Titanic

 

 

The story of the Titanic stems from the late 1800's and early 1900's when there was a lucrative trade in the transatlantic route. Many people were lured by the thought of a new life in the America's and many rich people had to have a trip out west on their agenda.

The two companys plying their trade were Cunard, with the Lusitania and Mauretania, and White Star with the Olympic.

The idea of this superliner was conceived in 1907. The meeting was at Dowshire House in Belgravia, the London residence of Lord and Lady Pirrie and Bruce Ismay the managing director of White Star. Lord James Pirrie was a director of both White Star and Harland and Wolff. No expense was to be spared on the vessel so that it would surpass any other ship afloat with its sheer luxury and opulence.

 

Cunard's Lusitania had just set a time of 4 days 19 hours and 52 minutes for the crossing from Queenstown to Sandy Hook and gaining the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing.

The project was funded by American J. P. Morgan and his International Mercantile Marine Co. (the owners of White Star from 1902 to 1927).

 

The main designers were to be Lord Pirrie, Thomas Andrews a naval architect (nephew of Pirrie) and Alexander Carlisle chief draughtsman and general manager. The vessel was originally three funnelled but changed to a four-funnelled ocean liner to carry passengers and mail between Southampton and New York. When finished she was to be the largest and fastest ship afloat. To gain the Blue Riband for White Star and a bigger portion of the trade to America was their objective.

 

Just quick note about Harland & Wolff. Edward James Harland (1831-1895), who in 1858 was general manager, bought the company on Queens Island from Robert Hickson. Gustav Wilhelm Wolff (1834-1913) came to the UK at the age of 14 from Hamburg. Shortly after the takeover Harland made Wolff his assistant a partner in the company. Wolff was the nephew of Gustavus Schwabe, a financier from his hometown of Hamburg and an investor in Bibby Line so their first three ships were for that line. Harland made a success of the business through several innovations, notably replacing the wooden upper decks with iron ones, which increased the strength of the ships; and giving the hulls a flatter bottom and squarer section, which increased their capacity.

 

The keel number 400 was laid on 16 December 1908 on the new number 2 slipway, to be The Olympic. She was the first of the three Olympic class vessels built for the White Star Line. Her keel was completed late in 1908 and was the largest keel ever laid at that time. Over half a million rivets weighing 270 tons were used in bottom section alone, out of a total of three million. Because of the size of the vessel a gantry 220 feet high had to be built at the yard. The pier at New York was also too small to accommodate the new vessel. So the New York Harbour Board would have to grant permission to White Star to extend its pier to receive the vessel. It would take a further twenty years before welding would be used in ship construction. With fifteen watertight bulkheads she was reputed as being unsinkable. These could be shut from the bridge. With eight decks only one bulkhead extended to F deck, eight extended to E deck and six as far as D. It was meant to stay afloat with any two of the sixteen compartments were flooded. On 20 October 1910 at 12-13pm she slipped slowly into the river Lagan, she was commissioned on 14 June 1911. Her maiden voyage was on June 14, 1911, but on 20 September of that year, she collided with the naval cruiser HMS Hawke in Southampton, leading to her return to Harland and Wolff for repair. Occupying the next dock at the Titanic.

 

She lost a propeller blade and was holed in her side. The liner spent many months in dry dock thus losing their trade to New York.

 

With costs mounting the owners took the Navy to court all the way to the House of Lords for damages, but finally lost.

During the First World War the ship served as a troop transport ship. On 12 May 1918 she rammed and sunk the German submarine U-103 and underwent more repairs. Once back in commercial service in 1920 she escorted two seized German ships across the Atlantic, the Majestic and the Nomaric. In 1934 yet another collision this time with the Nantucket Lightship operated by the United States Lighthouse Service. When White Star and Cunard merged in 1934,the Olympic was taken out of service and scrapped in 1937.

After the sinking of the Titanic, Olympic underwent a number of refinements to improve her safety. She then resumed her commercial service leaving Belfast on 7th March 1912. Arriving at Southampton on the 8th.

The Titanic keel number 401 was laid down on a specially built number three slipway on 31 March 1909.

 

When Alexander Carlisle designed the Titanic the Board of Trade regulations concerning lifeboats was that on vessels over 10,000 tons should carry 16 lifeboats with a capacity of 5,500 cubic feet, plus liferafts or flotation devices of, 75% of the lifeboats. The Board of Trade was the regulating body that was employed to oversee nautical safety. Sir Alfred Chambers headed the board.

Alexander Carlisle asked the Welin Devit & Engineering co. ltd. to design and build a new and larger set of devits capable of lowering 4 lifeboats into the water. 16 sets of devits and 64 wood construction lifeboats were originally ordered. This would have allowed a capacity of 4,000 lifeboat places much more than the 3,600 passenger and crew that sailed on the voyage. Later White Star complied with the existing regulations and only fitted what the Board of Trade's regulations. She carried 20 lifeboats comprising of 2 cutter lifeboats capable of holding 80 persons, 14 wooden construction lifeboats capable of holding 910 people and 4 Englehardt collapsible lifeboats capable of supporting 188 persons. Thus the total capacity was only 1178 persons approximately one third of the passengers and crew.

It is possible that the board of White Star knew of impending changes that the Board of Trade were to make, so the plans for the Titanic were drawn up to comply with the new regulations.

At the inquiry after the sinking of the vessel Alexander Carlisle stated that the question of lifeboats had been discussed, but Bruce Ismay said that he had no recollection of any such conversation. Harold Sanderson, the vice-president of International Mercantile Marine and a previous general manager of White Star, also denied that this was their intention after Alex Welin, the devit desigers, stated 10 days before the voyage that the owners were aware of the possible new regulations.

 

As soon as the loss of the Titanic became clear senator William Alden Smith was appointed as chairman of an inquiry into the loss. He subpoenaed all the British citizens before they could return to the UK. He wanted to gather as much information as possible while the disaster was fresh in their memory. The inquiry started on 19th April and was completed on 15th May. The British inquiry was chaired by Lord Mersey representing the Board of Trade ran between 2nd May and 3rd June.

Because of the findings of the inquiry's stricter