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True and False: Titanic History (Page 15)
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What was Titanic? R.M.S Titanic (aka Royal Mail Steamer/Steamship) Titanic was an ocean liner that sailed from April 10th 1912 at Southampton, England to what was intended to be New York City, but sank on April 14/15th 1912. She was built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland and was intended to be part of a trio of sister ships for White Star Line. Myth #15: Captain Smith a Poor Choice? Naturally, due to the results of his actions that night, people like to blame him solely for the accident and subsequent sinking. However, with any disaster like this, there's a myriad of causes. 1. Smith certainly can take a small amount of blame for what happened, but it was also common practice to speed through ice in those days. 2. Other captains testified at the inquiery that they'd have done the same thing. 3. Smith couldn't have forseen not only the unusual weather conditions that night but also the damage Titanic took after colliding with the iceberg. 4. Smith gave instructions to the officers on duty that night to call him if the conditions changed, indicating he believed conditions were fine that night (and they mostly were). 5. Smith cannot be blamed for the number of lifeboats or passengers' refusal to board them. 6. Smith cannot be blamed for how his orders were interpreted (women and children first vs. women and childen only). 7. Smith had been in command of other ships before Titanic like Adriatic (where his famous quote where he can't fathom a ship taking enough damage to founder comes from). Sources https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/edward-john-smith.html https://www.titanicofficers.com/titanic_01_smith_14.html https://collections.nationalmuseumsni.org/object-hoyfm-hw-h1541 https://collections.nationalmuseumsni.org/object-hoyfm-hw-h1579 https://collections.nationalmuseumsni.org/object-hoyfm-hw-h1576 |