The sinking of RMS Titanic in April 1912, is often a subject of speculation. What if they’d sighted the iceberg sooner? What if the Californian had been more alert? What if the crew had been more resourceful? Every speculation I’ve come across has been looking at how things might have ended better than they really did.
This speculation takes a different tack. What if things had been worse? Much worse?
Suppose instead of the iceberg flooding five compartments, suppose Titanic had hit the berg at such an angle that it had ripped open ALL of the compartments? Torn her open from stem to stern?
The ship would have gone down in a matter of minutes. It’s entirely possible there wouldn’t have been time to launch any of the lifeboats. It’s possible that there would have been no survivors at all.
With the engine room flooded and the electrical gear shorted out so quickly, it’s possible no distress signal could have been sent.
As far as the rest of the world was concerned all they would know is that Titanic had stopped sending wireless signals. That wouldn’t raise any concerns. Wireless was brand new and not all that reliable.
When she didn’t arrive at New York on schedule, there would be some concern, but no real alarm for at least a day. After a day, signals would go out asking if anyone had seen Titanic. After another day, the third after the sinking, people would really become alarmed and a deliberate search would be started.
Some debris might be found, but it would be hundreds of miles away from the site of the sinking by then. Eventually, after a week or so, people would have to suspect the ship had sunk. After a few weeks it would be almost certain she had gone down. But why? How? Speculation and rumors would run rampant.
The location of the wreck could be anywhere in ten thousand square miles of ocean. It’s quite possible it would never be found.
The disappearance of Titanic would be one of the greatest mysteries of all time.
This speculation takes a different tack. What if things had been worse? Much worse?
Suppose instead of the iceberg flooding five compartments, suppose Titanic had hit the berg at such an angle that it had ripped open ALL of the compartments? Torn her open from stem to stern?
The ship would have gone down in a matter of minutes. It’s entirely possible there wouldn’t have been time to launch any of the lifeboats. It’s possible that there would have been no survivors at all.
With the engine room flooded and the electrical gear shorted out so quickly, it’s possible no distress signal could have been sent.
As far as the rest of the world was concerned all they would know is that Titanic had stopped sending wireless signals. That wouldn’t raise any concerns. Wireless was brand new and not all that reliable.
When she didn’t arrive at New York on schedule, there would be some concern, but no real alarm for at least a day. After a day, signals would go out asking if anyone had seen Titanic. After another day, the third after the sinking, people would really become alarmed and a deliberate search would be started.
Some debris might be found, but it would be hundreds of miles away from the site of the sinking by then. Eventually, after a week or so, people would have to suspect the ship had sunk. After a few weeks it would be almost certain she had gone down. But why? How? Speculation and rumors would run rampant.
The location of the wreck could be anywhere in ten thousand square miles of ocean. It’s quite possible it would never be found.
The disappearance of Titanic would be one of the greatest mysteries of all time.
The main thing is that a huge ship with 2,200 passengers and crew, many of them very rich and famous, just disappears with almost no trace.
