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N0KFQ > TODAY 15.04.08 04:31l 71 Lines 3536 Bytes #999 (0) @ ALLUS
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Subj: Today in History - Apr 15
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Sent: 080414/1607Z @:N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA #:16924 [Branson] FBB7.00i $:16924_N
From: N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
To : TODAY@ALLUS
April 15, 1912
Titanic sinks
At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, the British ocean liner Titanic
sinks into the North Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles south of
Newfoundland, Canada. The massive ship, which carried 2,200
passengers and crew, had struck an iceberg two and half hours
before.
On April 10, the RMS Titanic, one of the largest and most
luxurious ocean liners ever built, departed Southampton, England,
on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The Titanic was
designed by the Irish shipbuilder William Pirrie and built in
Belfast, and was thought to be the world's fastest ship. It
spanned 883 feet from stern to bow, and its hull was divided into
16 compartments that were presumed to be watertight. Because four
of these compartments could be flooded without causing a critical
loss of buoyancy, the Titanic was considered unsinkable. While
leaving port, the ship came within a couple of feet of the
steamer New York but passed safely by, causing a general sigh of
relief from the passengers massed on the Titanic's decks. On its
first journey across the highly competitive Atlantic ferry route,
the ship carried some 2,200 passengers and crew.
After stopping at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, to
pick up some final passengers, the massive vessel set out at full
speed for New York City. However, just before midnight on April
14, the RMS Titanic failed to divert its course from an iceberg
and ruptured at least five of its hull compartments. These
compartments filled with water and pulled down the bow of the
ship. Because the Titanic's compartments were not capped at the
top, water from the ruptured compartments filled each succeeding
compartment, causing the bow to sink and the stern to be raised
up to an almost vertical position above the water. Then the
Titanic broke in half, and, at about 2:20 a.m. on April 15, stern
and bow sank to the ocean floor.
Because of a shortage of lifeboats and the lack of satisfactory
emergency procedures, more than 1,500 people went down in the
sinking ship or froze to death in the icy North Atlantic waters.
Most of the 700 or so survivors were women and children. A number
of notable American and British citizens died in the tragedy,
including the noted British journalist William Thomas Stead and
heirs to the Straus, Astor, and Guggenheim fortunes.
One hour and 20 minutes after Titanic went down, the Cunard liner
Carpathia arrived. The survivors in the lifeboats were brought
aboard, and a handful of others were pulled out of the water. It
was later discovered that the Leyland liner Californian had been
less than 20 miles away at the time of the accident but had
failed to hear the Titanic's distress signals because its radio
operator was off duty.
Announcement of details of the tragedy led to outrage on both
sides of the Atlantic. In the disaster's aftermath, the first
International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea was held in
1913. Rules were adopted requiring that every ship have lifeboat
space for each person on board, and that lifeboat drills be held.
An International Ice Patrol was established to monitor icebergs
in the North Atlantic shipping lanes. It was also required that
ships maintain a 24-hour radio watch.
On September 1, 1985, a joint U.S.-French expedition located the
wreck of the Titanic lying on the ocean floor at a depth of about
13,000 feet. The ship was explored by manned and unmanned
submersibles, which shed new light on the details of its sinking.
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