Did the Titanic sink? The crash of the Titanic: history

It has been more than 100 years since the terrible catastrophe of one of the largest aircraft of its time. But until now the world does not know all the secrets that hides the huge, and seemingly indestructible "Titanic". As the ship sank, will tell the material.

The struggle of the giants

The twentieth century was the century of technological progress. Skyscrapers, cars, movies - everything developed with supernatural speed. The process also affected the ships.

On the market in the early 1900's there was a lot of competition because of the customers between the two large companies. "Cunard Line" and "White Star Line" - two hostile transatlantic carriers, for several years already competed for the right of the leader in their field. New time has opened up interesting opportunities for companies, so over the years their ships grew bigger, faster and more magnificent.

The reason why and how the "Titanic" sank was still a mystery. There are many versions. The bravest of them is a scam. It was conducted by the above-named Star Line company.

But he discovered the world of amazing liners "Cunard Line". By their order, two unusual steamships, Mauritania and Lusitania, were built. The audience was amazed at their greatness. Length of about 240 m, width 25 m, height from the waterline to the boat deck of 18 m. (But in a few years the dimensions of the Titanic exceeded these parameters). Two twin giants were launched in 1906 and in 1907. They won first place in prestigious competitions and beat all speed records.

For competitors, "Cunard Line" has become a matter of honor to give a worthy response.

Fate of the Three

"White Star Line" was founded in 1845. In the years of gold rush earned by the fact that she flew from Britain to Australia. Throughout the years, the company competed with the "Cunard Line". Therefore, after the "Lusitania" and "Mauritania" were launched into the water, the Star Line engineers were tasked with creating fantastic projects that would surpass the offspring of competitors. The final decision was made in 1909. So the idea of three ships of the "Olympic" class arose. The order was carried out by Harland and Wolf.

This maritime organization was famous for the whole world by the quality of ships produced, comfort and luxury. Speed in priority was not. Several times the Star Line proved not by word, but by deed, that it takes care of the customers. So, in 1909, when two liners collided, their ship stood on the water for two more days than proved its quality. Nevertheless, the three "Olympic" suffered a misfortune. The first vessel repeatedly got into an accident. So, in 1911 it collided with the cruiser "Hawk", from which it received a 14-meter hole and went into repair. The misfortune and "Titanic" suffered. At the bottom of the ocean, he was in 1912. "Britannic" found the First World War, where he played the role of the hospital, and in 1916 blew up on a German mine.

Miracle of the Seas

Now we can safely say that big ambitions became the reason for the collapse of the Titanic.

Construction of the second of the three ships of the "Olympic" class was not without sacrifices. 1500 people worked on the project. Conditions were not simple. About safety cared little. Due to the fact that it was necessary to work at height, a lot of builders broke down. About 250 people were seriously injured. The wounds of eight men were incompatible with life.

The size of the Titanic was amazing. Its length was 269 m, width 28 m, height 18 m. It could develop speed up to 23 knots.

On the day the ship was launched, 10,000 spectators gathered on the embankment, among which were VIP guests and the press to see an unusually large vessel,

Further internal work continued on the ship itself.

Previously, the date of the first flight was announced. The voyage was scheduled for March 20, 1912. But because of the collision of the first ship in September 1911 with the cruiser "Hawk" part of the workers were transferred to the "Olympic". Automatically the flight was moved to April 10. It is from this date that the fateful history of the Titanic begins.

Fatal Ticket

Its height was equated with an eleven-storey house, and the length was four quarters of the city. Phones, elevators, own electric grid, garden, hospital, shops - all this was placed on the ship. Luxurious rooms, exquisite restaurants, a library, a swimming pool and a gymnasium - everything was available to high society, first class passengers. Other clients lived more modestly. The most expensive tickets cost, with conversion to today's rate, more than $ 50,000. Economical variant from 100 dollars.

The history of the Titanic is the history of different layers of the society of that time. Expensive cabins were occupied by successful, famous personalities. Tickets in the second class were bought by engineers, journalists, representatives of the clergy. The cheapest decks were for immigrants.

Landing began at 9:30 am on April 10 in London. After several planned stops, the liner headed for New York. A total of 2208 people boarded the board.

Tragic meeting

Immediately after entering the ocean, the team realized that there were no binoculars on the ship. The key to the box in which they were held was missing. The vessel followed the safest route. He was chosen depending on the season. In the spring the water was full of icebergs, but theoretically they could not seriously damage the liner. Nevertheless, the captain gave the order to drive on all pairs of "Titanic". As the ship sank, which, according to the owners, it was impossible to sink, later told passengers who were lucky enough to survive.

The first days of the voyage were quiet. But on April 14, the radio operators received repeated warnings about icebergs, which were largely ignored. In addition, the temperature dropped significantly by night. As you know, the team dispensed with binoculars, and such a grand ship was not equipped with searchlights. Therefore, a forward looking man noticed an iceberg only 650 meters from himself. The man signaled to the bridge, where the first assistant Murdoch gave the order: "Turn left" and "Back up". Then followed the command: "Right". But the hulking vessel was slow in maneuvers. The board collided with an iceberg. That is why the Titanic crashed.

