An almost full-scale replica of the ship created for the film (as well as several smaller models), the participation of companies and producers who built the real Titanic, as well as the $200 million spent on filming more than justified itself, both financially and in terms of worldwide recognition.
I will not dwell on the fictional main characters (fans of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio will forgive me), but I will talk about the historical characters of this ship that has long since sailed into history.
The main character on any ship is its captain.
Edward John Smith (1850-1912) - the captain of the Titanic was an extraordinary person. He was born in Henley, quite far from the sea. However, after leaving school at thirteen, he ran away to Liverpool to become a sailor. In 1880, already with the rank of junior assistant, he joined the White Star Line company. His career was so successful that already in 1887 he was entrusted with the first ship.
He then served the Empire with distinction during the Boer War, transporting troops to South Africa on the Majestic. For this he received a transport medal with a “South Africa” bar, the Order of the Royal Navy Reserve and the rank of captain 3rd rank in the British Navy Reserve. (As a collector, I can’t help but show these awards large).
That is why all his ships proudly flew the blue ensign of the British Naval Reserve, as opposed to the usual red ensign of the merchant marine.
Becoming a commodore in 1904, Smith began serving exclusively on White Star's flagships. It also became a tradition that he launched each new ship of the company on its first voyage. In April 1912 he became captain of the Titanic...
...It is not known for certain how exactly the captain died that night. Someone saw him go to the bridge shortly before it went under the water. Someone said that he shot himself. After the Titanic sank, fireman Harry Senior saw a man resembling Smith in the water. Another fireman, Walter Hurst, who escaped on collapsible boat "B", until the end of his days believed that the man who swam near the boat was Captain Smith, but since the boat was overturned and there were already 30 people gathered on it, he did not attempt to go there climb. The captain's body was never found.
He was played by actor Bernard Hill in the film.
Digression to the film:
A stunt performed by one of the stuntmen in the scene of the death of Captain Edward Smith. The captain's bridge, completely submerged under water, is flooded in a matter of seconds with water pouring in through the windows, successively blown up by squibs. Two divers were at the ready nearby, insuring the stuntman from surprises, but everything worked out: the stuntman left the flooded wheelhouse without outside help... No combined filming! No computer!
In addition to the captain, the ship's deck crew was headed by 7 officers.
First Officer, Lieutenant Henry Tingle Wild (1872-1912).
Transferred as a senior officer to the Titanic from the Olympic literally at the last moment, probably at the request of Captain Smith. And although Wild was extremely unhappy that he would have to change ship, the captain insisted. As a result, there was an “officer reshuffle”, as a result of which Wilde took the place of William Murdoch. Murdoch took the place of Charles Lightoller. And he, in turn, replaced David Blair, who was removed from the flight...
He was last seen on the roof of the officers' quarters, when he was trying to lower collapsible boats "A" and "B"... The body was not found.
He was played by actor Mark Lindsay Chapman in the film. The role is episodic, the senior assistant almost does not appear in the frame. It was from him that Rosa took the officer’s whistle in order to attract the attention of the boat...
First Officer, Lieutenant William McMaster Murdoch (1873 - 1912).
Murdoch was the duty officer on the bridge when the Titanic struck an iceberg. Following the collision, Murdoch was put in charge of the starboard evacuation of passengers, during which he launched 10 lifeboats. William Murdoch was last seen attempting to lower Collapsible Lifeboat A. The body was not found. A few days after the disaster, some crew members and passengers began to talk about suicide, which occurred just before the sinking of the Titanic. It is unclear who committed suicide, some claimed that it was Smith, Wilde, or Murdoch... But there was also evidence that Murdoch was seen in the water after the sinking of the Titanic, still alive. Second Assistant Lightoller, in a letter to Murdoch's widow, also confirms this.
He was played by actor Evan Stewart in the film. Murdoch took money from Hockley for the right to board the boat, shot two passengers, and then shot himself. None of this is true. In fact, William Murdoch honestly fulfilled his duty and did everything to save as much as possible more people. Seventy-five percent of all those rescued from the Titanic were evacuated from the starboard side. The film company 20th Century Fox issued an official apology to the residents of Dalbeattie, Murdoch's homeland, and admitted that there was no evidence of Murdoch's inappropriate actions. To make amends, the filmmakers transferred five thousand pounds sterling to the William Murdoch Memorial Fund in Dalbetty...
Second Mate, Lieutenant Charles Herbert Lightoller (1874 - 1952).
After working for several years on the Majestic and Oceanic, Charles proved himself a capable seaman and was promoted from third to first mate. He was invited to the Titanic as a first mate for the duration of the test voyages, and later, due to a reshuffle in the crew, he was appointed to the position of second mate...
After the collision, he was responsible for the evacuation from the left side. Since at first there were few people willing to leave the seemingly safer Titanic, Lightoller sent several boats half empty, not allowing men to board them. When the Titanic suddenly began to sink into the water, Lightoller jumped off the ship, but he was sucked in by the water pouring into the ship. But a bubble of air suddenly bursting from the depths threw him back to the surface. He swam to collapsible boat "B", which was floating upside down. In total, 30 people gathered on this boat, Lightoller tried to organize them to avoid flooding. He made everyone stand on either side of the keel and balance in time with the waves, thus maintaining balance. Only in the morning they were picked up by approaching boats No. 4 and 12.
At the end of his life, Lightoller made a sensational statement in his book: The Titanic supposedly had enough time to avoid an obstacle, but the helmsman, in a panic, put the steering wheel on the wrong side (He had previously sailed on sailing ships, and there the steering wheel worked with precision to the contrary). When he realized his mistake and shifted the steering wheel, it was too late...
He was played by actor Jonathan Phillips in the film.
Digression to the film:
In the director's cut of the film there is a scene on an overturned boat. On it, in addition to Lightoller, those you knew from the film were saved: Colonel Archibald Gracie, second radio operator Harold Bride, chief baker Joughin...
During the evacuation, Murdoch ordered him to take command of Lifeboat 5. The boat moved 400 meters away from the ship when it disappeared under water. Pitman looked at his watch and said loudly, “It’s 2:20.” His cry was also heard on neighboring boats, so this time was included in the documents as the time of the sinking of the Titanic.
Hearing the screams of people, he decided to return, but others in the boat were afraid of being capsized, and Pitman canceled the order. This decision then haunted him for the rest of his life.
He was played by actor Kevin De La Noy in the film. Moreover, the role is so episodic that it was difficult to find a shot with him.
Fourth Mate, Joseph Groves Boxhall (1884 - 1967).
After the liner put to sea, his duties included assistance in navigation, drawing up a duty schedule and, if necessary, providing assistance to passengers and crew members.
When the Titanic struck an iceberg, Boxhall was ordered by Captain Smeat to inspect the bow of the ship for damage. Later, Boxhall determined the coordinates of the ship's position to transmit a distress signal...
Boxhall was placed in command of lifeboat No. 2, which was launched from the port side at 1:45. But all the time, until they were picked up by the Carpathia, he himself sat on the oars...
In 1958, he was a consultant during the filming of the feature film “A Night to Remember” (about the sinking of the Titanic, of course).
After his death on April 25, 1967, his body was cremated according to his will, and his ashes were scattered over the Atlantic, over the place where, according to his calculations, the legendary ship sank (41°46N 50°14W). The ceremony was attended by the surviving passengers of the Titanic, Ruth Becker and Frank Goldsmith...
He was played by actor Simon Crane in the film.
Fifth Mate, Harold Godfrey Lowe (1882 - 1944).
Lowe was a man of the same mold as Lightoller. He was a born sailor.
During the evacuation, he participated in the lowering of boats No. 14 and No. 16. At the same time, Lowe fired several times from a revolver to stop the panic that had begun and prevent men from entering the boat.
Led boat No. 14. After the sinking of the Titanic, Lowe began collecting and lashing several lifeboats together. He wanted to go back to pick up survivors. To do this, he transferred passengers to boats, freeing his own. However, none of the crew members wanted to go back, fearing that the people would sink the boat. Precious time was wasted on persuasion. When he returned, he could only find four people, one of whom died later that night. After this, having set the sails on the boat, Lowe caught up with the boats that had gone ahead. Along the way, he took folding boat “D” in tow and removed the survivors from the half-submerged (from the fall of the 1st pipe) folding boat “A”. In boat "A" many froze overnight and fell overboard; when Lowe found it, there were 12 men and 3rd class passenger Rose Abbott left there.
He was played by actor Ioan Gruffudd in the film.
Sixth Mate, James Paul Moody (1887 - 1912).
On April 14, 1912, Moody was on the bridge with First Officer William Murdock. When the phone rang, Moody asked Fleet, “What do you see?” Fleet: “Iceberg, straight ahead!”
During the evacuation, Moody helped lower boats 12, 14 and 16. When loading boat 14, fifth officer Harold Lowe wanted a junior officer to board, but Moody gave way to him, saying that he would board boat 16. The last time he was seen was a few minutes before the death of the ship, while trying to lower one of the collapsible boats, when a crowd of maddened men attacked him... His body, if found, remained unidentified.
He was played by actor Edward Fletcher in the film. It was he who allowed the “Gundersen brothers” - Jack and Fabrizio - on board, taking them at their word...
Treasurer of the Titanic, Hugh Walter McElroy (1874 - 1912).
During the evacuation, he was involved in loading into boat No. 9 and collapsible boat “C”. He fired several times into the air to stop the men trying to get into the boat. He was last seen on the boat deck, walking somewhere with Captain Smith.
