Research Paper On The Titanic

“I thought it would be a safe steamship,” said Margaret Devaney, a passenger on the famous Royal Mail Ship known as the Titanic (The Titanic). Now most know the fate of the British passenger liner. On April 14, 1912, upon its maiden voyage, what was thought to be ‘unsinkable’ collided with an iceberg and sank into the Atlantic Ocean (The Crew of the RMS Titanic). It was a tragedy that could not be seen until it was too late. However, the RMS Titanic was a record-breaking goliath of her age. If she was thought to be ‘unsinkable’, why did it sink? There are many facts and myths that contribute to its untimely demise ranging from a cursed sarcophagus to a faulty ship. However, unlike what most believe, the iceberg was not the only reason the

Being a record-breaking passenger liner towering 175 feet and stretching 882 feet and 9 inches, it is surprising that mistakes were made so far ahead of the crash (TitanicFacts.net Quick Reference). So far that even the manufacturing of the Titanic had flaws. During the assembly of the of the ship, different manufacturing errors were made. Specifically, the rivets used on the Titanic were inadequately made. Although there was a proper amount of rivets on the ship, the material was a low-grade iron that would fail in the event of a collision (NBC News, “How could the sinking...”). This is a reason the ship fell apart so easily when it collided with the iceberg. In an attempt to cut costs, the manufacturers used lower grade material and different methods of construction (NBC News). This is evident in the construction of a double-bottom instead of a much-needed double-hull. It left more important parts of the ship weaker while the bottom was more fortified (“How could the sinking...”). Then, there was the ordeal of the watertight compartments. Thomas Andrews, the architect of the Titanic, made these watertight compartments at a lower height than regulation to have more living space in the first class section (The Titanic -Why Did the Titanic Sink). However, the record breaking ship was assembled, putting it one step closer to its

One would think that the crew would intervene upon the sight of the iceberg, but that is not the case. Documentation has shown that multiple members made significant mistakes that further contributed to the collision. A few of these mistakes were made by Captain Edward John Smith, who was one trip away from retiring. Due to this impending relief, Smith ignored a total of seven iceberg warnings from his own crew and other ships. Without these things in his mind, Captain Smith sailed full steam into a field of icebergs. Although, he was not the only crew member at fault for the crash. A peculiar occurrence was the bout of David Blair, a booted officer days before the Titanic’s departure. However, in his hastiness, Blair took with him the keys to the crow’s nest locker that held the binoculars. These would have been crucial in spotting the oncoming iceberg, but fate did not bid the Titanic well. Even if one had spotted the fateful chunk of glacier, a bad decision still would have been made by First Officer William Murdoch. In the heat of the moment, Murdoch ordered the ship to be put into “Full Astern”, which is close to reverse (The Titanic -Why Did the Titanic Sink). If each of these crew members along with countless others, made more proper choices, maybe the collision would have been avoided. But as we all know, that was not the fate of the RMS