Which company the legendary titanic belonged to. In what ocean the "Titanic" sank: all the secrets of the sinking of the "Titanic", the main reasons for the death of the ship and the shocking results of the investigation

More than 100 years have passed since the terrible disaster of one of the largest liners of its time. But until now, the world does not know all the secrets hidden by the huge and seemingly indestructible "Titanic". How the ship sank, the material will tell.

Struggle of the giants

The twentieth century has become a century of technological progress. Skyscrapers, cars, movies - everything developed at an uncanny speed. The process also affected ships.

There was a lot of competition in the market in the early 1900s due to customers between the two large companies... Cunard Line and White Star Line, two hostile transatlantic carriers, have competed for the right of the leader in their field for several years in a row. has opened up interesting opportunities for companies, so over the years their ships have become larger, faster and more luxurious.

Why and how the Titanic sank is still a mystery. There are many versions. The boldest of them all is a scam. It was conducted by the aforementioned Star Line company.

But he opened the world of amazing liners "Cunard Line". By their order, two extraordinary steamships "Mauritania" and "Lusitania" were built. The audience was amazed at their grandeur. The length is about 240 m, the width is 25 m, the height from the waterline to the boat deck is 18 m. (But after a few years the dimensions of the Titanic surpassed these parameters). Two twin giants were launched in 1906 and 1907. They won first places in prestigious competitions and broke all speed records.

It became a matter of honor for the competitors of "Kunard Line" to give a worthy answer.

The fate of the troika

The White Star Line was founded in 1845. During the years of the gold rush, she earned by flying from Britain to Australia. Throughout the years, the company has competed with Cunard Line. Therefore, after the Lusitania and Mauritania were launched, the Star Line engineers were tasked with creating fantastic projects that would surpass the brainchild of competitors. The final decision was made in 1909. This is how the idea of ​​three Olympic-class ships came about. The order was carried out by Harland & Wolfe.

This maritime organization was famous throughout the world for the quality of the ships produced, comfort and luxury. Speed ​​was not a priority. Several times Star Line proved not by word, but by deed that it cares about customers. So, in 1909, in a collision of two liners, their ship stood on the water for two more days, which proved its quality. Nevertheless, the three "Olympic" misfortune befell. repeatedly got into accidents. So, in 1911, it collided with the cruiser Hawk, from which it received a 14-meter hole and went for repairs. Misfortune also befell the Titanic. He found himself at the bottom of the ocean in 1912. "Britannic" was caught by the First World War, where he played the role of a hospital, and in 1916 was blown up by a German mine.

Miracle of the seas

Now we can safely say that great ambition was the reason why the Titanic crashed.

The construction of the second of the three Olympic-class vessels was not without casualties. 1,500 people worked on the project. The conditions were difficult. Little was cared about safety. Due to the fact that they had to work at a height, many builders were frustrated. About 250 people were seriously injured. The wounds of eight men were incompatible with life.

The dimensions of the Titanic were amazing. Its length was 269 m, width 28 m, height 18 m. It could reach speeds of up to 23 knots.

On the day the liner was launched, 10,000 spectators gathered on the embankment, including VIP guests and the press, to see the unusually large ship,

The date of the first flight was previously announced. The voyage was scheduled for March 20, 1912. But due to the collision of the first ship in September 1911 with the cruiser Hawk, some of the workers were transferred to the Olympic. The flight was automatically postponed to April 10. It is from this date that the fateful history of the Titanic begins.

Fatal ticket

Its height was equated to an eleven-story building, and its length was four city blocks. Telephones, elevators, a private electric grid, a garden, a hospital, shops - all of this was placed on the ship. Luxurious halls, gourmet restaurants, a library, a swimming pool and a gym - everything was available to high society, first class passengers. Other clients lived more modestly. The most expensive tickets cost, in terms of today's rate, more than $ 50,000. Economical option from

The history of the Titanic is the history of different strata of the then society. Expensive cabins were occupied by successful, famous personalities. The tickets to the second class were bought by engineers, journalists, representatives of the clergy. The cheapest decks were for expats.

