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The Titanic must be one of the most famous ships ever built. She set off on her
maiden voyage in April 1912, crossing from Southampton in England to New York
City in America. In between, she would make stops at France and Ireland. The
Titanic was such a huge ship that she weighed more than 46 000 tons and was
about 270 meters long. Thought to be virtually unsinkable, she was built such
that any flooded compartment could be sealed off quickly and easily, preventing
the spread of water through the ship. Passengers would then have ample
time to be rescued since the builders of the ship believed that in the worst
scenario, the Titanic would probably take two to three days to be completely
submerged.
That fateful night, the temperature was close to zero degree Celsius. Two
lookouts stationed at a high point on the ship were freezing but they had to be
alert to watch for any signs of danger that the giant ship might face. In that
temperature, icebergs-huge mountains of ice floating in the sea -- were a
constant threat. It was already close to midnight, so the darkness that
surrounded them greatly impeded their field of vision. Even if they perceived
any dangerous icebergs, it might be too late to avert a disaster. The moonless
sky only worsened the situation.
Then the worst happened. One of the lookouts spotted a huge iceberg right in
the path of the Titanic. He immediately rang the alarm. The captain of the ship
reacted just as promptly and ordered the Titanic
to change her direction. For a few moments, it seemed as if a disaster had been
avoided as the Titanic glided past the iceberg. Then suddenly, the ship hit the
ice. As a result of the huge size of the ship, the passengers did not feel much
of the impact, but the damage was done. The first six compartments of the ship
were flooded and immediately sealed off. However, the six compartments were
located at the front of the ship. The additional weight caused it to tilt
forward. Consequently, sea water entered the ship again. The front of the ship
became so heavy that the propellers, located at the end of the ship, were lifted
out of the water.
The captain realized that all the passengers would have to be evacuated. Yet,
all the lifeboats combined could only save less than half the passengers on the
ship.
At 2.20 a.m., the Titanic vanished below the sea. Along with her went more
than 1500 people, including the captain, the designer of the ship and many
famous people. In just about three hours, the Titanic ironically went from being
an unsinkable ship to a ship that lay at the bottom of the ocean. |
