Titanic left Southampton pier where she
received her official glorious name, on
Wednesday, April 10, 1912, at 12:15pm.
Titanic took a 24 mile trip down the
English channel en route to Cherbourg
France. Titanic then arrived in
Cherbourg at 5:30pm, where the famous
"Unsinkable Molly Brown" boarded.
At 8:30pm, the anchor is raised and she
leaves for Queenstown, Ireland, taking
her through the English channel and
around England's south coast.
Thursday, April 11, 1912: Titanic
arrived at the Queenstown Harbour at
11:30 am. Finally, at 1:30pm, her anchor
is raised for the last time and she
departs with a total estimate of 2,228
passengers and crew members (1,343
passengers and 885 crew members) aboard,
bound for a destination that she would
never reach. New York.
Friday, April 12, 1912: By daybreak
Titanic was well out in the Atlantic
running 21 knots. Between April 11th and
12th, Titanic covers 386 miles in fine,
calm, clear weather. Each day, as the
voyage went on, everybody's admiration
of the ship increased: for the way she
behaved; for the total absence of
vibration; for her steadiness even with
the ever-increasing speed. As Lightoller
observed, "We were not out to make a
record passage; in fact the White Star
Lines invariably run their ships at
reduced speed for the first few
voyages." During the day, Titanic had
received many wireless messages of
congratulations and good wishes
including those from the Empress of
Britain and La Touraine. Each greeting
had also contained advice of ice, but
this was not uncommon for an April
crossing. Late in the evening, Titanic's
wireless apparatus ceased to function,
forcing Jack Phillips and Harold Bride
to work through the early morning hours
to troubleshoot the apparatus and locate
the problem. As Friday passed into
Saturday, vessels were encountering ice
all along the North Atlantic shipping
lines.
Saturday, April 13, 1912: Between noon
Friday and noon Saturday, Titanic covers
519 miles. At 10:30 a.m., Captain E.J.
Smith begins the daily inspection.
Sunday, April 14, 1912: The fine
weather continued with a smooth sea and
a moderate southwesterly wind. Everyone
was in good spirits. The hardier
passengers paced briskly up and down the
Boat Deck, even though the breeze was
chilly but invigorating. Between
Saturday and Sunday, the Titanic covered
546 smiles. Earlier, Titanic had picked
up a wireless message from the Caronia
warning of ice ahead, followed by a
message from the Dutch liner Noordam,
again warning of "much ice" ahead. In
the early afternoon, the Baltic reports
"large quantities of field ice" about
250 miles ahead of the Titanic (this is
the message which Smith eventually gives
to J. Bruce Ismay). A short time later,
the German liner Amerika warns of a
"large iceberg" but this message was not
sent to the bridge. Just before 6:00
p.m., Smoth alters the ship's course
slightly to south and west of its normal
course, perhaps as a precaution to avoid
the ice warned by so many ships.
Titanic's course is now South 86 West
true. But no orders are given to
decrease speed, in fact at this time,
the Titanic's speed was actually
increasing.
At 7:30 p.m., 3 warning
messages concerning large icebergs are
intercepted from the Californian
indicating that ice is now only 50 miles
ahead. After excusing himself from
dinner, Smith heads for the bridge where
he discusses the unusually calm and
clear conditions with 2nd Office
Lightoller.
Around 9:20 p.m., Smith
retires for the night with the usual
order to rouse him "if it becomes at all
doubtful" after which Lightoller
cautions the lookouts to watch carefully
for ice until morning.
At 9:40 p.m., a
heavy ice pack and iceberg warning is
received from the Mesaba. This message
is overlooked by Bride and Phillips due
to their preoccupation with passenger
traffic. Altogether, the many ice
warnings received that day show a huge
ice field 78 miles long and directly
ahead of Titanic.
By 10:00 p.m., Lightoller is relieved by
1st Officer Murdoch.
