The Royal Mail Steamer Titanic was a product of William Pirries's Belfast firm Harland and Wolff. She was built to sail from Southampton to New York. She was the most modern and the most luxurious ships of all time. Titanic was a massive "52,310 long tons, was 882 feet, 9 inches long overall, 94 feet wide at her widest point (the hull itself reached a maximum breadth of 92.5 feet), and 175 feet tall from the keel to the top of her four funnels." It is said that she was as tall as an 11-story building. "The Titanic was divided by 15 transverse bulkheads into 16 compartments that were said to be watertight because the bulkheads extended well above the waterline."
She was not only beautiful, but she also deemed "unsinkable," which made her even more famous. She set sail on her much anticipated maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. She was equipped with a Turkish baths, a Parisien cafe, Squash courts and private promenades. In the center of the ship was the grand staircase, covered with a glass dome, which went all the way down to D-deck. The grand staircase was the centerpiece of the ship, ordained with cherubs and skillfully cut wood with sparkling chandeliers. In charge of the Titanic was veteran captain Edward J. Smith.
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"At 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912-the fifth night of the Titanic's maiden voyage-an iceburg pierced her starboard bow. Just after midnight Captain Edward J. Smith gave the order to begin firing white distress rockets. The first rockets went up at approximately 12:45 am. At about the same time, the first lifeboat, starboard boat No.7, was lowered. By 1:40 am, all the port-side boats were away, the Titanic's forecastle was underwater, and collapsible D was being readied for lowering."
"At 2:05 am, about ninety minutes after she hit the iceberg, Titanic's stern began to lift out of the water. All the boats had gone but more than 1,500 passengers remained on board."
Having struck the iceberg, it took only a few short hours for the mighty Titanic to sink. First at the bow, then faster and faster down. Now, with her stern up at a 90 degree angle the people still on board know that they are going to die. Then, a loud crack, and she splits down the middle. The bow plunges below the waves of the Atlantic while the stern stays and "bobs" on the surface before slipping through the velvet sea below.
Under the bright starlit sky, there was silence where a majestic ship once ruled. What remained were the ghostly cries of those unfortunate souls helplessly floating in the freezing water. It took only minutes for the cries to deminish. Those fortunate to have made it to a lifeboat sat, listening, and waiting, trying to convince themselves that the cries they heard was not of their loved ones. Many things happened that fateful night that I haven't included in this short synopsis, There were heroic deeds and cowardly acts, as well as love and death. For a better account of the Titanics first and last voyage read "A Night to Remember."
Now the mighty Titanics lies 2 1/2 miles below the surface of the unforgiving Atlantic. For many years the Atlantic refused to give up the secret that she held. That is until Dr. Robert Ballard got involved. On September 1, 1985 he found what others before had failed to find for many years: The Titanic. This is where he found her.
Rusted over, she still looked as magnificent as she did that cold April night.
Most of the pictures on this site were taken from various Titanic sites on the internet. The information in the quotes were taken from "The Discovery of the Titanic" by Robert Ballard. None of this information was intended to infringe on copyright laws.