Golden era: Olympic-class liners and the fate of Titan

A small introduction

Hi all! The topic of today's material was chosen by the readers of our excellent Telegram channel. In this longread, we do not set ourselves the goal of minutely exploring the sinking of the Titanic or the Titan submarine, however, we are not going to study in detail every deck of the Olympic.

Today we will talk about the trace that the giant liners of the early 20th century left in the history of shipping, safety and in the minds of people. This story continues to resonate in the hearts of people from all over the world - and for a reason!

Race of speed and luxury

This magical era began at the end of the 19th century. It was a time of competition and competition. Industrialization was in full swing, companies on both sides of the Atlantic were intent on snatching as much jackpot as possible - especially those involved in transatlantic transportation. 

The more people and cargo your ships could carry, the more money you could earn. Shipping companies spent millions of dollars, pounds sterling and francs building the “very best”: ships that surpassed their predecessors and competitors in every way.

In the photo: liner Kaiser Wilhelm II

In Europe, two large German companies (Norddeutscher Lloyd and Hamburg America Line) created several large ships that claimed the title of "the most luxurious and fastest." Among them were Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kronprinzessin Cecilie, which were launched at the beginning of the 20th century. These were large, 200-meter liners, which even then amazed the imagination. However, beauty was in second place - the Germans relied on speed.

Another company that decided to conquer the Atlantic with speed was the British Cunard Line. Already at that time, the company's ships received the Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic more than once. This is a special award that a ship received for setting a speed record when crossing the Atlantic Ocean. But Cunard Line wasn't going to stop. The successes of the Germans haunted the British - it's time to measure their strength with competitors. 

british wars

The result of the "war of speeds" were two famous liners. You must have heard their names - RMS Lusitania (Lusitania) and RMS Mauretania (Mauretania). Cunard Line managed to create liners that outperformed competitors in speed. Is it a joke, RMS Mauretania held the speed record for about 20 years. 240-meter liners quickly gained well-deserved popularity. 

In the photo: Cunard Line flyer

Historical reference

RMS (Royal Mail Ship) is a prefix for the names of ships, which was adopted in Great Britain in 1840. This prefix marked the ships, the companies whose owners entered into an agreement with the British Royal Mail. Since the end of the 20th century, mail has been delivered mainly by aircraft.

A little aside from the race of speeds, one very interesting and important shipping company remained. British company White Star Line differed from other companies of its time in that it emphasized the luxury of its ships. Although speed was an important component, the splendor of decoration was a priority. 

When RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania were already sailing the Atlantic with might and main, White Star Line understood that it was necessary to give a decent answer to the courts Cunard Line. However, it was already pointless to compete in speed with Lusitania and Mauretania - as history will show, Cunard Line really managed to create one of the fastest liners of its time.

It remained to compete in luxury. And so, in 1907, two people decided to create something special. Something that will go down in history. 

The beginning of a legendary story

In 1907 Joseph Bruce Ismay and William Pirrie gathered to discuss how to outshine Cunard Line with their steamers Lusitania and Mauretania. The first, Bruce Ismay, was the president and owner White Star Line, and the second, William J. Pirrie, was a shipyard director Harland & Wolff, which has been cooperating with White Star Line for many years. 

Then Ismay and Pirri came to the idea that they need to create something special. “Something special” were three ships, giant transatlantic liners. Since such large and luxurious liners did not exist before, it was decided to create a whole separate class - Olympic.

Pictured: Joseph Bruce Ismay (left) and William J. Pirrie (right)

The first liner bore the name of the class as its name - RMS Olympic. It was decided to name the second liner RMS Titanic, and the third one was named R.M.S. Britannic. Ismay and Pirrie initially thought about creating four ships, but later came to the conclusion that three giant liners would be enough for continuous cruising across the Atlantic. In addition, according to the plan, the RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic were to be built first, and then the third “brother” should be launched.

