What danger did Captain Smith run into?

New York, April 17—Captain Smith of the Titanic had warning of the danger ahead of him in the giant iceberg that sent his vessel to the bottom of the North Atlantic.

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Did Captain Smith ignore ice warnings?

According to Mr. Cooper, the author of a book on Captain Smith, Smith was not ignoring the ice warnings; he was simply not reacting to them. Ice warnings were just warnings that a ship sent saying that they had seen ice at a certain location (Kasprzak, 2012).

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Why didn't Captain Smith slow down the Titanic?

At the time of the accident, the Titanic was sailing at 22 knots (25 MPH) which many historians believe was too fast given the knowledge of icebergs in the area. It is likely that Captain Edward Smith was worried about arriving late into New York, which is why he chose not to slow down despite warnings.

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Did the captain of the Titanic hit the iceberg on purpose?

LONDON (Reuters) - The Titanic hit an iceberg in 1912 because of a basic steering error, and only sank as fast as it did because an official persuaded the captain to continue sailing, an author said in an interview published on Wednesday.

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Was Captain Smith warned about the iceberg?

As depicted in the 1997 film starring Kate Winslet, Capt Smith later received warnings of icebergs while the liner was en route to New York. But these were not heeded and the ship travelled at speed until it struck an iceberg and sank.

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The Myths Around Captain Smith and the Titanic

22 related questions found

When was the last body found from Titanic?

On today's date in 1912, the body of James McGrady, a saloon steward aboard the RMS Titanic, was interred in Halifax, N.S., where he's buried at Fairview Lawn Cemetery. Recovered in the preceding weeks, McGrady's body was the last body recovered from the tragic sinking that took place about two months prior.

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What were the last words of the captain of the Titanic?

Captain Smith having done all man could do for the safety of passengers and crew remained at his post on the sinking ship until the end. His last message to the crew was 'Be British. '"

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Who went to jail for the Titanic?

Robert Hichens: How 'man who sank the Titanic' spiralled into depression before being jailed for attempted murder. The man at the wheel of the Titanic when it struck a fateful iceberg in 1912 has not been remembered well throughout history.

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Why was Captain Smith blamed for the Titanic?

Smith was accused of ignoring ice warnings from other ships and failing to reduce the ship's speed to fit the conditions at hand. The British inquiry essentially exonerated him, saying he did nothing other captains wouldn't have done. The American inquiry was only slightly harsher in its judgment.

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Does the iceberg from the Titanic still exist?

The average lifespan of an iceberg in the North Atlantic typically is two to three years from calving to melting. This means the iceberg that sank the Titanic "likely broke off from Greenland in 1910 or 1911, and was gone forever by the end of 1912 or sometime in 1913."

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Would the Titanic have sunk if it hit the iceberg head on?

Answer: That's wrong – it would probably have survived. When a ship hits an iceberg head on, all the force would be transferred back to the ship, so it wouldn't have ripped open, but crumpled round, so only 2-3 compartments would have been breached. It was built to survive with 4 compartments breached.

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Why didn't they find bodies on the Titanic?

Most of the bodies were never recovered, but some say there are remains near the ship. What could have happened to the bodies? Some Titanic experts say a powerful storm the night of the wreck scattered the life-jacketed passengers in a 50-mile-wide area, so it's likely the bodies scattered across the seafloor.

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What mistake did the captain of the Titanic make?

The Titanic sank from human error. According to the granddaughter of the second officer of the Titanic, Louise Patten, a new steering system led to a mistake by the steersman, Robert Hitchins, into going "hard a port" instead of "hard a starboard" and straight into the iceberg instead of away from it.

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Why couldn't the Titanic see the iceberg?

The second study, by British historian Tim Maltin, claimed that atmospheric conditions on the night of the disaster might have caused a phenomenon called super refraction. This bending of light could have created mirages, or optical illusions, that prevented the Titanic's lookouts from seeing the iceberg clearly.

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How many lemons were on the Titanic?

Food loaded onboard Titanic included 1,500 gallons of fresh milk and 600 tons of condensed milk. Titanic also carried 36,000 oranges and 16,000 lemons.

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How close was Titanic to missing the iceberg?

The iceberg loomed closely at only 900 feet (274 meters) from the ship. For a few seconds, it seemed as though Murdoch's maneuver might've worked. The massive ship finally turned and appeared it might clear the iceberg. But it wasn't in time.

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Who was at fault for the loss of life on the Titanic?

The Infamous Captain Edward Smith. doomed passenger ship the Titanic, which went down in April 1912. Captain Smith was responsible for over 2,200 passengers and crew, more than 1,200 were killed that fateful night of April 14. Titanic was built to the highest standards of the day and was deemed unsinkable.

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Why do captains go down with the ship?

If a ship is sinking, maritime tradition dictates that the captain ensures the safe evacuation of every passenger before he evacuates himself. He (or she) is responsible for the lives of those onboard, and he can't coordinate their exit unless he's the last person off.

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Who ignored the iceberg warning from the Titanic?

Iceberg warnings went unheeded: The Titanic received multiple warnings about icefields in the North Atlantic over the wireless, but Corfield notes that the last and most specific warning was not passed along by senior radio operator Jack Phillips to Captain Smith, apparently because it didn't carry the prefix "MSG" ( ...

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Who survived the Titanic because he was drunk?

This included the ship's baker, Charles Joughin, who is believed to be the last person who survived the ordeal to leave the ship, and made his improbable escape to safety in part because he got drunk. Joughin was born in England in 1878 to parents of modest means.

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What crimes were committed on the Titanic?

Out of the 2,240 passengers on the Titanic, the convictions of several dozen – men and a number of women – included the more predictable thievery, drunkenness, assault and deception, but also smuggling, “prevarication”, bigamy, spying, kidnapping, preaching illegal religious ceremonies, and protesting as suffragettes.

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Who were the two killers on the Titanic?

Stoker William Mintram inhabited a suitably Dantean inferno after the crime of killing his wife. He slaved in punishing heat to propel the souls aboard a White Star liner to a far-flung shore. AB George Francis McGough, on the other hand, sauntered the decks, almost rubbing shoulders with the passengers.

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How many warnings did the captain of the Titanic ignore?

On April 14, 1912, the Titanic tragically struck an iceberg in the cold Atlantic Ocean despite receiving seven warnings throughout the day of the imminent danger.

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What did the Titanic say before it sank?

April 15, 1912: 'God Himself Could Not Sink This Ship' | WIRED.

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Who forgot the binoculars on the Titanic?

When Blair left the Titanic on 9 April 1912, he took with him the key to the crow's nest locker, presumably by accident. This is believed to be a reason why there were no binoculars available with the crew during the voyage.

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