McElroy's body was found two weeks later by the cable ship Mackay-Bennett and marked number 157. He was in uniform, and according to maritime custom, he and more than 100 others were buried at sea at the site of the sinking of the Titanic...
He was played by actor Mark Lindsay Chapman in the film. It was he who let Cal into the boat, who took someone else’s girl in his arms.
The radio operators, although they appeared in the documents as junior assistants, were not sailors. They were in the service of the Marconi Company, which paid them their salaries.
Senior radio operator John George Phillips (1887 - 1912).
Jack Phillips was a very experienced radio operator and had worked on many ships before the Titanic.
At 00.15, a signal was sent to them from the sinking ship: “CQD MGY 41°46′ N, 50°14′ W...”. At that time, the SOS code was already accepted as an international distress signal, but the radio operators of English ships, working on Marconi transmitters, preferred the CQD signal, and Jack Phillips was no exception. Only at about 2 am the captain ordered him to try and send an SOS. Phillips thus became the first radio operator in history to issue this distress signal.
CQD from the Titanic was first heard by the French ship La Provence and the English Mountain Temple. The Frankfurt steamer replied: “Okay. Wait,” but he was too far away. Signals were also picked up by the Cape Race radio station, the Virginian liner, the Russian tramp ship Burma, and even the young radio amateur David Sarnov, who set up his station on the roof of Wanamaker's department store in New York. “Carpathia” was the closest, and she hurried to the rescue. The radio operator on duty at Cape Race that night later recalled that the first-class operator of the Titanic, Jack Phillips, reduced his transmission speed from more than 30 to only 15 words per minute - so that less professional telegraph operators had time to record all messages from the sinking ship . He did not stop broadcasting for a minute until, at approximately 02.17 am, the Titanic’s de-energized transmitter went silent forever...
What happened to J. J. Phillips after the ship sank is unknown. One of the survivors claimed that the senior radio operator of the Titanic reached the overturned collapsible boat B. But his body was never found...
He was played by actor Gregory Cook in the film.
Junior radio operator Harold Sidney Bride (1890 - 1956).
On the fateful night, Bride transmitted and received messages for Captain Smith from the Carpathia and other ships with which Phillips was negotiating. Both operators remained on duty even after being released by the captain.
When the Titanic sank, Bride was able to climb onto the bottom of the overturned collapsible boat B. But his misadventures did not end there. In terrible cramped conditions, and, as you remember, about 30 people had gathered on the bottom of the boat, someone sat on his legs and seriously injured them. Already on board the Carpathia it became clear that his legs were frostbitten and crushed. But even in this state, he helped the Carpathia radio operator until New York, sending personal letters and lists of survivors to the ground.
In memory of the events on the Titanic, the Marconi company awarded Harold Bride a gold watch with the inscription: “In gratitude to those who did their duty and did it bravely.”
He was played by actor Craig Kelly in the film.
The Titanic's engine crew was led by Chief Engineer Joseph Bell (1861 - 1912), who had worked for many years on White Star Line ships, was a member of the Institution of Marine Engineers of Great Britain and an officer in the British Navy Reserve. Transferred to the Titanic from the Olympic (Smith selected a high-quality crew for this voyage).
Bell relieved his men of duty around 02:00, but they all continued to work. The actions of the engine team made it possible to significantly delay the death of the liner. The Titanic's lights went out just minutes before the ship sank. Most of them, like their boss Joseph Bell, died. His body was never found...
He was played by actor Terry Forestal in the film.
Forward looking Frederick Fleet (1887 - 1965).
Flit transmitted messages to the bridge about icebergs floating past three times in the half-hour period preceding the collision, and he saw the last, main iceberg too late...
During the evacuation on the boat schedule, Fleet boarded lifeboat No. 6 as a rower. After launching, their boat tried to reach the lights of the mysterious ship flickering in the night, but to no avail. On April 15, 1912 at 6 o'clock in the morning the boat was lifted aboard the Carpathia...
At the commission of inquiry, Fleet behaved defiantly, almost on the verge of hysteria (obviously under the influence of stress, and under the constant control of Ismay). His life ended in suicide in 1965, thirty years after he left service on his last ship, the Olympic...
He was played by actor Scott Anderson in the film.
Forward-looking Reginald Robins Lee (1870-1913).
He stood watch at the crow's nest with Frederick Fleet.
During the evacuation on the boat schedule, Lee boarded lifeboat No. 13 as an oarsman. Saved by Carpathia. But the 40-year-old sailor's health was undermined that night, and a year and a half later he died of pneumonia.
He was played by actor Martin East in the film.
Coxswain Robert Hitchins (1882-1940).
Before the Titanic, Hitchins served on many ships, but mostly sailing ships.
Was on watch during the collision. I have already written above about the accusation brought by the second assistant against him.
During the evacuation, Hichens was appointed commander of Lifeboat No. 6 by Lightoller. The lifeboat was launched at approximately 12:55 pm with only 28 passengers on board.
The passengers of the boat later claimed that he behaved very rudely, he said that all offers would come back to pick up survivors. (and also used all the blankets for himself, and drank all the whiskey on board the boat).
They wrote that the White Star Line offered him a well-paid job in exchange for silence about the details of what happened on the bridge of the Titanic. The former helmsman became the harbor master in Cape Town (South Africa)...
He was played by actor Paul Brightwell in the film.
If you watched “Titanic,” then of course you remember the cute fat man who looked like a baker, who was constantly drinking something intoxicating.
This is the Titanic's chief baker, Charles John Joughin (1879 - 1956). The story of his rescue is quite interesting, so it is worth telling.
Shortly before midnight, he was roused from his bed, like many on the Titanic, by an unusual grinding sound and a dull thud. At 00:05 the captain ordered the boats to be uncovered and the evacuation to begin. Joughin did not panic; on the contrary, on his own initiative he began to collect supplies of bread in the galley for the passengers of the boats. Having completed what he started, he went to his cabin to refresh himself with a few sips of whiskey. According to the boat schedule, Joughin was supposed to command boat No. 10. But he reasoned that there were enough men in the boat without him, while his evacuation, as he later said, would be a bad example for the others. When Jufin appeared on deck again, all the boats had already been launched and moved away from the Titanic. 2nd Assistant Lightoller, seeing the form he was in, decided that it was all over with the baker, he would not survive. Joughin began throwing sun loungers into the water and, as a result, sent about fifty chairs overboard, perhaps later they even saved someone’s life.
At 02:20, it was all over for the Titanic, its stern disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, and Charles Joughin slipped from it into the water without even getting his hair wet. It must be said that a whirlpool that drags people behind a ship does not always happen, and the baker was lucky in this regard. For more than an hour and a half, he sailed through the night ocean in icy water, protected from the cold by alcohol vapors, until in the light of the dawning morning he noticed an overturned folding boat B. Its entire bottom was covered with people led by Lightoller, who was extremely surprised to see the baker alive. There was no room for Joughin on the crowded boat. He kept swimming around the boat until he noticed one of his galley mates. So, holding the hand of this friend and being in the water for a total of more than 4 hours, the baker waited for the arrival of the Carpathia. And it didn’t freeze, although the water was -2 degrees Celsius. Lethal dose alcohol and the deadly cold, combining, mutually weakened their effect.
He was played by actor Liam Tuohy in the film.
Thomas Andrews Jr. (1873 - 1912) was an Irish businessman and shipbuilder, executive director of the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding company in Belfast, who sailed in cabin 1 class A36 on the Titanic. Andrews was the designer of the Olympic and Titanic.
On the first voyage of the Titanic, he headed the Guarantee Commission of 9 people, representatives of the shipyard. During the voyage, he crawled around the entire ship, filling dozens of pages with notes and comments about the condition of the ship. All of them were supposed to help in the construction of the third twin brother “Gigantic”...
After the collision, Andrews examined the emergency compartments and came to the conclusion that the Titanic could no longer be saved and would sink. During the evacuation, Thomas helped passengers board lifeboats. He was last seen in the first class smoking room near the fireplace, where he stood and looked at the painting "Port Plymouth". The body of the man who built the Titanic was never found.
He was played by actor Victor Garber in the film.
All members of the Guarantee Commission also died. They were supposed to note the ship's shortcomings and monitor whether any problems would arise. Membership in this group was available only to a select few and was based on personal enthusiasm and qualifications. If a person was chosen to be a member of this group, it was considered a sign of respect on the part of the employer (especially if the chosen person was an ordinary shipyard worker).
Here are their names:
Roderick Chrisholm. Chief draftsman at Harland & Wolf. Ironically, it was he who was responsible for the design of lifeboats, but the number of them on the ship did not depend on him.
Henry William Parr. Assistant Head of the Electrical Engineering Department at Harland & Wolf. He supervised the installation of electricity for both the Olympic and the Titanic, as we remember, the electricity on the ship was almost complete..
Francis Parkes, carpenter.
William Campbell, journeyman carpenter. His story is doubly sad. His older sister died of grief on April 16, a day after the sinking of the Titanic.
Alfred Fleming Cunningham, journeyman editor.
Anthony Wood Frost, chief installer, Harland & Wolf.
Robert Knight, lead installer.
Ennis Hastings Watson, journeyman electrician.
Its orchestra occupies a special place in the history of the Titanic. The Titanic's ship's orchestra consisted of eight musicians - seven English and one French. They were divided into 2 quartets, one played in the 1st class salon, the second in the Parisien cafe. And only on the deck that fateful night did they play together for the first time, encouraging the doomed. Later newspapers wrote that the Titanic's musicians "ranked among the noblest people in maritime history."
