Pierette Simpson has a lot in common with the fictional Rose from “Titanic.” Both survived a horrific accident at sea and both have mesmerized audiences with their stories. Unlike Rose, though, Simpson is real and her tale is as awe-inspiring as the story portrayed in the popular movie.

Last year, Simpson published the book “Alive on the Andrea Doria! The Greatest Sea Rescue,” a nonfiction account of the July 25, 1956 accident. On Oct. 4, Simpson will share stories from the book, as well as her own memories of the accident, during a luncheon at Jovan’s restaurant in Sterling Heights. The Sterling Heights Rotary is sponsoring the event, which will also include a book signing.

“I am thrilled to present Pierette and this fascinating topic,” said Dr. Martin Brown, Rotary Club president. “I keep visualizing the Titanic when I hear her story. It is so fascinating to have a survivor of a major shipwreck available to share her story.”

Simpson, whose book was also published in Italian and is being considered for an Italian movie said, “I am so grateful to have the opportunity to share my story with others and so many people have been captivated by this story.”

The book explores the collision from many different aspects, including Simpson’s own personal account of the events before, during and after the catastrophe. Simpson, only 9 years old at the time of the collision, and her grandparents had left their village of Pranzalita, near Torino in Italy, to begin a new life in America. Simpson and her grandparents boarded Italy’s crown jewel, the Andrea Doria, for their long journey to what they referred to as the “promised land.”

Simpson describes the ship in vivid detail and the vessel sounds as plush as any modern-day cruise ship. She describes a luxurious pool, a dining room filled with meats, cheeses, fruits and wines. Huge flower arrangements, ice sculptures, crystal chandeliers and a well-appointed cabin with four beds were other highlights of the liner.

“The ship really was beautiful,” Simpson said. “It was truly a sight to behold.”

The ship and all of its beauty were slowly engulfed by the Atlantic Ocean on that fateful night in 1956. Due to thick fog and human error, the Swedish liner, Stockholm, rammed into the Andrea Doria, resulting in the only large collision between passenger liners in the 20th century. The collision took place 45 miles southwest of Nantucket Island. The Doria sank 11 hours after the collision. There were 1,706 people on board; 46 died on the Doria, five on the Stockholm.

Simpson shares her eyewitness account of the collision in detail. She recalls the thunderous noise of the two ships colliding and the abrupt accompanying jolt. Other witnesses describe the “fireworks” that were created by the grinding steel of the two ships. What followed was pandemonium. Passengers lay on the floor screaming from shock or injury. Others frantically shouted out the names of loved ones. Simpson remembers the smell of the smoke, water in the corridors and people being covered in foul-smelling oil.

Her escape from the ship was just as dramatic. As the Doria sank and after rescue ships arrived, Simpson was lowered into the black ocean by a rope tied around her waist. A stranger in a nearby lifeboat pulled her to safety. Simpson’s grandmother was lowered down, too. Shortly after, Simpson met up with her grandfather, who was also rescued unharmed.

“There was a 97 percent survival rate for the Andrea Doria and that was due to the very fortunate conditions and the rescuers who were there to help us,” Simpson said.

The Coast Guard and ships of various nationalities were involved in the rescue of the Doria’s passengers. The Stockholm, the ship that collided with the Doria, did not sink. It carried more than 500 survivors to New York.

The book not only details Simpson’s personal account of the tragedy, she also interviewed dozens of other survivors. The book features the sinking from various points of view. Likewise, the book offers scientific documentation and analysis of the collision and sinking as explained by nautical experts. Its details are so precise that the book is being used as a guide for those studying maritime forensic science.

The book also discloses never-before-published data compiled in both the U.S. and Italy which poses questions for the reader regarding who was to blame for the disaster.

Today, the Doria remains at the bottom of the Atlantic, in one of its deepest spots at 256 feet. The shipwreck is so challenging to reach that it is often referred to as the “Mt. Everest of the Deep.”

Many more details about the Doria, its passengers and crew are available in the book. Simpson, a retired teacher and Novi resident, started compiling stories about the accident after sharing the account with her students, many of whom shared an interest in the story.

Others have taken to the book and its author. The popular book has been featured in national and international print, and on television; was chosen as the Book of the Month by the United Kingdom’s premier maritime journal “Ships Monthly”; and the Order of the Sons of Italian Americans is including the book on its annual recommended reading list.

Simpson is planning a second book titled “Thank God I ... Stories of Appreciation,” which should be in stores in January.

The Oct. 4 speaking engagement at Jovan’s restaurant will take place at 12:10 p.m. Cost is $10. Call the Sterling Heights Rotary for more information at 979-6460. Simpson will appear again locally at Macomb Community College in March.

Simpson’s book is available at Borders, Barnes and Noble, and on Amazon.com. For further information on her book, visit her Web site at pierettesimpson.com  

It was Wednesday, July 25th 1956. At 11:10pm on a dark and foggy night, two great ocean  liners, T/N Andrea Doria and MV Stockholm, collided near Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Some of the following excerpts are from the book "Lido Fleet" by Peter C. Kohler)

The keel of the Yard No. 918, was laid on the No. 1 slipway at Ansaldo's Sestri Ponente yards on February 9th, 1950. On May 22nd, 1951 the New York Times reported on the progress of the construction.

Towering almost one hundred feet above the suburb of Sestri Ponente, the 637 foot long hull is visible for miles, and the red bottom, surmounted by many feet of black painted steel, lends color to this otherwise drab and dreary part of Genoa's port, from which the new liner, flying the flag of the Italian Line, will depart regularly next year. A visit to this birthplace of such famous ships as the Rex, the Roma and the Augustus, well remembered in prewar days, is a noisy one. The sight of the huge sides of the nearly completed ship set off by countless squares of scaffolding is embellished by the beats of riveting hammers, the pounding of twenty-pound sledges.

To the whining of electric motors, large prefabricated pieces weighing as much as four tons, slide down to the construction site, traveling approximately 300 yards from the assembly area to a point directly above the precise spot where they are to be installed in the hull by one of 2,000 construction workers.

Planned for June 10th, 1951, it was six days later when, blessed by His Eminence Cardinal Siri, Archbishop of Genoa, and christened Andrea Doria by Signora Giuseppina Saragat, wife of the former Minister of the Merchant Marine, Italy's first postwar North Atlantic liner slid down the Ansaldo ways. By the 23rd, she was in the fitting-out basin and expected to be ready "by next summer". Decorating the interior of this ship consumed another eighteen months and on November 6th, 1952 Andrea Doria left Sestri Ponente for her preliminary engine trials. Nine days later, amid reports of machinery problems, her maiden voyage was rescheduled from December 14th, 1952 to January 14th, 1953.
 

