The Mesaba sends a warning to the Titanic about an ice field that includes “heavy pack ice and [a] great number [of] large icebergs.” Wireless operator Jack Phillips—who works for the Marconi Company—is handling passengers' messages and never passes the warning on to the Titanic's bridge.
Iceberg warnings went unheeded: The Titanic received multiple warnings about icefields in the North Atlantic over the wireless, but Corfield notes that the last and most specific warning was not passed along by senior radio operator Jack Phillips to Captain Smith, apparently because it didn't carry the prefix "MSG" ( ...
According to Mr. Cooper, the author of a book on Captain Smith, Smith was not ignoring the ice warnings; he was simply not reacting to them. Ice warnings were just warnings that a ship sent saying that they had seen ice at a certain location (Kasprzak, 2012).
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic tragically struck an iceberg in the cold Atlantic Ocean despite receiving seven warnings throughout the day of the imminent danger. Editor's note: In the early hours of April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic sunk having struck an iceberg while en route to New York.
Meanwhile, the closest ship, Californian, didn't receive Titanic's distress calls at all. Its wireless operator had switched off his receiver and gone to bed after Phillips told him to shut up. Amateur radio operators also interfered with messages, making it difficult for Titanic to communicate.
After the disaster, Ismay was savaged by both the American and the British press for deserting the ship while women and children were still on board. Some papers called him the "Coward of the Titanic" or "J. Brute Ismay", and suggested that the White Star flag be changed to a yellow liver.
Titanic sank at approximately 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, claiming the lives of 1,500 passengers. With the Californian stopped in the ice before any SOS messages were sent from the Titanic, the ship didn't see the sinking liner's calls for help until dawn, hours after they'd been sent.
The second study, by British historian Tim Maltin, claimed that atmospheric conditions on the night of the disaster might have caused a phenomenon called super refraction. This bending of light could have created mirages, or optical illusions, that prevented the Titanic's lookouts from seeing the iceberg clearly.
The sea's surface shone like glass, making it hard to spot icebergs, common to the North Atlantic in spring. Nevertheless, Captain Smith kept the ship at full speed. He believed the crew could react in time if any were sighted. (Related: go on the trail of Titanic in the UK.)
The Verdict on Captain Smith
Smith was accused of ignoring ice warnings from other ships and failing to reduce the ship's speed to fit the conditions at hand. The British inquiry essentially exonerated him, saying he did nothing other captains wouldn't have done.
On April 14, after four days at sea the Titanic collided with a jagged iceberg at 11:40 p.m. Because it was dark that night, and the lookouts in the crow's nest didn't have binoculars with them since they were locked up, they didn't see the iceberg until it was too late.
Revealed: Titanic captain was warned before voyage – but not about icebergs. The captain of the Titanic had more than icebergs to contend with on the ill-fated voyage that ended 104 years ago on Friday, a document has revealed.
Captain Smith having done all man could do for the safety of passengers and crew remained at his post on the sinking ship until the end. His last message to the crew was 'Be British.'"
A Disaster in Slow Motion
The Titanic grazed the fatal iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, creating what is now believed to be a series of punctures below the waterline. Many passengers were in bed at the time, and few survivors said they noticed anything more than a slight vibration if even that.
LONDON (Reuters) - The Titanic hit an iceberg in 1912 because of a basic steering error, and only sank as fast as it did because an official persuaded the captain to continue sailing, an author said in an interview published on Wednesday.
The sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic in April 1912 and the accompanying loss of life might have been averted if the ship's designers or the vessel's officers been made aware of certain engineering and damage control principles.
The average lifespan of an iceberg in the North Atlantic typically is two to three years from calving to melting. This means the iceberg that sank the Titanic "likely broke off from Greenland in 1910 or 1911, and was gone forever by the end of 1912 or sometime in 1913."
The Californian was surrounded by icebergs and wireless communication was shut off by Titanic's wireless, so there was still NO way for it to hurry and save Titanic.
If a ship is sinking, maritime tradition dictates that the captain ensures the safe evacuation of every passenger before he evacuates himself. He (or she) is responsible for the lives of those onboard, and he can't coordinate their exit unless he's the last person off.
National Geographic interviewed James Cameron to celebrate 20 years of the iconic film's release. There, the director talked about the reality of the disaster. He explained that there are no bodies of the people who died during that tragedy because it's impossible for dead bodies to remain intact at that great a depth.
On April 14, 1912, the day of the disaster, Titanic received seven iceberg warnings. One of these messages was transmitted from the SS Amerika via the Titanic to the Hydrographic Office in Washington, D.C. The message reported ice along Titanic's route.
Many lifeboats only carried half of their maximum capacity; there are many versions as to the reasoning behind half-filled lifeboats. Some sources claimed they were afraid of the lifeboat buckling under the weight; others suggested it was because the crew was following orders to evacuate women and children first.
Because of fog and icebergs, the Californian's captain, Stanley Lord, had halted his ship north of the Titanic, and his radio operator had broadcast a warning. The Titanic's radio operator, John George Phillips, told the Californian: ''Shut up, shut up!
Captain Arthur Rostron raced to the scene of the sinking saving those mentioned above and transporting them to New York. Exemplary as his actions were though, the Carpathia was simply too far away at the time of the sinking. Hypothermia can kill in as little as 15 minutes.
The U.S. Senate inquiry was particularly critical of the vessel's captain, Stanley Lord, calling his inaction during the disaster "reprehensible". SS Californian on the morning after Titanic sank. Sunk by German U-boats, 9 November 1915, 61 miles (98 km) southwest of Cape Matapan, Greece.