MaryThere isn’t a person in the world who hasn’t heard of Titanic. We have always been fascinated by the story of the sinking of this liner. But, did we ever give a thought on how it was built How many engines did it have and how big were they? (Do you know the exact answers on these questions? Well, you will find out soon)
The story starts here in the Harland and Wolff shipyard, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Titanic was the second of three Olympic class ocean liners which were the largest vessels commissioned by the British shipping company White Star Line. Facing strong competition from German lines Hamburg America and Norddeutscher Lloyd, White Star Line’s chairman Bruce Ismay decided to compete on size rather than speed. This led to the construction of the largest ship of its time in the world.
There are the key facts about the Titanic construction:
- Titanic was 270 m long with a maximum breadth of 28 m. Her total height was 32 m. She weighed 46 tonnes and had eleven decks, eight of which were for passenger use.
- The Titanic was equipped with three engines. They were enormous – each one weighed 720 tonnes.
- The ship’s electrical plant was capable of producing more power than a typical city power station of the time.
- The centre anchor weighed over 15 tonnes, it was the world’s largest anchor for several years.
The company employed 15,000 men in the construction, which was often dangerous resulting in many injuries and fatalities. During Titanic’s construction, 246 injuries were recorded. Warning Factors Many involved believed that the Titanic was so great, that it could never sink. Even the Captain, Edward Smith, admitted “I cannot imagine any condition which could cause a ship to founder”. However, on April 14th, a large iceberg was spotted at 11:40 PM, and it collided with the ship’s starboard side 40 seconds later. Then the ship had sunk into the Atlantic Ocean.
The sinking of the Titanic had many engineering flaws (both in the design of the ship and the implementation of safety procedures) that lead to the loss of over 1500 passengers.
- Titanic collided with a large iceberg, which is an unpredictable environmental condition. But other ships in the area had been sending warnings of ice for 60 hours before collision. However, the ship was cruising at maximum speed (22 knots), on a moonless night, which made it difficult for the crews to spot icebergs.