On acceptance trials from 3-9 December over the Portofino-Chiappa measured mile, Andrea Doria maintained a speed of 25.3 knots for six hours with a top speed of 26.218 knots. Any earlier defects had been corrected and her performance was eminently satisfactory. Andrea Doria returned to Genoa at 11:20pm on the 9th and was formally handed over on the 19th, one of the proudest days in Italia's history.  The Italian Line in designing this ship which was to mark the rebirth of the Italian merchant marine after the second World War, decided wisely not to compete with the United States and Britain for size and speed of their ships. Instead the Andrea Doria was imbued with Italy's matchless heritage of beauty, art and design.  The 29,083 gross ton ship, 696.5 feet long and 89.9 feet wide, of course was no slowpoke midget. She was among the fastest ships in the world. The Andrea Doria had the capacity of 218 First Class, 320 Cabin Class, 703 Tourist Class passengers and 563 Officers and crew. On January 14th, 1953 the Andrea Doria began her maiden voyage and was given one of Genoa's most heartfelt send-off. Named after the ports favorite son and built by local shipwrights, Andrea Doria was more than a line and national flagship; she belonged to every Genoese. The city, laid out like an amphitheater around the port that gave it wealth and power, was the setting for her 11:25am departure. Every quay, breakwater and coastal road was thronged by cheering spectators and Ansaldo shipyard workers paused from building her sister ship to salute their creation's maiden voyage.  As beautiful as it was, the Andrea Doria is said to have a curse. Many serious accidents happened in the shipyard and when the Andrea Doria and the Conte Biancamano saluted each other in Naples by blowing their whistles, the Andrea Doria's whistle got stuck. It could not stop blowing and it became a bad omen for some. Most of the crossing was enjoyed in fine weather, but conditions quickly deteriorated as Andrea Doria made her final approach to New York. What Captain Calamai characterized as one of the worst storms in his 35 years at sea, started at 5:00am on January 22 with 45 mph winds and heavy seas and reached its peak at 2:00pm with Force 9 winds.   Despite the storm, the ship was only minutes late arriving at New York early on January 23rd. The welcoming delegation, which included New York Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri, boarded off Quarantine. With the U.S.S. Osberg leading the escort, Andrea Doria triumphantly steamed into the harbor and docked at Pier 84 just after 10:00am.   The Lusitania: RMS Lusitania From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Lusitania   Career Nationality: British Owners: Cunard Line Builders: John Brown & Co. Ltd, yards in Clydebank, Scotland Port of registry: Liverpool, United Kingdom Laid down: June 16, 1904 Launched: Thursday, June 7, 1906[1] Christened: by Mary, Lady Inverclyde Maiden voyage: September 7, 1907 Fate: Torpedoed by German U-boat U-20 on Friday May 7, 1915. The wreck lies approximately 7 miles off of the Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse in 450 feet of water. Specifications Gross Tonnage: 31,550 GRT Displacement: 44,060 Long Tons Length: 787 ft (239.87 m) Beam: 87 ft 6 in (26.67 m) Number of funnels: 4 Number of masts: 2 Construction: Steel Power: 25 Scotch boilers. Four direct-acting Parsons steam turbines producing 76000 hp geared to quadruple screws Propulsion: Four triple blade propellers. Quadruple blade propellers were installed in 1909. Service Speed: 25 knots (46.3 km/h / 28.8 mph) Top speed (single-day's run): 26.7 knots (49.4 km/h) (March, 1914) Passenger Accommodation (Designed): 552 first class, 460 second class, 1,186 third class. 2,198 total Crew: 850 RMS Lusitania was a British luxury ocean liner owned by the Cunard Steamship Line Shipping Company and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. Christened and launched on Thursday, June 7, 1906. Lusitania met a disastrous end as a casualty of the First World War when she was torpedoed by the German submarine, U-20, on May 7, 1915. While carrying many American passengers, the great ship sank in just 18 minutes, eight miles (15 km) off of the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 people aboard. The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany. It is often considered by historians to be the second most famous civilian passenger liner disaster after the sinking of the Titanic.   Lusitania was owned by the Cunard Steamship Line Shipping Company, built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland, and launched on Thursday, June 7, 1906. Lusitania sailed on her maiden voyage to New York City on September 7, 1907 arriving on September 13, 1907, taking back the Blue Riband in 1907. "Lusitania" and her sister, RMS Mauretania, were built during the time of a passenger liner race between shipping lines based in Germany and Great Britain, and were the fastest liners of their day. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the fastest Atlantic liners were German, and the British sought to win back the title. Simultaneously, American financier J.P. Morgan was planning to buy up all the North Atlantic shipping lines, including Britain's own White Star Line. In 1903, Cunard chairman Lord Inverclyde took these threats to his advantage and lobbied the Balfour administration for a loan of £2.6 million for the construction of Lusitania and Mauretania, providing they met Admiralty specifications and Cunard remain a wholly British company. The British Government also agreed to pay Cunard an annual subsidy of £150,000 for maintaining both ships in a state of war readiness, plus an additional £68,000 to carry Royal Mail. Lusitania's keel was laid at John Brown & Clydebank as Yard no. 367 on June 16, 1904. She was launched and christened by Mary, Lady Inverclyde, on Thursday, June 7, 1906.[2][3] Lord Inverclyde(1861-1905) had died before this momentous occasion. Starting on July 27, 1907, Lusitania underwent preliminary and formal acceptance trials. It was then she smashed all speed records ever set in the history of the shipping industry. Engineers discovered high speed caused violent vibrations in the stern, forcing the fitting of stronger bracing parts. After these physical alterations, she was finally delivered to Cunard on August 26. that week. War   The Lusitania in a 1907 painting, described as an "Auxiliary Cruiser in Warfare". Lusitania, like a number of liners of the era, was part of a subsidy scheme meant to convert ships into Armed Merchant Cruisers (AMC) if requisitioned by the government. This involved structural provisions for mounting deck guns. At the onset of World War I, the British Admiralty considered Lusitania for requisition as an armed merchant cruiser; however, large liners such as Lusitania consumed too much coal, presented too large a target, and put at risk large crews and were therefore deemed inappropriate for the role. They were also very distinctive. Smaller liners were used as transports, instead. The large liners were either not requisitioned, or were used for troop transport or as hospital ships. Mauretania became a troop transport while Lusitania continued in her role as a luxury liner built to convey people between Great Britain and the United States. For economic reasons, Lusitania's transatlantic crossings were reduced to once a month and boiler room Number 4 was shut down. Maximum speed was reduced to 21 knots (39 km/h), but even then, Lusitania was the fastest passenger liner on the North Atlantic in commercial service, and 10 knots (18.5 km/h) faster than submarines. On February 4, 1915, Germany declared the seas around the British Isles a war zone. Effective as of February 18, Allied ships in the area would be sunk without warning. This was not wholly unrestricted submarine warfare, since efforts would be taken to avoid sinking neutral ships.[5] Lusitania was scheduled to arrive in Liverpool on March 6, 1915. The Admiralty issued her specific instructions on how to avoid submarines. Despite a severe shortage of destroyers, Admiral Henry Oliver ordered HMS ships Louis and Laverlock to escort Lusitania, and took the further precaution of sending the Q ship Lyons to patrol Liverpool Bay. Captain Dow of Lusitania, not knowing whether Laverock and Louis were actual Admiralty escorts or a trap by the German navy, evaded the escorts and arrived in Liverpool without incident.