Landing began at 9:30 am on April 10th in London. After several planned stops, the liner headed for New York. A total of 2,208 people boarded the aircraft.

Tragic meeting

Immediately after entering the ocean, the team realized that there were no binoculars on the ship. The key to the box in which they were kept was missing. The ship followed the safest route. He was chosen depending on the season. In the spring, the water was full of icebergs, but they theoretically could not severely damage the liner. Nevertheless, the captain gave the order to drive the Titanic at full speed. How the ship sank, which, according to the owners, could not be sunk, was later told by passengers who were lucky enough to survive.

The first days of sailing were quiet. But already on April 14, radio operators received repeated warnings about icebergs, which were largely ignored. In addition, the temperature dropped significantly by nightfall. As you know, the team did without binoculars, and such a grand ship was not equipped with searchlights. Therefore, the lookout noticed the iceberg only 650 meters away. The man signaled to the bridge, where First Mate Murdoc gave the order: "Turn left" and "Reverse." This was followed by the command: "Right". But the hulking ship was slow in maneuvers. The board collided with an iceberg. That is why the Titanic crashed.

Unheard distress call

The collision happened at 11:40 pm, when the people were almost all asleep. On the upper deck, the impact was unnoticeable. But the bottom shook pretty much. The ice made holes in 5 sections, they instantly began to fill with water. Overall, the hole was 90 meters long. The designer said that with such damage, the ship will hold out for a little over an hour. The crew was preparing for an urgent evacuation. The radio operators were broadcasting an SOS signal.

The captain gave the order to put women and children in the boats. The crew themselves also wanted to survive, so the strong sailors took the oars in their hands. First of all, the rich passengers of the Titanic were saved. But there weren't enough places for everyone.

From the very beginning, the liner was not sufficiently equipped with everything necessary. Maximum, 1100 people could be saved. In the first minutes it was completely imperceptible that the ship began to sink, so the relaxed passengers did not understand what was happening and reluctantly climbed into the half-empty boats.

The last moments of the miracle ship

When the nose of the liner tilted strongly, there was a massive panic among the passengers.

The third class was left closed in its part. Riots broke out, and people in horror tried to escape as best they could. The guards tried to restore order and frightened the crowd with pistol shots.

At the time, the steamer Californian was passing by, but it did not receive a signal for help from a nearby vessel. Their radio operator slept through the messages. How the "Titanic" sank, and with what speed it went to the bottom, knew only "Carpathia", which went in their direction.

Despite the distress signals being given, independent attempts to escape did not stop. The pumps were pumping out water, there was still electricity. At 2:15 a.m. a pipe fell. Then the light went out. Experts believe that the liner was torn in half because the bow took in water and sank. The stern first rose up, and then, under the pressure of its own weight, the ship broke.

Cold in the abyss

The nose was sinking quickly. The stern also went under water in a few minutes. But at the same time, its upholstery, body, furniture floated upward. At 2:20 am, the great ship Titanic was completely submerged. How the ship sank, dozens of feature films and documentaries are shown today.

Some of the passengers tried hard to survive. Dozens jumped in vests into the black abyss. But the ocean was merciless to man. Almost everyone froze to death. After a while, two boats returned, but only a few survived at the scene. An hour later, "Karpatia" arrived and picked up those who remained.

Together with the ship, the captain went to the bottom. Of all those who bought a ticket to the Titanic, 712 people were saved. The victims of 1496 were mainly representatives of the third class, people who on this journey wanted to touch something unrealizable and desirable.

Scam of the century

Two ships of the "Olympic" class were built according to the same project. After the first ship set sail, all its shortcomings came out. So, the management decided to add some details to the Titanic. Reduced walking space, completed cabins. A cafe was added to the restaurant. To protect passengers from bad weather, the deck was closed. As a result, there was an external difference, although earlier it could not be distinguished from the "Olympic" liner.

