The Titanic was a British passenger airliner that sank in the North Atlantic early in the morning of April 15, 1912, after a collision with an iceberg, during its first flight from Southampton to New York. On board were 2,224 passengers and crew, and more than 1,500 people were killed. It was one of the deadliest commercial disasters in peacetime in modern history.
That is why the scheme "Titanic" has become interesting to study. The liner was the largest ship afloat when it first entered service, and was the second of three Olympus class ocean liners. "Titanic" was created thanks to the company "White Star Line".
Ship history
The Titanic was commanded by Captain Edward Smith, who had not left the ship that fateful day. The ocean liner transported some of the richest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from the UK and Ireland, Scandinavia and other European countries who were looking for a new life in the United States. The Titanic scheme, and even more so, first-class housing, was designed so that the ship was the pinnacle of comfort and luxury, with an on-board gym, a swimming pool, libraries, high-end restaurants and luxurious cabins.
A high power wireless telegraph transmitter was available for sending passenger marconigrams and for operational use of the ship. The Titanic diagram shows that the ship was reasonably safe thanks to advanced features such as waterproof compartments and remotely activated waterproof doors. And also on the liner there were enough lifeboats for 1,178 people - about half of the number on board and one third of the total capacity - due to outdated safety rules at sea.
The ship carried 16 lifeboats with it, which could launch three more boats each, a total of 48 ships to save life. However, on that fateful day, there were only 20 lifeboats on the liner. Four of them were collapsible, and it was difficult to launch them during flooding, this can be seen in the photo of the Titanic plan.
Tragic circumstances
After leaving Southampton on April 10, 1912, the Titanic entered Cherbourg in France and Queenstown in Ireland before heading west to New York at the arrival point. On April 14, four days after crossing and approximately 375 miles (600 kilometers) south of Newfoundland, the ship crashed into an iceberg at 23:40 in time for the ship.
As a result of the collision, the hull plates bent inwards on the starboard side and opened five of the sixteen watertight compartments. By the way, the scheme of the "Titanic" was such that he could survive only four floods. Meanwhile, passengers and some crew members were evacuated on lifeboats, many of which were launched only with partial loading. A disproportionate number of men remained on board due to the “women and children first” rule for loading lifeboats.
At 2:20 in the morning, the Titanic fell apart and failed, with more than a thousand people on board. A little less than two hours after the flooding, the Karpatiya liner arrived, on board of which about 705 survivors were lifted.
The catastrophe was met with shock and indignation all over the world in connection with the death of many people and the failure of normative and operational actions. Public investigations in the UK and the US have led to significant improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the creation in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which continues to govern maritime relations. In addition, several new wireless rules have been adopted around the world to learn from many mistakes.
The liner itself was discovered only in 1985 (more than 70 years after the disaster), during the US military mission , and to this day remains on the seabed. The ship was divided by an iceberg into two large parts and a large number of decays at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 meters). Thousands of artifacts have been found and exhibited in museums around the world.
The Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history. The memory of him and the scheme of the Titanic ship in particular is supported by numerous works of mass culture, including books, folk songs, films, exhibitions and memorials. This ship is the second largest cruise ship in the world, only the hospital ship Britannic overtook it. The last survivor of the Titanic was Millwina Dean, who at that time was only two months old. She died in 2009 at the age of 97 years.
The design and layout of the ship "Titanic"
The liner was 882 feet 9 inches (269.06 meters) long with a maximum width of 92 feet 6 inches (28.19 meters). Its total height, measured from the base of the keel to the top of the bridge, was 104 feet (32 meters). The Titanic ship was of such enormous size.
All three Olympic-class ships had ten decks. And eight of them were intended exclusively for passengers.
The deck layout of the Titanic is very interesting today. Despite the fact that the liner was built at the beginning of the 20th century, designers still find inspiration for cruise ships in it.
Rescue
The first deck in terms of the Titanic was intended to accommodate boats. It was here that during the hours of the wreck, boats were launched into the Atlantic Ocean to save life.
And also there was a bridge and a cabin. These structures were at the front end, in front of the apartments of the captain and officers. This structure stood 8 feet (2.4 meters) above the deck and extended in both directions to control the ship during docking.
The wheelhouse stood right behind the bridge.
The deck plan of the Titanic shows that the entrance to the first class main staircase and the gymnasium were located amidships along with the roof of the hall.
And on the back of the level there was a smokehouse roof, business cabins and a relatively modest entrance to the second class.
The tree-covered deck was divided into four separate walks: for officers, first-class passengers, engineers and second-class passengers, respectively.
Thanks to the “Titanic” scheme, it can be seen in the section that the lifeboats were aligned on the sides of the deck, except for the first class zone, where there was a gap so that the view would not be spoiled.
Boardwalk
This deck extended along the entire length of the superstructure 546 feet (166 meters). This was reserved exclusively for first class passengers. At the level, one could find cabins, a smoking room, a place for reading and writing, and Palm Springs North.
Third zone
The next in the deck of the Titanic is the pavement. It was the upper bearing zone and the highest level of the hull. There were more first-class passenger rooms with six luxury cabins and their own promenades.
À La Carte Restaurant and Parisien Café provide luxurious dining facilities for first-class passengers. Both facilities were managed by subcontractors and their staff. Unfortunately, they all died in the crash.
And also on this deck were a second-class smoking room and an entrance hall.
The raised side of the ship was in front of the bridge, where there was a main hatch for cargo holds, numerous pieces of equipment and anchor hulls.
Place of death
In terms of the Titanic, you can find that in the aft part was a raised rotary deck 106 feet (32 meters) long, used by third-class passengers for walking. It was there that many of the passengers and crew met their death.
Shelter deck
It was the highest deck, and it was located uninterruptedly from bow to stern.