Name confusion

Despite the popular theory among historians and interested people that the ships are named after different peoples of Greek myths - Olympians, titans and giants - the real motivation of the creators of the courts during the choice of names remains unknown. During the preparation of this paper, it was found that R.M.S. Britannic if it bore the name Gigantic (personifying the people of giants), then only for a short period and in unofficial documentation. Officially R.M.S. Britannic never called anything else.

In the photo: "Three sisters" in the representation of the artist (left Olympic, center Titanic, right Britannic)

Interesting fact

In English, the word "ship" (meaning ship, ship) is feminine. Therefore, the three Olympic class liners were precisely “sisters”, i.e. "sisters". In Russian and Ukrainian versions, when it comes to the heroes of today's material, you can often find the option of "twin ships", "brother liners".

Moreover, according to the then fashion (1901-1918), each shipping company named its ships in its own way, so that they could be easily identified by ear. So, the courts of the company Cunard Line in the name had the ending -ia (Lusitania, Mauretania, Carpathia, Slavonia), and White Star Line used the ending -ic (Oceanic, Adriatic). 

Most likely, the names Olympic and Titanic were simply meant to evoke in passengers the associations of something big, reliable and luxurious, without complex searches for deep references to Greek myths. 

Construction and advertising

The first two "giants" began to be built in 1908 (RMS Olympic) and 1909 (RMS Titanic). Olympic and Titanic were built almost simultaneously, on neighboring stocks. According to the plan, Olympic was to be launched first and Britannic would take its place in the dock. 

Pictured: Olympic and Titanic under construction

In October 1910, the Olympic was launched and six months later, in June 1911, it was put into operation. The Titanic was literally behind him. Already in May 1911, the Titanic was launched, and in early April 1912 it was put into operation. 

The advertising campaign was pompous. Interestingly, the main character was Olympic, not Titanic. RMS Olympic was the flagship of the class and the most popular ship of the trio. Although the Titanic was slightly larger and more luxurious, and underwent a number of design changes, the Olympic remained the star of the evening.

Prior to the well-known tragedy, the Olympic-class ships were positioned as "unsinkable". Unsinkability was guaranteed by 16 waterproof compartments and 12 sealed doors. The liners had to survive the flooding of four compartments and at the same time maintain the ability to move along a given course. And if the bottom was damaged, the double bottom prevented water from entering the compartments. 

Boats were to be another security measure. According to the then international maritime law, the number of boats was calculated not by the number of people on board, but by the tonnage of the ship. Thus, on ships with a tonnage of over 10,000 tons, there should have been 16 boats. As a result, the Olympic (displacement 52,067 tons) and Titanic (displacement 52,310 tons) had even a little more boats on board - 20 pieces. 

All three liners were unprecedentedly luxurious by the standards of their time. On board each of them were:

- dining rooms;

- a squash court;

- À La Carte restaurant;

– full lifts;

- smoking rooms;

- gymnasiums;

- swimming pool;

- Turkish baths;

- libraries. 

RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic literally set the trend and set the standard for what luxury ships should be. 

Tragedy RMS Titanic

We will not dwell on the flooding in detail, but we will mention the main points of history. So, today we can say with confidence that there are no direct culprits in the tragedy. 

Neither Captain Smithwho was accused of negligence, nor Bruce Ismay, who became the object of condemnation, first because he was a man and survived, and then because he allegedly urged the captain and forced him to “break speed records”, neither radio operators nor other crew members were responsible for the disaster. 

In the photo: the wreck of the RMS Titanic in the representation of the artist

The whole story of the sinking of the Titanic is a huge chain of tragic accidents that led to disaster. What should be remembered about the tragedy that happened on the night of April 15, 1912: 

1. The radio operator received 7 warnings about icebergs and ice fields, but only 4 reached the bridge - throughout April 14, the Titanic radio station received warnings about the danger in the area, but these warnings did not receive due attention from the crew. Why? Because no one took seriously the danger posed by icebergs. The last shipwreck due to a collision with an iceberg happened 50 years before the tragedy on the Titanic. Especially important was the last message about icebergs, which was received an hour and a half before the collision. It also did not reach the bridge.

