I am trying to compile a list of possible actions that COULD have been attempted by the crew and/or passengers from the moment just after Titanic strikes the iceberg to extend her time afloat (even if only for a matter of minutes) or maximize the number of survivors. Think of the question in terms of using only the resources and manpower available on the ship as of the moment of the accident and assuming that if you were there you could have been able to muster others to follow / carry-out your instructions.
While each idea might only make a small impact, combined they could make enough of difference to either extend the timeline or save additional passengers. Some of these ideas are impracticable but not impossible to pull off given the circumstances.
Keep in mind that while some of the tasks below would take considerable amount of manpower to complete and although there were barely enough crew members on board to get the lifeboats away, you could smartly enlist the help of the able passengers on-board as well as the non-sailor crew members that are available to help out.
I have not included the ideas of counter-flooding or trying to stear the ship back to the iceberg as I believe these would not have helped.
SLOWING THE FLOODING / MINIMIZING THE WATER DISPLACEMENT:
(water was entering Titanic at approximately 25,500 long tons per hour, 425 tons a minute). Ways this could have been reduced and therefore extended the time afloat / prevented the sinking all-together:
1. Immediately after the collision order Titanic to a full-stop to r~~~~~ the inflow of water
caused by the ships forward motion.
2. Have passengers / crew close as many portholes, gangway doors, open hatches as possible as early into the sinking as possible (important to do so prior to the bow dipping below the waves).
3. Wrap lifeboat canvas or interior carpet over anchor chain openings (3 total) to decrease water that will enter when the bow dips below the waterline. Not sure how to keep this in place (using chains, rope stretched across the bow? Anything to minimize the size of the opening would by some time.
4. Try to “seal” or r~~~~~ the leaks from outside the ship using lifeboat- cover canvas’, carpet, linens, rugs etc. to plug the opened plates in the #6 Boiler room compartment. If time permits, try to do the same for the other exterior openings. (realizing you would be guessing exactly where the leaks were from the outside)
5. Drop all three anchors (2 bow and one forward) and hope that the chains/anchor holding mechanism breaks when the chain runs out and the chains/anchors detach completely from the ship thus removing 31 tons immediately. (15 ½ for forward anchor, 7 ¾ tons for each bow anchor, plus 150 lbs. per chain.
6. Ensure all pumps in flooding areas are online which I assume WAS done, but could other additional pumps be moved to the flooded compartments from the ones in the stern area? (not sure if they were transportable or if they had maxed out the # available to come on-line at once); Total water removal capability: 1,700 long tons per hour.
7. Was there a way to drain the swimming pool, fresh water supply, or dirty water supply without minimizing the pumps already pushing out the inflowing ocean water?
8. Use electric cranes from the cargo hold to unload the heaviest of cargo items from the hold and dump into the ocean. Even if only a few crates make it overboard that could a few tons removed = extra time. This would require someone trained in its operation in coordination with those in the cargo hold, something that might not have been feasible considering how quickly the bow flooded.
9. Have passengers toss overboard: deck chairs, furniture, anything not tied down to remove additional weight. Sure many of chairs will drift off the boat deck in the course of the sinking anyway, but why not get the weight off earlier and help out with prolonging the sinking as well as provide items to cling on to while in the water?
10. Have the lifeboats filled to capacity leave within the 1st hour of the sinking; this would remove both the weight of the lifeboats + ~1,100 passengers.
WAYS TO MAXIMIZE SURVIVORS: (~2,224 on board, ~1,500 deaths, ~705 survivors); assuming that each minute earlier that the Carpathia or other rescue ship arrives could mean a life saved from the effects of hypothermia/exposure:
1. Immediately after realizing the extent of damage start loading lifeboats with women and children first, then men and fill each lifeboat to or near maximum capacity; this saves around an extra 420 lives; lowers death toll from 1,500 to around 1,100. The first lifeboat was away at 12:45, but what if the first lifeboat could have been away 30 minutes earlier? This would have left more time to have an organized and effective loading of all the other boats, not to mention free up time for the remaining crew to prepare their own means of survival once reaching the water (makeshift survival rafts).
2. Send CQD and SOS morse immediately after the collision (within 5 minutes of the impact, requesting ships to come to the rescue. These ships could always be turned-around if the damage is not serious)
3. Issue an “abandon ship” order immediately following the inspection of the damage to the ship. Alert of those on board of the abandon ship order and provide instructions to the crew and passengers on the evacuation process. Might cause a panic, but then again might save lives.
4. Launch distress rockets/flares as soon as the seriousness of the damage was realized. This earlier timeline for the rockets might make the difference in how the Californian reacts.
5. Blow the ships horns almost continually (or as often as possible to create an auditory signal that something is amiss with the ship).
6. Start at fire on the deck of the ship (bow, forepeak area) to get the attention of a nearby ship. This part of the ship would be out of the way of the passengers egress.
7. Have passengers tie a series of life vests together with deck chairs (using ropes, bed linens, etc) to create small floating makeshift floating platforms that survivors could grab on to. (think Rose in the ’97 Titanic) Wait until just before she goes under to push them off the ship for those remaining to jump to.
8. Once lifeboats are away, have the remaining passengers and crew still on-board the ship shmear lard from the galley (bring lard to the boat deck) over their skin as an attempt to add a layer of insulation against the freezing water.
