Iceberg Ahead

TITANIC COLLIDES WITH THE ICEBERG

As the Titanic steamed west along the ordained North Atlantic route, not even the most apprehensive of her passengers could have foreseen a problem with ice. The sky was blue, the winds light, and the ocean calm – perfect sailing weather. On the other hand, many ships’ observations indicated a vast ice field stretching from 46⁰N to 31⁰3’N and from 46⁰18’W to 50⁰40’W. The Titanic’s course would take her to 42⁰N, 47⁰W – right into the middle of the ice.

Oblivious to the deadly obstacles that lay in her path, the Titanic pressed on, forever westward. The ship was building up steam, 24 of her 29 boilers were in use. If the weather permitted, J. Bruce Ismay had planned a brief speed trial for Monday 15^th when, for the first time, the Titanic might travel flat out at around 24 knots. Contrary to rumors among some passengers, there was to be no attempt at a record crossing – the Mauretania’s achieved 26-knot and put such a target well out of reach.

The Legacy Grows Closer
On Sunday, April 14, 1912 one of the first passengers to rise was Colonel Archibald Gracie, who wasted no time in engaging Frederick Wright, the ship’s squash professional, in a pre-breakfast warm-up. Still with energy to burn, the Colonel went for a dip in the swimming pool before emerging to eat a hearty breakfast. Sunday was the one day in the week when Captain Smith was not required to make a detailed inspection, but any thoughts of a quiet morning were ruined as early as 9:00am when the ship received a two-day-old wireless message from Captain Barr of the Cunarder Caronia. The message read: "Captain, titanic – Westbound steamers report bergs, growlers <definition: Growler is a nautical term for a small iceberg.> and field ice in 42 degrees North from 49 degrees to 51 degrees West, April 12. Compliments, Barr." The message was delivered to Captain Smith on the bridge and he then posted this for his officers.

The area referred to in the wireless message laid just a few miles north of Titanic’s intended course. Sunday morning on White Star ships was supposed to include a boat drill where all hands, passengers and crew, would assemble in life jackets at their boat stations. Yet on this occasion, Captain Smith neglected to schedule a drill. Perhaps he deemed the titanic to be so secure that the exercise was unnecessary, or maybe he feared that the shortage of lifeboats would unduly alarm any nervous passengers.

At 1:42pm, the Titanic received another ice warning, this time from the Baltic. The massage read: "Captain Smith, Titanic – Greek steamer Athinai reports passing icebergs and large quantities of field ice today in latitude 41⁰52’W." At that time the Titanic was at 42⁰35’N, 45⁰50’W, which was perilously close to the ice. The message was take instantly to the bridge, but instead of showing it to his officers, Captain Smith took it with him when he went to lunch. On the promenade deck he bumped into J. Bruce Ismay and handed him the message for information. Ismay promptly put it into his pocket, and apart from showing it to few select passengers, the piece of paper stayed there for the next five-and-a-half hours, and then it was posted on the bridge. Considering that safety was suppose to be paramount, the behavior of both men is baffling, to the point of negligence.

As darkness descended, navigation became more important than ever. An iceberg watch was ordered, although the necessary vigilance was not helped by the lack of a pair of binoculars in the crow’s nest. A pair had been at hand when the Titanic had left Belfast, but by the time the ship departed from Southampton, to the subsequent testimony of Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller, there were no fewer than five pairs scattered around the bridge – but none where they were needed most. Only one-ninth of an iceberg is visible above the surface of the water and sometimes after a berg has capsized, the water in the upper area can make its new face dark, or blue, which makes early identification at night extremely difficult, especially without binoculars.

At around 9:00pm the temperature had dropped to 33⁰F, barely above freezing point. Captain Smith arrived on the bridge shortly before 9:00pm, Lightoller, who had been at sea since the age of 13, briefed him on the prevailing conditions. Although Smith had deliberately left the party early because the Titanic was expected to encounter ice before midnight, neither man appeared unduly concerned. At around 9:30pm, Captain Smith retired to his cabin after telling Lightoller to keep him informed of any deterioration in visibility or weather conditions.

