The Unsinkable Ship Of Dreams Essay Research

The Unsinkable Ship Of Dreams Essay, Research Paper She was the biggest invention yet. The largest moving object in history. “The Unsinkable ship of Dreams” was her name, and she was the most anticipated voyage of the 20th century. Know one would have ever thought that she would become one of the biggest tragedies of our time. It all began in 1907 when a man named Lord Pirrie, Harland & Wolff and J.Bruce Ismay of White Star line planned to build 3 giant ships. They were destined to become the most luxurious and largest steamers in the world. The ships were to have the finest furnishings that money could buy. These ships would sail around the world. They were intentionally thought to cater only to the rich. In March 1909 a lot (#401) was purchased by the men in order

to start building their dream machines. “Titanic” was going to be her name and she was going to be the largest moving object moving. Titanic was the second of three “sister ships”. (Olympic, Titanic and Brittanic) . Building began immediately and the Titanic was completed by April 1st 1912. She was fitted 16 lifeboats and 4 collapsible boats for a total of 20 boats. Titanic’s length 882.9 feet. Her overall weight was 46,329 gross tons. Her capacity for passengers & crew was 3320. (2200 + for the maiden voyage). She had a 50 telephone switchboard. It also had a “swimming bath” (heated pool ). Some of the first class staterooms had running hot water and private bathrooms. On April 1st the sea trails were postponed due to high winds and rough sea. She was tested

from April 2nd – April 10th before her maiden voyage One major problem that was never corrected was the cabin numbering, especially in second and steerage class. Some staterooms were numbered wrong and some had no numbers at all. This made things difficult for the passengers to find their cabins. At noon on April 10th 1912 Titanic was off on her first voyage ever. She was leaving South Hampton, England and was on her way to New York. As she was set into the waters, her massive size caused two other liners tied up at their docks to break loose. Some people on board considered it to be a “bad omen” and it was also a sign of “bad luck”. Little did the passengers know that they were right. Titanic’s captain was Mr. Edward John Smith and it’s engineer was Mr. Thomas

Andrews who both were thrilled to be aboard of this historical event. Four days had gone by and Titanic was having a flawless journey. People were in amazement of the beautiful steamboat. On the evening of April 14th , crew members claimed to have seen something in the water that looked like an iceberg and informed both Mr. Smith and Mr. Andrews. Both men agreed to keep on going and have Titanic push through the iceberg. They had no idea that the appearance of the iceberg above the water was tiny in comparison to The size beneath. At 11:40 p.m on April 14th 1912 the collision occurred. The iceberg bumped into the Titanic and then ran along the ship for approximately 300 feet just along the plate seams, slightly bending the duel plates and popping a few rivets. Only 12 cubic feet

was opened to the sea, but that was enough damage already done to cause the greatest historical disaster. The Unsinkable ship was about to do the unthinkable. Thomas Andrews checked the underwater damage and found to his horror that the pride of White Star line was so badly damaged that the ship would not stay afloat. The basement cabins which belonged to most of the third class passengers were quickly filling up with water and causing a major panic and frantic passengers began to run for their lives. Above, the first and second class passengers were not aware of the trouble Titanic was going through. They were informed that the engine was being re-started and that everyone had nothing to be worried about and to keep calm. By midnight it was apparent to Captain Smith that this