Titanic sunk by steering mistake, author says
Wed, 2010-09-22 15:33
#1
Bec.De.Corbin
Titanic sunk by steering mistake, author says
Wed, 2010-09-22 15:57
#2
Bec.De.Corbin
Wow! Seems the sinking, well the collision with the ice berg anyways, could have been the result of the wheelman getting two different steering systems crossed in a panic: that's so simple and human I'm willing to believe it really is the truth...
Patten, who made the revelations to coincide with the publication of her new novel "Good as Gold" into which her account of events are woven, said that the conversion from sail ships to steam meant there were two different steering systems.
Crucially, one system meant turning the wheel one way and the other in completely the opposite direction.
Once the mistake had been made, Patten added, "they only had four minutes to change course and by the time (first officer William) Murdoch spotted Hitchins' mistake and then tried to rectify it, it was too late."
Then a tragic mistake is compounded by bad, if not criminally negligent advice and decision making...
There he heard not only about the fatal mistake but also the fact that J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of Titanic's owner the White Star Line persuaded the captain to continue sailing, sinking the ship hours faster than would otherwise have happened.
The artical: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100922/lf_nm_life/us_britain_titanic_book
Thu, 2010-09-23 00:24
#3
Well that last quote shows the article isnt worth shit.
It took 2 1/2 hours to sink and any simulation of any other way of handling the collision shows it sinking even faster. Ismay's urging the captain to go faster and keep a straight course probably led to the sinking but didn't make it happen any faster.
Thu, 2010-09-23 15:21
#4
Bec.De.Corbin
It took 2 and 1/2 hours to sink and any simulation of any other way of handling the collision shows it sinking even faster. Ismay's urging the captain to go faster and keep a straight course probably led to the sinking but didn't make it happen any faster.
I don't know; I would think that speeding the ship along would force water through the leaks at a higher rate than if the ship was stationary the whole time. I also read were it was suggested they might have been able to have put people on the ice berg to act as a life raft of sorts till help arrived. But I'm sure that's all speculation after the fact.
You have any links to any sites that support this?... I do not doubt you; I'd just like to see the simulations you're talking about. I love stuff like that...
Thu, 2010-09-23 15:24
#5
It was a tv show on it. It was really neat. It was the theory that they could hit it head on and the theory that letting it flood evenly and stationary would be better. Both sank it way quicker (less than a hour for the flood evenly). Plus they had no facilities to put people on the iceberg which rapidly went away right after the collision anyway.
Really it was the Californian that doomed them
Thu, 2010-09-23 15:30
#6
Bec.De.Corbin
It was a tv show on it. It was really neat. It was the theory that they could hit it head on and the theory that letting it flood evenly and stationary would be better. Both sank it way quicker (less than a hour for the flood evenly). Plus they had no facilities to put people on the iceberg which rapidly went away right after the collision anyway.
Really it was the Californian that doomed them
Agh I think I might have seen that show; it was on the Discovery Channel I think...
Thu, 2010-09-23 15:33
#7
Hmm wouldnt be surprised 
I do watch a lot on that channel
Thu, 2010-09-23 17:25
#8
Sat, 2010-10-02 13:29
#9
O dear, the Titanic sounds like a metaphor for the hubris of Western propaganda:
Once the mistake had been made... "they only had four minutes to change course and by the time ... Murdoch spotted Hitchins' mistake and then tried to rectify it, it was too late."
Mon, 2010-10-04 15:43
#10
O dear, the Titanic sounds like a metaphor for the hubris of Western...
Not an entierely new idea.
It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down
Oh, they built the ship Titanic
To sail the ocean blue,
And they thought they had a ship
That the water would never go through;
But the Lord's almighty hand,
Said that ship would never land.
It was sad when that great ship went down.It was sad, It was sad,
It was sad when the great ship went down;
Husbands and wives, little children lost their lives,
It was sad when the great ship went down.They were off for England
And not very far from shore,
When the rich refused
To associate with the poor;
So they sent them down below,
Where they'd be the first to go.
It was sad when that great ship went down.