The backdrop served as part of the third-class promenade.
The crew cabins were placed below the forecast, and public premises of the third class were below deck. Between them there were most cabins of the first class and a library for the second.
The salon was dominated by three large public rooms - a VIP class reception room and dining salons for the first and second.
Open space was provided for third-class passengers.
And there were also cabins on this deck with firefighters moorings. They were located in the bow.
This was the highest level achieved by the watertight bulkheads of the ship (though only eight out of fifteen).
Upper deck
This level was mainly used to accommodate third-class passengers. And also there were cabins for cooks, sailors, stewards and trimmers. Throughout the length of the deck, there was a long passage called Scotland Yard - a reference to the famous street in Liverpool.
The Scottish road was used by third-class passengers and crew.
Middle deck
Here were accommodated second and third class passengers and several crew departments. And also there was a dining room, a swimming pool, a Turkish bath and a nursery.
Lower deck
Already by the name it is clear that this level was the most extreme. The cabins in this part had the lowest portholes, just above the waterline.
A squash court was located here along with a mobile post office, where letters and parcels were sorted and sent when the ship moored.
Food was also stored here.
The level was divided at several points by partial decks above the boiler, engine and turbine compartments.
Kubrick and the upper part were at the lowest level of the ship, below the waterline. The decks were used as cargo rooms, while the upper part - the inner bottom of the hull - provided a platform on which ship boilers, engines, turbines and electric generators were placed.
This area of the ship was occupied by the engine room and boiler rooms, which passengers were forbidden to see. All equipment was associated with higher levels of the ship and flights of stairs.
Two spiral staircases near the bow provided access to other decks.
What was the Titanic ship?
The interior of the Olympic-class vessels was divided into 16 main compartments, separated by 15 bulkheads, which extended well above the waterline. Eleven vertically closing waterproof doors could close compartments in the event of an emergency.
The open deck of the ship was made of pine and teak, and the interior ceilings were covered with granular cork - to combat condensate.
Four funnels stood above the decks, each of which was painted with a buff with black tops (although only three were functional - the last was a mannequin installed for aesthetic purposes, as well as for ventilation of the kitchen), and two masts, each 155 feet (47 meters) tall. These structures supported towers for working cargo.
The steering wheel was very large - 78 feet 8 inches (23.98 meters) high and 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 meters) in length, weighing more than 100 tons. To move it, special devices were required. Two steam steering engines were installed, although only one was used at a time, and the other remained in reserve. They were connected to the short tiller via stiff springs to isolate the steering motors from any impact in the stormy sea or during rapid changes in direction. In extreme cases, the cultivator could be moved with ropes connected to two steam capstans. Kapstany was also used to raise and lower the five anchors of the ship. All these points are perfectly visible in the photo of the Titanic circuit.
Water, ventilation and heating
The ship was equipped with its own station, which is able to heat and pump water to all parts of the vessel through a complex network of pipes and valves.
The main water supplies were taken aboard at the time when the Titanic was in port, that is, before its departure. But in an emergency, the ship could also create fresh water from the sea, although this was not a simple process, since the distillation plant was quickly clogged with salt deposits. Therefore, they tried as much as possible to make stocks in advance.
The insulated duct network was controlled by electric fans that were located throughout the ship. This made it possible to quickly heat the premises. Of course, the first-class cabins were equipped with additional electric heaters.
Radio communication
The Marconi company has provided its latest equipment for an ocean liner station with a capacity of 5 kilowatts.
The Titanic wireless equipment (then known as wireless telegraphy) was leased to White Star Line by an international maritime communications company that also set up two of its employees, Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, as operators. The service maintained a 24-hour business day, mainly sending and receiving passenger telegrams, as well as processing navigation messages, including weather reports and ice warnings.
The radio communication hall was located on the boat deck, in officers' cabins. Soundproof, or, as it was called, a quiet room was located next to the operating room. Radio communications included loud equipment, including a transmitter and a motor generator, used to generate alternating current.
Residential premises of the operators were located next to the work office. The ship was equipped with a modern (at that time 5-kilowatt) rotary spark transmitter operating under the MGY radio call sign. And communication was carried out using Morse code.
This transmitter was one of the first Marconi installations. It was he who gave “Titanic” a characteristic musical tone that can be easily distinguished from other signals. The transmitter was one of the most powerful in the world and was guaranteed to broadcast within a radius of 350 miles (563 kilometers). For transmission and reception, an increased T-antenna was used, which covered absolutely the entire length of the ship. The normal operating frequency was 500 kHz (600 meters), however, the equipment could also operate at a “short” wavelength of 1000 kHz (300 meters), which was used by small vessels with closer and smaller antennas.
Many experts tried to draw a diagram of the wreck of the Titanic. But due to the fact that there are many versions about the crash, it is already impossible to say exactly what happened.
Attempts to recreate
There were several proposals and studies on the project to create an accurate ship based on the Titanic. An attempt by a South African businessman Sarel Gaus was abandoned in 2006. And in 2012, the project was announced by an Australian businessman Clive Palmer, known as Titanic II.
A Chinese shipbuilding company began construction in January 2014 to create an accurate ship. The ship plans to preserve many original features, such as a ballroom, dining room, theater, first-class cabins, economy cabins and a swimming pool.
Tourists will be able to stay on the liner while staying at the resort. It will be permanently docked to land. It is also planned that the ship will show an audiovisual simulated dive so that passengers can experience the story of the Titanic wreck.
The liner "Olympic" was akin to the famous ship. The interior of the dining room and the main staircase are made in the same style and created by the same craftsmen. Large parts of the Olympic interior were later sold and are now located at the White Swan Hotel, Alnwick, which gives an idea of what the Titanic interior looked like.