Mystical legends around the sinking of the Titanic. A century later: six unofficial versions of the death of the Titanic

The ship sank in 2 hours 40 minutes. At the time of the disaster, there were 1,316 passengers and 891 crew members on board, for a total of 2,207 people. Of these, 705 people were saved, 1,502 died. The sinking of the Titanic caused widespread public outcry, becoming the largest maritime disaster of its time in terms of the number of victims. Currently, it is one of the five largest peacetime maritime disaster victims of all time.

April 14, 1912

23:00 The Californian warns of the presence of ice, but the Titanic's radio operator Jack Phillips interrupts radio communication before the Californian can report the coordinates of the area.

23:39 From the crow's nest on the Titanic's mast, lookout Frederick Fleet notices an iceberg just ¼ mile (663 meters) ahead of the ship. Flit immediately rings the bell three times and shouts into the phone: “The iceberg is straight ahead!” First Officer William Murdoch immediately gives the commands “Right to board!” (in the original “Hard a” starboard” - according to the command system used at that time, it corresponded to moving the tiller to the right; the rudder and therefore the bow of the ship turned to the left) and “Stop!”, and then “Full back!”, counting go around the iceberg on the left.

The Titanic does not have time to complete the maneuver and crashes into the underwater part of the iceberg with a glancing blow. At a depth of one to six meters below the waterline, the iceberg damages the hull of the liner for about 90 meters. As studies of the remains of the ship resting at the bottom have shown, the Titanic received several narrow but long holes.

The hull of the Titanic stood at an angle of 19 degrees and sank into the water up to the third chimney. The second chimney broke off underwater. Everyone who did not manage to catch on to the davit ropes or deck superstructures rolled into the water, knocked down by the chairs and sun loungers that flew down. Some did not try to climb back to the stern, but jumped down themselves.

The stern of the Titanic already rose 60 meters above the water, and passengers fell from the decks into the water.

The last SOS signal from the Titanic was recorded. On the Titanic, electrical equipment fails and the lights go out.

At an angle of 23 degrees, the ship's hull began to break between the second and third pipes. After the stern finally broke off, the third and fourth pipes fell into the water.

2 hours and 40 minutes after the collision with the iceberg, the stern of the Titanic stood almost vertically (at an angle of 70 degrees), tilted to the left side and began to quickly go under water. The last of those remaining on deck, seeing that there was no chance of salvation, jumped down themselves. Ocean waters broke through into the quickly sinking ship, breaking doors and bulkheads with their pressure. Just half a minute later, the water had already closed over the Titanic’s stern flagpole.

Victims of the collapsible lifeboat "D"

At a speed of about 13 miles per hour, the bow of the Titanic crashes into the ocean floor at a depth of 3,750 meters, burrowing into the sedimentary rocks of the bottom [ unreputable source?] .

The stern of the Titanic sinks to the ocean floor, rotating in a spiral, at a speed of about 4 miles per hour.

After the sinking of the Titanic, only one lifeboat returned to the sinking site to rescue survivors. Lifeboat 4 did not return, but was close and picked up 8 crew members, two of whom later died. Lifeboat 14 rescued 4 people, one of whom, William Haught, later died.

“Carpathia” gets to the scene of the disaster and picks up boat number 2.

Notes

Literature

• Captain L. Marmaduke Collins. THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC. An Ice-Pilot's Perspective. - Breakwater Books, Limited, 2002. - 198 p. - ISBN 1-55081-173-8 Text for reference
• Jay Henry Mowbray. The Sinking of the Titanic: Eyewitness Accounts. - Dover Pubns, 1998. - ISBN 0-486-40298-3 Text for reference
• Robert Gannon. What Really Sank the Titanic? - Popular Science, vol. 246, no. 2 (February 1995). - P. 49-55, 83-84.(One of the chronology options)

Links

More than 100 years have passed since the terrible disaster of one of the largest liners of its time. But the world still does not know all the secrets that the huge and seemingly indestructible Titanic hides. The material will tell you how the ship sank.

Fight of giants

The 20th century was a century of technological progress. Skyscrapers, cars, cinema - everything developed at supernatural speed. The process also affected ships.

In the market in the early 1900s, there was a lot of competition for customers between two large companies. Cunard Line and White Star Line, two hostile transatlantic carriers, have been competing for the right to be the leader in their field for several years in a row. opened up interesting opportunities for companies, so over the years their ships became bigger, faster and more luxurious.

Why and how the Titanic sank still remains a mystery. There are many versions. The boldest of them is a scam. It was carried out by the above-mentioned Star Line company.

But he discovered the world of amazing Cunard Line liners. By their order, two extraordinary steamships “Mauritania” and “Lusitania” were built. The public was amazed by their greatness. The length is about 240 m, the width is 25 m, the height from the waterline to the boat deck is 18 m. (But after a few years, the dimensions of the Titanic exceeded these parameters). The two giant twins were launched in 1906 and 1907. They won first places in prestigious competitions and broke all speed records.

For Cunard Line's competitors, it became a matter of honor to give a worthy answer.

The fate of the troika

The White Star Line was founded in 1845. During the gold rush, she made money by flying from Britain to Australia. Throughout the years, the company competed with Cunard Line. Therefore, after the Lusitania and Mauretania were launched, Star Line engineers were tasked with creating fantastic designs that would outperform their competitors. Final decision was adopted in 1909. This is how the idea of ​​three Olympic-class ships arose. The order was carried out by Harland and Wolfe.

This maritime organization was famous throughout the world for the quality of its ships, comfort and luxury. Speed ​​was not a priority. Several times Star Line has proven, not in word, but in deed, that it cares about its customers. So, in 1909, when two liners collided, their ship remained on the water for another two days, which proved its quality. However, misfortune befell the Olympic trio. repeatedly got into accidents. So, in 1911, it collided with the cruiser Hawk, from which it received a 14-meter hole and was repaired. Misfortune also befell the Titanic. He ended up at the bottom of the ocean in 1912. "Britanic" found the First world war, where he served as a hospital, and in 1916 he was blown up by a German mine.

Miracle of the Seas

Now we can safely say that great ambitions were the reason why the Titanic sank.

The construction of the second of three Olympic-class vessels was not without casualties. 1,500 people worked on the project. The conditions were difficult. There was little concern for safety. Due to the fact that they had to work at heights, many builders lost their tempers. About 250 people were seriously injured. The wounds of eight men were non-life-threatening.

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

On the day the liner was launched, 10,000 spectators, including VIP guests and the press, gathered on the embankment to see the unusually large ship,

The date of the first flight was tentatively announced. The voyage was scheduled for March 20, 1912. But due to the collision of the first ship in September 1911 with the cruiser Hawk, some of the workers were transferred to the Olympic. The flight was automatically rescheduled to April 10. It is from this date that the fateful history of the Titanic begins.

Fatal ticket

Its height was equivalent to an eleven-story building, and its length was four city blocks. Telephones, elevators, its own electrical grid, garden, hospital, shops - all this was placed on the ship. Luxurious halls, gourmet restaurants, a library, a swimming pool and a gym - everything was available high society, first class passengers. Other clients lived more modestly. The most expensive tickets cost, in today's exchange rates, more than $50,000. Economical option from

The story of the Titanic is history different layers the society of that time. Expensive cabins were occupied by successful ones, famous personalities. Tickets for second class were purchased by engineers, journalists, and representatives of the clergy. The cheapest decks were for emigrants.

