Q. Who built the Titanic?
A. Harland and Wolff, Belfast.
Q. Where was the Titanic built?
A. Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The shipyard has built many ships; among the more famous are the White Star trio OLYMPIC, TITANIC and BRITANNIC, the Royal Navy’s HMS Belfast, Royal Mails Andes, Shaw Savills Southern Cross and P&Os Canberra. The company’s official history, “Shipbuilders to the World” was published in 1986.
Q. How did the Titanic sink?
A. New research indicates the ship foundered after suffering six narrow gashes, not one large one, as thought. Computer calculations, help reveal the detailed stages:
- When the Titanic struck the iceberg, six of its 16 watertight compartments were damaged. The ship started taking on water in the bow through openings about 20 feet below the water line.
- As the liner nosed down, water flooded compartments one after another and the ship’s stern began rising out of the water.
- As the stern rose ever higher, the stress amidships was more than the vessel could bear. It broke apart just forward of the third funnel. The bow began to sink.
- With the bow gone, the stern temporarily settled back to nearly level. The stern then rapidly flooded and rose out of the water, pivoting on the surface. It held that vertical position about a minute and then slowly slipped beneath the surface.
- The bow section sank gently and ploughed into the mud. The stern’s impact was more traumatic: when it hit bottom, it buried itself some 50 feet, crumpling the steel hull.
Q. Where did the Titanic sink?
A. The last reported position was 41°46 N, 50° 14 W. Once the wreck was discovered this position was proven to be out by approximately 13 miles.
Q. Where is the Titanic?
A. The bow and stern locations lie approx 600ft apart. The depth to the wreck is approx 12,600ft deep.
The location of the Bow section
49°56′49″W, 41°43′57″ N
The location of the stern section
49°56′54″W, 41°43′35″N
The location of the heavier wreckage
49°56′54″W, 41°43′32″N