The Unheeded Warning
Harold Bride had also decided to take a break before preparing himself for the rush of late-night messages, so the wireless apparatus was manned solely by Jack Phillips. At 9:40pm, Phillips took a message from the westbound SS Mesaba: "From Mesaba to Titanic and all eastbound ships. Ice report in latitude 42⁰N to 41⁰25’N, longitude 49⁰W to 50⁰30’W. Saw much heavy pack ice and great number large icebergs. Also field ice. Weather good, clear."

The Mesaba’s message was the sixth ice warning received by the titanic that day. If the locations given had been charted, it would have immediately become apparent that the Titanic was heading straight for a vast belt of ice, stretching some 78 miles across her path. <picture of ice field> Instead it seems that most of the warnings were casually dismissed on the bridge, where an air of complacency reigned.

In the wireless room, Jack Phillips was busy dealing with the Cape Race <definition: Cape Race - post cards to shore> traffic when, at 11:00pm, he was suddenly interrupted by a loud signal from the nearby California, announcing, "We are stopped and surrounded by ice." Angry at the intrusion, which must have almost deafened him, Phillips retorted, "Shut up, shut up. You’re jamming my signal. I’m busy. I’m working Cape Race." Before the California could give her position, some 20 miles north of the Titanic, she was unceremoniously cut off. The Californian’s wireless operator, Cyril Furmstone Evanse, listened patiently for another quarter of an hour or so before giving up.

Iceberg Dead Ahead
Lee and Fleet were the two expert lookouts on duty in the crows nest that night. Shortly after 11:30pm, Lee and Fleet became aware of a misty haze on the horizon. A few minutes later, at 11:40pm, Fleet peered out once more into the darkness and saw all his worst nightmares in one menacing black shape. Fleet instantly rang the 6-inch brass bell in the crow’s nest three times and lifted the telephone to the bridge.

Sixth Officer James Moody answered. Fleet’s message was chillingly brief: "Iceberg right ahead."

"Thank you," replied Moody.

Out of the darkness, Fleet could see the iceberg moving nearer by the second. Witnesses described it as being of a similar shape to the Rock of Gibraltar. In the bridge, William Murdoch responded to message from the crow’s nest by giving the order, "Hard a-starboard." This meant that the ship’s bow would swing to port. At the same time, he gave an order to the engine room, "Stop. Full speed astern." Acting swiftly, he also pushed a bell-button for 10 seconds to warn those below that he intended to close all the watertight doors. He then pulled the switch that automatically closed them. It was too late, evidence suggested that Fleet had spotted the iceberg at a distance of less than 500 yards, and unfortunately, the Titanic took over 850 yards to stop at that speed.

Murdoch’s actions caused the Titanic to avoid a head-on collision, and nearly the entire iceberg; however, there was only enough time to turn the ship two points, which resulted in a devastating blow, which as it transpired, was the worst possible scenario. As it moved along the side of the ship, it scraped along the first 300 feet of the hull. As the iceberg passed amidships, Murdoch ordered the helm hard to port in order to clear the stern. The berg passed beyond the stern and drifted silently away into the distance.

Titanic Takes In Water
In the number six boiler room, on the starboard side of the ship, there was a piercing sound that echoed like roaring thunder, followed by a flood of water cascading through a narrow gash in the ship’s side. As the watertight doors closed, the workers were forced to escape up the boiler’s room emergency ladder.

Within a minute of the collision, Captain Smith had raced up to the bridge. "What have we struck?" he asked Murdoch.

"An iceberg, sir," he replied. "I hard a-starboarded and reversed the engines and I was going to hard a-port around it, but she was too close. I could not do any more."

"Have you closed the watertight doors?"

"They are already closed, sir."

Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall also rushed to the bridge and Smith instructed him to go below forward deck on the starboard side to ascertain the extent of the damage and to report back to him as soon as possible. Fifteen minutes later Boxhall returned saying there was no sign of any damage above F deck but the lowest deck was flooded. Around midnight Captain Smith and Thomas Andrews went below to inspect the damage for themselves, they saw mailbags floating in four feet of water. Andrews immediately determined that the Titanic was a lost cause and he gave her no more than two hours. As soon as the damage was reported to Captain Smith he ordered Jack Phillips to send the international distress signal, CQD ("Come Quick, Danger") with the Titanic’s position.