The version that the "Titanic" was not under water by accident was announced by Robin Rardiner, an ace in matters of shipping. According to his theory, the older and battered Olympic was sent to sail.

Changing the ship

The first liner was launched without insurance. Having survived several accidents, he became an unpleasant burden for the company. Constant repairs required colossal funds. After the damage inflicted on him by the cruise, the ship was again sent on vacation. Then it was decided to replace the old ship with a new one, which was insured and very similar to the Titanic. It is known how the liner sank, but few people know that after the tragedy the White Star Line company received round compensation.

It was not hard to arrange a disaster. Both ships were in the same place. The Olimpica was redecorated, the deck was rebuilt and a new name pasted. The hole was patched with cheap steel that weakens in the icy water.

Confirmation of the theory

An important proof of the veracity of the version is indisputable facts. For example, the fact that world tycoons and successful, rich people abruptly and unreasonably abandoned the long-awaited trip the day before. Among them was the owner of the company, John Pierpont Morgan. A total of 55 first class customers canceled tickets. All expensive paintings, jewelry, gold reserves and treasures were also removed from the liner. The thought arises that the privileged passengers of the Titanic knew some secret.

Interestingly, Smith was appointed captain, who still rode the Olympic. Repeatedly he noted that it was his last flight in life. The words were taken literally by the people around him, as the sailor was about to retire. Researchers believe that this was a punishment for the commander for past mistakes on the previous ship.

Many questions arise because of the first mate William Murdock, who ordered to turn left and engage reverse gear. The correct solution in such a situation would be to go straight and wrinkle your nose. In that case, the Titanic would not be at the bottom.

Curse of the mummy

For years, stories have circulated that countless treasures were left on board. Among them is the mummy of the seer of Pharaoh Amenhotep. As early as 3000 years ago, a woman predicted that her body would fall under water and this would happen innocently with screams. dead people... But skeptics do not consider the prophecy to be true, although they do not rule out that the secrets of the Titanic have not yet been revealed.

There is also such a version: the disaster was planned to suspend the technical. But this theory is even less plausible than the myth of the mummy.

The ruins lie at a depth of 3750 meters. Dozens of grandiose dives were made to the liner. James Cameron, the filmmaker of the famous film, was also in the group of researchers.

A century has passed, and the secrets of the "Titanic" are still of interest and excitement to mankind.

The idea of ​​building the largest ship in the world belongs to Bruce Ismay and James Pirrier, who joined forces of two companies - the shipbuilding Harland & Wolf and the transatlantic commercial and passenger White Star Line. On March 31, 1909, construction began on the Titanic, and by 1912 its cost was $ 7.5 million, which today is 10 times more.

3000 people worked on the creation of the giant ship. The Titanic weighed 66,000 tons and was the length of four city blocks. The liner was equipped with 10 meter lifeboats, with a capacity of 76 people and in the amount of 20 pieces. Since the number of passengers on the Titanic exceeded 2 thousand people, this number of boats was clearly not enough, since they could save only 30% of the planned load of people. The Titanic was equipped with the most modern high-power radio equipment at that time. The cabins were luxurious. Also on board the famous ship was a gym, library, restaurants and swimming pools.

The first flight and the wreck of the Titanic

May 31, 1911 The largest passenger liner was launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which required a record amount of steam oil, grease and liquid soap to lubricate the gangway guides. This process lasted only 62 seconds. April 10, 1912 the ship departs on its first and, unfortunately, the last voyage. There were 2,207 people on board the Titanic, including 898 crew members and 1309 passengers, including famous personalities, millionaires and industrialists, writers and actors. April 14, 1912 an iceberg was seen from the vessel at a distance of about 450 meters. The Titanic made a maneuver, but still collided with an obstacle and received numerous holes 100 meters long. Thus, 16 watertight compartments were damaged, and under the weight of the ship, the ship heeled very much. Water continued to flood all the compartments. In 2 hours 40 minutes after the impact, the liner sank completely.