Boarding began at 9:30 a.m. on April 10 in London. After several scheduled stops, the liner headed for New York. A total of 2,208 people boarded.

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 kept was missing. The ship followed the safest route. It 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 the Titanic at full speed. How the ship sank, which, according to the owners, could not be sunk, was later told by passengers who were lucky enough to survive.

The first days of the voyage were quiet. But already on April 14, radio operators received repeated warnings about icebergs, which they largely ignored. In addition, by nightfall the temperature had dropped significantly. As you know, the team did without binoculars, and such a grand ship was not equipped with searchlights. Therefore, the lookout noticed the iceberg only 650 meters away. The man signaled to the bridge, where First Officer Murdock gave the order: “Turn left” and “Start reverse.” This was followed by the command: “To the right.” But the clumsy ship was slow to maneuver. The board collided with an iceberg. This is why the Titanic sank.

An unheard distress signal

The collision happened at 23:40, when almost all of the people were already asleep. On the upper deck the impact was unnoticeable. But the bottom was pretty shaken. The ice made holes in 5 sections, they instantly began to fill with water. In total, the length of the hole was 90 meters. The designer said that with such damage the ship would last a little over an hour. The crew was preparing for an emergency evacuation. Radio operators transmitted an SOS signal.

The captain gave the order to put women and children into the boats. The team itself also wanted to survive, so strong sailors took up the oars. The rich passengers of the Titanic were the first to be saved. But there weren't enough places for everyone.

From the very beginning, the liner was not sufficiently equipped with everything necessary. At most, 1,100 people could have been saved. In the first minutes, it was completely imperceptible that the ship began to sink, so the relaxed passengers did not understand what was happening and reluctantly climbed into the half-empty boats.

The last moments of the miracle ship

When the nose of the liner tilted strongly, mass panic among passengers increased.

The third grade was left closed in its unit. Riots began, and people in horror tried to escape as best they could. The security tried to restore order and scared the crowd with pistol shots.

At that time, the steamer Californian was passing nearby, but it did not receive a signal for help from a neighboring ship. Their radio operator slept through the messages. How the Titanic sank, and at what speed it went to the bottom, only the Carpathia knew, which headed in their direction.

Despite the distress signals being sent, independent attempts to escape did not stop. Pumps pumped out water, and there was still electricity. At 2:15 a pipe fell. Then the light went out. Experts believe that the airliner was torn in half because the bow took on water and sank. The stern first rose upward, and then, under the pressure of its own weight, the ship broke apart.

Cold in the abyss

The nose sank quickly. The stern also went under water within a few minutes. But at the same time, its lining, body, and furniture floated to the top. At 2:20 a.m. the great ship Titanic was completely submerged. How the ship sank is shown today in dozens of feature films and documentaries.

Some passengers tried hard to survive. Dozens jumped in vests into the black abyss. But the ocean was merciless towards man. Almost everyone froze to death. After some time, two boats returned, but only a few remained alive at the scene. An hour later, Carpathia arrived and picked up those who remained.

The captain went down with the ship. Of all those who bought tickets for the Titanic, 712 people were saved. The dead 1496 were mainly representatives of the third class, people who on this journey wanted to touch something unrealistic and desirable.

Scam of the century

Two Olympic class vessels were built according to the same design. After the first ship set sail, all its shortcomings came out. So, the management decided to add some details to the Titanic. The space for walking has been reduced and cabins have been added. A cafe was added to the restaurant. To protect passengers from bad weather, the deck was closed. As a result, an external difference appeared, although previously it could not be distinguished from the Olympic liner.

The version that the Titanic ended up under water was not accidental was made public by Robin Rardiner, an ace in matters of shipping. According to his theory, the older and battered Olympic was sent sailing.

Ship swapping

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

It wasn't hard to create a disaster. Both ships were in the same place. The Olympic was given a facelift, the deck was rebuilt and a new name was added. 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 indisputable facts. For example, the fact that the world's tycoons and successful, rich people abruptly and for no reason abandoned their long-awaited trip the day before. Among them was the owner of the company, John Pierpont Morgan. A total of 55 first class customers had their tickets cancelled. Also, all expensive paintings, jewelry, gold reserves and treasures were removed from the liner. The idea arises that the privileged passengers of the Titanic knew some secret.

Interestingly, Edward John Smith, who was still sailing on the Olympic, was appointed captain. He repeatedly noted that this was his last flight in his life. Those around him took the words literally, since the sailor was about to retire. Researchers believe that this was a punishment to the commander for past mistakes on the previous ship.

Many questions also arise because of the first mate William Murdock, who ordered to turn left and engage reverse. The correct solution in such a situation would be to walk straight and squash your nose. In this case, the Titanic would not have ended up at the bottom.

Curse of the Mummy

For years there have been stories of untold treasures remaining on board. Among them is the mummy of the seer of Pharaoh Amenhotep. Even 3000 years ago, a woman predicted that her body would fall under water and this would happen amid innocent screams dead people. But skeptics do not consider the prophecy to be true, although they do not exclude the possibility that the secrets of the Titanic have not yet been discovered.

There is also this version: the disaster was planned in order to stop the technical progress. But this theory is even less plausible than the myth of the mummy.

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

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

Exactly ninety-seven years ago, on a cold night from the fourteenth to the fifteenth of April, the most famous maritime disaster in the history of mankind occurred in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The ship of the White Star Line, bearing the proud name "Titanic", died in the middle of its maiden voyage and took with it one thousand five hundred and four human lives, was doomed to become the most famous ship in the world.

Why did the most perfect ship of that era, a ship that was considered completely unsinkable, sank? For almost a hundred years, the active human mind has been constructing versions of the catastrophe; fortunately, there is no shortage of riddles here. I have been interested in this story since childhood - now I probably don’t even remember how it all began. Today I want to tell you about the most famous versions of the tragedy.

Version one. Conspiracy theory

"Olympic and Titanic: the largest ships in the world"

Few people know that the Titanic had a twin brother - the ship Olympic, an exact copy of it, also owned by the White Star Line. How is this possible, the reader may be surprised, since the Titanic was considered a unique ship, the largest ship of that era, and now it turns out that there was another ship that was not inferior in size to it? No, the Titanic was indeed longer than its twin. Two inches. Just imagine - the length of a matchbox! – but still longer. Another thing is that it was almost impossible to notice these inches with the naked eye (and, perhaps, with the armed eye too), so that an outsider, looking at the twins standing side by side, could not tell which one was which.

