My Titanic Report

The Titanic

 

            The Titanic was a one of a kind ship.  It took off from Southampton, England in 1912.  It was supposed to go to New York, but it sunk in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

            The Titanic was built between 1909 and 1911.  The name Titanic if from Greek Mythology, and it means gigantic.  The Titanic is 882 feet in length and 175 feet in height.  It runs by pressurized steam from coal.

            There were three different classes of passengers on the Titanic.  First class was the richest and, highest in society   Third class was poor and lower in society. and Second class was right in the middle.  The Titanic had 833 First class passengers, 614 Second class passengers, and 1,006 Third class passengers.  John Jacob Astor was the richest person aboard the Titanic.

            The Titanic's route was to start in Southampton, England, pick up passengers in Cherbourg, France, and then go get more passengers from Queenstown, Ireland, and finally off to New York.  As the Titanic was leaving Southampton, the New York (another ship that was taking off that day)had  mooring cables that snapped, because they couldn't take the strain.  The New York swung toward the Titanic.  The two ships were four feet from collision.  The Titanic quickly turned away from the New York.  The incident delayed the voyage for an hour.

            The Titanic had ten decks.  The Boat deck, the Promenade deck, the Shelter deck, the Bridge deck, the Saloon deck, the Upper deck, The Middle deck, the Lower deck, the Orlop deck, and the Tank Top.  The Boat deck is where they kept all the life boats.  The Promenade deck was for First class passengers, it had cabins, a lounge, a smoke room, a reading and writing room, and Palm court.  The Shelter deck had Third class cabins.  The Bridge deck had a restaurants for First class passengers, and it was the top level.  The Saloon deck had a First and Second class dining saloon, and an open space for Third class.  The Upper deck was used for cabins for all three classes.  The Middle deck was mainly used for Second and Third class cabins, and the Third class dining saloon.  The Lower deck had a squash court, and food was sorted there.  The Orlop and Tank Top decks were used for storage and cargo.

            At  11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912 in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean the lookout spotted an iceberg ahead of the Titanic.  The first officer ordered the Titanic to be turned around the iceberg, but the starboard side of the Titanic had already hit the iceberg, and made holes below the water line.  Five of the compartments were already flooded.  The Titanic was sinking bow first, and water was going from compartment to compartment. 

            The passengers weren't trained to get into life boats, and the Titanic only had enough life boats to hold about one third of the passengers.  The Third class passengers had to fend for themselves, and women and children were put into the life boats first.

            At 2:20 a.m. the Titanic started sinking faster.  The front deck went under water, and The unsupported stern came out of the water exposing propellers.  the ship stared to break in half because of the strain in the keel.  All remaining passengers left on board were plunged into freezing cold water of only 28 degrees. 

            Nearby there was a ship called the Californian.  It saw the distress signals and failed to help because they thought they were just fireworks.  At 4:00 a.m. the RMS Carpathia (a ship) arrived and took the passengers to New York.

            About 710 people were saved by the RMS Carpathia, and 1,500 people died.  On April 17,1912 Mackay- Bennett went to search for bodies.  He found 306 bodies, and 116 were to damaged to take to shore. 

            After the Titanic's sinking, people have made many different safety rules.  The ship has to carry enough life boats for everyone on board, and they have to life boat drills.  Rockets fired from ships should be interpreted as distress signals, and ships have to remain in contact with each other.

              The Titanic was a big ship for its time.  It  was known to be unsinkable, but it did sink because it hit an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  People have learned a lot from the sinking of the Titanic.   Safety rules have been  enforced;  there must be enough life boats for everyone on board, distress signals are taken more seriously, and ships must stay in closer contact with each other.