Rescue passengers

The captain of the ship I. Smith was afraid of panic among the passengers. Therefore, the inhabitants of the suites and the first two classes were mildly reported by the stewards of the minor damage to the liner and asked to go on deck. Passengers in the third class were not even aware of the impending danger. In addition, the inhabitants of the lower deck blocked the exit and many of them, wandering along the corridors of the ship, could not get out of the trap. That is, the priority in rescue was given to VIPs and representatives of the upper class. Most of the passengers were confident that the Titanic was unsinkable and refused to board the boats. The captain did his best to persuade them to leave the ship.

By order of I. Smith, women and children were the first to save themselves, but there were many men among them. The first boats, which were already in short supply, left half full. So boat No. 1 got the name "millionaire" and was filled with only 12 people out of 40. Realizing the drama of the situation and in order to distract the attention of the passengers, the captain of the Titanic asked the head of the orchestra to start playing. Eight professional musicians, realizing that they were playing for the last time in their lives, gave out clear rhythmic sounds of jazz, which drowned out the sounds of screams coming from the third deck and the shots of revolvers. So when the last boats were lowered, panic began, and the officers of the ship had to use weapons. In the engine room, work did not stop until the last. So the mechanics and stokers made every effort to provide the liner with electric lighting for the operation of the radio station. The Titanic did not stop transmitting requests for rescue to ships that were near the liner.

The first to respond to the SOS signal was the vessel "Karpatia", which rushed to the rescue at full speed. Within two hours, 712 people were picked up, and the remaining 1495 people died. People who did not get on the boats jumped into the water, putting on life jackets, but the water was icy, so even a healthy man could hold out in such conditions for only about an hour. Also, there were two more ships near the site of the tragedy. The fishermen on the Samson schooner were engaged in shadow fishing for seals, so when they saw the white signal lights of the Titanic, they thought it was the coast guard and hurried away from this place. If the liner had red warning lights, more lives could be saved. At the same time, the captain of the Californian, seeing the lights, thought of the fireworks going off on the Titanic. The ship's radio station did not work, as the radio operator was resting after the watch. For failure to provide assistance in the sinking of the Titanic, the captain of the Californian was stripped of his rank.

Survivors and deceased

Almost all the women and children who lived in the cabins of the first and second classes escaped, unlike the passengers and their babies from the lower decks, who were blocked off. As a percentage, 20% of men and 74% of all women were saved. Survived 56 children, which is slightly more than half of the total. In 2006, the American Lillian Gertrude Asplund, who witnessed the sinking of the Titanic, passed away. At that time she was five years old, and in this terrible disaster she lost her father and brothers. It is worth noting that they were third class passengers. In boat number 15, her mother and three-year-old brother escaped with her. Lillian rarely spoke about the tragedy and always avoided questions and public scrutiny. In May 2009, at the age of 97, the last passenger of the Titanic, who was only two and a half years old at the time of the shipwreck, died.

Crash hypotheses

The versions about the causes of the crash were completely different. But experts unambiguously name several of them. The Titanic was built in no time and had many flaws. So, in the construction of the ship, in some places, pins were used made of low-grade material, which was brittle. Therefore, after colliding with an iceberg, the ship cracked the hull exactly where the low-grade steel rods were used. Due to its enormous size and weight, the Titanic was clumsy, so it could not dodge the obstacle.