U.G. Hartley, F. Clark, P.C. Taylor, J. Kriens, W.T. Brayley, J. Hume, J. W. Woodworth, R. Bricoux - None of them escaped.
Wallace Henry Hartley (1878 - 1912).
This legendary man needs no introduction, but if you please, he is a British virtuoso violinist and leader of the Titanic orchestra.
Hartley was born in Colne in Lancashire, UK. He played the violin since childhood. In 1909 he began working on the ocean liners of the Cunard Line.
In April 1912, he was appointed head of the orchestra on the White Star Line ship Titanic.
Wallace Hartley's body was found two weeks later by the cable ship Mackay-Bennett and marked number 224. His violin was tightly strapped to his chest. The instrument bears the inscription: “To Wallace on the occasion of our engagement. Maria". (Maria Robertson, his fiancée, and they planned to get married after Hartley returned from sailing).
Hartley was buried in his native Colne. A thousand people attended the funeral, and the procession consisted of 40,000 people. The monument still has fresh flowers and gifts from admirers...
He was played by actor Jonathan Evans-Jones in the film.
The crew and service personnel of the Titanic suffered significant losses. 676 people died, 212 people were saved.
Most of those rescued were among the sailors assigned to the boats as rowers and helmsmen. The machine crew opposite died almost entirely at their jobs. Very few stewards survived. All 5 postal clerks died (Titanic was a postal and passenger ship). Cooks, musicians, canteen and restaurant staff, shop assistants - they also had almost no place in the boats...
And instead of P.S. Was there any DiCaprio? That is Jack Dawson.
And - yes, there was! And although on the movie Titanic Jack Dawson does not appear on either the crew lists or the passenger lists, fans found him on the lists of the real ship. True, there is no similarity between the prototype and the dazzling Leonardo.
The real Jack (Joseph) Dawson was a coal miner, and the place where a coal miner works, even on such a luxurious ship as the Titanic, is not clean.
Dawson mixed coal in coal bunkers to make it easier for stokers to pick it up. He did not survive the Titanic disaster. Probably, he, like those stokers who managed to get out of engine room, but did not have time to board the boats, and ended up at the stern, from where he jumped into the water.
The remains of the real Dawson were not plunged into the icy waters of the Atlantic amid the sounds of sobbing in movie theaters around the world, but he was found by the Mackay Bennett two weeks after the crash. He was identified by having a union card in his shirt pocket, and was buried in Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, grave number 227.
Dawson was 23 years old. His love was not a high society star played by Kate Winslet, but the sister of his friend, fireman John Priest, who, by the way, persuaded him to become a sailor. After the release of the film "Titanic", fans of DiCaprio and Winslet besieged all possible historical authorities with the question - were there really prototypes of the stars, yes or no? Then it turned out that if Winslet was in doubt, then Dawson was fine, he was, and moreover, his ashes can be worshiped. Which the fans immediately did. From then to this day, the piles of flowers on the grave of the coal miner, “crazy” from such worldwide fame, do not have time to wither, they are replaced by new ones.
Cameron claims that he took the name “Jack Dawson”, as they say, “out of the blue” and was sincerely surprised to learn that there really was such a person on the Titanic. Is the cunning Cameron stirring things up to create another legend, or is he telling the truth - who knows?
| Edward John Smith | |
| Edward John Smith | |
| Captain Edward John Smith aboard the Olympic, 1911 | |
|---|---|
| Occupation: |
ship captain |
| Date of Birth: | |
| Citizenship: |
Great Britain |
| Date of death: | |
| Father: |
Edward Smith |
| Mother: |
Katherine Hancock (Marsh) |
| Spouse: |
Sarah Elianore Pennington |
| Children: |
Helen Melville Smith |
Biography
On Tuesday July 12, 1887, he married Sarah Elionor Pennington (June 17, 1861 – April 28, 1931). On Saturday 2 April 1898 at Waterloo in Liverpool, their daughter Helen Melville Smith (2 April 1898 – August 1973) was born. In 1912 the Smith family lived in the imposing red brick house Wood Head on Wynne Road in the Southampton suburb of Highfield.
Captain's career
Smith commanded such ships as the Adriatic and Olympic. Although he was highly respected, incidents frequently occurred on ships under his command. So in 1889, the Republic, under his command, ran aground, a fire occurred on the steamship Majestic, in 1906 another fire occurred on his steamship Baltic, the Adriatic was grounded by him, and in 1911 year there was a collision between the Olympic, which he controlled, and the British military cruiser Hawk. However, despite this track record, Smith was highly popular among crew members and passengers. Due to this, and also, not least, due to his wealth of experience, he was entrusted with commanding the passenger liner Titanic on her maiden voyage, after which the captain was supposed to retire.
Titanic
On April 10, 1912, Smith, dressed in a bowler hat and long coat, boarded a taxi at his home and headed for Southampton port. At about 7 o'clock in the morning he boarded the Titanic, and at 12 o'clock the liner set sail from the pier, almost colliding with the American liner New York. On April 14 at 23:40, the Titanic struck an iceberg; The ship's hull received numerous holes, and the ship sank.
Smith is usually accused of negligence, ignoring numerous warnings from other ships about difficult ice conditions along the route. They were not given orders to slow down or significantly change course to avoid the dangerous region. On the night of the collision with the iceberg, the captain slept in his cabin, and after the collision occurred, he did not actually evacuate passengers. There is also a point of view that the captain did not reduce speed, following the instructions of the management of the shipowner company.
It is not known for certain how exactly Captain Smith died that night. A version was put forward that he shot himself. However, Robert Ballard in his book " The Discovery of the Titanic"suggested that at 2:10 a.m., just 10 minutes before the ship's final dive, Smith returned to the captain's bridge, where he met his death. Likewise, steward Edward Brown last saw Smith as he went to the bridge, still holding a megaphone, however, some time later, lamplighter Samuel Hemming entered the bridge and he did not see the captain there. Harold Bride claimed that he saw Smith climb out of the bridge into the water a minute before the dive. After the Titanic sank, fireman Harry Senior saw a man resembling Smith in the water with a child in his arms. Another fireman, Walter Hurst, who escaped on collapsible boat B, until the end of his days believed that the man who was swimming near the boat was Captain Smith, but since the boat was overturned and there were already 30 people gathered on it, he made no attempt to climb there. And when Hirst nevertheless handed him the oar, he was already dead. Whatever actually happened to him, the fact remains that Edward John Smith's body was never found.
Family
After the disaster, Sarah Smith lived in Southampton for some time, but then moved to London, where on April 28, 1931 she tragically died near her home - she was hit by a taxi. Their daughter Helen initially married (although this fact is not confirmed) Captain John Gilberston of Liverpool, who was at the time the youngest captain in the British Merchant Navy. He died of black water fever on his way home from India aboard his first ship, the Bibby Line Morazan. Then Helen, already officially, in 1922 married Sidney Russell-Cook (December 12, 1892 - July 30, 1930) in the Church of St. Mark in Mayfair, and on 18 June 1923 they had twins - Simon (who never married and was killed in action in the Second World War on 23 March 1944) and Priscilla (who married lawyer John Constantine Phipps in 1946 and died of polio in Scotland on October 7, 1947). A year before the death of her mother Sarah, Sydney died in a hunting accident.
However, despite the notoriety associated with her father, Helen Melville Smith led a very adventurous life, enjoying driving sports cars and even becoming a pilot. In the winter at the end of 1957, she arrived on the set of the film “
Third Mate - Herbert J. Pitman
Fourth Mate - Joseph G. Boxhall
Fifth Mate - Harold P. Lowe
Sixth Mate - James P. Moody (deceased)
There were seven officers on the Titanic - three senior (chief, first and second mates) and four junior (third, fourth, fifth and sixth mates). Their working hours were organized as follows. The whole day was divided into several four-hour watches: from 8 am to 12 o'clock - "day watch", from 12 to 16 - "afternoon watch", from 16 to 20 - "dog", from 20 to 24 - "first", from 00 to 20 4 o'clock in the morning - "middle" or "cemetery" watch, from 4 to 8 o'clock - "morning" or "coffee" watch. Their beginning was marked by eight strikes of a bell located on the navigation bridge, then the bells were struck every half hour and hour.
Second Mate Charles Herbert Lightoller
Before the next four-hour watch, the watch officer came to the bridge to relieve his predecessor. He checked the position of the ship, its course and speed on the map, and received information from the officer taking over the watch about the weather, telegrams and all circumstances that were of interest or could be important for his watch.
At night, the officer on duty would always linger for a few minutes until his replacement's eyes got used to the darkness. Only after this the new officer took over the shift. From that moment on, he was responsible for everything that happened or happened on the ship. He received regular telephone reports received by the bridge, resolved all important issues, and gave orders to the sailors on watch. And only in cases of extreme necessity or exceptional circumstances, he called the captain, who climbed onto the navigation bridge if he considered it necessary.
One of the junior officers took over the watch together with the senior watch officer. There was a rule according to which the senior officer's post was on the windward, and the junior's post on the leeward wing of the navigation bridge. This made it possible to ensure constant control on both sides of the vessel. The junior officer during the watch decided whole line tasks, including monitoring the compass and providing telephone communications, he monitored the helm, and, if necessary, went away to convey reports to the captain. His main duty was to assist the senior officer, who bore all the responsibility and whose attention therefore should not be diverted to secondary tasks.