2. The Titanic was truly built with the latest safety technology in mind - the main problem was that the ship's bulkheads did not reach the deck, which led to the fact that water flooded one compartment and then overflowed into another. No one could have imagined such consequences of meeting with an iceberg. In other situations, as the operation of the Olympic has shown, the vessel is more than reliable. 

3. There were not enough boats, and the crew and passengers were not instructed in actions in an emergency - another tragic accident that shouldn't have happened. The timing of the voyage was running out, the team was assembled in a hurry, and the top management was confident in the reliability of the vessel. Despite the fact that the officer corps was decent, some officers had not previously served on Olympic-class ships. There is also no need to talk about briefing on actions in an emergency. The result was difficulty in launching the boats into the water. One of the main consequences of the sinking of the Titanic was the revision of international legislation regarding the number of lifeboats on board. 

In the photo: the likely “culprit” of the disaster is an iceberg with traces of fresh red and black paint. The photo was taken on April 16 from the ship "Prince Adalbert"

4. Weather conditions have complicated the work of lookouts - on the night of April 14-15, 1912, the North Atlantic was remarkably quiet and calm. There was no moon, but the stars were bright enough. However, this was not enough to see the so-called in almost complete darkness. “black” iceberg (an iceberg that turned its underwater, darker part upside down). There is a version that the lookout that night did not first see the iceberg itself, but “something darker against the background of the rest of the sky”, which confirms the theory of the “black” iceberg.

5. The hull of the RMS Titanic was not pierced - There is a popular belief that the Titanic's hull was pierced, but this is not the case. As a result of the collision, the iceberg deformed the Titanic's hull in such a way that the steel skin could not stand it and buckled, forming gaps. In total, the total length of the “holes” was 91 meters.

The main reason for this number of victims was the insufficient number of boats on board. In addition, a Californian drifting nearby could also come to the rescue, but the crew took all the alarms coming from the Titanic too lightly.

In general, the actions of the crew, despite their unpreparedness, cannot be called unprofessional. All crew members - from stokers to navigators - did everything possible to save as many people as possible. Until the last moments, the crew heroically helped passengers of all classes to get to the boats. 

Damned liner

A huge number of myths have formed around the Titanic. Their severity varies, but in general none of the popular myths have been confirmed. On the contrary, they were regularly debunked. So, for a long time it was believed that the Titanic went under the water intact, despite eyewitness statements that it broke into two parts. An underwater expedition in 1985 showed that this was not the case. 

It was also believed that instead of Titanic, Olympic sank and all this was rigged by the company White Star Line to receive insurance premiums. However, this myth does not stand up to criticism due to the fact that the Titanic was quite visually and less seriously structurally different from the “big brother”. 

Also, the people, with particular zeal, began to compose other theories that the liner, they say, was originally cursed. There, an Egyptian mummy was also transported on board, and there were signs during the launch, and ... However, you yourself probably heard a couple of such theories. And although these myths still remain just guesswork, in the eyes of the public, the RMS Titanic really remained a cursed liner.

Another well-known myth is the so-called. “class discrimination”, due to which third-class passengers were allegedly not allowed on boats, and the first thing the crew did was rescue first-class passengers. This myth is only partly true, but not because of any dismissive attitude of the crew members towards the poor passengers. 

Video: RMS Titanic and footage from the RMS Olympic

Yes, most of those rescued were first-class passengers, but only for the reason that their cabins were located closest to the boat deck. Women and children from the third class were not prevented from boarding the boats. 

As for the significance of the tragedy, today people do not quite correctly assess the impact of the wreck of the Titanic. Yes, society at the beginning of the 20th century was shocked by the scale of the disaster - before that, so many people had never drowned in one place (about 1,500 people). But sinkings of ships of similar size have happened before. In this sense, Titanic has not become something special.

