Should The RMS Titanic: What Sank The Unsinkable?

The RMS Titanic: What Sank the Unsinkable
Did the largest passenger ship of the time sink due to the reckless actions of Captain Edward Smith, or because of poor quality construction material? 1The 2,224 people aboard the maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York, had no idea their journey would end in the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
1The voyage began on April 10,1912, and the passengers consisted of some of the wealthiest people in the world along with hundreds of poor European immigrants. 5The rich enjoyed such amenities as a gymnasium, swimming pool, Turkish bath, squash court, smoking room, Veranda Café, and Mahogany furniture. Third class passengers were kept in the lower decks, and out of sight. Only 706 souls survived …show more content…
She was 882’-9” long, a beam of 92’-6”, and a height of 175; keel to top of the funnels. With a draught of 34’-7”, and a depth of 64’-6”, the design consisted of nine decks; A-G. A Deck was the Promenade Deck, B Deck the Bridge Deck, C Deck the Shelter Deck, D Deck the Saloon Deck, E Deck the Upper Deck, F Deck the Middle Deck, and G Deck was called the Lower Deck. Below these were the Orlop and the Tank Top; the Orlop was used for cargo space, and the Tank Top served as a platform for the ship’s engines, turbines, electrical generators, and, boilers. 2For power, she was fitted with one low-pressure Parsons turbine, and two reciprocating four-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines. There were 159 coal burning furnaces firing 29 boilers that fed the turbine, and steam engines. This power plant coupled to three large propellers gave the Titanic a top speed of 26 mph, or 23 knots. Atop the ship were four 62’ tall funnels; three to vent gases from the boiler, and engine room, one for ship ventilation. The vessel was designed with sixteen watertight compartments that had doors that would close automatically if the water level reached a preset limit. In the event, any two of the compartments were flooded or if the first four were flooded, the Titanic was designed not to sink because of this occurring. 42,000 rolled steel plates, 6 feet wide and 30 feet long, and weighing between 2.5 and 3 tons …show more content…
Edward Smith’s final one before his retirement. 4As the most senior of the White Star Line's captains, he had enjoyed a long and respectable career. 3Unfortunately, four days into the voyage, 375 miles south of Newfoundland, the great ship struck an iceberg on April 14th at 11: 40 pm. The ship’s wireless operators had received six iceberg warnings that very day, however Capt. Smith did not get a chance to see all six warnings. The operators had not taken all of them to the bridge, and the last one came too late. Immediately after the obstacle was sighted the First Officer ordered the ship to be steered around the iceberg and the engines to be stopped, but to no avail. Just thirty-seven seconds after the iceberg was spotted, the hull of the ship impacted the huge mass of floating ice. 4Coliding with the iceberg caused the hull’s steel plates to buckle, creating a series of holes below Titanic’s waterline. This breach allowed five of the ship's watertight compartments to flood with sea water. Titanic’s bow began sinking first, as the vessel’s angle in the water increased, the water began flowing from one compartment to another. 4By 2: 20 AM., the rate of sinking abruptly increased as the ship’s forward deck plunged underwater, and the ocean water streamed in through open grates and hatches. As Titanic’s stern rose into the air out of the sea, the great weight of the keel caused the vessel to break in half between the fourth,

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Should The RMS Titanic: What Sank The Unsinkable?

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