Introduction

What was built in 1912? The Titanic was an Ocean Liner and it is the most famous cruise ship ever, the ship is famous for its disaster hitting an iceberg even many people said it was unsinkable, but it was not. The Titanic was a British- registered ship. It was launched on May 31, 1911 and fully completed in 1912. 

The Biggest Ship In The World

The Titanic was built by Approximately 3,000 people in Belfast, Ireland from 1909- 1912. It was the biggest and fastest ship in the world. It was beautiful and safe in the ship. There were many rich class passengers. There were many poor people on the ship. They had no opportunity like the rich people.

Construction

Work began in December 1907 on the first of the three mammoth ships to be constructed, The Olympic. In order to accommodate the size of the Olympic and Titanic, the largest gantry ever constructed was built so that workers could access all parts of the ship. Construction of the RMS Olympic and sister ship, Titanic, is announced in 1908. The Olympic is completed first. The Titanic was constructed of thousands of one inch- thick mild steel plates and two million steel and wrought iron rivets and equipped with latest technology. 

She was designed to be "virtually unsinkable", designed to stay afloat with four of 16 watertight compartments open to the sea. The construction started for Titanic in Belfast, Ireland. It took three years for the Titanic to be built. First to be constructed was its keel - the backbone and very bottom of the ship. The hull, the watertight steel body, was then built around it. Four 20- metre funnels towered above the vessel and ensured that it dwarfed any other ship.

The Titanic's Length is 883'. The Titanic was designed by Thomas Andrews. The Titanic was claimed to be "virtually unsinkable" due to its watertight construction. It had 15 watertight bulkheads that divided the ship into 16 compartments. The thought was that if four smaller compartments flooded, the boat could still float. But it had poor design of the watertight compartments in the Titanic's lower section was a factor in the disaster

Launching The Titanic

The Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911, engines and interior have not yet been installed at the time. At 12:05 PM, two signal rockets were fired and Keith's shipwrights, working in squads, quickly started to knock out the dog shores, a third rocket five minutes later was indicated that she was almost ready to launch. A few minutes later Keith depressed the lever allowing the launching triggers to drop. Titanic's immense hull- the largest movable manmade object in the world at the time- made its way down the slipways and into the river Lagan in Belfast.

More than 100,000 people attended the launching, which took just over a minute and went off without a hitch. 

Fitting Out 1911- 1912

Following The Liner's Launch from the slipways on 31 May 1911, she was warped into the dry dock for fitting out before departing Belfast to set off on her maiden voyage in April 1912. View of Thompson Graving Dock from on board Olympic during sea trials. 

Maiden Voyage

On Wednesday 10th April 1912 shortly after 12noon, RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton's White Star Dock on her maiden voyage to New York. Her commander was Captain Edward J. Smith, RD, RNR, who had arrived early that morning in preparation for the Board of Trade muster at 8 am. 2,825 miles - the intended distance of the longest leg of the voyage, from Queenstown to New York, USA. 137 hours - the anticipated journey time sailing from Queenstown to New York City.

As Commodore or Senior Captain of White Star he often commanded the newest vessel in the company, and it was the highest paid ship's captain in the world of 1912. Titanic's passenger Certificate certified the vessel to carry a maximum of 3,547 people - 905 First Class Passengers, 564 Second Class and 1,134 Third Class, with 944 officers and Crew. Passengers boarded the ship from around 9:30 am until 11:30 am, and as she left Southampton, Titanic had an estimated 1,846 people on- board. As the liner departed, the huge amount of water she displaced almost caused a collision with SS New York, who broke free of her moorings and

swung towards Titanic. The quick actions of a nearby tug who pulled her out of the way saved the day and allowed the liner's maiden journey to continue with just a small delay. While Titanic was making her way from Southampton to Cherbourg, her tender ships SS Nomadic and SS Traffic were already at the harbour, ready to ferry passengers out to the luxury liner. Nomadic transported 1st and 2nd Class passengers with Traffic ferrying the 3rd Class.

Having suffered the delay, travellers and luggage were onboard SS Nomadic by 5pm but there had still been no sighting of Titanic. After a few minutes the order was given to cast off 

and the tender ships headed out on the half hour journey through the choppy seas to the outer harbour. it was another hour before Titanic's funnels were seen, with the liner finally arriving at Cherbourg around 6:35 pm. A gangway was erected between Nomadic's flying bridge deck and Titanic's E Deck to allow passengers to transfer, within fifteen 1st Class and nine 2nd Class passengers disembarking after making the cross channel passage. In difficult conditions, where one woman fell and twisted her ankle, several men held down the swaying gangway for the 142 First Class, 30 Second Class and 102 Third Class Passengers

to come aboard. Only 21 of those who embarked at Cherbourg were French, with the rest from America, England, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Poland, Russia, Syria and Uruguay. However luxury French products, such as champagne, wine and cheeses were also transferred to Titanic at the port - specifically 75,000 pounds of meat, 15,000 bottles of beer, 10,000 bottles of wine and 12,00 bottles of mineral water! At 8:10 pm Titanic finally departed for Queenstown, Ireland (now known as Cobh), with SS Nomadic's crew shouting farewells, "Goodbye, see you in fifteen days!"

