Monday 15th April 1912
Titanic had already hit the iceberg and the bridge was awaiting full reports on the damage.
Thomas Andrews the ship designer has already predicted that the ship will sink within two hours.
00:00
The order was given for the lifeboats to be readied for launch and to wake all passengers and tell them to get out on deck with their life jackets.
The lifeboats had full capacity for 1178 people but Titanic had 2218 passengers and crew onboard.
Its worth mentioning that Titanic was only 62% total occupancy meaning the disaster could have been much work in terms of loss of life.
00.15
Captain Smith orders Phillips and Harold Bride to send out a distress signal. Although SOS became the official distress signal several years earlier, many still use CQD. (CQ signifies a general call, and the D means distress.) Over the next several hours, Phillips will send out both.
The S.S. Frankfurt is among the first to respond, but the liner is some 170 nautical miles (315 km) away, to the south.
Other ships also offer assistance - including the Titanic's sister ship the Olympic -but are too far away.
00:20
The full report of the ships damage was realised. The Squash court and Post office were under water and indeed the first five compartments were damaged and filling with water making the ship sinking a certainty.
00:25
The order was given to fill up the lifeboats with women and children first and to start to lower them.
00:45
Lifeboat 7 is launched
The first lifeboat to be launched, was put under the command of Lookout George Hogg and Archie Jewell. Although the boat could hold 65 men, this boat was launched with only 28 passengers.
It was at this time that the first distress rocket was fired from the bridge.
Eight rockets were fired at five minute intervals
The second lifeboat on the opposite side, lifeboat number 5 was also launched under the command of Third Officer Pitman and was launched with 37 passengers
Lifeboat being launched from Titanic movie 1997
00:55
Lifeboat 3 was launched under the command of Seaman George Moore
The boat was launched with just 32 passengers.
01:00
Lifeboat 8 was loaded with 27 estimated people under the supervision of Captain Smith and Chief Officer Wilde and launched at 1:00 A.M. Lifeboat 8 was the first lifeboat on the port side to be lowered. Ida Straus, wife of New York merchant Isidor Straus, was asked to join a group of people preparing to board but refused, saying, "I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so will we die – together." The 67-year-old Isidor likewise refused an offer to board on account of his age, saying: "I do not wish any distinction in my favor which is not granted to others."
Water is seen at the base of the Grand staircase at E deck level.
01:05
Lifeboat 1 was the first Emergency Lifeboat to be launched. Under the supervision of Murdoch and Lowe. It became one of the most controversial episodes in the aftermath of the disaster, both because the craft only contained 12 people and because of the alleged misconduct of two of its occupants, Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon and his wife, Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, famous as the dress designer "Lucile" of London, Paris and New York. The boat was one of Titanic's two emergency cutters with a capacity of 40. Of the twelve people aboard, seven were crewmen and the remaining five were First Class passengers.
01:08
Second Officer Charles Lightoller orders the gangway doors on D Deck to be opened so that passengers trapped inside could board the lifeboats that were half empty directly from D deck.
By the time one of the doors were opened, the ocean water surface was at the door level and began letting in water.
The water inside the ship would have already been starting to flood the reception room and the open door was abandoned.
D Deck 1st class Reception room gangway door left open as the room floods.
Artwork by RMSTitanic.Design
01:10
Lifeboat 6 is launched with only 24 passengers onboard and under the command of Quarter Master Hitchens (who was at the wheel when the ship hit the iceberg)
01:20
Lifeboat 16 was launched. 53 people are believed to have been on board by the time it reached Carpathia; most of those aboard were said to be women and children from Second and Third Class. Master-at-arms Joseph Henry Bailey was put in charge of the lifeboat along with seamen Ernest Archer and James Forward. Among the occupants was stewardess Violet Jessop who survived the accidents that befell all of the Olympic-class liners: the collision of Olympic with HMS Hawke in 1911, the sinking of Titanic in 1912, and that of Britannic in 1916.
01:25
Possibly not understanding the direness of the situation, the Olympic radios Titanic:
“Are you steering southerly to meet us?”
The Titanic responds:
“We are putting the women off in the boats.”
While still hours away, the Olympic will be informed by the Carpathia of the Titanic's sinking.