The impact of the disaster on the safety of navigation

However, it was the number of victims that riveted everyone's attention to the liner. Someone once gave a very dark joke: “Titanic killed fifteen hundred people, but saved millions.” And there is some truth in this. Not only White Star Line hurriedly modified the two remaining Olympic-class liners, but international authorities took the experience of the tragedy into account. 

In the photo: boats of the same model that were on the RMS Titanic

So, finally, they began to take boats on board not by the tonnage of the vessel, but by the number of people on board, supervision over compliance with safety regulations became an order of magnitude tougher. 

From 1912, the US Navy also began to intensively track drifting ice and alert ships that entered dangerous areas. Over time, responsibility for surveillance shifted to the US Coast Guard. All in all, the tragedy of the RMS Titanic forever changed the approach to safety regulations in the civilian fleet.

Forgotten and abandoned

Less tragic, but no less dramatic, was the fate of the RMS Britannic. After the wreck of the Titanic, the still unlaunched Britannic was hastily upgraded to meet updated safety regulations. Its construction was suspended and the engineers began to make changes to the design.

The main update was the addition of an additional compartment and another bulkhead - 17 bulkheads instead of 16 on the Olympic and Titanic. In addition, 28 more boats were added. 

Pictured: RMS Britannic promotional booklet. The world has never seen the "third brother" in such a coloring.

Work on the RMS Britannic progressed slowly. Company White Star Line and shipyard Harland & Wolff suffered losses and suffered launching several times. By the end of construction, the Britannic was superior to the previous Olympic-class liners in every way. It was bigger, faster and more luxurious. 

In the photo: RMS Britannic on the slipways at the shipyard

Alas, the First World War changed the fate of the ship - Britannic never made a single commercial flight. Naturally, there was no more talk of any advertising campaign. The RMS Britannic remained a commercial vessel only on the pages of advertising booklets.

War and the wreck of HMHS Britannic

From the very beginning of the war, the ship was laid up in Belfast. In November 1915, the Britannic was requisitioned by the government as a hospital ship. Britannic entered service that same month and received the HMHS prefix.

Pictured: HMHS Britannic in hospital paint (white sides, green line and red (or green) crosses, tubes painted yellow).

Historical reference

HMS is another prefix for designating ships, but already the Royal Navy of Great Britain. Stands for “Her (or His) Majesty's Ship” – Her/His Majesty's Ship. In the case of Britannic, the letter H was added - Hospital (hospital).

As a hospital ship, the Britannic managed to navigate the waters of the Mediterranean for about a year. He regularly performed the tasks of evacuating soldiers and civilians until November 1916. 

On 21 November 1916, HMHS Britannic sailed at 20 knots between the islands of Kea and Makronisos, Greece. It was here that the ship hit a mine. After 55 minutes, the liner went to the bottom of the Aegean Sea. Most of the crew and passengers escaped from the ship, only 30 people died.

Pictured: HMHS Britannic immediately after sinking (artist's view)

There were plenty of boats on board, the evacuation went relatively smoothly. In addition, the water temperature at that moment was more than 20 C, which also made it possible even for people who fell overboard to safely get to the nearest boats. 

The fate of the RMS Olympic

Olympic from the very beginning was favored by the attention of the public. Despite the fact that both Titanic and Britannic were better, bigger and more luxurious than the “big brother”, it was the RMS Olympic that was destined to end its career relatively quietly 24 years after launching. 

During the entire period of operation, the liner faced several difficulties. Firstly, the constant modernization of the liner became a stumbling block. The cost of each repair was serious, for the maintenance of the ship White Star Line and shipyard Harland & Wolff spending millions of pounds. One of the most expensive upgrades was the conversion of boiler rooms and the replacement of coal bunkers with liquid fuel tanks. The boats were also changed and updated.

Pictured: RMS Olympic arriving in New York

The second problem for the Olympic was maritime accidents with the direct participation of the liner. Even before the first voyage, the ship did not miss the warship HMS Hawke, as a result of which it received a huge 14-meter hole on the starboard side. The nose of the Hawke after the collision was, as they say, “soft-boiled”. Fortunately, no one was hurt. 