Unexpected distress signal

The collision happened at 23:40, when people were almost all asleep. On the upper deck, the blow was invisible. But the bottom shook fairly. Ice pierced 5 sections, they instantly began to fill with water. In general, the length of the hole was 90 meters. Designer Thomas Andrews said that with such damage the ship will last a little more than an hour. The crew was preparing for an urgent evacuation. The radios transmitted the SOS signal.

The captain gave the order to put women and children in the boats. The team itself also wanted to survive, so the strong sailors took the oars in their hands. First of all, the wealthy passengers of the Titanic were saved. But there was not enough room for everyone.

From the very beginning, the liner was not sufficiently manned with everything necessary. Maximum, could save 1100 people. In the first few minutes it was completely insensible that the ship began to sink, so the relaxed passengers did not understand what was happening, and reluctantly climbed into half-empty boats.

The last moments of the miracle ship

When the liner's nose leaned heavily, there was a massive panic among the passengers.

The third class was closed in its part. The riots began, and the people tried in horror to save themselves, as best they could. The guards tried to restore order and frightened the crowd with shots from the pistols.

At that time the steamer "Californian" was passing by, but he did not receive a signal for help from a nearby vessel. Their radio operator overslept the messages. As the Titanic was drowning, and at what speed it was going to the bottom, only Carpathia knew, which, with the maximum speed, headed towards them.

Despite the distress signals being given, independent attempts to escape did not cease. The pumps pumped out the water, and there was electricity. At 2:15 the pipe fell. Then the light went out. Experts believe that the liner ruptured in half, because the bow part has collected water and descended. The stern first went up, and then under pressure of its own weight the ship broke down.

Cold in the abyss

The nose sank quickly. Forage for a few minutes also went under the water. But at the same time its shell, body, furniture surfaced upstairs. At 2:20 the great ship "Titanic" was completely under water. As the ship sank, dozens of art and documentary films are shown today.

Some passengers tried hard to survive. Dozens of people jumped in their waistcoats in a black abyss. But to the man the ocean was ruthless. Almost everyone froze to death. After a while, two boats returned, but there were only a few alive at the scene of the incident. An hour later, the "Carpathia" arrived and picked up those who remained.

Together with the ship, the captain went to the bottom. 712 people out of all who bought a ticket to the Titanic were rescued. Those who died in 1496 were mainly representatives of the third class, people who on this journey wanted to touch something unrealizable and desired.

Scam of the century

Two ships of the "Olympic" class were built on one project. After the first ship went into voyage, all its shortcomings came out. Thus, the management decided to add some details to the Titanic. Decreased the place for walking, completed the cabins. A cafe was added to the restaurant. To protect passengers from bad weather, the deck was closed. As a result, there was an external difference, although it could not be distinguished from the Olympic liner before.

The version of the fact that the "Titanic" under water was not accidental, announced Robin Rardiner, as in shipping matters. According to his theory, the senior and battered "Olympic" was sent to sail.

Substitution of a ship

The first liner was launched without insurance. Having survived several accidents, it became an unpleasant burden for the company. Constant repairs required colossal funds. After the damage caused to him by the cruise, the vessel was again sent on vacation. Then it was decided to replace the old ship with a new one that was insured and very similar to the Titanic. As the ship sank, it is known, but very few people know that after the tragedy the company "White Star Line" received a round compensation.

It was not difficult to arrange a catastrophe. Both ships were in one place. "Olympique" made a cosmetic repair, rebuilt the deck and pasted a new name. The hole was patched with cheap steel, which weakens in icy water.

Confirmation of the theory

An important proof of the veracity of the version is undeniable facts. For example, the fact that world tycoons and successful, rich people abruptly and unreasonably abandoned the long-awaited journey the day before. Among them was the owner of the company John Pierpont Morgan. Only 55 first class customers canceled tickets. Also from the liner were removed all the expensive paintings, jewelry, gold reserves and treasures. The thought arises that the privileged passengers of the Titanic knew some secret.

It is interesting that the captain appointed Edward John Smith, who still went to the "Olympic". Repeatedly he noted that this is his last voyage in life. The surrounding people took the words literally, as the sailor was going to retire. The researchers believe that this was a punishment for the commander for past mistakes on the previous ship.

Many questions arise because of the first assistant to Captain William Murdoch, who ordered to turn left and turn the reverse. The right decision in this situation would be to go straight and muzzle your nose. In this case, the Titanic would not be at the bottom.

Curse of the Mummy

For years, there have been stories about the fact that on board were innumerable treasures. Among them is the mummy of the visionary Pharaoh Amenhotep. 3,000 years ago, a woman predicted that her body would fall under the water and this would happen to the screams of innocently lost people. But skeptics do not consider the prophecy to be true, although they do not exclude the fact that the secrets of the Titanic are not yet open.

There is also such version: the catastrophe was planned to suspend the technical development of society. But this theory is even less believable than the myth of the mummy.

The ruins lie at a depth of 3750 meters. To the liner dozens of grandiose dives were carried out. In the group of researchers, James Cameron, the film director of the famous film, was also on several occasions.

A century has passed, and the secrets of the "Titanic" are still of interest and excite humanity.