[6] On April 17, 1915, Lusitania left Liverpool on her 201st transatlantic voyage, arriving in New York on April 24. A group of German–Americans, hoping to avoid controversy if Lusitania were attacked by a U-boat, discussed their concerns with a representative of the German embassy. The embassy decided to warn passengers not to sail aboard Lusitania before her next crossing. The Imperial German embassy placed this warning ad in 50 East Coast newspapers, including those in New York. This ad was prepaid and requested to be put on the paper's travel page a full week before the sailing date. However, even though the ads were sent to newspapers in time for the requested deadline, the State Department of the United States intervened by raising the specter of possible libel suits. The ads, intended by the German government to save American lives, were to appear in only one newspaper, the Des Moines Register. It has been argued (without any historical evidence) the actions taken by the U.S. government were taken to ensure the U.S. would become embroiled in WWI as the killing of innocent women and children by Germany would stir popular opinion against the Central Powers.[7] Last voyage and sinking - Last departure Lusitania departed Pier 54 in New York on 1 May 1915. The German Embassy in Washington had issued this warning on 22 April.[8] NOTICE! TRAVELLERS intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk. IMPERIAL GERMAN EMBASSY, Washington, D.C. April 22, 1915 This warning was printed right next to an advertisement for Lusitania's return voyage. The warning led to some agitation in the press and worried the ship's passengers and crew. The captain, an experienced 58-year old sailor and master named William "Bowler Bill" Turner, tried to calm the passengers by explaining that the ship's speed made it safe. Lusitania steamed out of New York at noon that day, two hours behind schedule due to a transfer of passengers and crew from the recently requisitioned Cameronia. Shortly after departure, three German spies were found on board, arrested, and detained below decks.   The Lusitania at end of the first leg of her maiden voyage, New York City, September 1907. (*photo taken with a panoramic lens.) Passengers Lusitania carried 1,959 passengers on her last voyage. Those aboard included British MP David Alfred Thomas (survived) and his daughter Margaret, Lady Mackworth (survived); American architect Theodate Pope (survived); Oxford professor and writer Ian Holbourn (survived); H. Montagu Allan's wife Marguerite (survived) and daughters Anna (died) and Gwendolyn (died); actresses Rita Jolivet (survived) and Josephine Brandell; Belgian diplomat Marie Depage (died), wife of Antoine Depage; New York fashion designer Carrie Kennedy (died); playwrights Justus Miles Forman (died) and Charles Klein (died); American theatre impresario Charles Frohman (died); American philosopher, writer and Roycroft founder Elbert Hubbard (died) and his second wife Alice (died); wine merchant and philanthropist George Kessler (survived); American pianist Charles Knight; renowned Irish art collector Sir Hugh Lane (died); Socialite Beatrice Witherbee (survived), her son Alfred Scott Witherbee, Jr. (died), and her mother, Mary Cummins Brown (died); American engineer and entrepreneur Frederick Stark Pearson (died) and his wife Mabel (died); genealogist Lothrop Withington (died); sportsman, millionaire, leader of the Vanderbilt family, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (died); and scenic designer Oliver P. Bernard (survived), whose sketches of the sinking were published in the Illustrated London News.Eastbound Lusitania's landfall on the return leg of her transatlantic circuit was Fastnet Rock, off the southern tip of Ireland. As the liner steamed across the ocean, the British Admiralty was tracking through wireless intercepts the movements of the German submarine U-20, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger and operating along the west coast of Ireland and moving south. On 5 May and 6 May, U-20 sank three vessels in the area of Fastnet Rock, and the Royal Navy sent a warning to all British ships: "Submarines active off the south coast of Ireland". Captain Turner of Lusitania was given the message twice on the evening of the 6th, and took what he felt were prudent precautions. He closed watertight doors, posted double lookouts, ordered a black-out, and had the lifeboats swung out on their davits so they could be quickly put into the water if need be. That same evening, a Seamen's Charities fund concert took place in the first class lounge. At about 11:00, on Friday, May 7, the Admiralty radioed another warning, and Turner adjusted his heading northeast, apparently thinking submarines would be more likely to keep to the open sea and so Lusitania would be safer close to land. U-20 was low on fuel and only had three torpedoes left, and Schwieger had decided to head for home. She was moving at top speed on the surface at 13:00 when Schwieger spotted a vessel on the horizon. He ordered U-20 to dive and to take battle stations. Sinking Lusitania was at approximately 30 miles from Cape Clear Island (Ireland) when she encountered fog, and reduced speed to 18 knots.[9] She was making for the port of Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland, 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) from the Old Head of Kinsale when the liner crossed in front of U-20 at 14:10. Schwieger gave the order to fire, but his quartermaster, Charles Voegele, would not take part in an attack on women and children, and refused to pass on the order to the torpedo room — a decision for which he was court-martialed and served three years in prison at Kiel,[10] although this story may be apocryphal. The torpedo hit under the bridge, and was followed by a much larger secondary explosion in the starboard bow. Schwieger's own log entries attest he only fired one torpedo. Some doubt the validity of this claim, contending the German government subsequently doctored Schwieger's log,[citation needed] but accounts from other U-20 crew members confirm it. The torpedo struck just forward of the bridge, sending a plume of debris, steel plating and water upward and knocking Lifeboat #5 off its davits. Lusitania's wireless operator sent out an immediate SOS and Captain Turner gave the order to abandon ship. Water flooded the ship's starboard longitudinal compartments, causing an immediate 15 degrees starboard list. Captain Turner tried turning the ship toward the Irish coast in the hope of beaching her, but the helm would not respond. The torpedo had knocked out the steam lines to the rudder, rendering the controls useless. The ship's propellers continued to drive the ship at 18 knots, forcing water into her hull. Lusitania's severe starboard list complicated the launch of her lifeboats — those to starboard swung out too far to conveniently step aboard.[11] While it was still possible to board the lifeboats on the port side, lowering them presented a different problem. As was typical for the period, the hull plates of the Lusitania were riveted. As the lifeboats were lowered, they dragged on these rivets, which threatened to rip the boats apart. Many lifeboats overturned while loading or lowering, spilling passengers into the sea; others were overturned by the ship's motion when they hit the water. It was claimed, without merit that some boats, by the negligence of some officers, crashed down onto the deck, crushing other passengers, and sliding down towards the bridge. This has been refuted in various articles and by passenger and crew testimony. Lusitania had 48 lifeboats, more than enough for all the crew and passengers, but only six were successfully lowered, all from the starboard side. Despite Turner's efforts to beach the liner and reduce her speed, Lusitania no longer answered the helm. There was panic and disorder on the decks. Schwieger had been observing this through U-20's periscope, and by 14:25, he dropped the periscope and headed out to sea. Within six minutes, Lusitania's forecastle began to go underwater. Her list continued to worsen and 10 minutes after the torpedoing, she had slowed enough to start putting boats in the water. On the port side, people panicked and got into the boats, even though they were swinging far in from the rails. On the starboard side, the boats were hanging several feet away from the sides. Crewmen would lose their grip on the lifeboat falls as the ship lurched over further, sending passengers in the boats spilling into the sea. Others would tip on launch as some panicking people jumped into the boat. Captain Turner stayed in the bridge until the water rushed upward and destroyed the sliding door, sending him out the imploded windows. He took the ship's logbook and charts with him. He managed to get out and find a floating chair in the water, which he clung to. He was pulled unconscious from the water but miraculously survived after spending 3 hours in the water. Lusitania's bow slammed into the bottom about 100 m (300 ft) below at a shallow angle, given her forward momentum as she sank. Along the way, some boilers exploded, including one that caused the third funnel to collapse, with the remaining funnels proceeding to snap off soon after. Captain Turner's last navigational fix had been only two minutes before the torpedoing, and he was able to remember the ship's speed and bearing at the moment of sinking. This was accurate enough to locate the wreck after the war. The ship travelled about two miles (3 km) from the time of the torpedoing to her final resting place, leaving a trail of debris and people behind. Lusitania sank in 18 minutes, 8 miles (13 km) off of the Old Head of Kinsale. 