Researching the remains of the ship

On September 1, 1985, the sunken remains of the liner were discovered by an expedition led by Dr. Robert Ballard, director of the Woodshall Institute of Oceanology in Massachusetts. Depth at the bottom Atlantic Ocean was 3750 meters. The sunken ship was 13 miles west of the coordinates where the Titanic transmitted the SOS signal. The remains of the liner received the protection of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Conservation of the Underwater cultural heritage in April 2012, one hundred years after the flooding. Thus, the ship is protected from looting, destruction and sale. Such measures are necessary to ensure that the remains of the victims are treated properly. In August 2001, the site of the shipwreck was investigated by diving to the Titanic on the Russian deep-sea underwater vehicles Mir-1 and Mir-2. This was initiated by director James Cameron. Thanks to the use of small ROVs "Jack" and "Elwood", unique footage was filmed, which formed the basis for the documentary "Ghosts of the Abyss: Titanic" (2003), where you can see the remains of the ship from the inside. In 1997, the public saw the film "Titanic", which won an Oscar. In the creation of the films, shots of the underwater shooting of the liner were used, capturing its interior and exterior.

Despite the fact that many years have passed since the ship crash, this topic is still relevant. So the millionaire from Australia Clive Palmer declared to the whole world about the desire to build a copy of the sunken ship and create a cruise ship"Titanic-2". Hypothetically, the facility will be ready by 2016. It will have four steam pipes, like its counterpart, but at the same time it will be equipped with modern propulsion and navigation equipment.

The film "Ghosts of the Abyss" (2003)

a "Frederick Fleet noticed an iceberg directly on the course, about 650 m from the liner. Having struck the bell three times, he reported to the bridge. The first mate ordered the helmsman: "Left aboard!" - and moved the handles of the machine telegraphs to the "full back" position. A little later, so that the liner did not hit the iceberg with its stern, he commanded: "Right on board!" However, the Titanic was too large for a quick maneuver, and continued to move by inertia for another 25-30 seconds, until its nose began to slowly deviate to the left.

At 23:40, the Titanic tangentially collided with an iceberg. On the upper decks, people felt a faint shock and slight tremor of the hull, on the lower decks the impact was more palpable. As a result of the collision, six holes with a total length of about 90 meters were formed in the starboard skin. At 0:05, Captain Smith ordered the crew to prepare the lifeboats for launch, then entered the radio room and ordered the radio operators to broadcast a distress signal.

At about 0:20, children and women were put into the boats. At 1:20, the water began to flood the forecastle. At this time, the first signs of panic appeared. The evacuation went faster. After 1:30, panic began on board. At about 2:00 the last boat was launched, at 2:05 the water began to flood the boat deck and the captain's bridge. The remaining 1,500 people on board rushed towards the stern. The trim began to grow before our eyes, at 2:15 the first chimney collapsed. At 2:16, the power went out. At 2:18 a.m. with a nose trim of about 23 °, the liner broke. The bow part, having fallen off, immediately went to the bottom, and the stern was filled with water and sank two minutes later.

At 2:20 am, the Titanic disappeared completely under water. Hundreds of people swam to the surface, but almost all of them died from hypothermia. On two folding boats, which did not manage to be lowered from the liner, about 45 people were saved. Eight more were rescued by two boats that returned to the crash site (# 4 and # 14). An hour and a half after the complete immersion of the Titanic, the steamer Carpathia arrived at the scene of the disaster and picked up 712 survivors of the wreck.

Reasons for the crash

After the tragedy, commissions were held to investigate the causes of this incident, and, according to official documents, the cause was a collision with an iceberg, and not the presence of defects in the structure of the ship. The commission based its conclusion on how the ship went down. As noted by some survivors, the ship sank to the bottom as a whole, and not in parts.

As the commission concluded, all the blame for the tragic disaster was placed on the captain of the ship. In 1985, oceanographer Robert Ballard, who had been searching for a sunken ship for many years, was lucky. It was this happy event that helped shed light on the causes of the disaster. Scientists have determined that the Titanic split in half on the ocean surface before sinking. This fact again drew media attention to the reasons for the sinking of the Titanic. New hypotheses arose, and one of the assumptions was based on the fact that low-grade steel was used in the construction of the ship, since it is a well-known fact that the Titanic was built on a tight schedule.