Periodic skirmishes with smaller vessels have not prevented Olympic from rightfully continuing to carry thousands of people on scheduled flights across the Atlantic. However, the First World War, as in the case of Britannic, changed plans.

Military career

Throughout World War I, the Olympic proved to be a manoeuvrable and reliable liner. More than once or twice Olympic came to the rescue as a humanitarian vessel, saving the lives of thousands of soldiers. Service in the Mediterranean did not last long, which was the key to a further successful career. Olympic was sent to serve in the North Atlantic. 

In the photo: Olympic during the war in a new military coloring

The liner was used as a transport vessel on the Halifax-Great Britain route. It was in British waters that perhaps the most famous “feat” of the liner took place. Passing the English Channel, the Olympic crew noticed the German submarine U-103. Quickly and in a coordinated manner, the crew began to attack the submarine with a gun on board. 

When the captain of the submarine realized that he could not withstand a direct collision with a giant, he decided to dive under the water and escape. Alas, the submarine was not fast enough to escape the Olympic. That day, the most experienced navigator, Captain Hayes, was at the helm. He was famous for his navigational skills and courage. Under his command, a giant liner weighing 46,359 registered tons at full speed was able to ram the submarine. The surviving Germans were picked up by an American warship. 

After the ramming, Olympic escaped with very light “injuries”. The stem was slightly bent, but there were no holes or leaks. It was a triumph for the liner, and Captain Hayes was greeted in the port with almost a standing ovation. 

Lucky, beloved, blessed

After the war, Olympic returned to commercial flights. From time to time it was modernized, sometimes the liner got into accidents, but always continued to adequately carry out its service in the civilian fleet.

The penultimate captain of the Olympic Marshall was offered to move to another ship of the company  White Star Line - RMS Majestic. At that time, it was he who was considered the largest ship in history. Before handing the liner over to Captain Parker, Marshall said, "I guess it's an honor for me [to captain the Majestic] because it's the biggest liner in the world, but I leave the best one to you, Parker." 

Video: RMS Olympic enters the Port of New York

And in this phrase all the attitude of the people of that time towards the Olympic is concentrated. Giant, like Mount Olympus itself, reliable, lucky and just “the best”. It was Olympic that was the embodiment of the entire class of the same name. 

Throughout its existence, Olympic has repeatedly hit the front pages of newspapers. Often this happened in connection with incidents (remember HMS Hawke), but no less often he was the face of advertising campaigns and retained the image of a four-pipe liner. 

On the afternoon of 11 September 1935, the RMS Olympic left Southampton Harbor for the last time and went to be broken up and scrapped. The ship's chief engineer noted that despite the fact that the ship was scrapped, her engines "were as good as on the day of launching."

Style and image of the Olympic class liners

Don't underestimate the contribution made by the company White Star Line and shipyard Harland & Wolff. It was these companies that created the recognizable image of a four-pipe liner. Yes, before the trio of “Olympians” there were other liners that outwardly looked very much like the creation of Harland & Wolff, but it was Olympic, Titanic and Britannic that complemented the external image with rich interior decoration and unsurpassed design, which even now causes delight.

Pictured: RMS Olympic (left) and RMS Titanic (right)

Liners of the company White Star Line, despite the tragic fate, were still really “dream liners”. These were the dreams of their creators - about the largest and most luxurious ships on the planet. These were also the dreams of millionaires - about stylish and powerful liners that take travel to a new level of comfort. These were the dreams of the middle class - about decent sailing conditions and pleasant cruises. These were the dreams of third-class passengers - about a ticket to a new life in a new country, where they would be delivered with incredible speed by a new liner that still smelled of fresh paint.

One of the journalists after the crash of the Titanic wrote that "the era of optimism and arrogance has ended." But the Olympic was still the main symbol of the class, and, in the humble opinion of the author, the real end of the era fell precisely on the decommissioning of the “big brother”.