1,198 people died with her, including almost a hundred children.[12] The bodies of many of the victims were buried at either Lusitania's destination, Queenstown, or the Church of St. Multose in Kinsale, but many other bodies were never recovered and remain entombed in the wreck. Political consequences Schwieger was condemned in the Allied press as a war criminal. Of the 197 Americans aboard, 128 lost their lives. There was massive outrage in Britain and America. The British felt the Americans had to declare war on Germany. U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, fearing the US would declare war, resigned from the Cabinet in protest; however, President Woodrow Wilson still did not want the country to get involved in a European dispute because the American population (many of whom were German-American) did not want to be involved in a war.[citation needed] Instead of declaring war, he sent a formal protest to Germany. Wilson was bitterly criticised in Britain as a coward. Although unrestricted submarine warfare continued at a varying pace into the summer, on August 19 U-24 sank the White Star liner Arabic, with the loss of 44 passengers and crew. Three of the dead were Americans, and President Wilson angrily protested through German diplomatic channels. On August 27, the Kaiser imposed severe restrictions on U‐boats attacks against large passenger vessels. On September 18, 1915, he called off unrestricted submarine warfare completely. Munich metalworker Karl Goetz struck commemorative medallions in August 1915 to satirize what he saw as the greed of the Cunard Line and the foolishness of contraband he suspected was being smuggled with the help of US neutrality. The original medal has the incorrect date of 5 May 1915 on it. Some time thereafter British intelligence obtained a copy and saw a propaganda opportunity as the medal apparently celebrated the sinking as a premeditated crime. The incorrect date was taken as proof of this theory and combined with possibly apocryphal German press reports touting the triumph. British propagandists precommissioned Selfridges of London to make 250–300,000 copies of the medal in an attractive case claiming to be an exact copy of the German medal, which then were sold for a shilling to benefit the British Red Cross and other charities. Belatedly realizing his mistake Goetz issued a corrected medal with the date of 7 May. The Bavarian government suppressed the medal and ordered their confiscation in April 1917. The original German medals (fewer than 500 were struck) can most easily be distinguished from the English copies because the date is in German; the English version spells 'May' rather than 'Mai'. After the war Goetz expressed his regret his work had been the cause of increasing anti‐German feelings, but it remains one of the most celebrated propaganda acts of all time. According to French newspapers, the opening of the Paris Peace Conference, which resulted in the Treaty of Versailles, coincided deliberately with the anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania.Living survivors There are two known Lusitania survivors still living. They are: Barbara McDermott (nee Anderson); born June 15, 1912, presently residing in Connecticut.[1] Audrey Lawson-Johnston (nee Pearle); born February 1915, presently residing in Bedfordshire, England. Contraband and second explosion   The telegraph on the wreck of Lusitania Lusitania was carrying small arms ammunition, which would not have been explosive.[13] Under the "cruiser rules", the Germans could sink a civilian vessel only after guaranteeing the safety of all the passengers. Since Lusitania (like all British merchantmen) was under instructions from the British Admiralty to report the sighting of a German submarine, and indeed to attempt to ram the ship if it surfaced to board and inspect her, she was acting as a naval auxiliary, and was thus exempt from this requirement and a legitimate military target. By international law, the presence (or absence) of military cargo was irrelevant. Recent expeditions to the wreck have shown her holds are intact and show no evidence of internal explosion. The question remains, however: if ammunition and alleged "secret" cargo did not cause the violent second explosion, what did? In 1993, Dr Robert Ballard, famous explorer who discovered Titanic, conducted an in-depth exploration of the wreck of Lusitania. Ballard found Light had been mistaken in his identification of a gaping hole in the ship's side. To explain the second explosion, Ballard advanced the theory of a coal-dust explosion. He believed dust in the bunkers would have been thrown into the air by the vibration from the explosion; the resulting cloud would have been ignited by a spark, causing the second explosion. In the years since he first advanced this theory, it has been argued this is a near-impossibility. Critics of this theory say coal dust would have been too damp to have been stirred into the air by the torpedo impact in explosive concentrations; additionally, the coal bunker where the torpedo struck would have been flooded almost immediately by the influx of seawater which poured through the damaged hull plates. More recently, marine forensic investigators have become convinced an explosion in the ship's steam-generating plant is a far more plausible explanation for the second explosion. There were very few survivors from the forward two boiler rooms, but they did report the ship's boilers did not explode; they were also under extreme duress in those moments after the torpedo's impact, however. Leading Fireman Albert Martin later testified he thought the torpedo actually entered the boiler room and exploded between a group of boilers, which was a physical impossibility. It is also known the forward boiler room filled with steam, and steam pressure feeding the turbines dropped dramatically following the second explosion. These point toward a failure, of one sort or another, in the ship's steam-generating plant. It is possible the failure came, not directly from one of the Scotch boilers in boiler room no. 1, but rather in the high-pressure steam lines to the turbines. In any case, most researchers and historians agree a steam explosion is far more likely than clandestine high-explosives as the reason for the second explosion. It must be noted, however, it is quite likely the original torpedo damage alone, striking the ship on the starboard coal bunker of boiler room no. 1, would have sent the ship to the bottom without the aid of the second explosion. This first blast was able to cause, on its own, off-center flooding of a serious nature. The deficiencies of the ship's original watertight bulkhead design exacerbated the situation, as did the many portholes which had been left open to aid in ventilation.  Deliberate action by the British admiralty? Some historians have theorised that Great Britain, in particular First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, conspired to have Lusitania sunk to draw the United States into the First World War. However, there is some argument against this. It was well known by British, American, and German governments at the time that if the Americans entered the war, they would divert war materials and ammunition toward raising and equipping their own army for fighting, rather than toward keeping the British going in their war effort. Indeed, U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing, while serving as Assistant to then Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, had prior to the sinking prepared a memorandum clearly outlining why American involvement in the war would be detrimental to the Allies. Similarly, two days after the sinking, the British Ambassador to the United States, Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, telegraphed London advising that it was in Britain's "main interest to preserve U.S. as a base of supplies." It would take quite some time for the United States to train and equip its army.Recent developments The wreck is owned by New Mexico diver and businessman F. Gregg Bemis Jr, who bought it in 1968 from former business partners, one of whom had previously bought it in 1967 for £1000 from the Liverpool & London War Risks Insurance Association.[14][15] The Irish Government in 1995 declared the wreck a heritage site under the National Monuments Act. This protects the wreck for 100 years. One reason for this is attributed to the presumed presence of art treasures in lead containers located in the hold believed to have been carried by Sir Hugh Lane. In June 2005, Bemis won a High Court challenge with the Irish State and is now in a position to legally inspect and carry out a $2 million research expedition on the wreck. Mr Bemis wants to send divers down to prove his theory the second explosion was caused by munitions being carried. