats are lowered. …
Captain, Edward J Smith, orders the lifeboats to be lowered.
After ten minutes passengers start leaving the ship, with women and children taking the first spots.
There are enough spaces for 1000 passengers, but some of the boats are sent off half-full.
Throughout the loading of lifeboats, the atmosphere on deck remained almost eerily calm, if survivor accounts are to be believed.
Second-class passenger Lawrence Beesley recalled ~
“We stood there quietly looking on at the work of the crew as
they manned the lifeboats, and no one ventured to interfere
with them.
The crowd of men and women stood quietly on the deck or
paced slowly up and down waiting for orders from the officers.”
There were several credible reports of men jumping into the boats before being ordered out by the ship’s officers.
One officer fired a pistol at least three times to maintain order,
but later insisted he hadn’t shot at anyone.
Some survivor accounts reported more shots and even several killings, but those claims have never been proven.
Survivors reported that the Titanic’s band also did its part, playing cheerful tunes almost to the very end.
At 2.10am – Ship’s lights go out. …
The Titanic’s bow, the front of the boat, is now completely underwater causing the back of the boat to lift up.
18 out of 20 of the lifeboats have been lowered.
Panic is starting to set in for the passengers still stranded on the Liner.
At 2.17am – Titanic breaks in two. …
The back of the boat gets pushed further out of the water.
The ship’s hull isn’t strong enough to withstand the pressure and snaps in two.
When the ship suddenly snapped in two pieces, the sinking stern settles down into the water and the bow section sinks beneath the waves.
At 2.19am – Bow begins to sink. …
The front of the boat disappears beneath the surface of the ocean, the back half of the Titanic soon followed, taking with her the lives of all those left on board.
At 2.24am – Titanic reaches the bottom of the ocean.
The front half of the ship reaches the bottom first.
Two minutes later, the back half of the Titanic joins it on the floor of the Atlantic.
The wreck of the ship is still there today, 112 years later.
Of the 450 men in third class, only 59 survived.
Of the 165 women in third class, only 76 survived.
Of the 80 children in third class, only 25 survived.
Of the 155 men in second class, only 13 survived.
Of the 92 women in second class, 78 survived.
Of the 25 children in second class, all 25 survived.
Of the 171 men in first class, 54 survived.
Of the 141 women in first class, 113 survived.
Of the 7 children in first class, only 1 died.
In total there were an estimated 1,517 people killed in the sinking of the Titanic, 832 passengers and 685 crew members.
❤ We remember them all today ❤
RIP