At 10:55 p.m., some
10-19 miles north of Titanic, the
Californian is stopped in ice and sends
out warnings to all ships in area. Bride
rebukes the Californian with the famous
reply, "Keep out! Shut up! You're
jamming my signal. I'm working Cape
Race" and the Californian wireless
officer shuts down his set for the
night. By this time, 24 of 29 boilers
were fired and the Titanic was now
running at over 22 knots, the highest
speed she had ever achieved.
At 11:30 p.m., lookouts Fleet and Lee
note a slight haze appearing directly
ahead. At 11:40 p.m., with the Titanic
steaming at over 22 knots, Fleet sees a
large iceberg dead ahead and signals the
bride. Sixth Office Moody acknowledges
the signal and relays the message to
Murdoch who instinctively orders
"Hard-a-starboard" and telegraphs the
engine room to stop all engines,
followed by a full astern. He also
closes the watertight doors. Titanic
slowly begins to veer to port, but an
underwater spar from the passing berg
scraps and bumps along the starboard
side forward to the sea, as 300-foot
distance fully opening the five forward
compartments to the sea, as well as
flooding the coal bunker servicing the
No. 9 stokehole.
By 11:55 p.m., 15 minutes after the
collision, the post office on "G" Deck
forward is already flooding. After a
quick inspection of the damage by Wilde,
Boxhall and Andrews, Smith knows the
worst... that Titanic was sinking and
the more than 2,200 people aboard were
in extreme peril. With a heavy heart,
Smith personally takes the Titanic's
position, worked out by a 4th Office
Boxhall, to the wireless room. Handing
the paper to Phillips shortly after
midnight, he ordered a call for
assistance. Phillips taps out the
regulation distress signal
CQD...MGY...CQD...MGY...
Monday, April 15, 1912: Shortly after
midnight, the Squash court, 32 feet
above keel, is awash. The majority of
the boilers have been shut down, and
the huge clouds of steam roar out of the
relief pipes secured to the sides of the
funnels. Smith orders that the lifeboats
be uncovered and musters the crew and
passengers. There is only enough room
for 1,178 people out of an estimated
2,228 on board, if every boat is filled
to capacity. Wireless operators, Jack
Phillips and Harold Bride, try the CQD
(Come Quick, Distress) MGY (Titanic's
call sign) signal but received few
responses. They then try the new SOS
(Save Our Ship) signal and received
responses from Frankfurt, Olympic and
Carpathia. Frankfurt's signal was the
strongest, however they were 170 miles
away. Olympic wouldn't arrive until the
next night. Carpathia, however, was the
closet ship to Titanic. She was 57 miles
away and it would take her 4 hours to
get there.
Between 12:10 a.m. and 1:50 a.m.,
several crewmembers on Carpathia see
what is thought to be a tramp steamer's
lights. Rockets are also observed, but
no great concern is taken. Carpathia's
crew members saw Titanic's flares in the
early morning sky, but thought they were
having a celebration. They didn't think
of waking up their sleeping wireless
operators.
At 12:15 a.m., Wallace Hartley and his
band begin to play lively ragtime tunes
in the 1st Class lounge on "A" Deck.
At 12:25 a.m., Smith gives the order to
start loading lifeboats with women and
children, and this order is particularly
followed to the letter by 2nd Officer
Lightoller.
By 12:45 a.m., starboard No.7 is safely
lowered away with only 28 people, while
it can carry 65. At about this same
time, the first distress rocket is fired
by Quartermaster George Rowe, under the
direction of Boxhall, from the bridge
rail sockets on the Boat Deck by the
No.1 emergency cutter. They soared 800
feet in the air and explode into 12
brilliant white stars, along with a loud
report. Boxhall sees a vessel approach
and then disappear, despite attempts to
contact her via Morse lamp.
By 1:15 am, water has reached Titanic's
name on the bow, and she now lists to
port. By this time, seven boats have
been lowered, by with far fewer
passengers and crew than rated capacity.
