The Titanic's Speed
Was the Titanic going too fast?
Embedded Files
What was the Titanic's speed?
What was the Titanic's speed?
Some special workers controlled the Titanic's speed. Because of them, the Titanic went at a reasonably fast pace, possibly causing it to crash into the iceberg.
Source 1: Harder Blames Vessel's Speed
Source 1: Harder Blames Vessel's Speed
By: Michael Poirier and Gordon Steadwood
Researcher: Cooper Darling
This is a graph that displays the Titanic's speed in knots throughout it's voyage
Citations
Citations
TEXT - Poirier, Michael & Steadwood, Gordon, “HARDER BLAMES VESSEL'S SPEED.” Encyclopedia Titanica, 25 Sept. 2013, www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/harder-blames-vessels-speed.html
IMAGE - Chirnside, Mark, and Sam Halpern. “Olympic and Titanic : Maiden Voyage Mysteries.” Encyclopedia Titanica, Encyclopedia Titanica, 28 Nov. 2018, www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/maiden-voyage-mysteries.html.
Abstract
Abstract
A survivor of the Titanic disaster, George Achilles Harder, stated that the Titanic was moving at almost top speed in dangerous waters, known to be littered with icebergs. People thought the “unsinkable” ship could be able to handle any collision with a mere iceberg. Therefore, many believed that maintaining a speed of approximately 23 knots (nautical miles per hour) would not be problematic. However, they would prove wrong, as the Titanic would be moving too fast to avoid a collision with an iceberg. The collision could have been avoided if not for a variety of factors including the speed of the vessel.
Notable Quotations
Notable Quotations
“We all knew by the atmosphere that there were icebergs around us and most of us realized that we had been warned about them. Yet such was the confidence in the ‘unsinkable’ theory that we were not at all surprised at the speed" (Poirier & Steadwood p10).
“[T]he Titanic was going at top speed in spite of the presence of icebergs” (Poirier & Steadwood p3).
Source 2: Speeds and Revolutions
Source 2: Speeds and Revolutions
by: Samuel Halpern of Encyclopedia Britannica
Researcher: Brett Corpuz
This is a picture of a telegraph that uses special ship terms to inform the engine room how fast to go.
Citations
Citations
TEXT - Halpern, Samuel. “Speed and Revolutions.” Encyclopedia Titanica, Encyclopedia Titanica, 11 Oct. 2018, www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/speed-v-revolutions.html.
IMAGE - Sexton, Timothy. “Things to Do in Orlando, Florida Besides Amusement Parks.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 21 Nov. 2017, https://traveltips.usatoday.com/things-orlando-florida-besides-amusement-parks-4345.html.
Abstract
Abstract
Using some special commands & telegraphs (shown above), the captain is able to communicate with the engine room to tell them how fast the ships's propellers should be spinning. The amount the propellers rotate in a minute (RPM) would correlate with the ship's knots, or nautical miles, using some complex calculations. However, the commands were a bit different in Captain Smith's case: when he said "Full Speed Ahead", he really only meant the speed for "Reduced Full Speed", which was 75 rpm (22 knots).
Later in the article though, it is stated in a table that the Titanic was going at an average of 22.6 knots (77-78 revolutions) when it collided with the iceberg.
Notable Quotations
Notable Quotations
"In Duncan Haws' book On White Star Line ships, we get another data point for the Olympic, 22,82 knots at 79 revolutions per minute. There was also data presented on Day 16 at the British Inquiry that 75 revolutions per minute would five between 21 3/4 and 22 knots (BI 18372), data that was confirmed by J. Bruce Ismay ... The machinery on the Titanic was essentially identical to that on the Olympic" (Halpern p11 & p16).
" It is very likely that he either downplayed the speed at 75 revolutions, or more likely, was thinking about 75 revolutions for open waters when he talked about full ahead speed ... It is interesting that Captain Smith would have even been thinking of 75 revolutions for reduced full speed ahead since we know that even in coastal waters they ran much lower than that" (Halpern p18).
"We also know from Edward Wilding the maximum speed expected from the Titanic with all 29 boilers connected up was about 23¼ knots (BI 25292)" (Halpern p11).
This is the RMS Titanic barely starting its "Maiden Voyage", therefore not at full speed yet.
Citations
Citations
TEXT - Maiden Voyage of RMS Titanic, Titanicandco, www.titanicandco.com/iceberg.html.
(No author/writer and date found)
IMAGE - Lee, Karen. “RMS Titanic - Topics on Newspapers.com.” Newspapers.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 12 Sept. 2018, www.newspapers.com/topics/industrial-gilded-ages/rms-titanic/.
Abstract
Abstract
On the first few days of the Titanic's first trip on the sea, Captain Smith told the engine room to only go slow at first. Then, every day, the Titanic would gradually get faster. At one point (specifically on April 14, 1912, the Titanic's fifth day on the water), the ship was going at 22.5 knots, which according to Frederick Fleet was fast enough to cut throught the water easily. Also, at that time, it was said by Fleet that he saw an iceberg up ahead. That is why later on William Murdoch (officially titled the First Officer of the Titanic) ordered the engine room workers to quickly "close all watertight doors" and go full speed ahead backwards.
(Please look at disclaimer below)
Notable Quotations
Notable Quotations
"The first few days of the voyage were uneventful. Captain Smith steadily increased speed day by day. The ship covered 386 miles on the first day, 519 the second and 546 miles the third" (Voyage p5).
"The Titanic cut the waves like a knife through butter at a steady speed of 22.5 knots. It was 11:40 p.m. 14 April 1912" (Voyage p9).
"He ordered the engines to stop and go full speed astern and quickly closed all watertight doors" (Voyage p12).
If you have any questions about the TItanic's Speed, contact us:
If you have any questions about the TItanic's Speed, contact us:
Brett Corpuz, Manager, Abstract and Quote Writer
Alexis Gaytan, Graphic Designer, Co-Manager
Ethan Kim, Abstract Editor
Isaac Zepeda, General Editor
Xochitl Berber, General Editor
Disclaimer : Some articles here are not completely about the Titanic's speed. Therefore, the abstract for those articles only summarize the sections about the speed, not the entire article. To find the specific part in the article about the speed, please look at the following:
Disclaimer : Some articles here are not completely about the Titanic's speed. Therefore, the abstract for those articles only summarize the sections about the speed, not the entire article. To find the specific part in the article about the speed, please look at the following:
"Go to Article -> Press Ctrl + F -> type in "speed" or "knots" in the bar that pops up".
"Go to Article -> Press Ctrl + F -> type in "speed" or "knots" in the bar that pops up".
P.S - Knots are nautical miles. 1 knot is about 1.16 miles.
P.S - Knots are nautical miles. 1 knot is about 1.16 miles.
Report abuse