Photo of the Titanic officers who survived the disaster. Herbert Pitman sits. Standing (from left): Fifth Mate Harold Lowe, Second Mate Charles Lightoller, Fourth Mate Joseph Boxhall.
For senior officers, the watch lasted 4 hours, followed by an eight-hour rest. For junior officers, the watch lasted four hours and then four hours of rest. During the so-called "dog" watch, that is, from 16 to 20 hours, they changed every two hours. This achieved an odd number of watches and the fact that the same officer's watch fell on different time days.
The White Star Line typically employed six lookouts on large ships, who had only one duty: two men to stand watch at the foremast, day and night. Two hours - watch, four hours - rest. The crow's nest watch kept a close eye on the sea and reported to the bridge everything they saw, such as smoke on the horizon, distant lights, objects on the surface of the water, and of course, drifting icebergs. It was very intense work that required constant focus and attention. Therefore, in addition to the regular monthly salary, they were entitled to an allowance for each voyage of five shillings.
Captain Edward J. Smith became a legend during his lifetime. Smith was known to thousands of American and British passengers, and many of them crossed the ocean under his command several times. The Titanic's maiden voyage was supposed to be (and became) his last voyage before retiring.
Chief Mate Henry Ty Wild was to take part in the Titanic's maiden voyage and then return to his duties on the Olympic. He enjoyed the absolute confidence of the company and belonged to the veterans of its officer corps. He was appointed senior officer literally at the last moment, probably at the request of Captain Smith. Wild wrote a letter to his sister, where he noted that he “had a strange feeling about the ship.”
First Mate William McMaster Murdoch continued the traditions of his family, men of all generations who left southern Scotland for the sea. He started out on sailboats and then moved on to White Star Line ships that sailed between Europe and Australia. About eight years ago the company transferred him to its Atlantic line, where he served alternately on the Aribika, Adriatic, Oceanic and Olympic. Murdoch was an experienced seaman and rightfully expected that in the near future he would be entrusted with the command of one of the company's small ships. At the time of the collision he was on watch and, alas, his actions could not prevent the disaster. Murdoch died along with the Titanic, and for some he became the main culprit of the tragedy, for others - a hero who saved the lives of many passengers. His fate deserves a separate story.
The second mate of the Titanic, Charles Herbert Lightoller, was considered a cruel man, even among seasoned sailors. His life is a continuous chain of adventures and dramatic events. While still a cabin boy, he served on many ships of the British merchant fleet under the command of brave captains, who were spoken of with respect in the Liverpool and Southampton port pubs. Lightoller survived both a fire at sea and a shipwreck off desert island, he sailed on cattle trucks and transported prospectors to Alaska during the Gold Rush. At twenty-three, Lightoller received his captain's certificate and moved to White Star Line ships on the Australian lines. For Lightoller, the sea was his home; here he was in his element. It was Lightoller who sent the boats half empty during the evacuation, not allowing men to board them.
The third mate, thirty-four-year-old Herbert John Pitman, had nearly ten years of his career as a merchant marine officer, the last five years serving on White Star Line ships. He had a captain's certificate, like all the other Titanic officers.
The fourth mate of the Titanic, Joseph Grove Boxhall, held the title of "Extra Master" and served in the White Star Line for the fifth year. After the Titanic disaster, he, like the other three officers, survived. In 1958, Boxhall was a technical administrator on the filming of A Night to Remember. Boxhall died in 1967 at the age of 83.
Fifth mate Harold Godfrey Lowe was of the same mold as Lightoller. He was a born sailor. When he was only twelve years old, the boat he was in capsized, and he swam almost a kilometer to the shore in clothes and shoes. At the age of fourteen, his father literally dragged him across all of Liverpool to apprentice him in a shipyard, but young Lowe declared that he would not work for anyone for nothing, he wanted to receive money for his work. The father stood his ground, the young man too, and as a result he ran away from home into the sea. Lowe spent seven years sailing on schooners, on various tall sailing ships and finally on steamships, then served in the West African Coast Guard for five years. This was his first time crossing the North Atlantic.
English naval officer, captain of the Titanic passenger liner Edward John Smith was born on January 27, 1850 in Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK).
His father, Edward Smith, was a potter, his mother, Catherine Smith (Marsh), worked in a bank, and then opened a small grocery store with her husband.
Edward's father died of tuberculosis in October 1864. Edward left school and took a job at Etruria Forge, a large foundry in Stoke-on-Trent, where he operated a steam hammer.
In February 1867, Smith went to Liverpool to begin a career as a seaman.
In 1869, he became an apprentice on the American-built sailing ship Senator Weber of the A. Gibson & Co shipping company in Liverpool, which specialized in cargo transportation.
Over the next years, Edward served on other ships of the company, gradually moving up career ladder: in 1871 he received a certificate of 2nd mate, in 1873 he passed the exams for 1st mate, becoming an assistant captain.
In 1875, Smith received a diploma in navigation, and a year later he was entrusted with managing the first ship - the cargo ship Lizzie Fennell. For the next three years, Smith served on this ship, transporting cargo between Canada, Great Britain and the United States.
In March 1880, Smith got a job with the largest shipping company in Great Britain, the White Star Line. The company operated passenger liners, not the cargo ships Smith dealt with. So he had to learn new skills and, in a sense, start his career all over again. By 1887, Smith had risen to the rank of captain and received command of the ship Republic. He also managed ships of the companies “Baltic”, “Koptik”, “Adriatic”, “Germanik”, “Runik” and others.
In 1888, Smith joined the Royal Naval Reserve and was therefore eligible for wartime service.
In 1892, the White Star Line sent its largest steamship, the Majestic, on its maiden voyage, choosing Smith as captain. From then on, it was he who led the first voyages of the company's largest liners.
During the Boer War (1899-1902), the Majestic, under the command of Smith, was used to transport troops, making two voyages to the shores of South Africa.
For his services in the Anglo-Boer War, the British government awarded Smith the Transport Medal (it was awarded to officers who distinguished themselves on transport ships in this war).
In addition, he was awarded the Royal Distinction Award by the Royal Navy Reserve for 15 years of service.
In 1904, he achieved the rank of commodore (precedes the rank of rear admiral).
Several accidents occurred involving ships under Smith's control. On February 16, 1899, the steamer Germanic, captained by Smith, capsized in New York Harbor. In June 1911, the Olympic liner (one of the three giant transatlantic liners along with the Titanic and Britannic), under the control of Captain Smith, damaged a tug during maneuvers in the port of New York.
In September of the same year, the Olympic, returning from America, collided with the British cruiser Hawk in the port of Southampton. The White Star Line company was forced to pay compensation.
By 1912, Edward John Smith had already sailed about 2 million miles and commanded 14 ships. Because of the high rank of these ships and their passengers, he was called the “captain of millionaires.”
Smith built a successful career: the company trusted him to lead its flagship ships on the maiden voyage, passengers and crew spoke of him with great respect, more often than not they called him simply E.J. (E.J.). Some passengers agreed to sail across the Atlantic only on a ship captained by Captain Smith.
On April 10, 1912, the Titanic, captained by Edward John Smith, set out on its first and last transatlantic voyage from Europe to the United States.
There is an opinion that this transatlantic cruise was to be the last in Captain Smith's career, after which he intended to retire. However, in an official statement from the White Star Line it was stated that it would continue to operate after the Titanic returned from its transatlantic voyage.
April 14 at 23:40 "Titanic"
05.05.2019 , 0
One of the most interesting observations made over the years of research in “Titanic studies” is the search by some researchers for answers to questions to which all the answers were given back in 1912 during the investigation into the causes of the sinking of the Titanic by the British commission of inquiry. This applies to many of the most pressing and discussed “theories” today, which here and there are called the main culprits in the death of the Titanic. But just look at what eyewitnesses and witnesses said at the two investigations into the disaster, and the questions become significantly fewer.
Did the Titanic sink in one piece? Dozens of witnesses tell how they saw the fault with their own eyes. The smoldering coal that weakened the bulkhead and “sank” the Titanic? Fireman Frederick Barrett shows with his fingers that it was not the bulkhead that broke through, but the ordinary wall of the bunker. Question about binoculars? Sailors with many years of experience answer in chorus that they would not even think of giving binoculars to lookouts, the main task which - to watch the ocean with their own eyes.
And while some modern researchers are probably pursuing some own goals, “don’t notice” the answers of those who were on the Titanic on the night of its sinking, and offer their own “sensations”, the real story has been before the eyes of all mankind for 107 years.
Final report of the meeting of the British commission of inquiry into the Titanic disaster
This becomes especially noticeable when it comes to identifying the main culprit of the tragedy. After hundreds of years, thanks to popular culture, films and unscrupulous researchers, most often the main “villain” of the night is a 62-year-old captain with almost 50 years of experience, of which 25 years as a captain, White Star Line commodore and recognized Transatlantic sailor Edward John Smith. The list of “accusations” brought against the captain is extensive, among which the main ones relate to the nature of Smith’s navigation in conditions of receiving ice warnings.
The accusations are as follows:
- Captain Smith did not reduce speed, although he received many ice warnings;
- followed the same course without changing it;
- did not strengthen the lookout watch;
- did not react to a sharp drop in air temperature, which indicated approaching ice;
- he was not present on the bridge at the time of the collision and did not give additional instructions regarding ice conditions;
...and much more that usually comes to mind after the fact. IN English language There is a great word for this - “hindsight”, which can be translated into Russian by the very familiar expression “to think after”. However, the analysis of the testimony that will be carried out in this material indicates that these accusations have no basis, based on the experience and practice of navigation at the beginning of the 20th century. Moreover, not just from established “experience”, but from practice, which by 1912 had proven itself to be the most efficient and safe when transporting thousands and millions of passengers across the Atlantic Ocean.