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision in a judgment delivered on March 27, 2007. A dive team from Cork Sub Aqua Club, under license, made the first known discovery of munitions aboard in 2006. These include 15,000 rounds of 0.303 (7.7×56mmR) caliber rifle ammunition in boxes in the bow section of the ship. The 0.303 round was used by the British army in all of their battlefield rifles and machine guns. The find was photographed but left in situ under the terms of the license. Bemis also hopes to salvage components from the wreck for display in museums. Any fine art recovered, such as the Rubens rumoured to be on board, will remain in the ownership of the Irish Government. On March 28, 2007, the Irish Times reported the Irish Government will grant Bemis a licence to carry out research on the vessel, but the Supreme Court's decision makes it clear a further licence application would be required by Bemis. References Thomas A. Bailey. "The Sinking of the Lusitania," The American Historical Review, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Oct 1935), pp. 54–73 in JSTOR Thomas A. Bailey; Paul B. Ryan. The Lusitania Disaster: An Episode in Modern Warfare and Diplomacy (1975) Ballard, Robert D., & Dunmore, Spencer. (1995). Exploring the Lusitania. New York: Warner Books. Hoehling, A.A. and Mary Hoehling. (1956). The Last Voyage of the Lusitania. Maryland: Madison Books. Layton, J. Kent (2007). Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography of the Ship of Splendor. Layton, J. Kent (2005). Atlantic Liners: A Trio of Trios. CafePress Publishing. Ljungström, Henrik. Lusitania. The Great Ocean Liners. O'Sullivan, Patrick. (2000). The Lusitania: Unravelling the Mysteries. New York: Sheridan House. Preston, Diana. (2002). Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy. Waterville: Thorndike Press. Preston (2002 p 384) Notes ^ Atlantic Liners. ^ Lusitania, Atlantic Liner. ^ Lost Liners. ^ Inquiry. ^ Germany's second submarine campaign against the Allies during World War One was unrestricted in scope, as was submarine warfare during the Second World War. ^ Patrick Beesly, Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914–1918 (1982) p.95; Preston (2002), pp76–77 ^ New York Times Archives, May 1, 1915, Saturday ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/docs/ci1/notice.jpg ^ Lusitania (1907-1915), The Great Ocean Liners. ^ Des Hickey and Gus Smith, Seven Days to Disaster: The Sinking of the Lusitania, 1981, William Collins, ISBN 0-00-216882-0. However, Diana Preston writes in her book cited in the list of sources for this article that "the details of what really happened remain tantalisingly obscure. None of the surviving crew members of the U-20 seems ever to have referred to the incident. There is no trace of his court martial papers." However, "his story is currently being researched in Strasbourg for inclusion in a dictionary of Alsatian biographies". Preston also writes that Voegele was an electrician on board U20 and not a quartermaster. See also Blog on BBC docu-drama Lusitania ^ Report. ^ Robert Ballard, Exploring the Lusitania. This number is cited, probably to include the German spies detained below decks. The Cunard Steamship Company announced the official death toll of 1,195 on March 1, 1916. ^ Included in this cargo were 4,200,000 rounds of Remington 0.303 rifle cartridges, 1250 cases of 3 inch (76 mm) fragmentation shells, and eighteen cases of fuses. (All were listed on the ship's two-page manifest, filed with U.S. Customs after she had departed New York on May 1.) However, the materials listed on the cargo manifest were small arms and the physical size of this cargo would have been quite small. These munitions were also proven to be non-explosive in bulk, and were clearly marked as such. It was perfectly legal under American shipping regulations for her to carry these; experts agreed they were not to blame for the second explosion. Allegations the ship was carrying more controversial cargo, such as fine aluminium powder, concealed as cheese on her cargo manifests, have never been proven. ^ How deep is his love, Class Notes, Stanford Magazine, March/April 2005 ^ Millionaire diver wins right to explore wreck of the Lusitania, David Sharrock, The Times, London, Apr 2 2007 Primary sources Thomas A. Bailey, "German Documents Relating to the 'Lusitania'", The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Sep., 1936), pp. 320–37 in JSTOR Timeline, The Lusitania Resource. Facts and Figures, The Lusitania Resource. TITANIC The RMS Titanic was a British Olympic-class ocean liner, owned by the White Star Line,[1] that struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912 and sank on the morning of April 15, 1912 during her maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to New York. Estimates vary, but approximately 1,520 people perished in the sinking which ranks as one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history.[2] The resulting media frenzy, the discovery of the wreck in 1985, and the box office successes of three major films and one broadway musical have perpetuated the fame. The great loss of life resulted in improved safety standards at sea, and affected many aspects of maritime law. Career United Kingdom Class and type: Olympic-class ocean liner Ordered: 1907 Builder: Harland and Wolff shipyard, Belfast, Ireland Laid down: 31 March 1909 Launched: 31 May 1911 Christened: Not christened, as per White Star Line practice Status: Sunk  struck iceberg at 23:40 (ship's time) on 14 April 1912  sank the next day at 2:20. After seventy-three years, the wreck was discovered on September 1, 1985, 12,500 feet (3,800 m) beneath the North Atlantic at 41 degrees 43' 32"N, 49 degrees 56' 49"W. Homeport: Liverpool General characteristics Displacement: 52,310 L/T Length: 882 feet 9 inches (269 m) Beam: 92 feet 6 inches (28 m) Draught: 34 feet 7 inches (10.5 m) Propulsion: 25 double-ended and 4 single-ended Scotch boilers at 215 psi. Two four-cylinder triple-expansion reciprocating engines each producing 15,000 hp (12 MW) at a speed of 75 rpm for two outboard wing propellers. One low-pressure (about 7 psi absolute) steam turbine producing 16,000 hp (13.5 MW) for the centre propeller at 165 rpm. Total 46,000 hp at 75 rpm; 59,000 hp at 83 rpm (37 MW).[1] Two bronze triple-blade wing propellers. One bronze quadruple-blade central propeller Speed: – service speed: 21 knots (40.6 km/h) (24.5 mph) – top speed: 23  knots (42.6 km/h) (26.5 mph) Capacity: 3,547 Complement: 2,208 (maiden voyage)  First-class: 324  Second-class: 285  Third-class: 708  Crew: 891  Survivors: 712 (estimate) Building and design In the early part of the 20th century, White Star Line was competing with rival Cunard Line, which dominated the luxury niche for Atlantic transit with the large and opulent vessels Lusitania and Mauretania, the largest and fastest liners afloat. White Star ordered three ships to provide a weekly express service, with the goal of dominating the transatlantic travel business. The Olympic and Titanic at 882 feet long were larger, but not as fast as the Cunard liners. The third ship was slightly larger and delivered later due to the modifications after the loss of the Titanic, the Gigantic was renamed prior to launching to HMHS Britannic. These larger ships offered greater amenities than the Cunard sister ships. Built at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland,[3] Titanic was designed by Harland and Wolff Chairman William Pirrie, head designer Thomas Andrews, and General Manager Alexander Carlisle, with the plans regularly sent to the White Star Line's Managing Director J. Bruce Ismay for suggestions and approval. Construction of the Titanic, funded by the American J. P. Morgan and his International Mercantile Marine Co. began on 31 March 1909. Titanic No. 401 was launched two years and two months later on 31 May 1911. Titanic's outfitting was completed on 31 March the following year.   Titanic was 882 feet 9 inches (269 m) long and 92 feet 6 inches (28 m) at the beam.[4] She had a Gross Register Tonnage of 46,328 tons, and a height from the water line to the boat deck of 60 feet (18 m).[5] Her three propellers were driven by two four-cylinder, triple-expansion, inverted reciprocating steam engines and one low-pressure Parsons turbine.[6] Steam was provided by 25 double-ended and 4 single-ended Scotch-type boilers fired by 159 coal burning furnaces that made possible a top speed of 23 knots (43 km/h).[7] Only three of the four 63 foot (19 m) tall funnels were functional; the fourth, which served only as a vent, was added to make the ship look more impressive.[8] Titanic could carry a total of 3,547 passengers and crew and given the prefix RMS (Royal Mail Steamer) as she carried mail. She was thought by The Shipbuilder magazine to be "practically unsinkable."[9] Titanic had a double-bottom hull, containing 44 tanks for boiler water and ballast to keep the ship safely trimmed and balanced at sea.