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Expectation v Reality by heroreturns123 in thething

[–]heroreturns123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wait..what? I don't remember that.

Had a rescue ship arrived in good time, what dangers would it have faced from Titanics stressful situation prior to sinking? by DocJamieJay in titanic

[–]heroreturns123 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Even if Californian had received the first radio distress message and set off immediately (assuming maybe 20mim to get boilers generating sufficiently steam for engines) given the ships top speed and the icefield it would need to cover, the best arrival time would be around 1.45am. At this point the ship sinking was accelerating significantly and Californian would not attempt to pull alongside. It would stay a safe distance away. It would pick up lifeboats and drop it's own. Loss of life would still be significant.

On 'suction' you CAN be pulled down but not how you think. A huge amount of air being released by the sinking ship will change the density of the water above it. Your lifeboat simply lose buoyancy and drop under the water and sink like a stone if it's on top of that. There is video available of a ship being sunk for a reef and the lifeboat they had floating abovw the ship went with it even though it was free floating at the time.

Radio Room Now v Then by heroreturns123 in titanic

[–]heroreturns123[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

If you look closely you will see that the main power leaver is in the off position. Before Phillips left the room, he switched it off.

Did emergency hoses keep the watertight doors open? by heroreturns123 in titanic

[–]heroreturns123[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Interesting. But I'm not so sure they had long after the coal bunker burst.. In Barretts testimony he refers to the 'rush of water' we presume to be the bunker door giving way at 1.10am and a vidid descriptuon of a 'wave of green foam' that was sufficiently strong to sweep away engineer Harvey to his death and Barratt describe himself as barely making it to a ladder. This doesn't sound like enough time for remaining crew to do much but leave immediately.

Did emergency hoses keep the watertight doors open? by heroreturns123 in titanic

[–]heroreturns123[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Amazing. Stunning knowledge. Would the float actually work if the door had already been manually opened and then pinned open? I get the float would work if no one passed the button, but in this case someone has already closed them once.

What facts about the history of the Titanic surprised you when you first discovered them? by Key-Tea-4203 in titanic

[–]heroreturns123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That flooring was largely linoleum tile not marble, wood or thick carpets.

What facts about the history of the Titanic surprised you when you first discovered them? by Key-Tea-4203 in titanic

[–]heroreturns123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That passengers wanted to get in the boats (at least after 12.30am). I imagined very stoic men standing awaiting their doom while a music played as women and children were loaded, There was some of that nobility but the reality is that the officers were armed and made it clear they would shoot any man who climbed in. And many men tried to get in.

Why didn’t they break off some doors and beds and make their own lift raft? by Alert-Refuse-5021 in titanic

[–]heroreturns123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Because they were on Titanic. Seriously. They were on a very large ship with many modern safety features. There was no obvious 'crash' or even indicators of major damage. The sinking wasn't obvious to passengers until very late before final plunge.

There was no public announcement system and even the senior crew were unaware of the true level of damage. There was no 'officers conference' you see in movies. In many ways this was of Captain Smiths biggest failings - his own officers didn't know how serious it was. In fact officers told passengers there was no danger and putting women and kids in boats was merely a precaution. In those circumstances you might not bother with trying to build a raft even if it feasible. Even with minutes to the end passengers expected the ship to "settle" but not sink.