The Olympic was a year older than its brother (so it would be more correct to call the Titanic a copy), and not much luckier. Probably, one should have written something like “from the very beginning, an evil fate hovered over each of the ships,” but more on that a little later: of course, the greatest naval disaster could not help but be surrounded by mystical rumors. I'll talk about them later, but for now let's not get ahead of ourselves. Twins: Titanic (right) and Olympic

Well, rock, not rock, but the fate of the Olympic was indeed full of troubles. His career began when the ship crashed into a dam during launching. After that, small and large accidents rained down on him one after another, and the ship did not even seem to be insured. There are rumors that after a number of accidents, the owners would be happy to insure their ship, yes insurance companies refused to deal with the failed airliner. The most serious accident was a collision with the English war cruiser Hawk, which led the White Star Line to significant financial problems: expensive repairs were needed, and the company's financial situation was very sad. So the Olympic was placed in Belfast docks to await a decision on its future fate. And now - attention! Look at the photo on the left - this is almost the only photo in existence that shows the Titanic and Olympic standing side by side. It was made in Belfast. Final rigging of the Titanic
at the shipyard in Belfast

Why not assume, some researchers said, that the White Star Line decided to pull off a huge fraud. patch up on a quick fix the old "Olympic" and... pass it off as the new "Titanic"! Technically, this would not be at all difficult: swapping the plates with the names of the ships, and even interior items on which the monogram of the ships is applied - for example, cutlery (the Olympic and the Titanic had, of course, some design differences - well, yes who knows about them?). Then the Olympic, under the guise of the new, prestigious, widely advertised (and, of course, honorably insured) Titanic, will set off on a journey across the Atlantic, where it will collide (completely by accident, of course) with an iceberg (fortunately, there is a shortage of them at this time it hasn't been a year). Of course, no one was going to sink the liner - and no one believed that some iceberg was capable of sending the most reliable ship in the world to the bottom. It was planned to arrange a small collision, after which the ship would slowly reach New York, and its owners would receive a tidy insurance sum, which would come in handy for the company.

This version is supported by the strange behavior of the ship's captain, Edward Smith. Why so seasoned, experienced sea ​​wolf so careless about the safety of his ship? Why did he stubbornly ignore messages coming from other ships about drifting icebergs, and even himself, it seems, directed the liner along the course on which it would be easiest to find ice mountain? Why did he do this, if not to carry out the White Star plan? Personally, it seems to me that this was precisely for this purpose, but... the plan was completely different. But more on that later. Titanic's propeller. In this photo, however, you can’t see the numbers.

It turned out to be quite difficult to refute the conspiracy theory, especially since White Star went out of its way to save its reputation: it distorted information about the disaster in every possible way, bribed witnesses, and so on. Actually, convincing arguments were found only after the sunken liner itself was discovered (and this happened only seventy-three years later - the remains of the ship were discovered by Robert Ballard's expedition in September '85). So, the participants of one of the expeditions, descending to the lost ship, took photographs of the propeller, on which the minted serial number of the Titanic is clearly visible - 401 (its older brother had the number exactly 400). Proponents of the conspiracy theory claim, however, that the Olympic damaged its propeller after a collision with the cruiser Hawk, and White Star replaced it with a propeller from the then unfinished Titanic. But number 401 is also found on other parts of the sunken ship, so the charge of a planned disaster with the White Star Line can be dropped. The following theory looks much more plausible - we’ll talk about it now.

John Pierpont Morgan Did you know that...

One of the arguments in favor of the conspiracy theory was the fact that industrialist John Morgan, one of the owners of the Titanic, was supposed to sail on board his ship, but canceled his ticket a day before the ship left the port.

They also say (this is where the mysticism began) that the tycoon was dissuaded from going by Nikola Tesla, endowed with the gift of foresight, whose development was financed by Morgan.

Second version. Chasing the Blue Ribbon

It all started a long time ago, when regular maritime communications were established between England and America, and, therefore, competition between ship-owning companies began to flare up. The faster the ship crossed the Atlantic, the more popular it became. In 1840, the Cunard company invented a prize for ships that set a speed record: now the ship that crossed the Atlantic Ocean faster than all its predecessors received the Blue Riband of the Atlantic as an award.

Actually, there was no material prize. The winner did not receive cash prize, the captain was not given a commemorative cup, which can be placed in a prominent place in the wardroom. But the ship acquired something more - priceless prestige that could not be achieved by other means. In addition to honor in maritime circles (and, therefore, fame and popularity), the winner of the award received a contract for the transportation of mail (including diplomatic mail) between America and Europe, and this is a very profitable item in shipping. And in general - see for yourself: if you are a rich businessman, maybe even a millionaire, which ship would you prefer to travel on? Isn't it the most prestigious and fastest?

At the time of the Titanic's departure from Southampton, the Blue Riband was owned by the Mauritania, a ship owned by White Star's main competitor. Naturally, this could not be tolerated, and White Star decided to bet on its favorite. The Titanic's winning of the Blue Riband would be a triumph for the corporation, helping to improve its shaky position: the All Atlantic Ribbon typically carried four times as many passengers as other similar ships.

Due to the threat of a collision with floating ice, the prescribed route of the Titanic (and any other ship following the same course) did not run in a straight line, but made a small detour, skirting the dangerous ocean area where most icebergs drift. Of course, this maneuver lengthens the road. That's why it might seem that Captain Smith was steering his ship straight into a cluster of icebergs - he just needed to take a shortcut and get the Blue Ribbon at any cost. That is why the Titanic was moving at full speed and did not slow down even after receiving several radio warnings about ice danger from other ships. Let other ships worry, but the Titanic has nothing to fear. In the “crow’s nest” - a special observation platform on the front mast - there are two lookouts who, in case of danger, can instantly report it to the captain’s bridge via telephone: the Titanic is equipped with the latest technology. And if a collision does occur, well, that just means that the record will be set another time. Icebergs do not pose a danger to the ship - after all, it is known that the Titanic is completely unsinkable. Its hold is divided into sixteen waterproof compartments, so that if it suddenly gets a hole (which, of course, cannot be), then only one of the compartments will be filled with water, and the ship will calmly continue its journey. That's one thing - the liner will not sink, even if four compartments are filled! And a ship can receive such damage only in war.

Well, it’s not for nothing that pride is one of the deadly sins. She played a cruel joke on the Titanic: the iceberg damaged five compartments - one more than was permissible. A piece of the Titanic's plating lifted from the bottom

But how could the ice break through the steel of the ship's plating? In the mid-nineties, a piece of the Titanic's skin was raised to the surface and subjected to a fragility test: a sheet of metal, fixed in clamps, had to withstand the blow of a thirty-kilogram pendulum. For comparison, a piece of steel used in shipbuilding today was also tested. Before the experiment, both samples were placed in an alcohol bath with a temperature of just over a degree - this is exactly what the ocean water was like on that fateful night. Modern metal came out of the test with honor: under the blow of a hammer it bent, but remained intact. The one raised from the bottom split into two parts. Maybe it became so fragile after lying on the ocean floor for eighty years? Researchers managed to obtain a sample of steel from those years at the Belfast shipyard where the Titanic was built. He passed the strength test no better than his brother. The experts' conclusion was that the steel used in the Titanic's construction was of very low quality, with a large admixture of sulfur, which made it brittle when used. low temperatures. Alas, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the level of development of metallurgy was far from what it is today. If the liner's skin had been made of high-quality steel, the hull would have simply bent inward from the impact, and the tragedy could have been avoided.

American press about the sinking of the Titanic Did you know that...

