Bruce A. Trinque
Member
If there is already a thread about the mechanism and sequence of the breakup of the hull, I haven't found it yet, so here goes ...
For many years I have been interested in just what went on when the Titanic's hull broke in two, and I have read various theories on the matter, although have not until now been confident that I really understood what went on. But the recent release of the "sonar map" of the Titanic's debris field on the ocean floor supplied a final piece that, to me, unlocks the mystery.
We have known for over twenty-five years that the hull indeed broke into two major sections while at or near the surface, and the position of the boilers and other heavy debris pretty much pinpoint just where that happened (although the bow segement somewhat "glided" to the north after the breakup and the stern section may have slid a bit to the west). But the monkey wrench in the works was the recognition in 2005 that two double bottom segments (from around Boiler Room 1) were near one another a few hudred yards northeast of the boiler field. It seemed possible that these segments might have glided together to such a position from the breakup point, although the coincidence of both ending up in the same location was a little hard to swallow. The nature of the damage observed on these double bottom pieces appeared to indicate that they failed under compression, i.e., favoring the so-called "bottom-up" model of the hull breakup (starting at the bottom of the hull and then propogating upwards).
But what I found especially puzzling in the whole matter was that the map of the debris field published in Ballard's "Return to Titanic" indicated two distinct and physically separated regions of lightweight debris on the ocean floor, one made up of coal and dishes and the other of coal, dishes, tiles, and plaster. I could not envision how two such fields could readily be produced by the hull breaking up.
On the new sonar map another interesting major piece of debris is shown: a "deckhouse" (really, the structure at the base of the third funnel) lies on the ocean floor near the two double bottom pieces. I had had a hard time accepting that the two bottom pieces could have "glided" there from the breakup point, but could not accept that a third piece, the deckhouse, had done the same.
Looking at the distribution of the heavy debris (boilers, double bottom pieces, deckhouse) and of the lightweight debris (cal and dishes), suddenly I saw the pattern I had been missing for so many years: there were TWO areas of heavyweight debris each matched with its own companion area of lightweight debris (shich drifted several hundred yards south during its descent to the ocean bed).
So, my current theory is that the hull breakup occured in two phases. First, the was a collapse of the hull bottom at Boiler Room 1, causing two double bottom pieces to fall more or less straignt down to the ocean floor. This permitted the stern section to somewhat bend back until it was again supported by the water, This nessessitated the superstructure above Boiler Room 1 opening up (at the base of Funnel Three). Funnel Three collapsed and carried the superstructure near it, again falling straight down to the ocean floor. The rupture of the hull bottom released coal from the bunkers forward of Boiler Room 1 into the sea and possibly dishes from the Third Class galley, while the destruction of the superstructure around Funnel Three, containing the Officers' Mess and Pantry, added more dinnerware to the mix, creating an area of lightweight debris several hundred yards south of the bottom pieces/deckhouse heavy debris area.
However, the bow section was not wholly detached from the stern at this time, and the whole ship drifted over the next few minutes a few hundred yards to the southwest. In the meantime, water was pouring into the ruptured hull, adding a great deal of additional weight to the center of the ship.
Finally, the strain became too much and the bow section tore completely off, releasing the boilers into the sea, accompanied by a cloud of coal, sihes, tiles, and plaster from living accomodations torn apart. The boilers fell straight down, and the lightweight debris was pushed by underwater currents several hundred yards to the south, creating the pattern of two heavyweight debris areas matched to two lightweight debris areas.
And now I wait eagerly for next month's History Channel special on the sinking of the titanic as revealed by the debris field evidence so the experts can point out all the ways I am wrong.
For many years I have been interested in just what went on when the Titanic's hull broke in two, and I have read various theories on the matter, although have not until now been confident that I really understood what went on. But the recent release of the "sonar map" of the Titanic's debris field on the ocean floor supplied a final piece that, to me, unlocks the mystery.
We have known for over twenty-five years that the hull indeed broke into two major sections while at or near the surface, and the position of the boilers and other heavy debris pretty much pinpoint just where that happened (although the bow segement somewhat "glided" to the north after the breakup and the stern section may have slid a bit to the west). But the monkey wrench in the works was the recognition in 2005 that two double bottom segments (from around Boiler Room 1) were near one another a few hudred yards northeast of the boiler field. It seemed possible that these segments might have glided together to such a position from the breakup point, although the coincidence of both ending up in the same location was a little hard to swallow. The nature of the damage observed on these double bottom pieces appeared to indicate that they failed under compression, i.e., favoring the so-called "bottom-up" model of the hull breakup (starting at the bottom of the hull and then propogating upwards).
But what I found especially puzzling in the whole matter was that the map of the debris field published in Ballard's "Return to Titanic" indicated two distinct and physically separated regions of lightweight debris on the ocean floor, one made up of coal and dishes and the other of coal, dishes, tiles, and plaster. I could not envision how two such fields could readily be produced by the hull breaking up.
On the new sonar map another interesting major piece of debris is shown: a "deckhouse" (really, the structure at the base of the third funnel) lies on the ocean floor near the two double bottom pieces. I had had a hard time accepting that the two bottom pieces could have "glided" there from the breakup point, but could not accept that a third piece, the deckhouse, had done the same.
Looking at the distribution of the heavy debris (boilers, double bottom pieces, deckhouse) and of the lightweight debris (cal and dishes), suddenly I saw the pattern I had been missing for so many years: there were TWO areas of heavyweight debris each matched with its own companion area of lightweight debris (shich drifted several hundred yards south during its descent to the ocean bed).
So, my current theory is that the hull breakup occured in two phases. First, the was a collapse of the hull bottom at Boiler Room 1, causing two double bottom pieces to fall more or less straignt down to the ocean floor. This permitted the stern section to somewhat bend back until it was again supported by the water, This nessessitated the superstructure above Boiler Room 1 opening up (at the base of Funnel Three). Funnel Three collapsed and carried the superstructure near it, again falling straight down to the ocean floor. The rupture of the hull bottom released coal from the bunkers forward of Boiler Room 1 into the sea and possibly dishes from the Third Class galley, while the destruction of the superstructure around Funnel Three, containing the Officers' Mess and Pantry, added more dinnerware to the mix, creating an area of lightweight debris several hundred yards south of the bottom pieces/deckhouse heavy debris area.
However, the bow section was not wholly detached from the stern at this time, and the whole ship drifted over the next few minutes a few hundred yards to the southwest. In the meantime, water was pouring into the ruptured hull, adding a great deal of additional weight to the center of the ship.
Finally, the strain became too much and the bow section tore completely off, releasing the boilers into the sea, accompanied by a cloud of coal, sihes, tiles, and plaster from living accomodations torn apart. The boilers fell straight down, and the lightweight debris was pushed by underwater currents several hundred yards to the south, creating the pattern of two heavyweight debris areas matched to two lightweight debris areas.
And now I wait eagerly for next month's History Channel special on the sinking of the titanic as revealed by the debris field evidence so the experts can point out all the ways I am wrong.
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