Lifeboat 14 is launched with 40 passengers aboard. The boat reached the water safely, with Lowe himself aboard to take charge. After Titanic sank he brought together Boats 10, 12, 14 and Collapsible D, and transferred Boat 14's passengers to the other lifeboats. Then, assembling a crew of volunteers, he took his boat back to the scene of the sinking to try and find survivors. Lifeboat 4 was the only other lifeboat to rescue people from the sea. By the time Lowe's boat reached the scene of the sinking, the sea was filled with the bodies of hundreds of people who had died of hypothermia.
01:30
Lifeboat 12 was launched
Wilde and Lightoller lowered Boat 12 at the same time with Lifeboat 9, having about 42 people aboard. It was first manned only by Able Seaman Frederick Clench and was subsequently put in the charge of Able Seaman John Poigndestre. A male passenger jumped into the boat as it was lowered past B Deck. Difficulty was encountered in unhooking the boat from the falls, requiring Poigndestre to use a knife to cut through the ropes. Several passengers from other boats were transferred into Boat 12 after the sinking and it was heavily overloaded by the time it reached Carpathia with at least 70 people aboard
Lifeboat 9 was launched
Same time as Lifeboat 12, with about 40 aboard was supervised by Murdoch, Moody and Purser McElroy. Boatswain's Mate Albert Hames was put in charge with Able Seaman George McGough at the tiller. Most passengers were women, with two or three men who entered when no more women came forward. One elderly woman refused to board, making a great fuss, and retreated below decks.
01.35
Lifeboat 13 was launched
Partially filled from the Boat Deck and partially from A Deck after it had been lowered to that level when it was launched under the supervision of Murdoch and Moody. Again, it was heavily occupied, with 55 people aboard and Leading Fireman Frederick Barrett in charge
An illustration of the lifeboats being launched
01:41
Lifeboat 15 was launched
Murdoch and Moody oversaw the lowering and concurrently with Boat 13 and it reached the water only a minute later.
Fireman Frank Dymond was put in charge of what was the most heavily loaded boat at launching. It was so heavily loaded with about 68 people, that the gunwales were reported to be far down in the water; one female passenger later said that when she leaned against the gunwale her hair trailed in the water.
01:45
Lifeboat 2 was launched
The lowering of Boat 2, the second of the two cutters, was overseen by Smith, Wilde and Fourth Officer Boxhall. When Wilde moved from lifeboat 12 to lifeboat 2 to get it ready for loading, he found that it was already filled with a large group of male passengers and crewmen.He ordered them out at gunpoint, telling them,
"Get out of there, you damned cowards! I'd like to see every one of you overboard!"
They fled. Even at this late stage some boats were leaving with plenty of space aboard; Boat 2 appears to have been lowered with only approximately 18 people aboard, out of a capacity of 40
01:50
Lifeboat 4 was launched
Launched concurrently with lifeboat 10, with about 34 people aboard, lifeboat 4 was the last of the wooden lifeboats launched under the supervision of Lightoller with Quartermaster Walter Perkis put in charge. It was actually one of the first lifeboats to be lowered on Captain Smith's suggestion that passengers should be loaded from the Promenade Deck rather than the Boat Deck. However, the captain had forgotten that – unlike on his previous command, Titanic's sister ship Olympic – the forward half of the Promenade Deck was enclosed. Lightoller ordered that the windows on the Promenade Deck's enclosure were to be opened, and moved on to deal with the other lifeboats.The windows proved unexpectedly difficult to open and to add to the problems, the lifeboat got caught up on Titanic's sounding spar, which projected from the hull immediately below the boat. The spar had to be chopped off to allow the lifeboat to progress. A stack of deck chairs was used as a makeshift staircase to allow passengers to climb up and through the windows and into the boat.
Lifeboat 10 was launched
At the same time with lifeboat 4, under the supervision of Wilde and Murdoch with Able Seaman Edward Buley in charge. It appears to have had about 57 people aboard when it was launched. By this time Titanic was listing to port, making it increasingly difficult to launch lifeboats from that side of the ship, as the ship's list had created a gap of about 3 feet (0.9 m) between the deck and the sides of the port-side lifeboats. An attempt to board by a young French woman nearly ended in disaster when she jumped into the lifeboat fell short and she dropped into the gap. She was caught by the ankle by Dining Room Steward, William Burke, and was pulled back on board the ship by a person on the deck.
Titanic was clearly not far from sinking and this realisation led to an increased urgency to load the lifeboat; children were rushed aboard, one baby literally being thrown in and caught by a female passenger.