As a result of lengthy studies of the wreckage raised from the bottom, experts came to the conclusion that the cause of the disaster was poor quality rivets - the most important metal pins that tied together the steel plates of the ship's hull. Also, the studied wreckage showed that there were miscalculations in the structure of the ship, and this is evidenced by the nature of the sinking of the ship. It was finally established that the stern of the ship did not rise high into the air, as previously believed, and the ship crashed into pieces and sank. This points to obvious miscalculations in the ship's design. However, after the disaster, this data was hidden. And only with the help of modern technologies it was found that it was precisely these circumstances that led to one of the most terrible tragedies humanity.

The reason for the crash of the largest ocean liner of its time, the Titanic, could have been a fire in the fuel storage.

The tragic legend of the Titanic

According to British journalist Shannon Moloney, who studied the history of the ship for thirty years, the fire on board began even before the ship left Southampton, and for several weeks they unsuccessfully tried to extinguish it. During this time, the liner skin warmed up, which is why the collision with the iceberg ended so badly.

According to the newspaper The Independent, the journalist succeeded, made before the start of the Titanic trip. Moloney found traces of soot in the skin, which was subsequently damaged by a collision with an iceberg. According to experts, they most likely arose due to a fire in one of the liner's fuel storage facilities.

According to the researcher, the ship's owners knew about the fire, but hid this fact from passengers. The team was also ordered to remain silent about the fire. According to Shannon Moloney, as a result of the fire, the ship's skin was heated to a temperature of about 1000 degrees Celsius, which made the steel, which had lost up to 75 percent of its strength, extremely brittle.

According to the journalist, when, on the fifth day of the trip, the Titanic collided with an iceberg, the skin could not stand it, and a huge hole appeared in the side. Therefore, the iceberg cannot be considered the only culprit in the catastrophe, which claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people on April 15, 1912.

Note, "" belonged to British company White Star Line. At the time of construction, it was considered the largest by passenger liner in the world, and, moreover, was listed as unsinkable. On May 31, 1911, the liner was launched. "The Lord Himself cannot sink this ship!" - said its captain Edward John Smith about the ship.

A little over a year later, the Titanic embarked on its maiden voyage. Onboard there were 2,224 people: 1,316 passengers and 908 crew members. On April 14, 1912, the steamer collided with an iceberg and sank after 2 hours and 40 minutes. 711 people were saved, 1513 died ...

Icebergs are also not so simple. Greenlandic icebergs usually get stuck in shallow waters off the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland and only swim further south after they have thawed thoroughly, often under the influence of tides. However, in the case of the Titanic, several large icebergs managed to swim far to the south.

Physicist Donald Olson of the University of Texas (USA) and his colleagues investigated the hypothesis of oceanographer Fergus Wood, who argued that icebergs were floated by the tide in January 1912, when the Moon was unusually close to Earth. By mid-April, the fatal ice mountain had reached the collision site.

Indeed, says Olson, on January 4, 1912, the Moon came closest to Earth in 1400 years. On the eve of the same, the Earth approached the Sun as close as possible. The Moon and the Sun were in such a position when their mutual gravitational influence on the Earth intensified. Obeying the force of the tide, the killer iceberg broke away from Greenland and set off.

At the same time, one of the biggest mysteries associated with the sinking of the Titanic is the more than frivolous behavior of the liner captain Edward Smith. An experienced sea wolf, who has repeatedly plowed the waters of the North Atlantic, for some reason did not pay attention to the warning about approaching icebergs. Perhaps he simply did not believe the information about them.

Although the point may be different. The hypothesis, which radically changes the history of the disaster, belongs to two researchers - an amateur Robin Gardner (his main profession is a plasterer) and a historian Dan Van der Wat. Having studied the archives of the navy for 50 years, they came to the conclusion that it was not the Titanic that actually died, but the other ship - the Olympic! The latter was built almost simultaneously with the Titanic and at the same shipyards. But from the very first days, this ship was in trouble. When it was launched on October 20, 1910, it crashed into a dam. The owner of the ship, Bruce Ismay, and the owner of the Harland and Wolf shipyards, Lord Pirri, had to pay a considerable sum for repairs and damages, which almost ruined them.

