History of Titanic Ship

Titanic - the name itself brings forth the picture of a huge ship that met with a catastrophic end on the fateful night of April 14, 1912. It was one of the greatest ships built in the twentieth century. Here's an account of the history of Titanic.


Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable, but some things are beyond the reach of human intelligence and nothing can be predicted. This was the ship's first voyage. Thousands of enthusiastic passengers were all set to enjoy the long journey. The ship was considered to be strong enough and was built on the latest technology available then. It was also equipped with emergency facilities. People from different countries like Iran, France and Italy were on board.

The Captain of the ship was Edward John Smith. The ship began its voyage from Southampton, England passing through the Atlantic Ocean on its way to New York. Captain Smith was quite an experienced person and had traveled the North Atlantic for 26 years. There were very few skillful captains like him who had the knowledge of traveling in cold waters and he was also among those few who knew exactly where to look for, when it came to icebergs.

The journey was planned to commence in March 1912, but the construction could not be completed within that time. Also fuel (coal) was not easily available because of a coal strike. More than the required quantity was then collected from other ships, in order to ensure that the lack of fuel supply should not be a reason for not completing the journey. This fuel later added agony to the disaster.

The Life of RMS Titanic

»

 Before the Disaster

This ship was registered in Liverpool. The ship began her maiden voyage from Southampton. It was a cool Wednesday morning of spring. Many of the passengers from other ships were transferred to Titanic. The first halt she took was at Cherbourg, France. To attract the passersby from this part, Titanic was anchored a mile away from the shore. The ship then headed for its next halt, and by afternoon the ship had reached Queenstown, Ireland. It was the April 11, 1912. Father Francis Browne, the most respected Jesuit priest who was on board got off. He mustn't have thought that the photographs taken by him would turn out to be tearful and rare memories of a beautiful voyage.

»

 Interior Decoration

Though the ship was far in the midst of the ocean, it was well-equipped with all kinds of luxuries. There was nothing left behind to make the passengers enjoy a lavishing lifestyle. Many sources of entertainment were available. The ship had electricity supply and was equipped with four 400-kilowatt electrical generators. Every room was equipped with electric lamps and heaters. Many passengers were experiencing such glamorous, high-class facilities for the first time. All kinds of food and drinks were available on the deck. There were many indoor games and gymnasiums present. Lifts were there for moving from one place to another. There were huge food storage rooms with refrigeration facilities. There were fans to take care of ventilation. Communication wasn't a matter of worry; telephones were provided. The radios of this ship had a range of four hundred miles during the daytime. Some of the recordings of radio operators were recorded just before the ship sank.

»

 On the Day of the Tragedy

On April 14, 1912, the Captain of the ship realized that he had failed to identify a huge iceberg. The ship was moving at full speed of about 22 knots on a moonless night. Captain Smith tried his level best to turn the ship to avoid hitting the iceberg. He would have succeeded, but the speed with which it was propelling turned his efforts in vain. While half of the ship overcame the iceberg, the other half unfortunately crashed against the rock-solid iceberg. The first few cubicles which were watertight were struck badly and water started filling in the ship. Slowly, the ship's bow began to go downwards and the stern started raising. Soon the captain announced that there was a crash that had taken place. Most of the passengers refused to get down into safety boats since they believed that the ship was unsinkable. The ratio of the number of boats compared to the number of passengers was very less.

Titanic had 2228 people on board.

• First class: 337
• Second class: 285
• Third class: 721
• Crew members: 885

Only 20 boats that could accommodate just half of the 2200 passengers were available. The tragic part was that even these boats could not be utilized properly. Soon the ship caught fire. The additional fuel which was taken as a measure of precaution added to the fire resulting in a catastrophic end. Titanic sank at 2:20 a.m. in the early morning of April 15. Only 705 people survived. As per bandmaster Wally Hartley's directions, the band played hymns up to the last few minutes before the ship went under.

Even after 100 years of its sinking, the world remembers Titanic. Life is unpredictable. Any moment death can take it away. Accidents like these underline this bitter truth of living. Our prayers go out for the thousands who lost their lives during the tragic incident. May their souls rest in peace.