All this is revealed when you dive into the testimonies of the most competent specialists in this field - Transatlantic captains from various transatlantic lines, who have behind them such experience that is sometimes unattainable for modern navigators.
So, May 2, 1912. John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, or simply Lord Mersey, is launching a large-scale British investigation, during which he will try to find out the reasons that led to the death of 1,496 people on the sunken Titanic. He carefully studies the evidence of eyewitnesses and experts to reach a final verdict. Finally, there comes a time when you can no longer avoid answering the question: “Did Captain Smith do the right thing that night by continuing at full speed?” To do this, the most experienced navigators of the transatlantic route will be gathered in the courtroom, and based on their testimony, Lord Mersey will have the last word.
John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey - Chairman of the British Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic (ET)
In this article we are for the first time in the Russian-language “Titanics” most fully Let us imagine the words of those captains who, based on their many years of experience, back in 1912, formed clear and clear responses to the accusations made against Smith. Let's give them the floor.
The first of a long list of experienced captains to testify at the British Inquiry was the captain of the White Star Line. Bartram Fox Hayes, who would command the Olympic throughout the First World War until 1922, and then move to the flagship Majestic, of which he would be captain until 1924.
Bertram Fox Hayes, captain of the Olympic, in the 1920s (Jonathat Smith Collection)
In 1912, Hayes was the captain of the Laurentic, and he already had a lot of experience:
21794. Are you a certified extra master (the highest rank of captain - author's note) since 1897? - Yes.
21795. You've been going to sea since, I assume, 1880? - Yes.
The investigation's attorney general, Rufus Daniel Isaacs, begins with the main thing - with the captains receiving ice warnings:
21806. I want to ask you the following. Since your vessel has a Marconi transmitter, did you receive ice warnings via telegraph? – Countless.
21807. Which indicated the location of the ice? - Yes.
Hayes then makes it clear how he himself would deal with a situation similar to Captain Smith's:
21808. When you approach the ice region, or rather, the location that was telegraphed to you, do you take any action? – I take actions according to the weather.
21809. Let's say in clear weather. – In clear weather, the routine for lookouts remains standard.
21814. Are you continuing to walk at the same speed? – At the same speed.
21815. You don't change it at all? – I'm not changing it at all.
21816. Is this the current practice in your Company? – This is a practice that has developed throughout the world and is followed by all ships that cross the Atlantic.
21817. Don't slow down regardless of whether you have been warned about the presence of ice? – The presence of ice does not play any role in clear weather. You can always see him on time.
For the prosecutor, such words still sound rather illogical, if not defiant, because just a few weeks before this, the largest maritime disaster occurred:
21820. Doesn't the Titanic experience demonstrate that this is not always the case? - These were unusual weather conditions that no one has encountered before.
21819. But can you always see an iceberg? – In clear weather, I mean.
Sir Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, Attorney General at the meeting of the British Commission of Inquiry into the Titanic disaster (National Portrait Gallery, London)
Isaacs decides not to give up and invites Hayes to imagine himself in Smith's place:
21820. I want to ask you the following. Let's say you're walking a route at night and there are warnings that you're heading straight into an ice field. In this situation, will you reduce your speed? – Not until I see ice.
21821. Until you see ice? - Yes.
21822. But if you spot him too close, will it be too late? - But you can always see it in advance at good weather and dodge.
21826. Is this the practice at any speed? – At any speed.
21827. Let's say there is an iceberg 60-80 feet high on our course, how far away can it be seen? on a starry night? – 6 or 7 miles, I guess. I've noticed these even 10 miles away.
The words of the first captain summoned to the hearing on the “issue of speed” immediately succinctly and clearly characterized the entire practice that had prevailed in the Atlantic for decades. Hayes is also the first to speak about the main factor why this practice continues to be followed even at night - according to his experience, in clear weather you can see an iceberg 11-13 kilometers away, sometimes 18. However, as we know, the fatal iceberg on the Titanic in clear weather the weather was noticed just 500-600 meters away. Why so late? This is a question that will haunt the very end of the captains' testimony.
Frosty morning on April 15th. The photo was taken from the Carpathia. The ocean is covered with ice, and on the horizon you can see an ice field interspersed with icebergs (National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center)
And although Hayes gave clear answers to the questions posed, some might suggest that one should be rather cautious about the testimony of the captain whose “boss” was the White Star Line. Lord Mercy was not embarrassed by this - almost all the other captains called, with the exception of the Baltic captain, represented completely different transatlantic lines, including direct competitors of the White Star Line.
The next witness was Frederic Passow, captain of the SS St. Paul from American-Inman Line:
21853. Do you have a British captain's certificate? – Yes, since 1880.
21854. Have you been managing ships for 28 years? - Yes.
SS St. Paul (1895-1923), American-Inman Line (Library of Congress)
Captain Passow was perhaps one of the most experienced in terms of crossing the Atlantic, the number of crossings across it was a record one. Just as the experience of encountering ice was extensive:
21857. I understand you've crossed the Atlantic about 700 times. - About that. I didn't count the exact number, but somewhere around 700 times.
21858. IN this moment you are the captain of St. Paul"? - Yes.
21873. Do you have a lot of experience with ice? – Yes, I have a lot of experience with ice.
21875. Have you ever slowed down before encountering ice if the weather was clear? — No, as long as the weather is clear – and until we see this ice. If it is an ice field, then we try not to get into it. Sometimes we fall into it.
21876. Is this practice followed both day and night? – Both day and night, as long as the weather is absolutely clear.
21880. I want to understand one point. You said you never slow down because you will always have enough time to avoid the ice, right? – Yes, as long as the weather is completely clear.
Once again, the prosecutor attempts to force the captain to rethink this approach to navigation, but many years of proven experience outweighs:
21881. Did the Titanic disaster somehow change your opinion about this approach? – Don't think. Of course, I wasn’t there and didn’t see what they saw. But I have never met such icebergs that cannot be seen in clear weather and which cannot be safely circumvented in time. I saw very small ice at a sufficient distance.
This is the second captain in a row who says the main condition under which ice can be noticed in advance is clear and clean weather. Obviously, the officers of the Titanic were able to afford to go at full speed, since they believed that this was precisely the weather conditions they were in, and therefore followed the usual routine that prevailed in such a situation.
But were they right in their assessment of the weather conditions? Was the night of doom truly pure and clear, in which captains are accustomed to proceeding at speed even in the presence of ice warnings?
One of the most vivid and poetic descriptions of that night comes from the pen of second class passenger Lawrence Beasley:
“First of all, the weather conditions were unique. The night was extremely beautiful: in the cloudless sky the stars shone extraordinarily, gathered in such dense clusters that it seemed that there were more dazzling points of light in the black sky than the celestial base itself. In a clear atmosphere, each star was seen absolutely clearly, which is why their brightness and brilliance intensified tenfold, and in view of this brilliant scattering, the sky remained the role of a container for a miraculous phenomenon.”
The night of the sinking of the Titanic as imagined by artist Frances Thornton
The described picture seems to appear before your eyes, and it becomes clear that it would hardly be possible to more colorfully describe the most clear and clean weather in which the Titanic found itself on the night of April 15, 1912. Not only passengers, but also crew members remembered the weather :
“From 18:00 until the collision, the weather was perfectly calm and clear. There was no moon, the stars were shining, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.”
“We discussed (with Smith - author's note) the weather, that it was calm and clear. We discussed the current visibility - we could see far. Everything was clean. We even saw the stars go beyond the horizon."
— Second Officer Charles Lightoller recalled his conversation with Captain Smith.
Still from James Cameron's Titanic (1997, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox (c))
It was the same clear and clean weather in which, as the officers on the Titanic believed and already knew from experience, an iceberg could be seen kilometers away. Even though there was no moon and it was completely calm, “it was visible far away”, and there is no reason to doubt it - many survivors recalled the incredible and at the same time terrifying beauty and clarity of that night.
Meanwhile, to testify under with a gaze Lord Mercy embarked by captain of the SS Canada Richard Owen Jones from Dominion Line. His testimony is especially interesting because a few days before the sinking of the Titanic, his ship also collided with an ice field in the middle of the night. The circumstances and actions taken by Captain Jones in an almost similar situation are also curious:
23592. Have you been captain of Canada for 9 years now? - Yes.
23593. Of course, you have a captain's certificate. What is your navigation experience? - 28 years.
23594. And I think you started going to sea much earlier. - Yes.
23609. Did you receive ice warnings before the collision? - Yes, several.
23610. Have you received more than one ice warning? - Some.
23611. Did you see ice? - Yes.
23616. Once you saw the ice, what did you do? – I stopped immediately. I came very close to the ice. Coming close, I saw that it was small pack ice, after which I decided to overcome it at the slowest speed. By 6 am we left the field and continued on our way.
23617. Was it day or night? - Night, around 11 pm.
After Captain Jones apparently entered a field of shallow pack ice, he decided to slowly move through it. By 6 a.m. the field was behind us and Canada continued on its way.
SS Canada (1896-1923), Dominion Line
It is curious that the commission members decided to once again clarify exactly how John behaved after receiving ice warnings. John answered clearly:
23623. After you received ice warnings, did you continue to go at full speed until the lookouts reported ice? - Yes, sure.