On the Internet you can find not only Western newspapers of that time (see photo on the right), but also pre-revolutionary Russian publications that reported on the crash in the Atlantic Ocean. A strange feeling arises when you read these dry lines - for the people of that time, the Titanic had not yet become a legend...

To the sinking of the Titanic.

LONDON. The proceedings of the commission to investigate the circumstances of the sinking of the Titanic were opened by a representative of the trade department, Isaacs, who pointed out that from the moment the Titanic went to sea, it was moving at a speed of 21 knots per hour, and this speed was not reduced until the very moment of the collision with the ice mountain despite receiving warnings about moving ice. During the investigation, special attention will be paid to the insufficient number of rescue boats on the ship and to the installation of watertight bulkheads.

* * * * *

But the Iskra publication, as befits an “artistic and literary magazine,” describes the situation in the best traditions of the yellow press:

The sinking of the Titanic.

Russian press about the sinking of the Titanic April 1, at 10:25 am, a real floating city, the greatest in the world, the luxurious nine-story steamship Titanic (length ¼ verst (126 fathoms), displacement 66,000 tons, cost at 20,000,000 rubles, with machines of 55,000 horsepower, developing a speed of up to 38 versts per hour) on the way to New York, having 2,700 people on board, ran into floating ice at full speed. At midnight, the Titanic reported via wireless telegraph: “We’re going down.”

Stunning scenes played out on the deck of the dying ship. Millionaire passengers (there were 7 of them, with a total fortune of 3 billion) offered fabulous sums for seats on lifeboats. Because of these places, people fought, pushed each other into the water, smashed heads with oars...

1,410 people died.

William Stead died on board the Titanic. A committed journalist, with immense faith in the power of the printed word, Stead exposed the horrors of the debauchery of aristocratic London, its brothels, child trafficking, and energetically advocated for an end to the Boer War and for rapprochement with Russia. In 1905 Stead came to Russia with the aim of reconciling Russian society with the government.

Third version. Fire in the hold

On September 20, 1987, French television told the world sensational news: the cause of the death of the Titanic, it turns out, was a fire that broke out in the hold of the ill-fated liner, and not a collision with an iceberg. Apparently, supporters of the new hypothesis assured, spontaneous combustion of coal occurred in one of the ship’s coal storages (well, this is indeed possible), the fire spread throughout the hold, reached the steam boilers, which exploded, causing the ship to go to the bottom. As for the iceberg, it just happened to be nearby, so it was blamed for the crash of the liner. One of the Titanic's watertight bulkheads

Yes, indeed, there was a fire on the Titanic - and this is no longer speculation, but an established fact. However, could it have caused the disaster? Oh, that's unlikely. How do you imagine a fire in a coal bunker? A roaring flame casting ominous crimson reflections on the metal cladding of the walls, bare-chested sailors rushing about, someone pumping a pump, and a stream of water disappearing into a raging wall of fire? I must disappoint you - in fact, everything is much more prosaic. In general, a fire in a coal bunker on ships of that time was a fairly common thing. In such a fire, coal does not glow, does not burn, but quietly and peacefully smolders, sometimes for several days. We fought such fires with our own in a simple way– they burned smoldering coal out of turn in steamship furnaces. So a fire in a coal hold is, of course, an unpleasant phenomenon, but, as a rule, it does not promise any serious troubles for the ship. And certainly not, under any circumstances, capable of causing such monstrous destruction as is attributed to it by supporters of the version of the Titanic’s death from flames. Moreover, the fire on the ship was extinguished even before it left for its last voyage. The bunker was emptied and inspected by specialists from the shipyard where the Titanic was located. It seems that the most serious consequence of the fire was a slight deformation of one of the watertight bulkheads, which could not in any way affect the fate of the liner.

Did you know that...

The Titanic is one of the first, if not the first ship in history to send an SOS signal.

In the early twentieth century, the letters "CQD" - short for "Come Quick, Danger" - were adopted as a distress signal. But this signal was inconvenient in that it was also used to warn on land about train accidents. In 1906, at the International Radiotelegraph Conference, it was proposed to introduce a special signal for maritime disasters. It was then that the letters known today throughout the world – SOS – were chosen. Contrary to popular belief, it is not an acronym for a phrase like “Save Our Souls.” These letters were chosen simply because their combination is very easy to recognize in ethereal Morse code: three dots, three dashes, three dots.

However, habit is second nature, and the CQD signal was still used in water accidents. The Titanic’s radio operator, twenty-five-year-old John Phillips, also sent it: “CQD, here are our coordinates: 41.46 north 50.14 west. We require immediate assistance. We're drowning. You can’t hear anything over the roar of the steam pipes.” He repeated this message for the next quarter of an hour, until his partner suggested sending a new distress signal on the air, cynically joking: “Dude, try knocking out the SOS signal - we won’t have such an opportunity again in our lives.” Phillips smiled sadly at the joke and at 00.45 on April 15, 1912, one of the first SOS signals in history was sent from the Titanic.

Fourth version. German torpedo

German submarine from World War I

1912 With the First World War two years away, the prospect of armed conflict between Germany and Great Britain is becoming increasingly likely. Germany owns several dozen submarines, which during the war will launch a merciless hunt for enemy ships trying to cross the ocean. For example, the reason for America’s entry into the war will be the fact that the U-20 submarine will sink the Lusitania in 1915, a twin of the same Mauritania that set the speed record and won the Atlantic Blue Ribbon - remember?

Based on these facts, some Western publications proposed their own version of the death of the Titanic in the mid-nineties: a torpedo attack by a German submarine secretly accompanying the liner. The purpose of the attack was to discredit the British fleet, famous for its power throughout the world. In accordance with this theory, the Titanic either did not collide with the iceberg at all, or received very minor damage in the collision and would have remained afloat if the Germans had not finished off the ship with a torpedo.

What speaks in favor of this version? Honestly, nothing.

Firstly, there was a collision with an iceberg - this is beyond doubt. The deck of the ship was even covered with snow and ice chips. The cheerful passengers started playing football with ice cubes - it would become clear later that the ship was doomed. The collision itself was surprisingly quiet - almost none of the passengers felt it. The torpedo, you see, could hardly have exploded completely silently (especially since some claim that the submarine fired as many as six torpedoes at the ship!). Proponents of the theory of the German attack claim, however, that people in the boats heard a terrible roar just before the Titanic sank - well, this was two and a half hours later, when only the stern raised into the sky remained above the water and the death of the ship did not raise any doubts. It’s unlikely that the Germans would have fired a torpedo at an almost sunken ship, would it? And the roar that the survivors heard was explained by the fact that the stern of the Titanic rose almost vertically and huge steam boilers fell from their places. Also, do not forget that at about the same minutes the Titanic broke in half - the keel could not withstand the weight of the rising stern (however, they will learn about this only after the liner is discovered at the bottom: the break occurred below the water level), and this, too, is unlikely to have happened silently . And why would the Germans suddenly start sinking a passenger liner two years before the start of the war? This seems dubious, to put it mildly. And to put it bluntly, it’s absurd.

Did you know that...

Before filming Titanic, director James Cameron worked closely with the crew of the Russian scientific vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and personally made twelve dives with a film camera to the remains of the ship on the Mir-1 and Mir-2 bathyscaphes - they can be seen in the documentaries fragments of the film. During each dive, Cameron could only film for fifteen minutes due to the fact that only so much film could fit in the camera.