While sailing, the Olympic had several accidents. Since then, no insurance company has undertaken to insure the "damned ship". And then Ismay and Pirri conceived the "scam of the century" - to send the "Olympic" under the name "Titanic" sailing across the Atlantic and, when it crashes, get insurance for it - 52 million pounds!

The owners had no doubts that their plan would succeed. To protect passengers, they intended to send another ship along the same route, which, allegedly by accident, would pick up passengers and crew. But, in order not to arouse any suspicion, the shipowners decided that the "rescue" ship would leave the pier no earlier than a week after the start of the voyage. Alas, I had to wait only three days ...

Captain of the imaginary "Titanic" Edward John Smith was ready to carry out any order from his superiors. So, a few hours before the tragedy, binoculars were seized from the observers on duty. And a few minutes before the crash, Smith allegedly ordered to turn the liner sideways in the direction of the iceberg. He seemed to be trying to secure a disaster!

The further history of the "Titanic" (or false "Titanic") is known to us. What happened to the real Titanic? According to Gardner and van der Wath, he sailed safely under a different name first in the Royal Naval Forces, then it was acquired by the White Star Line. The ship was decommissioned ashore in 1935.

Whether "his" death (or the ship, which everyone took for the "Titanic")? Or was he "helped" to crash? This we, most likely, will never know. Of course, both the "conspiracy theory" and the "lunar hypothesis" are nothing more than versions. But the fact remains that the Titanic sank. And no matter what led to his death, we are no longer able to change the tragic fate of this ship ...

Did the Titanic (or the ship that everyone took for the Titanic) died "by his own" death? Or was he "helped" to crash? This we, most likely, will never know. Of course, both the "conspiracy theory" and the "lunar hypothesis" are nothing more than versions. But the fact remains that the Titanic sank. And, whatever led to his death, we are no longer able to change the tragic fate of this ship ...

1. 3 million rivets were used to build the Titanic, most of which were handcrafted.

2. Launching the ship took 23 tons of fat, locomotive oil and liquid soap to lubricate the gangway guides.

3. The designers considered the liner unsinkable. The double bottom and 16 watertight bulkheads were know-how for that time. However, the designers did not know how penetrating the iceberg could be.

4. There was no such simple thing on the Titanic as binoculars. The captain fired his second mate Blair, who, in retaliation, stole the keys to the safe, where the lookout binoculars were.

5. The shipwreck happened on April 14, 1912. Events are recreated to the smallest detail. Since early morning, ten times the crews of other liners transmitted reports that icebergs were already nearby, but the Titanic ignored these warnings. The latest report arrived on the Titanic 40 minutes before the collision. But the radio operator of "Titanic" did not even listen to the message and cut off the connection.

6. Many celebrities of that time were on the liner. Among them, for example, was the millionaire and feminist Margaret Brown. She was famous for knowing five languages ​​and swearing at them like a shoemaker. After the collision with the iceberg, Margaret helped put people on the boats, but she was in no hurry to leave the ship herself. Finally, someone forcefully pushed her into the boat and sent her out to sea. Having reached another ship, "Carpathia", Margaret immediately began to look for blankets, food for the victims, made lists of survivors, collected money. By the time the Carpathia arrived at the port, she had collected $ 10,000 for the survivors.

7. Another famous passenger of the Titanic, businessman Benjamin Guggenheim, got his companion into a lifeboat. He convinced her that they would soon see each other, although he understood that the situation was hopeless. Together with the valet, he returned to the cabin and changed into a tailcoat, and then sat down at a table in the central hall and began to drink whiskey. When someone suggested that they still try to escape, Guggenheim replied: "We are dressed in accordance with our position and are ready to die like gentlemen."

