Herald Português

Great Disasters · 5 chapters · 27 min

Titanic: The Unsinkable

1909 to 1914Belfast, Southampton and the North Atlantic

The story in brief

The largest ship afloat sails with lifeboats for half her people, and that is perfectly legal. After a day of ice warnings, on a moonless Sunday night, a lookout with no binoculars sees the berg too late, and a ship fifty-eight miles away races to save who it can. Then two inquiries ask why, and every passenger ship since carries a seat for you.

The chapters

  1. Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free

    Practically Unsinkable

    The biggest ship in the world, seats for half the people aboard, and not one rule broken.

    Sources: The Shipbuilder (1911); The British Wreck Commissioner’s report (1912); The US Senate inquiry (1912)

  2. Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free

    The Warnings

    A day of ice warnings, a wireless room buried in telegrams, a night with no moon, and a lookout with no binoculars.

    Sources: The British Wreck Commissioner’s report (1912); The US Senate inquiry: Fleet, Evans, Lightoller, Ismay (1912)

  3. Chapter 3 · 5 min

    Two Hours and Forty Minutes

    A designer does the sum, a wireless key calls for help, and the nearest ship has switched its wireless off.

    Sources: The US Senate inquiry: Cottam, Rostron, Boxhall, Bride (1912); The British inquiry: Wilding, Stone, Lord (1912)

  4. Chapter 4 · 6 min

    Women and Children First

    Boats leave half empty, an order read two ways, a band that keeps playing, and one boat that goes back.

    Sources: The British Wreck Commissioner’s report (1912); The US Senate inquiry: Lightoller, Lowe (1912); Harold Bride, The New York Times (1912)

  5. Chapter 5 · 6 min

    What Changed

    A ship comes through the ice at dawn, a senator asks what an iceberg is made of, and every passenger ship since carries a seat for you.

    Sources: The US Senate and British inquiry reports (1912); The Radio Act (1912); SOLAS (1914); The US Coast Guard; NOAA

Who’s who

The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.

  • Thomas AndrewsShipbuilder · Designed the Titanic · Stayed to the End
  • Frederick FleetLookout · “Iceberg, Right Ahead!” · Survivor
  • Jack PhillipsWireless Operator · Sent the CQD · Stayed at His Key
  • Margaret BrownSurvivor · Rowed Lifeboat 6 · Raised Money for the Rescued
  • William Alden SmithUS Senator · Led the Titanic Inquiry · Asked Every Question
  • Arthur RostronCaptain of the Carpathia · Raced Through the Ice · Picked Up 712

What you’ll be able to tell

This story belongs to the journey “Human Error”. By the end of it, you can tell why every ship carries a lifeboat seat for everyone aboard, and how one ignored warning becomes a rule.

Sources

  • The US Senate inquiry and the British Wreck Commissioner’s inquiry (1912)
  • The Shipbuilder (1911)
  • SOLAS (1914)
  • NOAA

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