23624. Do you think this is common practice? - Of course, I always have been.
23525. What speed were you going at? -15 knots.
23626. Is this your top speed? - Yes.
23627. What was the weather like? - Clear and dark.
Finally, the issue of how far away icebergs can be seen was raised again:
23629. At what distance could you discern the ice field? — I saw its glow. I saw it somewhere 3 miles (6 kilometers) away. And I saw the ice itself about 1.5 miles (3 kilometers) (The Titanic's lookouts saw the ice just 580 meters away - author's note.)
The next captain who testified at the investigation not only confirmed what his colleagues had said before him, but also shared experiences that also fully supported the actions of the Titanic command staff. This captain was Edwin Galton Cannons from Atlantic Transport Company:
23714. Have you been a captain for over 20 years? - Yes.
23715. Do you have a captain's certificate and have been at sea for 36 years? - Yes.
23718. Have you been sailing across the North Atlantic all these years? - Yes, all the time.
23721. Over the years of your career, have you encountered icebergs and ice fields? - Yes.
Meeting of the British commission of inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic at Scottish Drill Hall, London. The commission is headed by Lord Mercy, advisers and lawyers are sitting nearby, in the hall are the prosecutor, lawyers and spectators who specially bought tickets for each meeting.
Next, Prosecutor Isaacs, apparently understanding in advance what answer he would hear to the already familiar question about behavior when receiving ice warnings, decided to experiment - he asked what the captain’s actions were at the moment the iceberg was discovered:
23733. I want to ask you this question. When you spot an iceberg, do you slow down or keep going full speed? – I keep going at speed.
23734. What is the speed of your ship? – 16 knots.
23735. Do you keep walking at speed during the day or at night? - Day and night.
23736. That is, these are your actions when you already noticed the iceberg? - Yes.
23737. I suppose in that case you have time to dodge the iceberg at the speed the ship is going? – I never had problems dodging the ice that appears ahead.
23738. Does this mean that you notice icebergs at a certain distance? - Yes. I usually spot them 3 miles or less away.
23740. Are you talking about night time or day time? - About the night. During the daytime, icebergs can be seen at a greater distance.
This testimony of Cannons is very valuable when we remember Murdoch's behavior after the discovery of the iceberg. He, unlike the extremely popular myth, did not give the order “Full Back”, only “Full Stop” was given. But given that the engines were stopped after the collision, it turned out exactly like in the case of Cannons - Murdoch was rounding the iceberg with those working on full speed engines. Moreover, at the trial, an experienced opinion was voiced that this practice is the most effective - after all, speed and maneuverability are higher.
Titanic's maneuvers after the iceberg was spotted
Cannons continues:
23744. Let's say you receive ice warnings that you might encounter ice in an area you might find yourself in in the middle of the night while crossing the ocean. Will you be taking any action regarding speed? – I will maintain the current speed and intensively monitor the ocean surface.
23745. What do you mean by "intensified"? – To everyone who will be on watch at that moment, including lookouts, I'll give out instructions that a meeting with ice is possible, so you need to monitor the ocean especially closely.
After these words, it is worth remembering the famous scene on the bridge of the Titanic, described by Lightoller. At about half past nine on the evening of April 14, 1912, Smith and Lightoller were on the bridge, discussing the weather conditions they found themselves in, and also guessing how far away an iceberg could be seen on such a night. They came to the conclusion that it is possible to notice "far enough", considering that on such a starry night the light should be reflected well even from the edges of a “blue” iceberg that has recently capsized. After this, Smith said the following phrase: “If anything raises the slightest doubt, call me immediately. I'll be inside", and headed to his cabin.
Captain Edward Smith on the Olympic's boat deck near the port first-class lounge during the ship's first arrival in New York. Colorization of Alexander Pyatykh
As soon as Smith was out the door, Lightoller instructed sixth mate James Moody to call the Crow's Nest and instruct him to keep a close eye on the "little ice and growlers." Moody called, warned about the ice, but forgot to mention the growlers, and then Lightoller made Moody call back again and say what he missed the last time.
These actions of the crew tell us a lot, and most importantly, that they perfectly understood the situation they were in and what could await them ahead. Smith assumed that ice might appear on the horizon after some time, so he deliberately discussed this situation with Lightoller. However, the night was clear and clear, the stars were shining, and, as other captains confirmed during the investigation, the potential iceberg should have been seen at a sufficient distance, because "light will reflect off the surface of icebergs".
Finally, Smith gave latest instructions and ordered to call him in any dubious situation. It was already a familiar and even routine spring night in the North Atlantic for such a “sea dog,” but all the preventive measures, including those described by Captain Cannons, were taken. In this situation, he acted in the same way as not only he, but also many of his fellow captains who sailed across the April Atlantic always did.
Some might argue that the measures were insufficient - for example, that Smith decided not to strengthen the lookout watch or put additional people on the forecastle. But even to this, Captain Cannons, and after him other navigators, answer very clearly:
23746. Where is the lookout located? - In the Crow's Nest. – How many lookouts do you usually have? - One.
23749. Suppose you are approaching a possible ice field and are conducting intensive surveillance of the ocean. In such a situation, will you increase the number of lookouts? – No, not in clear weather.
23772. If you received warnings that there might be ice ahead, would you double the number of lookouts? - No, if the weather is clear.
23750. So, you will continue to go at the same speed with the only lookout in the Crow's Nest, and that's it? - Yes exactly.
23751. And you Would you mind putting an extra person on the nose?- No, unless fog appears or the weather ceases to be clear.
The commission members decided to find a “loophole” in this approach and refer to the absolute calm and absence of the Moon, which they wanted to subsume under “extraordinary” weather conditions. Then they would have had something to cling to, accusing the crew of the Titanic of misbehaving under such atypical conditions, but Cannons again ruined their plans:
23767. If the sea is completely calm, and in general conditions are such that it is more difficult to spot an iceberg than what happens on an ordinary clear night, will you double the lookouts? - Not in clear weather.
23768. If the water is calm, isn't it harder to spot an iceberg? – From my experience, I don’t think so.
Mercy's favorite trick: "Pretend you're in control of the Titanic":
23795. What is the speed of your ship? – 16 knots. This is the maximum speed.
23797. Suppose you had a ship under your command at 22 knots, would you slow down as you approached the ice region? - Not in clear weather.
Finally, Cannons gives a "test shot" when asked if there are icebergs he wouldn't see:
23757. If an iceberg is 60-80 feet high, how far away can it be seen at night? – In my experience, at least 2 miles away.
23832. Do you think there are icebergs that you can't see? - No, my lord.
Edwin Cannons quite often mentions that all the feats he talks about must be performed in clear and clean weather. This is exactly what eyewitnesses told about that “unforgettable” night. For example, Jack Thayer gives a fascinating description in his 1940 memoir:
“The night was magnificent and moonless, and the sky was strewn with stars. I have never seen such bright stars; they sparkled in the sky like cut diamonds. A barely noticeable light haze hung low over the water. I have spent a lot of time on the ocean, but I have never seen such calm water as it was that night; the ocean was like a pond, and looked serene as the big liner sailed calmly across it.”
Still from James Cameron's Titanic (1997, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox (c))
But Thomas Scanlan, a member of parliament and representative of the sailors' and firemen's unions of Great Britain, was not serene when he asked questions to another captain who worked at the White Star Line - Joseph Barlow Ranson, to the captain of the Baltic:
24976. What is your company's practice, what instructions are there regarding ice warnings received and the course the vessel is following? – Repeat, please, I didn’t hear.
24977. I don't think this is necessary. After all, your ship belongs to the White Star Line? - Yes.
24978. Very good. We know what the practice is like there.
One of the ice warnings was sent from the Baltic to the Titanic - the same one that Captain Smith would later give to Bruce Ismay, and then take away from him.
"To Captain Smith. The wind is moderate, the weather is clear. The Greek steamship Athinai reports icebergs and a vast ice field at coordinates 41.51 N. and 49.52 W. Last night we contacted the German tanker "Deutschland", going to Philadelphia, they are short of coal; their coordinates are 40.42 N. and 55.11 W. Report to New York and other ships. I wish you success". An hour later, Captain Smith responded to the radiogram: “Captain of the Baltika.” Thank you for your message and wishes. Moderate weather since the start of the voyage. Smith"
But even on the Baltika, the ice warnings received did not in any way affect the captain’s policy:
What is your personal practice when receiving ice warnings? — In clear or foggy weather? At night?
24979. At night in clear weather. – We go at full speed regardless of whether there are ice warnings or not.
24980. As far as you know, is this practice adopted on all ships on this route? - Yes.
We also briefly discussed strengthening the lookout watch:
24981. Do you double the number of lookouts at night? - Not in clear weather.
They also asked Ranson about his experience on other liners, whose speed was close to that of the Titanic. There were no surprises:
24982. Regarding speed when sailing in the Atlantic, if the weather is clear and there are ice warnings, do you maintain speed? — We maintain speed.
24983. And do you always do this? - I always do this.
25984. What is the speed of your ship? – 16 knots.
25987. Have you been to other ships? Faster? – Yes: “Oceanic”, “Majestic” and “Teutonic”, their speed is from 20 to 21 knots.