Fifty-eight miles away, Harold Thomas, radio operator on the Carpathia, received the distress call and responded with "Shall I tell my captain? Do you require assistance?"

"Yes. Come quick." Replied Phillips.

Cottam rushed to Captain Roston’s quarters and informed him of the message. Captain Roston quickly realized the full implications of the message and instantly mobilized the men and directed the Carpathia towards their position. The Carpathia proceeded at full speed through the ice infested waters to rescue the damaged Titanic.

Even though only 12 feet of the hull was gouged open by the collision, enough compartments were damaged to cause the Titanic to sink. The problem was traced back to the bulkheads; they were not fully extended to the top of the compartments. As the ship went down, the water would fill up and pour over the bulkhead into the next compartment.

As the news filtered throughout the ship, the passengers began to assemble in the forward first-class entrance. A few of the skeptical passengers began to fill the promenade and boat decks, ready for evacuation. A few minutes later, Captain Smith walked onto the boat decks and instructed the crew to evacuate the ship – women and children first.

Many of the passengers did not believe that the ship was sinking, and refused to board the lifeboats. As a result many of the boats left half full, and some of the starboard boats were filled with men. To add to the confusion and disorganization, many of the passengers were getting cold from the chilly air, and went inside to relax. They did not recognize the actual severity of the accident until the first emergency flare was released. At that time many passengers began to panic, but it was too late half the boats were released and the other half was swarmed by first–class women and children. Water began to flood the lower decks of the bow and the stern began to rise out of the water.

The passengers began to migrate to the high end of the stern half of the ship. Many of them felt that staying aboard the huge ocean liner was safer than taking their chances in the icy water. Over the next half hour the stern lifted up 40 feet out of the water. The people in the lifeboats became terrified at the shear size of the Titanic, and quickly rowed far away from the sinking ship. In boat number six, the legend of the :Unsinkable Molly Brown" was born. Mrs. Brown was evidently a women for a crisis, and crises did not come much bigger than this. She saw it as her job to rally the troops. Having ushered a few of her faint-hearted friends into the boat, she was off to see where she could be of assistance next when she was abruptly hurdled into lifeboat six.

The passengers reported seeing a mystery ship in the distance. The lights from the ships mast seemed to illuminate the darkness. Captain Smith ordered the escaping lifeboats to head towards the mysterious light. But once in the water, Hitchens refused to row, so Molly Brown took off her life jacket and began to row. Her efforts inspired other women to pick up an oar and help, and together they guided the boat out to sea. A while later, they met up with boat number 16 and took on board a stoker who was suffering badly from hypothermia. Molly Brown saved this mans life by giving him her fur coat.

A sudden rush of third class passengers emerged on the decks of the Titanic. The passage ways were obstructed and blocked to allow the first-class first access to the lifeboats. However, as more of the ship began to fill with water some of the sympathetic officers released the third-class passengers to flee for their lives.

Titanic Goes Under
At 2:15am, with still 1,500 people aboard, the Titanic began to go under. As the bow plunged beneath the waves, the last wireless call for help was sent out be Jack Phillips and Harold Bride. A minute later, the ship’s lights flickered and went out. There was no moon that night and the only lights available to guide survivors was from the stars. As passengers and crew clung desperately to the deck rails, the stern of the Titanic rose higher into the air and stood vertically for about 30 seconds.

Then at 2:20am, the Titanic snapped between the third and fourth funnels and the stern flopped down and hit the water as the bow plunged to the bottom of the sea. As the stern filled up with water it rose slightly into the air and began to spin. It then quickly plunged beneath the surface of the water and began its long decent two a half miles to the ocean floor.

The remaining lifeboats organized out in the distance and remained baffled by the incidents that recently unfolded. After nearly an hour of waiting, one lifeboat returned to the scene to help any remaining survivors. Unfortunately, only six passengers were found. The remaining 1,500 passengers, as with the Titanic, paid ultimate price, of their lives, in the deadly waters of the North Atlantic.