02:00
Lifeboat Collapsable C was launched
Wilde and Murdoch oversaw the launch of the first of the collapsible Engelhardt lifeboats, which was retrieved from its stored position, the sides erected and the boat attached to the davits. The majority of the forward boats had gone by this time and most of the crowd on deck had moved aft as Titanic's bow dipped deeper into the water.
02:05
Lifeboat Collapsable D was launched
By the time the boat was launched, there were still 1,500 people on board Titanic and only 47 seats in the lifeboat. Crew members formed a circle around the boat to ensure that only women and children could board. It was launched under the supervision of Wilde and Lightoller. Lifeboat D was the last boat to be launched from Titanic; the rest were washed off the deck.
Captain Smith releases the crew, saying that
“It's every man for himself.”
Smith is reportedly last seen on the bridge. His body was never recovered.
The Titanic's bow has sunk low enough that the stern's propellers are now clearly visible above the water.
02:10
Lifeboat Collapsible B was launched
Lightoller was struggling to retrieve Collapsible Lifeboat B from the roof of the officers' quarters. He rigged up makeshift ramps from oars and spars down which he slid the boat onto the Boat Deck. Unfortunately for all concerned, the boat broke through the ramp and landed upside-down on the deck. There was no time to right it as Titanic began her final plunge. At 02:15 water swept across the Boat Deck, washing the upside-down lifeboat and many people into the sea.
02:15
Lifeboat Collapsible C was launched
Reaching the deck the right way up and was being attached to the falls of No. 1 davits by Wilde, Murdoch and Moody when it was washed off the deck. In the chaos, the canvas sides were not pulled up and the boat drifted away from the ship partially submerged and dangerously overloaded. Many of the occupants climbed in from the water but several died of hypothermia or fell back into the sea. Only about 14 people were left alive and the survivors were later transferred into Collapsible Lifeboat D.
02:17
Phillips sends a final distress signal. He reportedly makes it to the overturned collapsible lifeboat B but succumbs to exposure. His body was never found.
02:18
The lights of the Titanic go out, plunging the ship into darkness.
As the Titanic's bow continues to sink, the stern rises higher out of the water, placing great strain on the midsection.
02:19
The ship breaks in two between the third and fourth funnels crashing the stern section back into the water.
The stern momentarily settles before rising again, eventually becoming almost vertical.
It briefly remains in that position before beginning its final plunge.
An illustration of the Titanic sinking
02:20
The stern disappears into the ocean, and the Titanic is gone.
Water pressure allegedly causes the stern, which still has air inside, to implode as it sinks.
02:24
The Bow section hits the ocean floor.
Reports would later speculate that it took some six minutes for the bow section, likely traveling at approximately 30 miles (48 km) per hour, to reach the ocean bottom.
02:27
The stern section hits the ocean floor.
The stern breaks apart in the implosion and has a slower fall speed than the bow. The more heavy sections landing landing faster than others and the majority resting 7 minutes after disappearing.
The stern lands some 2,000 feet (610 meters) from the bow.
02:40
Lowe brought together Boats 10, 12, 14 and Collapsible D, and transferred Boat 14's passengers to the other lifeboats. Then, assembling a crew of volunteers, he took his boat back to the scene of the sinking to try and find survivors. Lifeboat 4 was the only other lifeboat to rescue people from the sea. By the time Lowe's boat reached the scene of the sinking, the sea was filled with the bodies of hundreds of people who had died of hypothermia.
03:15
The S.S. Carpathia is seen in the distance firing rockets to signal to Titanic that its in the area, unknowing the ship was gone.
An Illustration of the Carpathia arriving on the scene
04:00
Carpathia sees the lifeboats and realises the devastation of the disaster.
04:10
Lifeboat number 2 is the first lifeboat to reach the Carpathia.
It will take several hours for the ship to pick up all the survivors.
Ismay writes a message to be sent to the White Star Line's offices:
“Deeply regret to advise you, Titanic sank this morning fifteenth after collision iceberg, resulting serious loss life; further particulars later.”
08:30
The S.S. Californian - which at approximately 05:30 learned of the Titanic's sinking - arrives.
It searches the area for several hours but fails to find any survivors.
08:50
The Carpathia wraps up its rescue and carrying 705 of Titanic survivors, starts sailing to New York City, where it will arrive to massive crowds on 18th April.
Written by Chris Walker of RMSTitanic.Design
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