What was the Titanic?
The Titanic was a British passenger ship that famously sank on its first voyage in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. At the time, it was one of the largest and most luxurious ships ever built. It was operated by the White Star Line and was intended to be a symbol of modern engineering and luxury travel. However, the Titanic’s sinking resulted in one the biggest disasters in history, with the loss of over 1,500 lives.
When did the Titanic set sail?
What was the Titanic like?
The Titanic was a huge ship, like a floating city! It was very fancy with lots of rooms, restaurants, and even a swimming pool. People said it was the most luxurious ship ever made. It was also very big and tall, like a giant skyscraper on the water. But sadly, it didn’t have enough lifeboats for everyone on board, which made it even more dangerous when it sank.
First, Second and Third Class
First Class
Titanic’s first class passengers were very rich. They travelled with several suitcases and trunks; some even brought their bútlers, maids, dogs or car. The most expensive suites included two bedrooms, two dressing rooms, a sitting room, a bathroom and a private deck, or there were 350 cheaper first class cabins. All the rooms were beautifully decorated.
First class, one way tickets started at roughly £25 (thousands of pounds in today’s money) with a suite costing near to £900.
Second Class
There was a grand dining room for second class passengers. The room was beautifully decorated. Second class rooms slept between two to four people, with a shared bathroom. Second class on Titanic was equal to first class standard on any other ship at the time.
Third Class
Third class travel was much less comfortable and known as ‘steerage’. These passengers were not allowed to go to the first and second class areas of the ship and use facilities such as the swimming pool or squash court.
Cabins slept between two and ten people and there were only two bathtubs for all of the 712 third class passengers on board. Third class tickets cost between £3 and £8. An £8 ticket would be worth around £550 today.
What did the Titanic look like?
The Titanic was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was a massive ship, about 882 feet long and 175 feet tall. The ship was divided into different sections called decks, with luxurious cabins for the wealthy passengers on the higher decks and simpler accommodations for the others on lower decks. The Titanic was also known for its grand staircase, which was a fancy staircase in the middle of the ship that led to the first-class areas. Overall, it was a remarkable feat of engineering for its time.
The ship was constructed so that it had 16 watertight compartments. To keep the ship and passengers safe, these compartments included heavy metal doors which closed in around 30 seconds if any water seeped in. The doors closed slowly to give escaping crew members time to pass through.
Titanic had four funnels. Only three of these funnels worked; the other was to make the ship look more powerful.
Why did the Titanic sink?
The Titanic hit an iceberg, which punctured a hole in the hull of the ship. There are many theories why it sank.
Captain Smith’s fault – Captain Smith was the ship’s captain. This voyage was his last as he was retiring. He ignored seven iceberg warnings from his crew and other ships. If he had slowed the Titanic down the disaster may not have happened.
Thomas Andrew’s fault – Thomas Andrew was the ship’s architect. The compartments on the ship did not reach as high as they should have done as the White Star Line wanted maximum capacity for first class passengers. If Andrew’s had insisted they should be the correct height, the Titanic might not have sunk.
Captain Lords Fault – Captain Lord was the Captain of another ship named the Californian. The Californian’s radio was turned off at around 11.15. Sometime after the crew saw rockets being fired into the sky from the Titanic. Captain Lord was informed but he concluded that the Titanic was having a party. The Californian did not help. If the Californian had turned on the radio the distress message would have been heard and the Californian would have reached the Titanic in time to save the passengers.
The Shipbuilder’s fault – The 3 million iron rivets holding the ship together were analysed after the disaster. The rivets were made of poor iron. When the ship hit the iceberg the impact caused the rivets to break and sections of the ship to come apart. If good quality rivets were used this may not have happened.
Bruce Ismay’s Fault – Bruce Ismay was the managing director of the White Star Line. He was aboard the Titanic. White Star Line wanted to show that they could make a six day journey. To meet this schedule, the Titanic couldn’t slow down. It is believed Ismay put pressure on Captain Smith to maintain the ship’s speed.
Key Factors:
– There were not enough lifeboats on board to hold all the passengers and crew.
– When the lifeboats were launched, they were not full. There were 20 lifeboats enough for 1178 people but there were over 2000 people on the boat.
– Originally 32 lifeboats were supposed to be on the Titanic but it was reduced to 20 as the deck was felt to be too cluttered.
– The Titanic also carried 3500 lifebelts and 48 life rings but these were useless in the icy water.
– Most people did not drown but froze to death.
– Lots of people thought that the call to the lifeboats was a drill so stayed inside rather than going up to the freezing deck.
Where is the Titanic now?
The Titanic wreck was discovered in 1985 by a French and American expedition. It was discovered that the Titanic had actually split in half. The front and back of the ship were found nearly 2000 feet apart. Since then, there have been more dives and many artefacts from the titanic have been found.
The Titanic’s wreck is slowly deteriorating and is home to many sea creatures.
The Titanic has deteriorated to such an extent that it can’t be raised from the ocean floor. As a result the wreckage continues to rust and deteriorate on the ocean floor.