9. Once all remaining lifeboats have left, instruct those still on board to remove their life-vests from around their neck but hold on to them in their hands prior to jumping into the water. This might prevent some from breaking their necks on impact with the water.
Feel free to debunk these ideas or provide any others that could buy time or save lives additional lives…
While each idea might only make a small impact, combined they could make enough of difference to either extend the timeline or save additional passengers. Some of these ideas are impracticable but not impossible to pull off given the circumstances.
Keep in mind that while some of the tasks below would take considerable amount of manpower to complete and although there were barely enough crew members on board to get the lifeboats away, you could smartly enlist the help of the able passengers on-board as well as the non-sailor crew members that are available to help out.
I have not included the ideas of counter-flooding or trying to stear the ship back to the iceberg as I believe these would not have helped.
SLOWING THE FLOODING / MINIMIZING THE WATER DISPLACEMENT:
(water was entering Titanic at approximately 25,500 long tons per hour, 425 tons a minute). Ways this could have been reduced and therefore extended the time afloat / prevented the sinking all-together:
1. Immediately after the collision order Titanic to a full-stop to r~~~~~ the inflow of water
caused by the ships forward motion.
2. Have passengers / crew close as many portholes, gangway doors, open hatches as possible as early into the sinking as possible (important to do so prior to the bow dipping below the waves).
3. Wrap lifeboat canvas or interior carpet over anchor chain openings (3 total) to decrease water that will enter when the bow dips below the waterline. Not sure how to keep this in place (using chains, rope stretched across the bow? Anything to minimize the size of the opening would by some time.
4. Try to “seal” or r~~~~~ the leaks from outside the ship using lifeboat- cover canvas’, carpet, linens, rugs etc. to plug the opened plates in the #6 Boiler room compartment. If time permits, try to do the same for the other exterior openings. (realizing you would be guessing exactly where the leaks were from the outside)
5. Drop all three anchors (2 bow and one forward) and hope that the chains/anchor holding mechanism breaks when the chain runs out and the chains/anchors detach completely from the ship thus removing 31 tons immediately. (15 ½ for forward anchor, 7 ¾ tons for each bow anchor, plus 150 lbs. per chain.
6. Ensure all pumps in flooding areas are online which I assume WAS done, but could other additional pumps be moved to the flooded compartments from the ones in the stern area? (not sure if they were transportable or if they had maxed out the # available to come on-line at once); Total water removal capability: 1,700 long tons per hour.
7. Was there a way to drain the swimming pool, fresh water supply, or dirty water supply without minimizing the pumps already pushing out the inflowing ocean water?
8. Use electric cranes from the cargo hold to unload the heaviest of cargo items from the hold and dump into the ocean. Even if only a few crates make it overboard that could a few tons removed = extra time. This would require someone trained in its operation in coordination with those in the cargo hold, something that might not have been feasible considering how quickly the bow flooded.
9. Have passengers toss overboard: deck chairs, furniture, anything not tied down to remove additional weight. Sure many of chairs will drift off the boat deck in the course of the sinking anyway, but why not get the weight off earlier and help out with prolonging the sinking as well as provide items to cling on to while in the water?
10. Have the lifeboats filled to capacity leave within the 1st hour of the sinking; this would remove both the weight of the lifeboats + ~1,100 passengers.
WAYS TO MAXIMIZE SURVIVORS: (~2,224 on board, ~1,500 deaths, ~705 survivors); assuming that each minute earlier that the Carpathia or other rescue ship arrives could mean a life saved from the effects of hypothermia/exposure:
1. Immediately after realizing the extent of damage start loading lifeboats with women and children first, then men and fill each lifeboat to or near maximum capacity; this saves around an extra 420 lives; lowers death toll from 1,500 to around 1,100. The first lifeboat was away at 12:45, but what if the first lifeboat could have been away 30 minutes earlier? This would have left more time to have an organized and effective loading of all the other boats, not to mention free up time for the remaining crew to prepare their own means of survival once reaching the water (makeshift survival rafts).
2. Send CQD and SOS morse immediately after the collision (within 5 minutes of the impact, requesting ships to come to the rescue. These ships could always be turned-around if the damage is not serious)
3. Issue an “abandon ship” order immediately following the inspection of the damage to the ship. Alert of those on board of the abandon ship order and provide instructions to the crew and passengers on the evacuation process. Might cause a panic, but then again might save lives.
4. Launch distress rockets/flares as soon as the seriousness of the damage was realized. This earlier timeline for the rockets might make the difference in how the Californian reacts.
5. Blow the ships horns almost continually (or as often as possible to create an auditory signal that something is amiss with the ship).
6. Start at fire on the deck of the ship (bow, forepeak area) to get the attention of a nearby ship. This part of the ship would be out of the way of the passengers egress.
7. Have passengers tie a series of life vests together with deck chairs (using ropes, bed linens, etc) to create small floating makeshift floating platforms that survivors could grab on to. (think Rose in the ’97 Titanic) Wait until just before she goes under to push them off the ship for those remaining to jump to.
8. Once lifeboats are away, have the remaining passengers and crew still on-board the ship shmear lard from the galley (bring lard to the boat deck) over their skin as an attempt to add a layer of insulation against the freezing water.
9. Once all remaining lifeboats have left, instruct those still on board to remove their life-vests from around their neck but hold on to them in their hands prior to jumping into the water. This might prevent some from breaking their necks on impact with the water.
Feel free to debunk these ideas or provide any others that could buy time or save lives additional lives…
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