And yet, in the eyes of the public, Titanic has not only become a household name, but also a symbol of arrogance, arrogance and pride. There is some truth in this. However, one should not forget that all three ships of the series set a new standard of luxury and comfort not only for first-class cabins, but also for third-class passengers. Yes, the conditions were different, but it was on Olympic-class liners that third-class passengers, almost for the first time in history, could adequately conduct a flight. 

There was no obvious neglect or poor service on the lower decks, where the third-class cabins were. By contrast, third-class cabins were never positioned as places for the poor or indigent. They served decent food, there was plenty of room on the promenade decks, and the cabins were neat and clean. And note - the cabins of the so-called. The "third class" cabins aboard the Titanic matched the second class cabins on other ships. Meals were included in the ticket price.

In any case, all three giants had an unusually interesting, sometimes tragic fate. These liners were indeed a symbol of hope, a symbol of will and courage. A century later, the tragedy of the Titanic resonates in the hearts of all concerned, the exploits of the Britannic make one admire the dedication of the crew during the war, and the calm service of the Olympic makes it possible to see what the fate of the Olympic-class superliners would have been if not for a series of tragic and sometimes ridiculous coincidences.

Underwater tourism

The fate of the company's liners White Star Line excited the minds of more than one generation. In general, there were several waves of interest in Titanic. The first occurred in the period immediately after the disaster, the second began in the 1950s with the release of Walter Lord's book "The Last Night" and the film of the same name that followed it. Then the public started up after the release of the legendary film Titanic by James Cameron. The latest (current) wave of interest came after the wreck of the Costa Concordia in 2012. 

In the photo: the crash of the Costa Concordia

However, enthusiasts almost immediately after the sinking of the Titanic made attempts to solve the mystery of the death of the liner. The families of the millionaires who died in the disaster offered millions (billions in today's exchange rate) of dollars to raise the remains of the ship from the bottom. Alas, in 1912 such technologies did not exist. 

Pictured: Rob Ballard

For years, the fate of the Titanic haunted not only the townsfolk, but also adventurers and marauders. Luck smiled only on oceanographer Robert Ballard in 1985. 73 years after the crash, the wreckage was found in a fairly dilapidated state. After that, at different intervals, various expeditions descended to the wreckage. Since the discovery of the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic, some passenger items, parts of the interior decoration and even a 17-ton piece of skin have been returned to the surface. 

Pictured: Stockton Rush

With advances in technology, commercial tours were only a matter of time. And so, in 2009, the company was founded ocean gate. The company was created Stockton Rush is an engineer and entrepreneur. OceanGate was involved in organizing and conducting underwater excursions to various depths. Gradually, the company expanded, new devices were purchased and their own were designed. Ticket prices rose and in 2012 the maximum cost was $40,000. OceanGate would have remained a company widely known in narrow circles, if not for Stockton's ambitions.

Creation of Titan

The first submersible produced by OceanGate was the Cyclops. It was originally planned that the Cyclops would be made of carbon fiber, but over time the idea was abandoned in favor of a steel body. A few years later, in 2016, Stockton decided it was time to take on the Cyclops 2, but this time to make a carbon fiber submarine.

In the photo: bathyscaphe Cyclops

In December 2016, the first titanium components for Cyclops 2 were ordered. Already in January 2017, OceanGate signed a contract with Spencer Composites. The deal was to create a carbon fiber body for the Cyclops 2.

In March 2018, the decision was made to rename Cyclops 2 to Titan. Launching and testing were carried out in the same year. 

"He's unsinkable"

The declared diving depth of the Titan was 4000 m. The device descended to these depths during tests in 2018 and 2019. It would seem that there were no problems then. What's more, the Titan, with passengers on board, has conducted several Titanic dives between 2020 and 2023.

Hiding the problems of the bathyscaphe Titan

Trouble accompanied the Titan throughout its dives. During recent expeditions, Titan lost contact with the surface for about an hour. Another incident occurred when an improperly fixed engine would cause the bathyscaphe to rotate on its axis. These were not isolated cases, but regular problems that were not reported to the masses.