Five years later, the bathyscaphes Mir-1 and Mir-2 will be used to dive to the sunken submarine Kursk.

Fifth version. Curse of the Egyptian Mummy

The very first horror movie about a mummy

Yes, yes, imagine, there is such a version! I specifically saved it for the end.

So, in the eighties of the nineteenth century, a perfectly preserved mummy from the time of Amenhotep IV was discovered near Cairo, named either Amen-Otu, or Amen-Ra, or Amennophis (lovers of mysticism, as you know, do not bother with such trifles. Mummy, and mummy). During her life, the mummy worked as a famous soothsayer, and therefore after death she was awarded a magnificent burial: with jewelry, figurines of gods, and, of course, magic amulets. Among them was an image of Osiris, decorated with the inscription: “Wake up from your swoon, and your gaze will crush everyone who stands in your way.” Others, however, insisted that it was written “Rise from the dust, and one look from your eyes will triumph over any intrigues against you,” but what difference does it really make? When still others timidly suggested that nothing like that was written on the mummy, it was certainly clear that this was nonsense.

The mummy was acquired by one collector, then another, a third, and all the previous owners, of course, died under the most mysterious and mysterious circumstances. That is, perhaps, in fact, each of them lived to be ninety-nine years old and rested in the arms of a young beauty, but who will check this? Owners of mummies, as everyone knows, are supposed to die, preferably a capital death.

Ticket to the Titanic

Finally, our mummy was purchased from a British museum by an American millionaire and sent to his American residence on board a ship. Well, guess which airliner was chosen for this purpose?

The sarcophagus along the way was an ordinary box, either glass or wood (not tin, at least for sure), and it was kept right next to the captain's bridge. Mystics of all stripes enthusiastically claim that Captain Edward Smith, of course, could not resist the temptation and looked into this box with the mummy: their eyes met and... no, they did not fall in love with each other; quite the opposite: a monstrous curse came true. Otherwise, judge for yourself, how to explain that the captain’s head went dark, and with his own intrepid hand he directed the Titanic straight to certain death?

And, in fact, why is it believed that the captain’s head went blank, and with his own hand he directed the Titanic to certain death? Well, how could he not get confused in his head if he met the eyes of the mummy? As you can see, there is nothing to object to.

It's a shame that the mummy died a thousand years before Aristotle was born, so she had trouble with logic. Otherwise, she would have realized that the immediate consequence of the ship ramming the iceberg would be the death of her, the mummy’s, precious body - in ocean water it is unlikely to survive more than a few days. And the destruction of the body is the worst thing that can happen to a mummy: its soul will have nowhere to return. So if the mummy really had magical power, it would be in her interests to protect the Titanic as the apple of her magical eye. Or maybe she also bought into the advertising rhetoric about an unsinkable ship and did not pay attention to the dangerous icebergs?

Be that as it may, the mummy died in the ocean depths, disappeared without a trace, and cannot stand up for its honest name; The yellow press shamelessly takes advantage of this, regularly publishing accusations against her under monotonous headlines: “Sensation! The Titanic was destroyed by the curse of the pharaohs! Let's leave this to the conscience of journalists.

The mummy, by the way, was not the only historical relic that died on board the Titanic. For art, much more tragic is the death in the Atlantic Ocean of the original manuscript of Omar Khayyam “Rubaiyat” - a relic that truly had no price.

Did you know that...

Immediately after the sinking of the Titanic, various projects for raising the ship to the surface began to be proposed. One of them was a proposal to fill the hull of the liner with ping pong balls.

Oh yes, there is another version

She's all in the picture, and there's nothing more to say about her:

Ex-Gigantik. What will you name the ship... Did you know that...

The Titanic had not only an older brother (Olympic), but also a younger brother, the Gigantic. At the time of the death of the middle brother in the depths of the Atlantic, the younger one was still just building on the ropes. To prevent a similar tragedy from happening to it again, modifications began to be made to its design while it was moving - for example, the number of lifeboats was increased (you can see them in the photo - on the upper deck, one above the other). And the most unexpected of the security measures taken was - what did you think? Changing the name of the vessel. Recalling from ancient Greek myths that the fate of both titans and giants was very deplorable, the owners of the ship decided not to step on the same rake again and abandoned the name “Gigantic”. What the hell is not joking about, really?

The new ship was named patriotically: Britannic. Typically, this did not help: in the First World War, the youngest of the ships was sunk by a German submarine.

But what was it really like?

Sadly, when studying the history of the most famous maritime disaster, we have to admit that the Titanic owes its death to a long chain of fatal accidents. If at least one link of the ominous chain had been destroyed, the tragedy could have been avoided.

Perhaps the first link was the successful start of the journey - yes, that’s right. On the morning of April 10, during the departure of the Titanic from the quay wall of the port of Southampton, the superliner passed too close to the American ship New York, and a phenomenon known in navigation as ship suction arose: the New York began to be attracted to the one moving nearby. "Titanic". However, thanks to the skill of Captain Edward Smith, a collision was avoided. Ironically, if the accident had happened, it would have saved one and a half thousand lives: if the Titanic had been delayed in port, the ill-fated encounter with the iceberg would not have happened. This time. Captain of the Titanic Edward Smith

It should also be mentioned that the radio operators who received the message from the Mesaba ship about the ice fields of icebergs did not transmit it to Edward Smith: the telegram was not marked with a special prefix “personally to the captain”, and was lost in a heap of papers. That's two.

However, this message was not the only one, and the captain knew about the ice danger. Why didn't he slow down the ship? Chasing the Blue Ribbon is, of course, a matter of honor (and, more importantly, big business), but why did he risk the lives of passengers? It wasn't that much of a risk, really. In those years, captains of ocean liners often passed dangerous with ice areas without slowing down: it was like crossing the road at a red light: it seems like you shouldn’t do that, but it always works out. Almost always. To the credit of Captain Smith, it must be said that he remained faithful to maritime traditions and remained on the dying ship until the very end.

But why was the bulk of the iceberg not noticed? Here everything came together: a moonless, dark night, windless weather. If there were even small waves on the water surface, lookouts could see whitecaps at the foot of the iceberg. Calm and moonless night are two more links in the fatal chain.

As it turned out later, the chain was continued by the fact that the iceberg, shortly before the collision with the Titanic, turned over with its underwater, water-saturated, dark part upward, which is why it was practically invisible at night from afar (an ordinary, white iceberg would have been visible a mile away ). The watchman saw him only 450 meters away, and there was almost no time left for maneuver. Perhaps the iceberg would have been noticed earlier, but here another link in the fatal chain played a role - there were no binoculars in the “crow’s nest”. The box where they were kept was locked, and the key to it was hastily taken with him by the second mate, who had been removed from the ship just before departure. It is believed that this photo shows the same iceberg

After the lookout nevertheless saw the danger and reported the iceberg to the captain's bridge, there was a little more than half a minute left before the collision. Officer of the watch Murdoch, who was on watch, gave the order to the helmsman to turn left, while simultaneously transmitting the command “full astern” to the engine room. Thus, he made a grave mistake, adding another link in the chain that led the liner to death: even if the Titanic had crashed into an iceberg head-on, the tragedy would have been less. The bow of the ship would have been crushed, part of the crew and those passengers whose cabins were located in front would have died. But only two watertight compartments would have been flooded. With such damage, the liner would have remained afloat and could have waited for help from other ships.

