The rescue with some Controversy
On the morning of the 14th April 1912 the main Captain Edward J. Smith cancels a lifeboat drill for unknown reasons. At 6 PM the Titanic’s course was changed by Captain Edward J. Smith after receiving Iceberg Warnings throughout the day without the speed being lowered and at 9:40 PM ‘The Mesaba’ sends a warning that a field of Ice is coming up. What was said is repeated ‘Heavy Pack Ice and (a) Great number (of) Large Icebergs’ to the wire operator Jack Philips – for the Marconi Company – but he never forwarded the message to the Titanic’s bridge. At 10 PM the shift change relieved 2nd Officer Charles Lightholler and gave the reins of watchman to 1st Officer William Murdoch. However, during this particular night – the binoculars were displaced and the night was calm making it even harder to see an Iceberg. At 11:30PM almost every single passenger resided to the room and 35 minutes later the Californian radio operator turns off the radio. The fleet of the Titanic then sees an Iceberg and rings the bell 3 times to signal that an Iceberg is in their path. 5 minutes later the damage was done. At 12:15 a distress signal was fired out and after a while Frankfurt was the first to respond. Once the ship had sank it was discovered that not all of the very limited supply of lifeboats were lowered, and on top of that, some of the lifeboats were not even half full once lowered.
’Untergang der Titanic (Sinking of the Titanic)’ is the name of this drawing. Drew by German artist Willy Stower. He was born in Wolgast during the German Empire and died in the Weimar Republic. The picture was drew the same year the Titanic Sank in 1912
A Conspiracy Theory – An Insurance Scam?
The Titanic has had a lot of weird Conspiracy theories, some make you think and some are just absurd. I’m not going to say whether this is true or not, in fact I don’t have the power to decide if this is true or not, I’m just going to tell the reader these theories – I personally do not agree with the following theories.
Is the Titanic the Olympic and was the ship that actually sank the Olympic? In a post from social.shorthand it discusses a Topic which Conspiracy theorists have put out. People have thought that the ship that actually sank was the Olympic – The Titanic’s sister ship – as part of an Insurance Scam. The Olympic and the Titanic were nearly Identical and based on the same design so it would be easy just to wipe off the paint and repaint it. The basis of the argument is that on the 20th September 1911 the RMS Olympic Collided with the HMS Hawke near to the Isle Of Wight, this caused big problems for the White Star Line. This meant that the maiden voyage of the Famous, Glamorous and Beautiful had to be changed for the 20th of March to the 10th April because they had to repair the Olympic. The White Star line could not afford this as they had to pay bills on top of repairing the Olympic, because of this they allegedly created a plan. The plan was to switch the Olympic with her Sister – only 4 people would know. The People in charge (Bruce Ismay, Lord Pirrie, Thomas Andrews and J.P Morgan). According to a work Paddy Fenton or otherwise known as Paddy the Pig told his acquaintance the in fact the two ships were switched.
An advertisement of the Olympic and Titanic from the White Star Line. As you can see it looks like the exact same ship which some take as evidence that the Olympic was changed with the Titanic
What Problems befall it Under the Ocean?
Under the Water the bacteria has slowly been eating the steel for 109 years and scientists say it won’t last another 70 – you might think that the obvious answer is to just lift the ship up, however you can’t do this. This is because it is too fragile and once it hits the surface it would just collapse and even if you do get it up where would you put it? The Titanic is very big and who would own it. Since the White Star Line Collaborated with Cunard – would cunard own it and that would certainly stir up some problems. It’s also an Underwater Grave with over 1,500 bodies down there; it would be insensitive to just disturb the peace of it. Other Ships Like the ‘Edmund Fitzgerald’ and are off limits to people. Another example of this is the ‘Wilhelm Gustloff’ which was carrying many civilians during WWII which sank. Another limit is that some of the ship is buried, for example the Bow & Stern Section of the ship is buried and risking getting it up would only mean tearing it and getting only a piece.
| The Bow of the Titanic buried in the Sea | Human remains sitting on the sea bed next to the Titanic – you can see some pairs of shoes and toilet bowl |
Conclusion
Since her sinking the Titanic has been peacefully sitting on the sea bed – contrary to the chaos of when it was going under. Her tranquil sleep has been going on for over 100 years and is bound not to go on for another. Scientists have estimated that it can only withstand another 70 years under the sea (as of 2021). It’s a hard truth that scientists and marine divers have to realise that they have very limited time to discover as much about the actual ship as we can. This Topic has been very fun to dive through and engage in, you almost feel the cold water up against your Knees when you read about the sinking, you get a twisting pain in your gut when you read about the sinking, you feel desperation when the men and the rest of their families were torn apart. The heartbreaking story makes you feel like you were a part going through all the twists and turns.
Children's Chronicles 