8. An outstanding ticket to the Titanic launching ceremony was auctioned off at a London auction for $ 56,300. And the onboard menu with a list of 40 dishes was sold in New York for $ 31,300. Another similar menu in London went for 76,000 pounds. Keys to the ship's room where the lanterns were kept for lifeboats, also survived and were sold for 59,000 pounds.

9. The liner was sinking to the music. The orchestra stood up to the last on the deck and played the church hymn "Closer, Lord, to You."

10. In 1991 and 1995, the Russian deep-sea submersibles Mir sank to the ship, which is now at a depth of 3.8 kilometers. Then the devices filmed a video that was included in the notorious film by James Cameron. This year, in honor of the centenary of the sinking of the liner, our submariners again promised to dive to the Titanic.

11. UNESCO has waited a hundred years to declare the wreck of the Titanic a cultural heritage site. For such cases, they have a special convention. Now UNESCO will make sure that the items from the Titanic do not go to uncivilized divers.

12. Released in honor of the centenary of the film "Titanic 3D" has already grossed an impressive $ 17.4 million in the United States. "Titanic" by James Cameron in 1997 was a phenomenal success and the box office at that time was huge: $ 1.8 billion. It was only 12 years later that the movie "Avatar" was able to break this record.

13. The ill-fated black iceberg, or rather a photograph of him, was found 90 years after the sinking of the Titanic. A few days after the tragedy, a certain Stefan Regorek from Bohemia on another liner sailed past the crash site and photographed an iceberg. After a thorough examination, it was proved that the dents on the iceberg could well have been made by the ship. So the block of ice also suffered.

14. Jack Dawson, the hero of the very film that brought Cameron fame and fortune, is a real character. True, Cameron later assured that he took the name from the ceiling and that it was a coincidence. Nevertheless, the real Jack Dawson was a coal miner on the Titanic. True, he was not in love with the green-eyed Kate Winslet (she was not yet born then), but with the sister of his friend, who persuaded him to become a sailor. In the end, everyone died, of course.

15. Legends are still being told about the Titanic. For example, lovers of mysticism point out that in 1898 the writer Morgan Robertson wrote the novel "Vanity" - about a huge transatlantic liner and his smug passengers. There are many similarities in the narrative, for example, the name of the ship - "Titan" - and the collision with an iceberg on a cold April night.

16. Another legend says that once every six years, radio operators catch on the air the SOS ghost signal from the Titanic. This was first announced by the crew of the battleship Theodore Roosevelt in 1972. The radio operator rummaged through the archives and found notes from his colleagues that they, too, received strange radiograms allegedly from the Titanic: in 1924, 1930, 1936 and 1942. In April 1996, the SOS signal from the Titanic was received by the Canadian ship Quebec.

17. Though official version says that the "Titanic" sank an iceberg, not everyone believes it. For example, some claimed that the Titanic was sunk by a German torpedo fired by employees of the company that built the liner in order to obtain insurance. However, this sounds unconvincing, considering how many employees of the company died on April 14, 1912.

18. The Titanic was not the only one large liner company "White Star Line". The ship Olympic began to be built at the same time as the Titanic. In 1911, on her 11th voyage, the Olympic collided with the British cruiser Hawk. The latter miraculously remained afloat, while the Olympic got off with minor injuries.

19. The younger brother of the Titanic, the Britannic was supposed to be named Gigantic, but after the crash of the first liner, the builders decided to moderate their ambitions. The Britannic was the most comfortable of the three ships: it had two hairdressers, a children's playroom, and a gym for second class passengers. Unfortunately, the passengers did not have time to appreciate the merits of the new liner. After the outbreak of war, it was converted into a hospital ship and was soon blown up by a mine near Greece. True, most of the people on board were saved.

20. The last of the Titanic passengers died in 2009 at the age of 97. At the time of the shipwreck, she was 2.5 months old.

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