And if Murdoch, having turned the ship to the left, had ordered an increase rather than a decrease in speed, the collision might not have happened at all. However, frankly speaking, the order to change the speed hardly plays a significant role here: in thirty seconds it was hardly executed in the engine room. Thomas Andrews

So, the collision happened. The iceberg damaged the ship's fragile hull along six starboard compartments.

It should be said that Thomas Andrews himself, a talented designer who built this liner, traveled on the Titanic. Of course, after the tragedy there were people who blamed him for the unsuccessful design of the ship. These reproaches are without any basis - Andrews actually built the most advanced ship of his time. It is to him that the survivors of the crash owe it to him that they had almost three hours to leave the ship and move to a safe distance.

After the accident, Captain Smith woke Mr. Andrews and invited him to inspect the hold in order to obtain an authoritative opinion on the fate of the ship. The designer's verdict was disappointing: it was impossible to save the Titanic. We urgently need to begin evacuating passengers.

And here we come to one of the most dramatic circumstances. There were 2,208 people on board the ship (fortunately, it was not the 3,500 it was designed for), but the boats had room for only 1,178 people. Looking ahead, let's say that only seven hundred and four managed to escape: the next link in the chain of failures was that some sailors took too literally the captain's order to put women and children in the boats, and did not allow men there, even if there were empty seats. However, at first no one was particularly eager to get into the boats. The passengers did not understand what was happening and did not want to leave the huge, comfortably lit, such a reliable liner and it was unclear why they would go down in a small unstable boat down to the icy water. However, pretty soon anyone could notice that the deck was tilting forward more and more, and panic began. Boat deck. Walk for your health.

But why was there such a monstrous discrepancy between the places on the lifeboats? Initially, there were more boats - as many as thirty-five, but it was decided to abandon fifteen of them. Firstly, they “could cause a feeling of insecurity,” but most importantly, they interfered with first-class passengers walking along the deck, and this was quickly corrected: the motto of the Titanic was “comfort above all.” But how could a ship so poorly equipped with life-saving equipment be set sail? It's all about outdated rules British Navigation Code, adopted back in 1894. In accordance with it, a ship of a certain size was assigned a certain number of boats. And since the displacement of the largest passenger ships of that time rarely exceeded 10,000 tons, all such giant ships were combined into a single category with instructions for them to have on board a number of boats sufficient to save 962 people. In 1894, they could not even imagine a ship like the Titanic - with a tonnage of as much as 52,310 tons!

The owners of the Titanic, praising the merits of the new ship, stated that they even exceeded the instructions of the code: instead of the required 962 life-saving seats on the ship, there were 1178. Unfortunately, they did not attach any importance to the discrepancy between this number and the number of passengers on board. Photo of the Titanic's radio operator, taken by a crooked photographer

It is especially sad that another passenger steamer, the Californian, stood very close to the sinking Titanic, waiting out the ice danger. A few hours ago, he notified neighboring ships that he was locked in ice and was forced to stop so as not to accidentally run into ice block. The radio operator from the Titanic, who was almost deafened by the Morse code from the Californian (the ships were very close, and the signal of one echoed too loudly in the headphones of the other), impolitely interrupted the warning: “Go to hell, you are interfering with my work!” What was the radio operator of the Titanic so busy with? The fact is that in those years, radio communication on a ship was more of a luxury than an urgent necessity, and this miracle of technology aroused great interest among the wealthy public. From the very beginning of the voyage, the radio operators were literally inundated with private messages - and no one saw anything reprehensible in the fact that the Titanic’s radio operators paid such attention to wealthy passengers who wished to send a telegram to the ground directly from the liner. So at that moment, when colleagues from other ships reported about floating ice, the radio operator transmitted another message to the continent. Radio communication was more like an expensive toy than a serious tool: ships of that time did not even have a 24-hour watch at the radio station. So the radio operator from the Californian, having completed his assigned shift, went to bed in the evening and could not receive a desperate distress signal - SOS. If it had been possible to inform the Californian about the collision, it could have come to the rescue in less than an hour, but the Titanic sank for two and a half hours! They say that from the Californian they even saw signal flares sent by the sinking liner into the night sky, but did not attach any importance to it. Well, rockets, and rockets. The moneybags from the Titanic are probably celebrating something. Look, they set off fireworks for themselves...

But, fortunately for the passengers, several ships still responded to the distress signal. Among them was the Olympic, the twin of the Titanic, but it was too far away - a full five hundred miles. Apart from the Californian, the closest ship to the sinking ship was the Carpathia, less than sixty miles away. Having received an SOS signal, he changed his course and rushed to the rescue at top speed. At about two o'clock in the morning, the radio operator of the Carpathia received the last message from the liner in distress: “Go as quickly as possible, the engine room is flooded to the boilers.” There were no more radio signals from the superliner... Surviving passengers of the Titanic on board the Carpathia

There were about seven hundred people in boats in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The agonizing hours of waiting for help dragged on. Some of the lifeboats spent the whole night searching for and picking up drowning people on board, while some, on the contrary, sailed away from the scene of the tragedy, fearing that the people overboard, trying to escape, might capsize the boat.

At four in the morning, four and a half hours after the Titanic collided with the ice mass, and two hours after its stern disappeared into deep sea, "Carpathia" approached the scene of the tragedy and began rescuing the survivors. At eight thirty the passengers of the last boat were on board. There were 704 people alive. Searching the water for the others was futile. At this water temperature, a life jacket does not save: a person dies from the cold in a few minutes.

At eight-fifty, the Carpathia, ironically owned by the same Cunard Line shipping company whose laurels the Titanic wanted to take for itself by winning the Blue Ribbon, heads for New York.

P.S.

And finally: a few photographs of the Titanic, the legendary ship. Each of them can be increased.

To:

"Titanic" at the Harland and Wolfe shipyard before launching (colorized photograph) Titanic leaving Belfast (colorized photograph) Here you can see the “crow’s nest” for the lookout on the mast First class cabin First class cabin (colorized photo) Third class cabin (reconstruction) Cafe "Palm Yard" Cafe Parisien with ocean view (colorized photo) Gym on the Titanic The famous grand staircase with the clock (here DiCaprio waited for Kate Winslet on a date) Glass dome over the main staircase. Only first class passengers were allowed to admire this beauty.

You will find many more colored photographs of the Titanic on titanic-in-color.com

After:

3D model of the Titanic on the ocean floor The remains of the Titanic at the bottom Bow of the ship Fragment of ship hull Opened left side window Captain's helm Anchor Davit for launching rescue boats Once upon a time a man lay here Ceramic cup at the bottom The wooden china box is long gone, but the porcelain remains there There is still glass in the windows of Captain Smith's cabin. Captain Smith's bath hot water, salted or fresh as desired

Hello, my dear readers! Today I would like to talk about serious, even more tragic, things. On April 15, the whole world celebrates a sad event... This is the date of the death of the Titanic, which contemporaries considered an unsinkable liner.