25989. Do these vessels follow the same practices as your vessel, the Baltika? - Yes.
24991. Is this practice followed by all liner captains? – Yes, for all 21 years of my experience.
“This practice” subsequently became the subject of active public discussion and even sometimes condemnation. This is understandable - it did not fit into the logic of the average person how one could go at full speed across the ocean when ice warnings were received. But when it comes to the Titanic, the captain, like the shipowners, understood that in their case it would not be possible to become the “fastest” even if they wanted to. On the Titanic, there was certainly no struggle for the Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic - the ship physically could not reach the speeds necessary for such races, and this was not the goal of the shipbuilders and the White Star Line.
Above all, maintaining speed and course was a manifestation of common sense and respect for the time of those who trusted the company - slowing down or stopping in the middle of a clear and clear night on the open ocean would be perceived as something abnormal and extraordinary in the established system. Moreover, and this is the most important thing, this system fully justified itself from the point of view of passenger safety, which was reflected in a record low number of deaths at sea in the entire history of passenger shipping.
Newspaper headline reporting that "all passengers on the Titanic have been saved" and that "the huge liner is being towed to Halifax"
Statistics presented at the British investigation demonstrated that the decades preceding the sinking of the Titanic were among the most “non-fatal”. Thus, in the period from 1892 to 1901, ships traveling at full speed across the Atlantic transported 3.2 million passengers. Of these, for one reason or another, including illness and accidents, died 73 people.
In the period from 1902 to 1911, ships already transported across the Atlantic more than 6 million passengers. The number of deaths among them was nine people.
Finally, during the period 1901-1911, only the White Star Line was transported across the Atlantic by ships. 2,179,594 passengers. Died two- those who were in the area of the collision on the Republic in 1909.
Damage to the Florida after a collision with the Republic in 1909. "Republic" sank, "Florida" was repaired in 24 days (Martin & Ottaway)
With such a record low number of deaths, was this practice justified? According to navigators and shipowners, there was more than enough reason, and there was reason in their logic.
For this reason, by the middle of the interrogation of the Transatlantic captains, the commission headed by Lord Mersey had become rather wilted, realizing that no violations or negligence could be discerned in the actions of Captain Smith. Then they decided to call a representative of not just another line, but the main competitors of the White Star Line - Cunard. And not just a sailor of some medium-tonnage liner, but the captain of the company’s flagship, the Greyhound Mauretania. John Pritchard. The Mauritania, like the Lusitania, was the fastest liner in the world. Moreover, the entire “Olympic” class was conceived as a response to the construction of two “Greyhounds”, one of which, namely “Mauritania”, held the speed record for almost 20 years.
"Mauritania" is gaining full speed (TWAM - Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums)
Hearing the opinion of the captain, who crossed the Atlantic at record speeds, at the meeting to investigate the sinking of the Titanic was especially interesting:
25170. Your last ship was the Mauretania? - Yes.
25172. I assume you have been running Cunard ships on the Liverpool to New York route for 18 years? - Yes.
25173. Have you heard about the weather conditions when the Titanic hit the iceberg? - Yes.
25174. Are you familiar with them? -Yes.
25175. What practice do you follow regarding crossing at full speed in similar (as in the case of the Titanic) conditions, or if you have received information that there is a risk of encountering ice? — As long as the weather is clear and clear, I always go at full speed.
25176. Have you always done this? - Yes, always.
25177. What is the speed of the Mauritania? - 26 knots.
Probably, it was here that the last hope of “digging up” something from the commission collapsed. Pritchard continued: in his opinion, the captain should not only reduce speed, but also change course, which Smith is also often accused of:
25216. You said you've had your captain's certificate for 37 years? - Yes
25217. Regarding speed, you told us that the practice is that even when there are ice warnings, or if you are approaching an ice region, you still stay on course? – Yes, if the weather is clear.
25218. If the weather is clear, you maintain both course and speed? - Yes.
25219. Has this always been the practice? - Yes.
Captain John Pritchard on the port wing of the Mauretania's bridge, probably during sea trials (Eric Keith Longo Collection)
And this is the third captain in a row confirming that in clear and clear weather there is no need for increased surveillance:
25184. If you expect a possible encounter with ice at night, according to your practice, would you double your lookouts? - No, if the weather is clear.
25185. But what if the weather wasn't clear? – If it were foggy, then yes, I would immediately double the observation.
25187. If the weather is as calm as possible, it is completely calm, and you have been warned in advance that you may encounter ice on your course during the night, will you increase the lookouts? - No, as long as the weather is clear.
The next witness was a retired captain Hugh Young from the Anchor Line, which sailed the transatlantic route for more than 37 years. His evidence regarding the practice of captains in the North Atlantic was as follows:
25222. Have you commanded Anchor Line vessels for 37 years? - 37 years. For 35 years I sailed the North Atlantic routes between Glasgow and New York.
25224. Are you familiar with ice fields? - Quite.
25225. Are you familiar with the weather conditions in which the Titanic hit the iceberg? – As I understand it, it was completely calm.
25226. Complete calm and clear weather? - Yes.
25227. No disturbance on the surface? - None.
25228. And no moon. Now, imagine that you are in the same conditions and receive information about a possible encounter with icebergs in the region you are heading to at night, will you reduce or not reduce your speed? - I won't slow down.
25229. Captain Young, if you receive iceberg warnings, will you maintain your course and maintain your current speed in clear weather? – I will stay on course and maintain my current speed.
25234. How long have you been sailing the North Atlantic route? – About 37 years old.
25235. Suppose you know that there is an ice field ahead. Will your actions be the same? - The same.
25236. Has this been the practice all the time that you yourself have been sailing across the North Atlantic? - Yes, all this time.
25237. Is this practice accepted on all ships? - I think so.
25230. One more question. Assuming that you are aware that there may be icebergs ahead, do you somehow change the routine for the lookouts? – The routine remains the same if the weather is clear: two people in the crow’s nest.
25232. And you won't put anyone on the nose? - Not in clear weather.
Here, in the interrogation of Captain Young, new interesting topics: Can a drop in temperature be considered a sign of approaching ice?
25238. Now the question is regarding temperature. It was previously said here that if the temperature becomes lower, this may signal approaching ice. What do you say about this? — I don't think this can signal anything. The decrease in temperature can only be associated with entering a cold current, nothing more. There may or may not be ice.
The question of whether a decrease in temperature should be considered a sign of approaching ice was asked, perhaps, to the main ice expert, Ernest Shackleton, a famous Arctic and Antarctic explorer (the expedition to the Endurance and the legendary rescue operation were still ahead of him).
Ernest Shackleton in 1909 (National Library of Norway)
He also confirmed what had previously been said by other Atlantic captains that a decrease in temperature cannot certainly indicate the presence of ice:
25112. In your opinion, a sharp drop in temperature does not mean the presence of ice? - No, it doesn’t mean that in any way.
According to Shackleton, “there are no methods that can definitely indicate approach to ice using standard temperature measurement methods”, such as lowering a bucket into water and measuring its temperature. This is the method that was used on all liners, including the Titanic:
On April 13, 1912, on the Titanic, the Douglas couple saw an interesting picture: a sailor was lowering a bucket from the open part of the promenade on deck A. Carefully observing the sailor’s daily routine through the open promenade window, the couple saw him lifting the bucket aboard, already filled water, and puts a thermometer there to set the temperature of the sea water. This procedure was probably carried out by the helmsman of the watch standing near the compass platform: his duties included collecting air and water temperature readings every two hours and reporting them to the junior officer, who then reported them to the senior officer of the watch.
Procedure for measuring water temperature on board the Olympic, Deck A (TRMA Archives)
However, a drop in temperature into complete calm would still alert a polar explorer:
“But if there is no wind and the temperature has dropped abnormally low for this time of year, I would assume that I could be approaching a region where there might be ice.”. At the same time, the researcher clarifies that this is only if "he knew the average temperature of that area for a given month and if the changes in temperature were too great". Transatlantic captains who crossed the ocean in winter time just as often as in the summer, they knew perfectly well that the drop in temperature in April was not something anomalous - they talked about this earlier, they will talk about it again.
Meanwhile, they also decided to question Shackleton on the issue of speeds, but the researcher hastened to describe himself what experience he relies on: this is sailing on a 40-year-old ship with a tonnage of 227 tons with a maximum speed of 6 knots in the South Pole region, where all around endless ice, everywhere you look. Therefore, it is not surprising that the prosecutor’s assumption “let’s say you are going through the ice zone at a speed of 21-22 knots” Shackleton confidently replied that “You have no right to go at that speed in an area where ice accumulates.”.
"Nimrod" by Shackleton (Archive of Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research)
However, he did not have captain’s experience, let alone transatlantic, so soon the researcher himself declared that he did not have the necessary qualifications to evaluate navigation on the Transatlantic. When asked specifically about the situation in which the Titanic found itself, this was the researcher's answer:
25121. We have no evidence that anyone was seen on the Titanic that night. small ice, pack ice or something similar. There were ice warnings that indicated the possibility of the presence of such ice. But if icebergs can be seen at a sufficient distance to avoid them, is there any point in slowing down? “I don't think there is any need to slow down if all the icebergs can be seen at a sufficient distance to avoid hitting them, but I doubt you can see them all when entering such a region.”
Finally, Lord Mersey asked Robert Shackleton what he thought, although he was not the captain of the Transatlantic, about the practice of navigation that had developed on the transatlantic routes, and this is what the famous polar explorer answered:
“We sailors always have our own opinions, just like other people. But the main question here is the relationship between shipowners and skippers, and I am not competent enough to answer it. But I consider it absolutely normal if the captains, who at the meeting one after another testified that they acted in this situation in the same way, continued this practice. But this is only if there is a telegraph, and then any catastrophe can be prevented.”