[10] (Later ships also had a double-walled hull). Titanic exceeded the lifeboat standard, with twenty lifeboats, though not enough for all passengers. Titanic was divided into sixteen compartments. Dividing doors were held up in the open position by electro-magnetic latches that could be closed by a switch on the ship's bridge and by a float system installed on the door itself.[11   Titanic was 882 feet 9 inches (269 m) long and 92 feet 6 inches (28 m) at the beam.[4] She had a Gross Register Tonnage of 46,328 tons, and a height from the water line to the boat deck of 60 feet (18 m).[5] Her three propellers were driven by two four-cylinder, triple-expansion, inverted reciprocating steam engines and one low-pressure Parsons turbine.[6] Steam was provided by 25 double-ended and 4 single-ended Scotch-type boilers fired by 159 coal burning furnaces that made possible a top speed of 23 knots (43 km/h).[7] Only three of the four 63 foot (19 m) tall funnels were functional; the fourth, which served only as a vent, was added to make the ship look more impressive.[8] Titanic could carry a total of 3,547 passengers and crew and given the prefix RMS (Royal Mail Steamer) as she carried mail. She was thought by The Shipbuilder magazine to be "practically unsinkable."[9] Titanic had a double-bottom hull, containing 44 tanks for boiler water and ballast to keep the ship safely trimmed and balanced at sea.[10] (Later ships also had a double-walled hull). Titanic exceeded the lifeboat standard, with twenty lifeboats, though not enough for all passengers. Titanic was divided into sixteen compartments. Dividing doors were held up in the open position by electro-magnetic latches that could be closed by a switch on the ship's bridge and by a float system installed on the door itself.[11] Passengers and crew Main articles: List of passengers on board RMS Titanic and List of crew members on board RMS Titanic Crew The Titanic was commanded by Commodore Edward John Smith, the White Star Line's most senior captain. The chief officer was to be William Murdoch, but he was demoted to first officer after Smith brought with him his chief officer from the Olympic, Henry T. Wilde. The rest of the ship's officers were Second Officer Charles Lightoller, Third Officer Herbert Pitman, Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall, Fifth Officer Harold Lowe and Sixth Officer James Moody. Passengers The first-class passengers for Titanic's maiden voyage included some of the richest and most prominent people in the world. They included millionaire John Jacob Astor IV and his pregnant wife Madeleine;[17] industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim;[18] Macy's department store owner Isidor Straus[19] and his wife Ida;[20] Denver millionaire Margaret "Molly" Brown;[21] Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon and his wife, couturière Lady Duff-Gordon;[22] streetcar magnate George Dunton Widener;[23] Pennsylvania Railroad executive John Borland Thayer and 17-year-old son Jack Thayer;[24] journalist William Thomas Stead;[25] Charles Hays, president of Canada's Grand Trunk Railway;[26] the Countess of Rothes;[27] United States presidential aide Major Archibald Butt;[28] author and socialite Helen Churchill Candee;[29] author Jacques Futrelle, writer and painter Francis Davis Millet;[30] American silent film actress Dorothy Gibson,[31] White Star Line's Managing Director J. Bruce Ismay[32] and from Harland & Wolff builder Thomas Andrews.[33] Second-class passengers included journalist Lawrence Beesley,[34] Father Thomas R.D. Byles, a Catholic priest on his way to the United States to officiate at his younger brother's wedding[35] and Michel Navratil, a Frenchman who had kidnapped his two sons, Michel Jr. and Edmond.[36] Both J. P. Morgan and Milton S. Hershey[37] had plans to travel on the Titanic but cancelled their reservations before the voyage. In 2007, scientists using DNA analysis identified the body of an unknown child recovered after the incident as Sidney Leslie Goodwin, a 19-month-old boy from England. Goodwin, along with his parents and five siblings, boarded in Southampton, England as third-class passengers.[38] Disaster Main article: Sinking of the RMS Titanic   Photograph of an iceberg in the vicinity of the RMS Titanic’s sinking taken on April 15, 1912 by the chief steward of  the liner Prinz Adelbert.   New York Times front page April 15, 1912.   On April 10, 1912, the Titanic departed from Southampton, England and travelled to Cherbourg, France where many first-class passengers boarded. On April 11, 1912, the Titanic left Cherbourg en route to Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland where the Titanic picked up the majority of its third-class passengers. On April 12, 1912, the Titanic sailed on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and was due to arrive at Pier 59 in New York City on Wednesday April 17, 1912. On the night of April 14, at 11:40 p.m., the Titanic struck an iceberg; just under three hours later, at 2:20 AM, on April 15, 1912 the ship sank.[39] The United States Senate investigation reported that 1,517[40] people perished in the accident, while the British investigation has the number at 1,490.[41] Regardless, the disaster ranks as one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history, and is by far the best known. The media frenzy about the Titanic's famous victims, the legends about what happened on board the ship, the resulting changes to maritime law, Walter Lord's 1955 non-fiction account A Night to Remember, the discovery of the wreck in 1985 by a team led by Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel, and the box office success of the 1997 film Titanic (the highest-grossing film in history as of 2007) have sustained the Titanic's fame Contributing factor Speed The conclusion of the British Inquiry into the sinking was “that the loss of the said ship was due to collision with an iceberg, brought about by the excessive speed at which the ship was being navigated."[42] At the time of the collision, it is thought that the Titanic was at her normal cruising speed of about 22 knots,[43] which was less than her top speed of around 24 knots. It was then common (but not universal) practice to maintain normal speed in areas where icebergs were expected.[44] It was assumed that any iceberg large enough to damage the ship would be seen in sufficient time to be avoided. After the sinking, the British Board of Trade introduced regulations instructing vessels to moderate their speed if they were expecting to encounter icebergs. The allegation that J. Bruce Ismay instructed or encouraged Captain Edward Smith to increase speed in order to make an early landfall is a common feature in popular representations of the disaster. There is no reliable evidence for this having happened.[45 Lifeboats There were not enough lifeboats for all of the people on board. The most recent law required a minimum of sixteen lifeboats with capacity for 962 occupants for ships weighing 10,000 tons or larger. This law was enacted in 1894 when the largest emigrant steamer was the 12,952-ton Lucania; eighteen years later, the 52,000-ton Titanic had room for 3,547 passengers. Titanic had four extra collapsible lifeboats, bringing total lifeboat capacity to 1,178.[46] In the busy North Atlantic sea lanes, it was expected that the emergency response from other vessels would be rapid and the lifeboats would only be used to ferry people between vessels, with boats from the rescuing vessels available as well. Full provisioning of lifeboats was not considered necessary. In anticipation of stricter standards from the British Board of Trade, davits capable of handling up to four boats per pair of davits were designed by Alexander Carlisle and installed to give a total potential capacity of 64 boats.[47]; however, the additional boats were never fitted. Harold Sanderson, Vice President of International Mercantile Marine denied that this was done to reduce costs during the British Inquiry.[48] Swifter action might have saved lives. After the collision, one hour was spent evaluating damage and making decisions before lowering the first lifeboat. Two teams, one on each side of the ship efficiently launched all sixteen lifeboats in eighty minutes. However, some boats were launched with far less than capacity, the most notable being lifeboat #1, with a capacity of forty, launched with only twelve people aboard. Included in the first launched were lifeboats 6, 7, and 8, each of which were equipped to hold sixty-five but were launched with only twenty-eight on board each boat.[49] It is speculated that fear of small boats and over confidence in the ship's ability to remain afloat led to delays in boarding the lifeboats.