In the photo: Titan bathyscaphe during a dive

However, during this period, a number of experts warned Stockton and OceanGate about problems in the apparatus. Titan sank under water in international waters and was not subject to generally accepted security measures, which Stockton used. Repeatedly in interviews, he directly said that he had violated some safety principles not only during the dive, but also in the process of designing the apparatus. 

Back in 2018, the Society for Marine Technology sent an open letter to OceanGate expressing “unanimous concern about the development of the Titan submarine.” And such letters were not isolated - Stockton regularly received warnings about the dangers and insufficient knowledge of the behavior of carbon fiber at such depths. At the same time, Stockton himself periodically called the authors of the letters and tried in vain to convince them that "technological standards of production and safety only hinder innovation."

At one point in a conversation with Rob McCallum (oceanographer and depth explorer), Rush lamented incomprehensibly: “[I] am so tired of industry players trying to use the safety argument to stop innovation. Too often we have heard baseless accusations: “You are going to kill someone!” I take it as a personal insult.” For reference: before that, McCallum, like other experienced researchers, tried to dissuade Stockton from diving, or at least bring the apparatus to mind. 

Missing submarine 

Stockton continued to raise money and sell tickets for future Titan dives. On June 16, 2023, the Polar Prince ship with the Titan submersible on board set off towards the dive point. Last winter in Newfoundland (region) was very cold and angry, as a result of which the “weather window” for safe diving was very short in time. 

In the photo: Polar Prince

On the morning of June 18, at 9:30 local time, the Titan dive began. For the first hour and a half, Titan contacted Polar Prince every 15 minutes, but at 11:15 the connection was cut off. The Polar Prince crew did not attach much importance to this, because this was not the first such incident.

According to the schedule, Titan was supposed to rise to the surface at 16:30. However, already at 19:10, the US Coast Guard received a notification about the loss of the underwater vehicle. For the next six days, the entire planet watched the fate of Titan and his search. In the early days, it was believed that the apparatus failed control, but the air supply would be enough for another 96 hours - by this time rescuers should have arrived. However, everything turned out to be much more tragic.

Search for Titan and public reaction

To say that between June 18 and 23 the Internet was on the ears is to say nothing. The flow of news mixed with memes did not stop, it would seem, not for a second. One of the TikTok users wrote in the comments under the bathyscaphe video: “Imagine if the Titanic sank today, and not a hundred years ago.” Indeed, an interesting question. 

Pictured: US Coast Guard briefing during search and rescue operations

Over the days, the Internet has been watching with interest the Coast Guard's search updates. Among the first and, as it turned out, the most truthful version was the theory that the bathyscaphe simply exploded in the first hours of the dive. But people did not want to believe in such an outcome. 

“I'm so tired of industry players trying to use the security argument to stop innovation.

Stockton Rush

The intense search lasted almost 6 days. We can only say for sure that there were practically no indifferent to this story. Someone considered the created memes immoral, but there were those who rejoiced at the death of passengers. In short, the world was divided not even into two, but into many camps, each of which had its own truth and its own view of the incident.  

At about 4:00 am, the wreckage of the Titan bathyscaphe was found at a depth of about 3800 meters. Literally 500 meters away lie the remains of the Titanic. According to preliminary results of the investigation and analysis of the wreckage, Titan exploded due to hull implosion. Apparently, the death of the crew of the bathyscaphe was instantaneous. 

In the photo: the descent of Titan under water

In addition, at the moment it is believed that the death of the bathyscaphe occurred even before the start of any search work. On the morning of June 18, the US Navy's acoustic detection system detected an acoustic signal that sounded a few hours after the Titan sank. From this we can conclude that the bathyscaphe exploded at the very beginning of the dive.

Causes of the disaster

So far, the investigation is ongoing. But now we can draw several conclusions:

1. Unreliable design - the creators of OceanGate received dozens of warnings that the designs of their underwater vehicles did not comply with safety regulations, but instead of fine-tuning and / or reworking their bathyscaphes, the company only threatened those who dared to doubt their reliability with lawsuits.

