One hundred years since the launch of RMS Titanic

RMS Titanic, which sank in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history, was launched 100 years ago on 31 May 1911. She sank on 14 April the following year, after striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage, resulting in 1,517 deaths.

Built at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Titanic was the largest active ship in the world, at nearly 270m long and 28m wide, weighing over 46,000 tons and able to carry 3,547 passengers and crew. But she only carried enough lifeboats for 1,178 and a disproportionate number of men died because of the “women and children first” rule enforced by the crew when the ship sank.

Along with her Olympic class sisters Olympic and Britannic, Titanic was intended to be one of the most luxurious ships ever. First class passengers paid up to £875 (over £64,000 today) for a one-way trip across the Atlantic.

For those who do not know the sad story, Titanic began her maiden voyage from Southampton, bound for New York, on 10 April 1912. Some of the most prominent people of the day were on board, including millionaire John Jacob Astor and industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim.

On the night of 14 April, it was near freezing, the sea was calm and there was no moonlight. Earlier that day other ships in the area had sent warning of icebergs in the area, but as the Titanic’s wireless operators were employed by Marconi and only paid to relay messages to and from passengers, the messages did not reach the bridge.

Shortly before midnight, about 400 miles south of Newfoundland, the lookouts spotted a large iceberg, but the ship could not turn quickly enough. The iceberg brushed the ship’s starboard side, buckling the hull and popping out rivets below the waterline. Distress signals were sent out, but no ships were close enough to arrive before the ship sank two hours later.