To all intent and purposes, the Titanic was watertight. In addition to the double bottom, she was divided into 16 watertight compartments, formed by 15 watertight bulkheads running across the hull. Six of these reached up to D deck, eight went up to E deck and the other one rose only as far as F deck. Each bulkhead was equipped with automatic watertight doors. These were held in the open position by a friction clutch that could be released instantly by a powerful electric magnet controlled form the captain's bridge. In the event of an accident, the captain could move the electric switch and close all doors to make the ship 100 per cent watertight. As a further precaution, floats were provided beneath the floor level. Should water enter any of the compartments, these floats would automatically lift and close the doors opening into that compartment if they had not already been dropped by the captain. It was also claimed the ship could float with any two compartments flooded and since nobody could envisage anything worse, the Titanic was deemed unsinkable.
This belief was strengthened in articles written to celebrate the ship's launch in 1911. The esteemed organ The Shipbuilder published a special issue in which it described the watertight compartments and electrically controlled doors. The article concluded: " In the event of an accident, or at any time when it may be considered advisable, the captain can, by simply moving an electric switch, instantly close the doors throughout, practically making the vessel unsinkable."
The aura of invincibility had been created. What observers failed to note in their haste to praise the splendid-looking ship was that Titanic's bulkheads were carried just 10ft above the waterline, compared with 30ft on the Brunel's Great Eastern. When, in 1862, the latter had a hug gash, 83ft long and 9ft wide, ripped in her outer skin after scraping a rock, she did not sink. The Titanic was to suffer comparable damage, yet it spelled her demise. Even the system of electrically controlled watertight doors was not as impressive as it sounded. In truth only 12 doors at the very bottom of the Titanic could be closed automatically - the majority had to be closed by hand. Although they may have thought it to be the case, it is interesting to note that the ship builders and owners refrained from describing the ship as 'unsinkable' prior to her fateful maiden voyage. (Harland and Wolff FAQ no 51)
But the Ship Builder remained impressed by her safety features: "A ladder or escape is provided in each boiler room, engine room, and similar watertight compartment in order that the closing of the doors at any time shall not imprison the men working inside, but the risk of this happening is lessened by electric bells placed in the vicinity of each door, which ring prior to their closing and thus give warning to those below."
The Making of History
| Owners | A
Grand Design | Construction | Sister
Ships - Olympic and Britannic
|
| Strict Segregation | Outdated
Lifeboat regulations | The Aura of Invincibility
|
| Launch | Specifications
|
Leaving for the New World
| Southampton | Southampton
- The New York and a Near Miss | Cherbourg
| Queenstown |
Provisions |
Passenger Lists
| First Class | Second
Class | Third Class |
Alphabtical list | Crew
| The Band |
Lifeboat Lists
| Lifeboats 1- 3 | Lifeboats
4 - 6 | Lifeboats 7-9 | Lifeboats
10-12 | Lifeboats 13 -16 |
Collapsibles |
Aftermath
| American Inquiry |
| Causes - An extract from February 1995 Edition
of Popular Mechanic |
Facts and Figures
| Harland and Wolff's 101 Answers to
the most asked questions about the RMS Titanic |