Video: 3D simulation of the Titan hull implosion. The difference from reality is that, as a result, rather large pieces of skin remained from the bathyscaphe, which were already raised to the surface on June 28.

2. Carbon is not designed for such dives - James Cameron (director of Titanic), as well as a number of other, more reputable experts, say that carbon is not designed for diving to such depths. Even with 10 successful dives, the fate of the device on 11 will be in question. Composites and carbon fiber are not well understood, unlike steel and other materials that have been used for years to build submersibles.

In principle, in the case of Titan, this is already enough to draw conclusions. We make a small forecast - as a result of the investigation, the facts of criminal negligence of the entire OceanGate, as well as personally of Stockton Rush, will be revealed. We will probably never know any new shocking details.

Joystick... Yes, joystick! More like a gamepad. Many joke that the reason for the flooding was that the submarine was controlled by a Logitech gamepad, which is designed for computer games. In the subjective opinion of the author, the Logitech F710 gamepad was one of the most reliable things on board the Titan. 

In the photo: the ill-fated Logitech F710 gamepad

Unlike composite as a material for the case, Logitech gamepads pass all the necessary certifications - there is repeated evidence that the gamepad of this model survives a direct blow to the wall without critical damage. By the way, the use of such controllers is not unusual for such small submarines as the Titan.

Victims

Now at the bottom of the Atlantic, literally 500 meters from the giant mass grave called Titanic, a new, slightly more modest one has appeared. The following died as a result of the accident:

– Stockton Rush is the founder and CEO of OceanGate.

- Paul-Henri Narzholais - Former Commander of the French Navy, diver, and director of RMS Titanic, Inc., which owns the rights to raise the ship's wreckage.

Gemish Harding is a British businessman, aviator and space tourist. One of the few people on the planet who descended into the Mariana Trench and flew into space.

– Shahzada Dawood is a British-Pakistani businessman.

- Suleman Davud - the son of Shahzad, a student.

In the photo of the victim of the tragedy: on the left - Shahzad's father Davud and son Suleman, on the top right - Stockton Rush, on the bottom right - Gemish Harding, closer to the center - Paul Henri Narjolet

The worst thing in the story with Titan is self-confidence, which led to the death of people. Stockton Rush may be guilty dozens of times of violating safety regulations, but the trouble is that other people paid for it. A new submarine can be built, but, alas, it is impossible to bring people back to life.

Epilogue

The Titanic struck the world with the scale of the disaster, but not for long - literally 5 years later, the Mont Blanc ship exploded, taking 2,000 souls with it, and at the end of World War II, the Wilhelm Gustloff ship was torpedoed. About 9,000 people died then. 

However, the Titanic left its significant mark on the culture of our entire civilization. The recognizable four-pipe silhouette seems to be familiar to everyone. No one is directly to blame for the Titanic tragedy, but in the end everyone was involved - from Captain Smith to shipyard workers Harland & Wolff. Ultimately, the death of the liner is just a coincidence.

What can not be said about the bathyscaphe Titan. Unlike the Titanic, the bathyscaphe was not equipped with the latest technology. The creators of Titan received dozens of warnings about the danger even before the launch of the device, but ignored them. As a result, we have 5 dead. Those who died a senseless and terrible death.

So what about the Titanic? Titanic will finally collapse by the middle of the current XXI century. According to scientists, the remains of the ship have very little time - 15-20 years. This will end the story of almost a century and a half. Titanic will retire to a well-deserved rest, keeping secrets that we will never be able to unravel again.

Afterword

Thank you for taking the time to read this article! In addition to the author himself, a proofreader and editor also took part in the creation of the article, to whom the author expresses his sincere gratitude. Creating such an opus was an interesting experience that I definitely want to repeat! If you, dear reader, want to participate in choosing topics for the following longreads or other materials, then join our Telegram channel.

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11.07.2023