The tilt of the deck grows steeper and
boats now begin to be more fully loaded,
with starboard No. 9 lowered at 1:20
a.m., some 56 people aboard. The Titanic
has now developed a noticeable list to
starboard. By 1:30 a.m., signs of panic
begin to appear as port No. 14 is
lowered with 60 people, including 5th
Officer Lowe. Lowe is forced to fire
three warning shots along the ship's
side to keep a group of unruly
passengers from jumping into the already
full boat. Wireless distress calls
tapped out by Phillips reach desperation
status, with messages such as, "we are
sinking fast" and, "cannot last much
longer." Ben Guggenheim along with
manservant Victor Giglio, returned to
their cabins and changed into evening
dress explaining, "We're dressed up in
our best and prepared to go down like
gentlemen."
By 1:40 a.m., most of the forward boats
have left and passengers begin to move
to the stern area. J. Bruce Ismay leaves
on collapsible "C" with 39 aboard, the
last starboard boat to be lowered. The
forward Well Deck is awash.
By 2:00 a.m., water is now only 10 feet
below the Promenade Deck. Around this
time, Hartley chooses the band's final
piece, 'Nearer, My God to Thee.' Hartley
said it would always be the hymn he
would select for his own funeral. They
would continue playing to almost the
end, and every member would be lost.
With more than 1,500 still on board, and
just 47 positions available in
Collapsible "D," Lightoller instructs
the crew to lock arms and form a circle
around the boat, permitting only women
and children to pass through the circle.
At 2:05 a.m., "D" begins it's downward
journey with 44 people out of a rated
capacity of 47. The sea is pouring on to
the forward end of "A" Deck, and
Titanic's tilt grows deeper. At this
same time, Smith goes to the wireless
cabin and releases Phillips and Bride
telling them that they have "done their
duty." On the way back to his bridge,
Smith tells several crewmen, "It's every
man for himself." His last thoughts are
likely of his beloved wife Eleanor and
his young daughter Helen. As Walter Lord
describes the scene in "A Night to
Remember," "with the boats all gone, a
curious calm came over the Titanic. The
excitement and confusion were over and
the hundreds left behind stood quietly
on the upper decks. They seemed to
cluster inboard, trying to keep as far
away from the rail as possible." The
stern begins to lift clear of the water,
and passengers move further and further
aft.
At about 2:17 a.m., Titanic's bow
plunges under while hundreds of 2nd and
3rd class passengers hear confessions
from Father Thomas Byles gathered at the
aft end of the Boat Deck.
At 2:18 a.m., a huge roar is heard as
all moveable objects inside Titanic
crash toward the submerged bow. The
lights blink once and then go out,
leaving Titanic visible only as a black
silhouette against the starlit sky. Many
are convinced that the hull breaks in
two between the 3rd and 4th funnels. The
ship achieves a completely perpendicular
position and remains there for several
minutes.
At 2:20 a.m., she settles back slightly
and slides down to the bed of the North
Atlantic some 13,000 feet below. Almost
at once, the night was punctuated with
the cries of the survivors, growing in
number and anguish until Thayer's words
they became "a long continuous wailing
chant." They ghastly noise would
continue for some time, but mercifully
many would freeze to death and rather
than drown. The cries even affected the
hardened Lightoller who heard the
"heartrending never-to-be-forgotten
sounds" from overturned Collapsible "A."
Later, he would confess that he had
never allowed his thoughts to dwell on
those terrible cries.
At 3:30 a.m., the Carpathia's rockets
are sighted by those in the lifeboats
and at 4:10 a.m., Titanic's No.2
lifeboat is picked up.
By 5:30 a.m., after being advised by the
Frankfort of Titanic's loss, the
Californian makes for the disaster site
and arrives about three hours later,
just as the last boat No. 12, is rescued
by the Carpathia. True to form,
Lightoller is the last survivor to come
aboard.
At 8:50 a.m., the Carpathia leaves the
searching for survivors to the other
ships and heads for New York. She
carries only 705 survivors. An estimated
1,522 souls have been lost. J. Bruce
Ismay sent the following message to the
White Star Lines New York offices:
"Deeply regret advice you, Titanic sank
this morning after collision with
iceberg, resulting in serious loss of
life. Full particulars later."
An extract taken from
"The Unfinished Trip"
by Earl Chapman
All rights reserved. ®
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