It is surprising that to this day, despite the official version of the disaster, there are different opinions and versions of what happened on that ill-fated night.

The place where the Titanic sank

The Titanic was rightfully considered the most luxurious ship of the beginning of the last century, so the news of its death shocked the entire world community. According to official figures, about 1,500 people died, including passengers and crew members. Despite the fact that the twentieth century brought many disasters, catastrophes and wars, the tragedy of the Titanic remains an equally tragic event, the interest in which continues to this day. The event that occurred near the island of Newfoundland on the night of April 14-15 was overgrown with many rumors and speculations that have a sufficient number of followers.

The place where the Titanic sank on the map has the following coordinates - 41046′ northern latitude and 50014′ west longitude.

However, it was subsequently determined that the stated data was incorrect, so even now there is no accurate information regarding the exact coordinates of the crash site. This is not the only oddity that accompanied this whole story, so let's try to understand some versions of what happened, because the tragedy itself is not limited to just a collision with an iceberg, it is more extensive and complex.

Versions of the tragedy

Perhaps we will not know until the end the whole truth of that night, despite the investigations carried out. Of course, they brought some clarity to what happened, but there are still a lot of “blank spots” that still remain a mystery. Some evidence contradicted others, some evidence, if checked and studied in more detail, became more than doubtful - all this gave rise to many speculations and legends about this topic who still have their followers today.

Some of these versions may seem incredible, but history shows us that a rational explanation for what happens may not always be possible. Be that as it may, we need to talk about it, seek the truth, and then the truth will make us stronger. Another question is that the truth can hardly be known to you and me - ordinary inhabitants who draw information from the Internet. In any case, we can explore different versions and the reasons for what happened, and everyone will decide for himself which of them is close to him personally.

The first version is a conspiracy of the powers that be

We all love conspiracy theories, some of which smack a little of schizophrenia and paranoia. However, some facts seem so indisputable that you inevitably move from the category of skeptics to the group of doubters, at least. In the story of the Titanic, everything is also very mysterious and controversial. But let's start from the beginning.

Many people agree that the Titanic disaster was planned in advance. No matter how crazy it may sound, several interesting facts indicate this. For example, John Morgan, a famous American billionaire and part-time owner of the company that owned the liner, canceled his ticket exactly one day before the expected departure.

You will probably say that this is nothing more than an ordinary coincidence? Maybe, but Morgan's example was followed by 55 more people who were supposed to sail in first class. I think there is no need to remind you that only rich people travel in first class, and if you consider that among these 55 there are people such as John Rockefeller, Henry Frick and Alfred Vandelfeld, who were close friends of Morgan himself, then this suggests certain reflections.

I understand that the cancellation of the cruise cannot be considered the only evidence of this version

But there are several other points that indirectly confirm this interpretation of events or, at least, force us to take a fresh look at them.

Thus, in 1907, an agreement was signed on the creation of a new cruise ship, which had no analogues in the world. Two parties - Bruce Ismay (by the way, a close confidant of Rockefeller and Morgan) and Lord Pirrie started a truly large-scale production, the result of which should be that same unsinkable ship. Then they said that the liner had a super-strong bottom, and the Titanic itself could remain afloat even if four of its compartments were flooded.

However, in the 90s of the last century, Russian experts took samples of Titanic metal at depth to conduct research. The results shocked many. It turned out that it was not just ordinary metal, but also with a large addition of sulfur, which made it very fragile when exposed to metal. negative temperatures. Many are perplexed why during the production of the Titanic, an advanced liner at that time, the advertising campaign about which was in full swing, such low quality steel was used. The explanation that a design error was made does not stand up to criticism.

There is a version that in this way the company saved its money, but they could not help but know that such steel would not withstand even the slightest collision in icy water, so such negligence also raises doubts. It also remains unclear why there were no spotlights on the Titanic, because this liner was considered the most modern and advanced. Also a miscalculation of the designers?

Indeed, there are a lot of strange things

By the way, one of the first to escape that tragic night was our old friend Bruce Ismay. It was he who was among the first to board the lifeboat, after which he waited for the arrival of the RMS Carpathia, which also belonged to the White Star Line, which manufactured the Titanic. An order was even given to rescue the first class passengers first, and the lower deck was ordered to be locked. It was there that there were 1,500 people, among whom were many women and children who died on that fateful night.

The second version is a substitution

The next version, which can also be attributed to a conspiracy theory, is the story of Olympic. Few people know, but this exact copy Titanic, which was shorter than it by only two inches, i.e. the length of a regular matchbox. Do you feel what I'm getting at?

The fact is that it was visually impossible to distinguish one ship from another. In addition, a separate book could be written about the misadventures of Olympus. So, immediately after launching, he collided with a dam. Then it happened to him large number minor and major accidents, so we can confidently call it an “unlucky ship.”

That is why many insurance companies did not want to deal with such an unlucky liner, not wanting to insure it, which the owners of the ship so zealously sought. It was decided to dock Olympic until a decision was made on its future fate.

We have a plan

Here a version began to emerge, according to which the White Star Line company wanted to get rid of the Olympic in a very original way, passing it off as the Titanic, which, by the way, was insured. Considering that they are very similar structurally and externally, this was not at all difficult to do.

It is enough just to replace the sign with the name of the liner, change some interior items, etc. The plan really looks logical, because no one will even suspect a substitution, quite reasonably believing that in front of him is the same “unsinkable” Titanic, and not the “eternal loser” Olympic.

Naturally, no one intended to intentionally sink the liner, because hardly anyone was convinced by the version that the modern Titanic could sink from a simple collision with an iceberg. It is reasonable to believe that

The plan was as follows: to provoke a collision of the ship, after which it would sail safely to New York, and the owners of the company, in turn, would receive an impressive amount that was due to them under insurance.

If we consider that Edward Smith, the captain of the ship, literally deliberately drove at high speed along a dangerous route, ignoring all sorts of warnings about icebergs nearby, then this version becomes quite plausible.

But in 1985, when the hull of a sunken ship was discovered at depth, this version was officially refuted. The fact is that the number 401 was clearly visible on the propeller of the liner, i.e. the serial number of the Titanic, while the Olympic number was 400. One could also question this fact, suggesting that the company replaced the propeller after a collision with another ship (and there were many of them in the history of the Olympic), but the Titanic serial number is found on others parts of the ship, so this moment can be closed. Although I agree, the version is interesting.

The third version is the fight for the Blue Ribbon

If you are a pragmatic person, then you will probably be interested in the Blue Ribbon version. This award was given to those ships that crossed the Atlantic Ocean the fastest. Naturally, serious competition immediately flared up between the companies, because winning this award promised quite big advantages.

No, the winner did not receive a cash prize, but the ship itself received something more - this is worldwide honor in the maritime industry, as well as authority, which can hardly be achieved in other ways. Such prestige inevitably led to material gain, because the ship that received this award received a contract for the delivery of all kinds of mail - a very profitable business at that time. And judge for yourself, if you were a millionaire, what ship would you sail on? Of course, on the one that has been awarded a prestigious award.

