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desert rose.

@arthurtfleck / arthurtfleck.tumblr.com

Laura. You cannot change the nature of things. I am who I am. And you are who you are. Nothing will change that.
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shane-west

APRIL 14th 1912 - TITANIC HITS THE ICEBURG

During the course of the day, the Titanic was sent numerous warnings about the iceberg from other vessels, the first warning sent from the Caronia at 9.00am. A total of five warnings were sent . On the same day the first scheduled lifeboat drill was cancelled by Captain Edward Smith without explanation - meaning that the crew were unrehearsed in what to do when the time came. At 5.50pm Titanic changes course from south west to due west. This was originally planned to occur at 5.30pm but was delayed to allow Titanic to travel further south in an attempt to avoid the ice region reported by the Baltic. This change should have directed the Titanic into an area of the gulf stream that would be free of icebergs; in any normal year this would be the case, but 1912 was not a normal year for ice – cold water had pushed the warm gulf stream further south – and the change in direction actually put the ship on a collision course with the iceberg.

At 9.40pm Senior Wireless Operator Jack Phillips receives the fifth and final ice warning, from the SS Mesaba, warning of a “great number” of large icebergs and field ice just 15 miles ahead of the Titanic. Because the message was not prefixed with MSG – the signifier that the communique was intended for the captain – Phillips treated it as non-urgent, failed to pass the message on, and returned to the busy task of sending passengers’ personal telegrams.

At 11.39pm The iceberg lies just 1,000 yards ahead, but the moonless conditions mean the lookouts cannot see it. 30 seconds later and Frederick Fleet spots the iceberg, calling the bridge to proclaim, “Iceberg, right ahead!”, but it is too late to avoid a collision. At 11.40pm Titanic hits the iceberg, hitting the starboard bow. Many passengers and crew sleep through the collision whilst many others – including lookout man Fleet – assume the ship has survived a glancing blow and is undamaged.

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