[original research?] Chivalry by passengers during the lifeboat evacuation led to the expression "Women and children first" becoming synonymous with the Titanic[50], despite the fact that the practice originated 60 years earlier with the sinking of HMS Birkenhead. Actions taken on bridge It is possible that if Titanic had not altered its course, but reversed its engines and had run head-on into the iceberg, the damage would only have affected the first or first two compartments. The ship had three propellers; reciprocating steam engines drove the outboard propellers, and a steam turbine drove the centre propeller. The reciprocating engines were reversible, but the turbine was not; however, reversing the rotation was not instantaneous and may not have been possible in the short time between sighting and impact.[51] The liner SS Arizona had such a head-on collision with an iceberg in 1879 and, although badly damaged, managed to make it to St John's, Newfoundland for repairs, though Titanic's speed was higher than Arizona's. Faults in construction or substandard materials   Hull breaching with failed rivets Soon after the discovery of the wreck site, scientists, naval architects, and marine engineers began questioning how faulty design features and poorly manufactured materials may have played a role in her sinking. Numerous ideas have been suggested, including poorly designed safety doors, brittle steel and the variable quality of rivets that held the hull plating together.[52] However, it is more likely that a combination of these issues and other circumstances were major contributing factors to the sinking. It is possible that if the watertight bulkheads had completely sealed the ship's compartments, the ship would have stayed afloat (these only went 3 m above the waterline).[citation needed] Titanic's hull plates were held together by rivets, metal pins which clamp structural components together. In 1912, welding technology was still in its infancy; shipbuilders continued to use riveting almost exclusively for the next 20 years. Modern day forensic metallurgists suggest that the rivets of the Titanic were of substandard quality, resulting in weak points that led to structural failure during the collision.[53][54][55] These weaknesses were not detectable with the inspection techniques of the early 20th century. Long-term implications The sinking of the RMS Titanic was a factor that influenced later maritime practices, ship design, and the seafaring culture. Changes included the establishment of the International Ice Patrol, a requirement for twenty-four-hour radio watch keeping on foreign-going passenger ships, and new regulations related to lifeboats.[citation needed] International Ice Patrol Main article: International Ice Patrol The Titanic disaster led to the convening of the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in London, on 12 November 1913. On 30 January 1914, a treaty was signed by the conference that resulted in the formation and international funding of the International Ice Patrol, an agency of the United States Coast Guard that to the present day monitors and reports on the location of North Atlantic Ocean icebergs that could pose a threat to transatlantic sea lane traffic. It was also agreed in the new regulations that all passenger vessels would have sufficient lifeboats for everyone on board, that appropriate safety drills would be conducted, and that radio communications on passenger ships would be operated all day along with a secondary power supply, so as not to miss distress calls. In addition, it was agreed that the firing of red rockets from a ship must be interpreted as a distress signal (red rockets launched from the Titanic prior to sinking were mistaken by nearby vessels as celebratory fireworks, delaying rescue). This treaty was scheduled to go into effect on 1 July 1915 but was upstaged by World War I. Ship design changes The sinking of Titanic changed the way passenger ships were designed. Many existing ships, such as the Olympic, were refitted for increased safety. Besides increasing the number of lifeboats on board, improvements included reinforcing the hull and increasing the height of the watertight bulkheads. The bulkheads on Titanic extended 10 feet (3 m) above the waterline; after Titanic sank, the bulkheads on other ships were extended higher to make compartments fully watertight. While Titanic had a double bottom, she did not have a double hull; after her sinking, new ships were designed with double hulls; also, the double bottoms of other ships, including the Olympic,[56] were extended up the sides of their hulls, above their waterlines, to give them double hulls. Alternative theories and myths As with many famous events, many alternative theories about the sinking of Titanic have appeared over the years. Theories that it was not an iceberg that sank the ship or that a curse caused the disaster have been popular reading in newspapers and books. Titanic experts have debunked most of these theories by showing that the evidence on which these theories are based is inaccurate or incomplete. Use of SOS The sinking of the Titanic was not the first time the internationally recognised Morse code distress signal "SOS" was used. The SOS signal was first proposed at the International Conference on Wireless Communication at Sea in Berlin in 1906. It was ratified by the international community in 1908 and had been in widespread use since then.[citation needed] The SOS signal was, however, rarely used by British wireless operators, who preferred the older CQD code.[citation needed] First Wireless Operator Jack Phillips began transmitting CQD until Second Wireless Operator Harold Bride suggested, half-jokingly, "Send SOS; it's the new call, and this may be your last chance to send it".[cite this quote] Phillips, who was to perish in the disaster, then began to intersperse SOS with the traditional CQD call. Novel's foreshadowing In 1898, Morgan Robertson published a book called Futility in which a ship called Titan sinks after colliding with an iceberg[57]. There are striking similarities between the 'Titan' and the Titanic' disaster such as both ships sank in the North Atlantic Ocean during the month of April, both ships did not have enough lifeboats and were allegedly travelling at an excessive speed, and both were considered the largest ship of their time.[58] However, there are also major differences between the story and reality which suggest no real foreshadowing (for example, the Titan has auxiliary sails and also sank a ship beforehand). Other myths A similar legend states that the Titanic was given hull number 390904 (which, when seen in a mirror or written using mirror writing, looks like "NO POPE"). This is a myth.[59] Titanic's yard number was 401; Olympic's was 400. Another myth states that Titanic was carrying a cursed Egyptian mummy, often named Princess of Amen-Ra. The mummy, nicknamed "Shipwrecker" after changing hands several times and causing many terrible things to happen to each of its owners, allegedly exacts its final revenge by sinking the famous ship.[60] Another myth says that the bottle of champagne used in christening Titanic did not break on the first try, which in sea lore is said to be bad luck for a ship. In fact, Titanic was not christened on launching, as it was White Star Line's custom not to do so.[61] Rediscovery For seventy years after the disaster, it was widely believed that the Titanic had sunk intact. Although there were several passengers who insisted that the ship had broken in two as it sank (including Jack Thayer, who even had another passenger draw a set of sketches depicting the sinking for him[62]), the inquiries believed the statements of the ship's officers and first-class passengers that it had sunk in one piece. In 1985, when the wreck was discovered by Jean-Louis Michel of IFREMER, Robert Ballard and his crew, they found that the ship broke in two as it sank. It was theorised that as the Titanic sank, the stern rose out of the water. It supposedly rose so high that the unsupported weight caused the ship to break into two pieces, the split starting at the upper deck. This became the commonly accepted theory. In 2005, new evidence suggested that in addition to the expected side damage, the ship also had sustained damage to the bottom of the hull (keel). This new evidence seemed to support a less popular theory that the crack that split the Titanic in two started at the keel plates. Jack Thayer’s sketches support this proposition. Titanic's bow as seen from the Russian MIR I submersible. The idea of finding the wreck of Titanic and even raising the ship from the ocean floor had been perpetuated since shortly after the ship sank. No attempts even to locate the ship were successful until 1 September 1985, when a joint French-American expedition,[63] led by Jean-Louis Michel of IFREMER and Dr Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, sailing on the Research Vessel Knorr, discovered the wreck using the video camera sled Argo. It was found at a depth of 12,536 feet (3,821 m), south-east of Newfoundland at 41°43′32″N, 49°56′49″W,[64] 13 nautical miles (24 km) from where Titanic was originally thought to rest. The most notable discovery the team made was that the ship had broken in two, the stern section lying 1,970 feet (600 m) from the bow section and both facing in opposite directions. There had been conflicting witness accounts of whether the ship broke apart on the surface or not, and both the American and British inquiries found that the ship sank intact. Up until the discovery of the wreck, it was generally assumed the ship did not break apart. In 2005, a theory was presented that a portion of Titanic's bottom broke off right before the ship broke in two.