At that time, the ship that held the Blue Riband was the Mauretania, company-owned, a longtime competitor of the White Star Line. It is clear that the owners of the company were asleep and saw how they would wipe the enemy’s nose, so they bet on the Titanic, hoping that it would cross the Atlantic Ocean faster than the Mauritania. That is why the captain of the Titanic walked along a dangerous section, deliberately taking a shortcut.

Initially, the route included a small detour to avoid collisions with icebergs, which are abundant in that stretch of water. But Smith deliberately ignored the danger, racing at all speeds in a straight line, wanting to beat. This may seem crazy, but Smith naively assumed that even if a collision occurred, it would not lead to tragic consequences, and the record itself could only be postponed to a later date.

Such carelessness was very costly

By coincidence, after the collision with the iceberg, five compartments were flooded, i.e. one more than the Titanic could carry. In addition, the captain hoped that the iceberg would not break through the strong steel of the liner, because, in his opinion, this should not happen. Here we again return to the issue of the quality of the metal used in the production of the Titanic.

In addition, many supporters of this version overlook one important point. The fact is that the speed of the Mauritania, the last owner of the Blue Ribbon before the Titanic, was 26 knots. The maximum speed of the Titanic itself was no more than 24 knots, so it is not clear how it could get ahead of the Mauritania. Again, many will say that the captain knew this, so he deliberately did not slow down, moving along the shortest route, so there is no consensus. Riddles, riddles, riddles.....

Schizoteric causes of the sinking of the Titanic

In a word, versions on the topic tragic death There's quite a lot of Titanic. I haven’t yet told you about the German torpedo that allegedly sank the Titanic, and the curse of the Egyptian mummy! This is where the real schizophrenia is, which I spoke about at the beginning. So that you can appreciate the full scale of the rumors that are still circulating around this tragedy

on the story about the mummy - I’ll dwell in more detail

In general, it happened a very long time ago (we are talking about a mummy), there lived in Egypt a certain person who had the gift of foresight. I will not undertake to say whether this was actually the case or not, and this is not relevant to the matter. So, our soothsayer died, after which they made a mummy from her according to a long-standing tradition. It was found during excavations that were carried out near Cairo at the end of the nineteenth century.

The mummy was buried with a large number of various treasures, among which was an image of Osiris. There was an inscription there and its meaning was literally the following: you will crush with your gaze anyone who dares to stand in your way. This therefore applied to the mummy and those likely offenders who would encroach on it.

The mummy was bought first by one collector, then by another, and so on, down the chain. They all died from terrible curse, which circled around the mummy, but who will understand true reasons their deaths? If a person dies at 90, it is unlikely that the mummy could be the cause. In the end, the mummy is bought by an unnamed American millionaire who wanted to transport it from England to the United States.

I think there is no need to explain which ship he chose for this

According to legend, the mummy was kept in an ordinary wooden box in the immediate vicinity of the captain's bridge. Naturally, the rascal Smith, being a curious fellow by nature, looked into this treasured box. Having met the eyes of the mummy, the captain immediately lost his mind. This forced him to drive through a dangerous section of water where icebergs were drifting, without slowing down.

Surprisingly, this theory also has supporters.

However, they miss one point. The meaning of mummies is the ability to preserve the shell of the body so that the soul of the deceased can return. Return to the place from which she actually fluttered out. It would be logical to assume that the main task of a mummy would be to get rid of all risks and situations where her precious body could suffer.

It is clear that after she was in icy water, the mummy would have survived for no more than a couple of days. A rather dubious approach to self-preservation, frankly speaking... In general, this kind of version is the prerogative of the yellow press, so let’s not judge them about it.

A thinking person simply will not pick up such a newspaper, but let the rest of us entertain themselves at their leisure with such fables.

By the way, I would like to apologize to Edward Smith, whose image I portrayed somewhat frivolously. Even though he took the Titanic along a dangerous route, he was a man of honor to the end. He remained on the already dying ship, making no attempt to escape. This is a long-standing maritime tradition when the captain does not abandon a sinking ship, and it literally takes your breath away every time.

In general, you and I are unlikely to learn everything about the events that took place on the night of April 15th. Therefore, our best action will be to honor the memory of all the lost passengers and crew members by remembering them once again.

April 9, 1912. Titanic in the port of Southampton the day before sailing to America.

April 14 marked 105 years since the legendary disaster. Titanic is a British steamship of the White Star Line, the second of three twin ships of the Olympic class. The largest passenger airliner in the world at the time of its construction. During its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, it collided with an iceberg and sank 2 hours and 40 minutes later.

There were 1,316 passengers and 908 crew members on board, for a total of 2,224 people. Of these, 711 people were saved, 1513 died.

Here's how Ogonyok magazine and Novaya Illustration magazine talked about this tragedy:

Dining room on the Titanic, 1912.

Second class room on board the Titanic, 1912.

The main staircase of the Titanic, 1912.

Passengers on the deck of the Titanic. April, 1912.

The Titanic orchestra had two members. The quintet was led by 33-year-old British violinist Wallace Hartley and included another violinist, a double bassist and two cellists. An additional trio of musicians of a Belgian violinist, a French cellist and a pianist were hired for Titanic to give Caf? Parisien with a continental touch. The trio also played in the lounge of the ship's restaurant. Many passengers considered the Titanic's ship band to be the best they had ever heard on a ship. Typically, the two members of the Titanic orchestra worked independently of each other - in different parts liner and at different times, but on the night of the ship's sinking, all eight musicians played together for the first time. They played the best and most fun music ever last minutes life of the liner. In the photo: Musicians of the Titanic ship's orchestra.

Hartley's body was found two weeks after the sinking of the Titanic and sent to England. A violin was tied to his chest - a gift from the bride.
There were no survivors among the other members of the orchestra... One of the rescued passengers of the Titanic would write later: “A lot was done that night heroic deeds, but none of them could compare with the feat of these several musicians, who played hour after hour, although the ship sank deeper and deeper, and the sea approached the place where they stood. The music they performed entitled them to be included in the list of heroes of eternal glory." In the photo: The funeral of the conductor and violinist of the Titanic ship's orchestra, Wallace Hartley. April 1912.

The iceberg that the Titanic is believed to have collided with. The photo was taken from the cable ship Mackay Bennett, captained by Captain DeCarteret. The Mackay Bennett was one of the first ships to arrive at the site of the Titanic disaster. According to Captain DeCarteret, it was the only iceberg near the ocean liner wreck.

The lifeboat of the Titanic, photographed by one of the passengers of the Carpathia steamship. April, 1912.

The rescue ship Carpathia picked up the 712 surviving passengers of the Titanic. A photograph taken by Carpathia passenger Louis M. Ogden shows lifeboats approaching the Carpathia.

April 22, 1912. Brothers Michel (4 years old) and Edmond (2 years old). They were considered “orphans of the Titanic” until their mother was found in France. The father died during the plane crash.

Michel died in 2001, the last male survivor of the Titanic.

A group of rescued Titanic passengers aboard the Carpathia.

Another group of rescued Titanic passengers.

Captain Edward John Smith (second from right) with the ship's crew.

Drawing of the sinking Titanic after the disaster.

Passenger ticket for the Titanic. April 1912.