Unfortunately, even the telegraph could not help the Titanic.
Beaver Line had rather atypical lettering, which attracted attention. This company owned the SS Mount Temple, which actively participated in the events of April 15, 1912 (Norway Heritage)
Captain William Stewart from the Beaver Line, also retired by that time, sailed through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean even a year longer than Captain Young - 38 years:
25244. Have you been sailing the North Atlantic routes for 38 years? - Yes.
25245. And were you a captain on the Beaver Line? — Yes, 35 years since the company was founded.
25246. On the route between Liverpool and Canada? - Yes.
Once again, the witness was asked to imagine what his actions would be if he himself were the captain of the Titanic:
25252. Are you familiar with the conditions in which the Titanic collided with the iceberg? – I read about them in the newspapers.
25253. Let's clarify so as not to confuse anything. It was a clear night, no moon, no excitement and bright stars, right? - Yes.
25254. Assuming that you are in the same conditions, and that you are operating a boat, and that you have received ice warnings that the route you are going to take at night may encounter ice, would you reduce your speed? - No, as long as the weather is clear.
25256. So, knowing that you might encounter ice, you won't slow down? - No.
25257. If you know you might encounter an ice field, will you still maintain your speed? – Until I see him and decide what to do next.
Stewart wouldn't double the lookouts:
25258. As for the lookouts, if you know that you may encounter ice, do you change anything in your observation routine at night? – In clear weather, we always maintain the standard routine.
And he confirmed that this practice has been prevailing for decades:
25260. Will you maintain both course and speed if there are iceberg warnings? - Yes.
25261. And this was the constant practice on the North Atlantic routes? – In my case, yes.
25262. And in the case of others? – As far as I know, and in the case of others.
Apparently, by this time Lord Mercy was already quite tired of the understanding that he was not hearing anything new, because when they interrogated the next captain, a retired John Alexander Fairful- and he confirmed that he would have followed the same practice, although he would still have offered to send the person on the nose, Mercy could not stand it:
Mercy: Mr. Espinal (Adviser to the Department of Commerce - author's note), is the next witness going to say something different?
Espinal: As far as I know, no, Milord.
Presidium of the British Commission to Investigate the Titanic Disaster. In the most prominent place sits Lord Mercy (second from right), below at the tables stenographers record the proceedings of the meeting for posterity
For this reason, the interrogation of the retired captain Andrew Brae I just got it down to a couple of questions:
25285. You commanded Allan Line vessels for 17 years? - Yes.
25286. Did you hear what the four previous witnesses said? - Yes.
25287. Are your actions when receiving information about a possible encounter with icebergs similar? - Exactly the same. I never slow down if the weather is clear.
25288. And you stay the course? - Yes, I'm staying the course.
25290. In your experience, is this common practice in Atlantic? – I didn’t know any other practice.
Interrogation of the Red Star Line superintendent Gerhard Christopher Affeld was interesting because he knew very well about the navigation practices of his company’s liners. Moreover, he told how his captains “coped” with the ice fields:
25575. Are you a Red Star Line superintendent? - Yes.
21580. Do you have naval command experience? - Yes. I have been at sea for 39 years and have now been a naval superintendent for 5 years.
25583. As you crossed the ice region, did you change your course or speed? - Never. I never slow down unless it's fog or severe weather deterioration. In other cases, no.
25584. Even when you received ice warnings? - I'm not slowing down.
25586. What kind of ships were these? - These are Lapland, Finland, Manitou and, I believe, Zeeland.
25589. Did they all go through the ice? - Yes.
25591. Did they change their course or speed? - Absolutely not. The Manitou even entered the ice field. He entered the ice at full speed and held it until the ice became large enough. Only after this the captain had to slow down so as not to damage the propellers. This happened 12th of April.
Behind 2 days, before the Titanic disaster.
SS Manitou (1897-1925), Red Star Line (GreatShips.net)
For one question they even called the captain of the Manitou himself, Arthur Ernest Tride:
25622. You heard the testimony of the previous witness. Are your speed practices the same as other fleet captains? - Yes.
(The witness left).
Finally, Affeld again confirmed that a decrease in temperature in no way means a mandatory approach to ice. Affeld was very familiar with situations like this:
25610. Can you tell that a decrease in temperature could mean approaching ice? - Absolutely not. I've encountered this very often. I have walked near banks (shoals and shelves) where the temperature dropped to almost zero in bright, clear weather, and did not encounter any ice at all. In other cases, ice could be encountered.
So, the extensive and probably the largest interrogation of transatlantic captains of the early 20th century has come to an end. During it, Lord Mercy, Prosecutor Isaacs and other members of the commission were able to obtain more than clear answers to the questions asked at the very beginning of the investigation. Captain Edward Smith, guided by the practice described above by dozens of active and retired captains with decades of experience behind them, in clear and clear weather, using common sense, continued to maintain both course and speed until danger was detected ahead of the course. . Smith understood that ice might soon appear ahead, but he had seen it more than once, so he did what captains of liners in the North Atlantic always did - he gave clear instructions regarding ice, transmitted to all officers of the watch and lookouts. And then it was only a matter of time - any ice should have been noticed quite far away. This was always the case, and the team had no reason to think that on April 14, 1912 the situation would be any different.
Edward Smith in 1911 aboard the Olympic (Olivier Mendez, Association Francaise du Titanic)
It is curious that sometimes, trying to find a “counterbalance” to the actions of the Titanic crew that night, some cite the example of the Californian, which, according to them, “wisely” stopped for the night and drifted until the morning, when it was safe to leave from the ice region. And this single example supposedly immediately puts an end to the “recklessness” that guided all the captains of the Atlantic.
SS Californian (1901-1915), Leyland Line
However, such statements often miss the most important thing: the Californian did not just stop among the ice, it itself crashed into the ice field at full speed! Captain Stanley Lord that night, exactly like all the other captains, went at full speed to the West and did not think about slowing down, although he had already received several ice warnings:
7112. When you first received warnings that ice was nearby, did you slow down? - No.
7113. Have you slowed down? - No.
7114. Shouldn't you slow down when in an icy area? - No, if the weather is clear.
7115. How fast were you going? – 11 knots (almost maximum speed – author’s note)
Captain Lord was so confident in the situation that he was taken by surprise when a vast field of pack ice suddenly appeared right in front of him - so close that no amount of action could help avoid it:
6701. Have you had to stop because of ice? “I was forced to stop and reverse the engines.
6705. You told us you reversed the engines because of the ice. What kind of ice was it? — Ice field.
6706. Where was it? - Right in front of me.
6707. How big was it? – As far as I could see: to the southern and northern horizons.
6775. Have you stopped and been surrounded by ice? — I crashed (entered) into an ice field of small ice before I could stop and turn away.
As a result, with the engines reversed and a sharp maneuver to the right, the Californian entered this very ice field and remained there until the morning.
Captain Stanley Lord during a meeting of the British commission of inquiry into the Titanic disaster (The Sketch (London), 22 May 1912)
It is worth noting amazing parallels: the Californian, like the Titanic, sailed across the ocean at almost full speed. The ice on it, like on the Titanic, was noticed at the very last moment, although it should have been several miles away, and the attempt to dodge the ice was also unsuccessful. The only difference is that Captain Lord was lucky to crash into an ice field with a small amount of pack ice, while Murdoch had to dodge a huge mountain of ice. It is interesting that the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron, found himself in the exact same situation: heading to the site of the Titanic’s wreck and having organized the most careful and careful observation of the ocean, Rostron almost himself almost collided with an iceberg that “suddenly” appeared right on his path.
The Carpathia stops in the middle of the ice on the morning of April 15, 1912. Painting by Carl Evers
According to him, the iceberg was spotted just a quarter of a mile away - about 400 meters, which is even less than the distance at which the iceberg was supposedly spotted on the Titanic. This happened on a clear night, when icebergs are usually spotted a couple of kilometers away, and when the vessel, the Carpathia, had maximum surveillance. What was wrong with that night?
The question of why all the navigators noticed the ice so late that night has not yet received a definitive answer. Researchers have yet to study it in detail.
“The iceberg is straight ahead!” Photomontage based on a photograph of the view from the roof of the Olympic bridge (collection of Joao Gonçalves)
Lord Mersey studied the issue of speed in great detail during the interrogation of dozens of captains and made a final conclusion, which he outlined in the final report to the commission. His " final word" was like this:
“The investigative commission found that, indeed, over the past many years, it has been the practice for ships sailing at night in clear weather along routes on which ice is expected to maintain course and speed and rely on the experience of the lookouts. This practice was based on proven experience, expressed in minimum quantity victims on ships that followed this practice.
However, the sinking of the Titanic revealed the dangers of this practice. Perhaps its roots stem from the pursuit of achievement and caused by the desire of passengers to quickly cross the ocean, and not by the experience and prudence of the boatmaster. Unfortunately, current practice favors this approach.
Given this, I cannot place the blame on Captain Smith.<…>He did only what any experienced captain in his place would do. He made a mistake, a serious mistake, but which, taking into account established practice and experience, is in no way a manifestation of negligence or neglect. In the absence of negligence, Captain Smith, in my opinion, cannot be held responsible for what happened.
However, it is hoped that current practice will be reviewed and become more prudent and cautious in the future. What was negligence in the Titanic case will certainly be negligence in any similar case in the future.”
Titanic became a lesson for the whole world. The world has adopted it.
Maxim Polishchuk
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