Miss Holden's Class - Titanic Homework

TITANIC The reasons why the unsinkable ship

SANK!!!

Building of the Titanic • The Titanic was built in the Harland and Wolf Ship Yard, Belfast, completed in 1912. For the White Star Line.

• She was supposed to be a super liner, and was advertised as being unsinkable.

• She set sail on her first and last voyage from Southampton on 10th April 1912, struck the iceberg on the night of 14th of April and sank in the early hours of 15th April 1912.

• There were 2,224 passengers and crew aboard the doomed ship.

• More than 1500 died when she sank.

• They had only carried enough lifeboats for 1,178 passengers, because they considered the liner to be the safest ship afloat.

• It was also said some boats launched empty.

WHY! • Because of the way the liner sank and the tragic outcome, there have been a lot of theories and investigations since surrounding the disaster. • Including finding the wreckage deep underwater.

The Iceberg • She sank when she hit an iceberg and was not able to stay afloat as she took on water. Five separate compartments were punctured that were not watertight, there was a space at the top so when they filled, the water could flow into the next one.

The outcome • As the damaged area of the ship filled with water the weight made the bow sink under the sea, the stern rose out of the water, its weight was then unsupported by the water and the strain became too much and the ship broke in half. • Both parts then sank quickly.

The mistakes.

• There were several other things that led to her sinking.

• If the watertight bulk heads were built higher, to the first deck, there would have been more time to get rescue boats to the scene.

• If there had been enough lifeboats they could have been saved.

• If she had reduced her speed, because of limited visibility, she could have avoided the iceberg.

• If she had hit the iceberg head on, she had more reinforcement in the bow, so she could have survived the collision.

• If she had changed course to avoid the icebergs.

• This would have taken more time and it was said they were under pressure to beat the speed record for the journey.

The Theories • There has been a lot of speculation about the quality of some of the materials used on the building of the ship.

• Was the build rushed?

• That there was a fire on board when she set off which weakened the hull.