[65] The theory was conceived after an expedition sponsored by The History Channel examined the three hull pieces.[66] The bow section had embedded itself more than 60 feet (18 m) into the silt on the ocean floor. Although parts of the hull had buckled, the bow was mostly intact, as the water inside had equalised with the increasing water pressure. The stern section was in much worse condition. As the stern section sank, water pushed out the air inside tearing apart the hull and decks. The speed at which the stern hit the ocean floor caused even more damage. Surrounding the wreck is a large debris field, with pieces of the ship (including a large amount of coal), furniture, dinnerware and personal items scattered over one square mile (2.6 km²). Softer materials, like wood and carpet, were devoured by undersea organisms, as were human remains. Later exploration of the vessel's lower decks, as chronicled in the book Ghosts of the Titanic by Charles Pellegrino, showed that much of the wood from Titanic's staterooms was still intact. A new theory has been put forth that much of the wood from the upper decks was not devoured by undersea organisms but rather broke free of its fixings and floated away. This is supported by some eyewitness testimony from the survivors. In April 1996, RMS Titanic Inc., which holds salvage rights to the Titanic organized a cruise from Boston, Massachusetts to the site of Titanic's sinking. The company intended to bring to the ocean's surface a small section of Titanic's hull among other relics. Among those on board the cruise ship was 99-year old Titanic survivor Edith Eileen Haisman. Ms. Haisman was fifteen years old when the ship sank and had vivid memories from that night.[67] Condition of the wreck Scientists such as Robert Ballard are concerned that visits by tourists in submersibles and the recovery of items from the wreck are hastening its decay. Underwater microbes have been eating away at Titanic's iron since the ship sank, but because of the extra damage visitors have caused, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that "the hull and structure of the ship may collapse to the ocean floor within the next 50 years." Several scientists and conservationists have also complained about the removal of the crow's nest on the mast by a French expedition. Ballard's book, Return to Titanic, published by the National Geographic Society, includes photographs showing the deterioration of the promenade deck and damage caused by submersibles landing on the ship. The mast has almost completely deteriorated, and repeated accusations[attribution needed] were made that it had been stripped of its bell and brass light by salvagers. Ballard's own original discovery images however, clearly show that the bell was never actually on the mast - it was recovered from the sea floor.[citation needed] The French submersible Nautile allegedly is responsible for crashing into the crow's nest and causing it to fall from the mast.[citation needed] Even the memorial plaque left by Ballard on his second trip to the wreck was alleged to have been removed; Ballard replaced the plaque in 2004. Recent expeditions, notably by James Cameron, have been diving on the wreck to learn more about the site and explore previously unexplored parts of the ship before Titanic decays completely. Ownership and litigation Titanic's rediscovery in 1985 launched a debate over ownership of the wreck and the valuable items inside it. On 7 June 1994, RMS Titanic Inc., a subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions Inc., was awarded ownership and salvaging rights by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.[68] (See Admiralty law)[69] Since 1987, RMS Titanic Inc. and its predecessors have conducted seven expeditions and salvaged over 5,500 historic objects. The biggest single recovered object was a 17-ton section of the hull, recovered in 1998.[70] Many of these items are part of travelling museum exhibitions. In 1993, a French administrator in the Office of Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Equipment, Transportation, and Tourism awarded RMS Titanic Inc's predecessor title to the relics recovered in 1987. In a motion filed on 12 February 2004 RMS Titanic Inc. requested that the District Court enter an order awarding it "title to all the artifacts (including portions of the hull) which are the subject of this action pursuant to the Law of Finds" or, in the alternative, a salvage award in the amount of $225 million. RMS Titanic Inc. excluded from its motion any claim for an award of title to the objects recovered in 1987, but it did request that the district court declare that, based on the French administrative action, "the artifacts raised during the 1987 expedition are independently owned by RMST." Following a hearing, the district court entered an order dated 2 July 2004, in which it refused to grant comity and recognize the 1993 decision of the French administrator, and rejected RMS Titanic Inc's claim that it should be awarded title to the items recovered since 1993 under the Maritime Law of Finds. RMS Titanic Inc. appealed to the United States Court of Appeals. In its decision of 31 January 2006[71] the court recognized "explicitly the appropriateness of applying maritime salvage law to historic wrecks such as that of Titanic" and denied the application of the Maritime Law of Finds. The court also ruled that the district court lacked jurisdiction over the "1987 artifacts", and therefore vacated that part of the court's 2 July 2004 order. In other words, according to this decision, RMS Titanic Inc. has ownership title to the objects awarded in the French decision (valued $16.5 million earlier) and continues to be salvor-in-possession of Titanic wreck. The Court of Appeals remanded the case to the District Court to determine the salvage award ($225 million requested by RMS Titanic Inc.).[72] Main article: RMS Titanic in popular culture The sinking of Titanic has been the basis for many books, games, and award-winning movies. In the summer of 1912, the first book, "The Sinking of the Titanic" and the first movie, In Nacht und Eis were introduced. In 1953 the film Titanic was released starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. In 1958, A Night to Remember, an adaptation from Walter Lord's novel of the same name, was released and remained the most popular Titanic movie until the 1997 release of Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. That film won eleven Academy Awards and holds the record for the highest box office gross of all time (matched by Ben-Hur in 1959 and The Return of the King in 2003). Broadway musicals like Titanic, which opened in New York in 1998 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, were successful as well. Last living survivor Millvina Dean, who was only two months old at the time of the sinking, is the only living survivor of the Titanic. Currently ninety-six years old, she has remained active in Titanic-related events and lives in Southampton, England. Recent survivors' deaths Barbara Dainton (née West) (May 24, 1911 – October 16, 2007) Lillian Asplund (October 21, 1906 – May 6, 2006) For more, see Recent survivors' deaths 100th anniversary On 15 April 2012, the one-hundredth anniversary of the sinking of Titanic is planned to be commemorated around the world. By that date, the Titanic Quarter in Belfast is planned to have been completed. The area will be regenerated and a signature memorial project unveiled to celebrate Titanic and her links with Belfast, the city that built the ship.[73] Wikimedia Commons has media related to: RMS Titanic   Wikisource has original text related to this article: RMS Titanic Sister ships of the Titanic RMS Olympic HMHS Britannic Notable survivors Margaret Brown Known as the Unsinkable Molly Brown Violet Jessop J. Bruce Ismay Notable victims Edward John Smith Wallace Hartley Thomas Andrews John Jacob Astor IV Benjamin Guggenheim Other notable people David Blair (naval officer) Frank Tower James Chapman (explorer) Books about the Titanic A Night To Remember The Night Lives On Related vessels SS Suevic SS Nomadic SS Mount Temple RMS Caronia RMS Carpathia Cap Arcona List of famous ships Related Wikipedia pages List of shipwrecks The US 1910 wireless ship act Global Maritime Distress Safety System Grand Staircase of the Titanic Other Titanic resources Encyclopedia Titanica References ^ a b Mark Chirnside (2004). The 'Olympic' Class Ships: Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. Tempus Publishing.  Page 72. Book's Webpage