On 11 April 1912 at 11:30 am RMS Titanic dropped anchor in Queenstown, Ireland at Roches Point outer anchorage. Today named Cobh, the port was the luxury liner's final port of call on its maiden journey, before setting sail on the longest leg of the voyage to New York, USA. Tenders PS Ireland and PS America were waiting in the dock to transport 123 passengers out to board - 63 men and 60 women, for many of whom Queenstown was the gateway to a great new world. Several of the creme de la creme passengers had boarded at Cherbourg, therefore passengers boarding at Queenstown consisted of only 7 Second Class and

113 Third Class ticket- holders. Whilst anchored in Ireland, 7 passengers disembarked including Father Francis Browne, a distinguished photographer of the time who received a ticket as a present from his uncle. Browne took some of the last photos of the Titanic and its crew before she sank, including photos of the luxurious facilities on board such as the gymnasium. During his short time aboard Titanic, Browne befriended an American millionaire who offered to pay his way to New York, however much to his luck Browne's superior responded to his telegraph requesting permission claiming  

"GET OFF THAT SHIP - PROVINCIAL!' Alongside the tenders, a number of smaller vessels carrying vendors set sail to meet Titanic approximately 2 miles offshore. They were selling local specialities such as lace and crafts to wealthy passengers on board. While 1,385 bags of mail were also delivered to the Royal Mail Steamer (RMS), bound for North America, during the Queenstown stop. As the great liner prepares to leave, one crewman, Fireman John Coffey a native of Queenstown, desserts the ship. Onboard are now estimated 1,316 passengers, representing about one- half of the ships total passenger capacity on what was  

classed as low- season on the North Atlantic. At 1:30 pm an exchange of whistles indicated for tenders to return to the dock and Titanic raised anchor to the strains of "Erin's Lament" played on the bagpipes by steerage passenger Eugene Daly and set off on her transatlantic crossing.

As the liner sailed through the relatively calm ocean on the 12th and 13th April, the weather was favourable and they were making good time on the journey. Passengers were settling into their luxurious surroundings, and crew were going about their everyday business. Those aboard included some of the creme de la creme of early 20th- century business, culture, high society, and sports on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as chairman of White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay and shipbuilder Thomas Andrews. The richest man on the Titanic was the owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, John Jacob Astor and his nineteen year old wife.

According to the New York Times Astor "put up and owned more hotels and skyscrapers than any other New Yorker" and was estimated to be worth as much as $200 Million! Another well known American couple onboard was the owner of Macy's Department Store, New York, Mr Isidor Straus, and his wife, Ida, who were travelling back from Winter in Europe on Titanic. Once it was clear the ship was sinking, Ida refused to leave Isidor and would not get in a lifeboat without him. A memorial plaque for them can be seen today at the 34th Street Memorial Entrance of Macy's Herald Square. Like the movie, there was also a lady called

Margaret 'Molly' Brown on board the ship. Not only did she survive the Titanic's sinking but helped others board lifeboats, eventually becoming known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown". As well as notable passengers, the Head Chef of Titanic's prestigious a carte restaurant was celebrated Italian, Luigi Gatti, who travelled to Britain at a young age to join the restaurant business. Prior to working on- board Titanic he ran the impressive Ritz restaurants in London - 'Gatti's ' Adelphi' and 'Gatti's Strand' as well as working on Titanic's sister ship, Olympic. The restaurant. located on Titanic's B Deck, was exquisitley decorated 

and furnished in the French Louis XVI or Louis Seize style with seating for over 150 customers. Compared with Titanic's 1st Class Dinning Saloon, the restaurant was small, but incorporated a reception room for pre- dinner drinks and an adjoining Cafe Parisien. Meals cost 3/- for breakfast, 3/6 - for lunch and 5/- for dinner (in today's money $7.20; $8.40 and $12).

The daily menu for 3rd Class passengers was provided on a single card that also doubled as a postcard, with a list of the company's routes and space for a short message on the reverse. This was a clever marketing ploy as a large proportion of those travelling 3rd Class to 

the US were emigrating, and this ensured that family and friends received not only a note from their loved ones but an advertisement as well! Other luxury facilities on board included a gym, a pool, Turkish Baths, a kennel for first class dogs, and a squash court. The first class cabins on Titanic were the same standard as hotel cabins, while second class was as good as first class on other ships. As Titanic's sailed into the early morning hours of Sunday 14 April all board was running smoothly, with the ship working up to a high speed of 22 knots as her maiden voyage continued....

ICEBERG!

On April 14th, 1912 at 11:40 PM, The Titanic struck an Iceberg at North Atlantic Ocean, as soon as the collision happened, the very first areas to flood were the Forepeak Tank, Cargo Holds 1,2 and 3, Boiler Room 6 and Boiler Room 5 (The Starboard Coal Bunker in its Foward section). They closed the bulkheads so that water can't come through and spread to the whole ship, but it was too late. The ship's lower decks flooded first. Lifeboat 7 was the first lifeboat to be launched at about 12:40 AM., under the supervision of First Officer Murdoch, supported by Fifth Officer Lowe. 

The iceberg ruptured at least five of its hull compartments shortly after striking the iceberg. These compartments filled with water and pulled down the bow of the ship. Around that time, when the water level rised to the wheelhouse of the bridge, Captain Smith passed away from drowning. The water flooded the bridge, then broke the windows of the wheelhouse of the bridge, then flooded the wheelhouse. By 11:52 PM, there was just 2 feet left before the Lounge was completely flooded. The C Deck lays 15 meters above the water line. It started to flood around 1:00 AM at the bow of the ship. Around 1:15 AM, she also started

to take on water in the First Class area with the State Rooms, whilst the water started creeping up on the Forward Grand Staircase in the D- Deck Reception Room. By 1:20 am, water began flooding through anchor- chain holes. Around 2:00 AM, as the bow continued submerging, the propellers in the stern lifted out of the water. Flooding progressed until, at about 2:10 am, the bow of the ship was under water and the stern was lifted out of the water almost 45 degrees. At around 2:18 AM, after the 3rd funnel collapsed, the ship's lights went out, now everything was total darkness. Rumbling and metallic screeching then shook the ship.