Did the car survive?

[Duck_Dur]

Hello,
Out of curiosity, did Billy Carter’s Renault car survive? I presume it should have because unlike other areas of the ship, the cargo holds and the boiler rooms had a “slow flooding affect” just like the Turkish Baths (if it had a “fast flooding affect” I would presume the items would have been destroyed (normally due to a bulkhead holding the water back and it snapping causing the water to flow in at a fast rate)) another idea that can backup this claim is that countless bottles and items that have been moved around the debris field when the ship first went down some of the champagne bottles still had its contents and the cork still in place when the ship sailed in 1912.
If anyone could help me put this idea to bed don’t be hesitant to respond.
Regards

 

[Duck_Dur]

Hello this is a follow up to the title as it is incorrect. Sorry

 

[robert warren]

The car did survive since it was in a cargo hold in the bow section, however no one would know how much damage it would have sustained when the bow hit the bottom. Today the car is very likely a pile of corroded junk that no one could pick out. Interestingly enough, in Cameron's documentary Last Mysteries Of The Titanic, they explore the area and someone points out what looks like to be the round curve of a fender in a pile of netting and debris. But of course this was never proven to be the car itself.

 

[Duck_Dur]

The car did survive since it was in a cargo hold in the bow section, however no one would know how much damage it would have sustained when the bow hit the bottom. Today the car is very likely a pile of corroded junk that no one could pick out. Interestingly enough, in Cameron's documentary Last Mysteries Of The Titanic, they explore the area and someone points out what looks like to be the round curve of a fender in a pile of netting and debris. But of course this was never proven to be the car itself.

Alright thank you!

 

[Thomas Krom]

Hello,



I hope you are doing well.



First let’s discuss the location of the car. The Renault motorcar was stored in a special cargo hold on the orlop deck in watertight compartment C. This hold was inaccessible over the course of the voyage and only could be entered through the cargo hatches when the cargo was loaded in. The Renault motorcar was created and likely had it’s wheels removed, as shown per period photographs. If what was seen by the James Cameron expedition in 2001 was indeed the Renault the crate was located on the starboard side, just beside the hatch.





During the collision with the iceberg this very cargo hold where the Renault was stored was damaged according to the sonar scans from 1996, a total of 0.288 square meters to be exact extending about 10 feet from in front of bulkhead B (in the number one cargo hold) to about 1/5th into the second cargo hold. That means that water started to flood the hold almost immediately with the water likely flowing down to the tank top through the hatch first (down here there were to cargo holds which were divided by the firemen’s passage pipe tunnel). It’s likely due to the starboard list that it flowed down the starboard side first here on the tank top.



Ulimetely the water flowed up the orlop deck again, flooded the cargo hold where the Renault was stored and flooded upwards to G-deck through the cargo hatch, flooding third class section D in the process and awakening several third class passengers who had their cabin in that section. The water reached this section around 11:55, no more than 15 minutes after the collision.



In 2001 James Cameron led an ROV which was designed by his brother down this cargo hold and discovered the remains of what they thought to be the Renault and while there is no general consensus I believe it’s likely the car. It can be seen in Ghost of the Abyss at the time of the link below:





I hope this helps,



Kind regards,



Thomas

 

[brionboyles]

Let's assume it was freighted as depicted in the movie and remained intact thru the entire sinking:
If it DID survive, there'd probably be nothing immediately recognizable as an automobile left, without sifting thru a mound of rust. Perhaps a few bits of brass trim (headlight rings, ornaments, door handles), a lump of engine block, the tires and perhaps a few wheel spokes... most of which would be buried under perhaps a foot or more of fallen rusticles. An ROV might pass over it several times without an operator ever seeing it.
If it was crated, the crate might have been destroyed by the descent or shifting cargo as the bow became vertical... or during the violent shock of hitting the bottom...smashing or scattering the contents, making recognition even MORE difficult.

 

[Steven Christian]

Let's assume it was freighted as depicted in the movie and remained intact thru the entire sinking:
If it DID survive, there'd probably be nothing immediately recognizable as an automobile left, without sifting thru a mound of rust. Perhaps a few bits of brass trim (headlight rings, ornaments, door handles), a lump of engine block, the tires and perhaps a few wheel spokes... most of which would be buried under perhaps a foot or more of fallen rusticles. An ROV might pass over it several times without an operator ever seeing it.
If it was crated, the crate might have been destroyed by the descent or shifting cargo as the bow became vertical... or during the violent shock of hitting the bottom...smashing or scattering the contents, making recognition even MORE difficult.

I've read from various sources that it wasn't like as was depicted in Cameron's movie. It was enclosed in a crate with parts(wheels) removed. I understand why it was portrayed the way it was in the movie. Just seeing a crate isn't very dramatic. But what you wrote about the car going thru the break up and then the collision at the sea floor is probably pretty accurate. It would been tumbling around in the cargo hold. Also sure like you said that some parts probably survived. Might be apples to oranges but I've seen cargo that broke loose during a storm that slid into other things. Lots of damage. We lost 2 F-4 Phantoms because of that. Cheers.

 

[brionboyles]

I've read from various sources that it wasn't like as was depicted in Cameron's movie. It was enclosed in a crate with parts(wheels) removed. I understand why it was portrayed the way it was in the movie. Just seeing a crate isn't very dramatic. But what you wrote about the car going thru the break up and then the collision at the sea floor is probably pretty accurate. It would been tumbling around in the cargo hold. Also sure like you said that some parts probably survived. Might be apples to oranges but I've seen cargo that broke loose during a storm that slid into other things. Lots of damage. We lost 2 F-4 Phantoms because of that. Cheers.

From a fellow squid... (Chief Quartermaster, USN '77-'97) who served most of his time in typhoon-infested WESTPAC... yepper, buddy!
Loose cargo can do some serious damage. During one storm, we had a wood pallet with a small generator on it break it's moorings, slide across the deck and into a crated 55-gallon drum of lube oil lashed to the bulkhead...
Generator weighed maybe only 200 lbs, but it crushed that crate and blew that drum open like squeezing a grape.

...and what a friggin' MESS!
Whole area was like a giant pit for nekkid oil wrestling... but this was before we had women aboard. :-(
:-D

 

[Steven Christian]

From a fellow squid... (Chief Quartermaster, USN '77-'97) who served most of his time in typhoon-infested WESTPAC... yepper, buddy!
Loose cargo can do some serious damage. During one storm, we had a wood pallet with a small generator on it break it's moorings, slide across the deck and into a crated 55-gallon drum of lube oil lashed to the bulkhead...
Generator weighed maybe only 200 lbs, but it crushed that crate and blew that drum open like squeezing a grape.

...and what a friggin' MESS!
Whole area was like a giant pit for nekkid oil wrestling... but this was before we had women aboard. :-(
:-D

We could have been out there together. Did a Westpac 79-80 aboard the Coral Sea. But back to Titanic. I don't know how they secured their cargo...tie down chains or what. Only thing I know for sure is that a lot of material tumbled out her on her way down but probably not from the forward cargo holds. But I would bet a dollar that that cargo was tumbling around inside.

 

[Mike Bull2019]

For clarity, it was in the 2001 'Ghosts of the Abyss' expedition and the film of the same name where the car was looked for. Some people thought some of the debris seen may have been parts of the car, but Cameron was not convinced at the time and no one has ever positively identified it since.

 

[Mike Spooner]

I would of thought if the car ever did survived it be a total right off. Not even a dedicated car restorer would ever get to work again.