Harland & Wolff

Builders’ Shortcuts Blamed for Titanic

By 'The History of the Titanic' News Article

Summary by Isabella Gerardo

Citation

News, RTÉ “Builders' Shortcuts Blamed for Titanic.” RTE.ie, RTÉ 31 May 2009, www.rte.ie/news/2008/0418/102224-titanic/.

Abstract

While The White Star Line was the company of the RMS Titanic,Harland and Wolff was the shipyard . A shipyard is where a ship is being built or repaired. People might not think the shipyard was important but it really was, or at least the workers there were. They were important because they could’ve put more rivets to hold the ship together from the iceberg. Maybe more rivets couldn’t have stopped the ship from sinking but it sure would've made it longer.

Notable Quotes

“'Under the pressure to get these ships up, they ramped up the riveters, found materials from additional suppliers, and some was not of quality,' said Mr Foecke, who is a metallurgist at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.”

“'Six compartments flooded. If the rivets were on average better quality, five compartments may have flooded and the ship would have stayed afloat longer and more people would have been saved,' Foecke said. 'If four compartments flooded, the ship may have limped to Halifax.'”

The Secret of How the Titanic Sank

By Justin Ewers

Summary by Isabella Gerardo

Citation

Ewers, Justin,The Secret of How the Titanic Sank.U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report , 25 Sept. 2008, www.usnews.com/news/national/articles/2008/09/25/the-secret-of-how-the-titanic-sunk

Abstract

The Titanic had more than 3 million rivets holding the ship together. The ship had a mix of steel and iron rivets. But only the middle part had iron, because iron was stronger. And the iceberg just happened to hit the front side of the Titanic. If the iron rivets were put there, it could’ve at least caused the sinking to be slower.

Notable Quotes

“When the Titanic hit the iceberg, McCarty and Foecke say, the weaker iron rivets in the bow popped, opening seams in the hull—and hurrying the ship's demise. It's no accident, Foecke says, that the flooding stopped at the point in the hull where the steel rivets began.”

“Researching in the Harland & Wolff archives, they discovered that the shipbuilder's ambitious plans to build three large ships at the same time had put a huge strain on its shipyard. "Not because of cost, but because of time pressures, they started using lower-quality material to fill the gaps," says Foecke. This substandard iron was pounded by hand into the ship's bow and stern, where the large machines required to pound in steel rivets didn't fit. Steel rivets, meanwhile, which are much stronger than iron, were put in the more-accessible middle of the ship.”

Harlond and wolff

By N/A

Researcher Giselle Mejia

Citation

“Harland and Wolff, Belfast.” Harland And Wolff, www.titanic-titanic.com/harland_and_wolff.shtml.

Abstract / Summary

The Harland and Wolff company built many ships. They made sure everything was correct in the ship. While building the Titanic, they worried about the 1st classes comfort instead of the ship’s design.

Notable quotations

“ The three neighboring yards were amalgamated and redeveloped to provide a total of seven building berths, a fitting-out basin and extensive workshops. Harland & Wolff specialized in building tankers and cargo ships at Govan.”(Paragraph 4)

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