Most died of exposure in the freezing water of the North Atlantic because there were not enough lifeboats. The crew aboard Titanic from Belfast to Southampton were (except for the deck officers) local operators (or "runners") who mostly worked on voyages that were made locally, and did this with a number of ships, not just Titanic. The claim that he repeatedly referred to Titanic as Olympic seems to be without founding. It was only when she collided with an iceberg in a freak set of circumstances that she was suddenly thrust back into the media spotlight. 44. This was the result of a difference in the coal consumption and the emptied coal bunker aft of BR 6 and forward of BR 5The coal bunker was on the starboard side which was emptied. 100 cubic feet equals 1 "ton" of internal volume. Titanic split at the same point where the Hawke hit. in a high position in the company, the other man was in a very high position (courtesy Steve Hall), According to Titanic researcher Ioannis Georgiou, "the two additional portholes on Olympic were added about March 1912 during her short stay in Belfast and before the maiden voyage of Titanic. Harold Sanderson repeatedly referred to Titanic as Olympic 19343. ", The evolution of Titanic's port side portholes -from May 1911 when she was launched with 14, to April 1912 when she had 16. Photographs taken of Titanic leaving Southampton also reveal a slight port list. In July 2013 he wrote to Alexandra Bruce of ForbiddenKnowledgeTV (http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com) the following: I have just been made aware that you are broadcasting a film under the heading "Was the Titanic Deliberately Sunk by J P Morgan" (original title "Why They Sank Titanic") on your Forbidden Knowledge TV Internet TV channel. and would never get a job when they got out. answer was to grind the names off the bells. I saw a child who will never sleep. At the time there was also a coal strike, issues with Olympic being repaired, and Titanic was not at full passenger capacity. Cross-checking with Encyclopedia Titanica website, which has extensive passenger and crew lists, the number of crew aboard the Carpathia exceeded 300 (it lists 307, but it is not necessarily a complete list). Refer to the images below. seemingly confuses the two in name. Olympic, Titanic and Britannic) all had watertight bulkheads so it would The ships that were launched were not launched in a finished state. The claim does not align with Ballard's writing on the matter. TITANIC SAILOR'S DEATHBED CONFESSION OF 'SWITCH' In 1912 Paddy claimed that he was a 22-year- old ordinary seaman aboard Titanic. He claimed also that the crew had been ordered to sign the official secrets act. full speed. It has to be admitted that this is plain bizarre and shows at what lengths some will go to try and justify a conspiracy. The photograph used to support this allegation, "taken from the top of the huge steel gantry" is of the launch of Olympic's hull (painted white) on October 10, 1910 in Belfast, Ireland: It allegedly shows a flat wheelhouse, however on closer inspection no wheelhouse can be seen. off the bell. There is nothing here on which to base a 'switch' theory. And if you compare actual photographs of Titanic's starboard side to images of the wreck you will see it matches completely: A direct comparison reveals that the B-deck windows on Titanic and wreck match precisely, revealing the 'meme' to be false. 45,000) in the last eight years. He wrote most of them when. But also there would be no need to. While the Californian was primarily designed to transport cotton, there is absolutely no evidence that it had a According to Steve Hall and Bruce Beveridge's book "Titanic or Olympic, Which Ship Sank?" 8. Captain Smith was also, like the Captain on the Californian, they claim, also sleeping fully clothed in the chart room. . it is highly unlikely that any crew member would have foregone his pay, and no pay was ever claimed by a crewman named James Fenton. of her 24 double-ended boilers connected up." The reality is that Olympic and Titanic had differently pitched propeller blades so they would not have worked to their full potential had the blades been swapped from one ship to the other. Also it must be noted that Titanic's dining room was So by April 1912 both ships had 16 portholes. Sorry, no evidence of conspiracy here, just a touched up photograph. 2. Gardiner further hypothesizes that the ship that was hit by the Titanic was the one seen by the Californian firing distress rockets, and that this explains the perceived inaction of the Californian (which traditionally is seen as failing to come to the rescue of the Titanic after sighting its distress rockets). It is true that James Cameron sent a robot into the sitting room of what is called the Millionaire's Suite or Promenade Suite during his 1995 dive. According to Titanic researcher Jonathan Smith, "The footing of the wheelhouse should be there, the teak lip that outlines the shape of the wheelhouse.". Lack of testimony. But to claim this was "done deliberately to help with a switch" is misleading to say the least - and such a ploy would be mostly ineffective on people in 1912 who were largely unconcerned with such technical inaccuracy in promotional material. Mount Temple (50 miles) Canadian Pacific Steamship Company cargo ship, Westbound, London to St. John's, Newfoundland However these differences are easily explained as Titanic was a work in progress and had many additions and alterations prior to her maiden voyage. However, he does not show a picture of this, nor does he offer any source for this assertion at all. surviving crew got to port they were all taken aside and met by two men, one However, this was not unique to Titanic. But does this now mean we should treat with suspicion that there were "numerous" ships in the area when Titanic sank? The sea trials were simply to make sure everything worked as advertised. - Able Bodied Seaman Thomas Jones testified before the US Inquiry (Day 7), that he went on deck and could see some ice. Difference in port side joint plating, 20. James A. Fenton aka "Paddy the Pig" Paddy Fenton is someone who had told his fellow seamen that they were in fact switched. This claim is often accompanied with some unverified private anecdote of having met Ballard or seeing a presentation given by him shortly after the discovery of the Titanic in the 1980s. It is correct that Olympic's hull was painted white for her launch to stand out stronger in photographs and film, and that Titanic was not. First and foremost is that the Californian would be a ridiculous choice as a rescue vessel. To confirm this Parks Stephenson visited B-52 with James Cameron on a later mission in 2001 and described the room as still retaining "several of its fittings. Titanic's bulkheads were intentionally deficient This is demonstrably false information. James Fenton, in full James Martin Fenton, (born April 25, 1949, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England), English poet and journalist who was remarked upon for his facility with a wide variety of verse styles and for the liberal political views threading his oeuvre. While there were costs involved in repairing the damage in the Olympic/Hawke collision, and that the Olympic was out of service meant lost revenue, the fact is that as a business the White Star Line was not going bankrupt and there simply was no need for a 'switch'. For a company that has miraculously been able to switch ships including hundreds of thousands of numbers on the back of wooden panels, without anyone knowing, this seems a rather farfetched and unlikely plan. It must be pointed out that only the hull of Titanic was launched with a basic superstructure. In fact, White Stars profit This is confirmed by Titanic researcher Ioannis Georgiou, who adds: "While it is true that some survivors such as Beesley and Chambers did speak about a port list, this was taken out of context as both were referring to April 14th. If a number of people had cancelled because of some sort of fear of a switch or insurance scam going on, it seems very likely that they would have spoken out after the disaster. Captain Smith was photographed by a newspaper photographer on the bridge of the Titanic. According to Bruce Ismay's testimony before the British Wreck Commission they planned to increase But this should not misconstrued as anything unusual, but common practice for a company which suddenly comes under media scrutiny and wants to maintain Titanic researcher and wreck explorer Parks Stephenson, who most recently was involved in photographing the Titanic wreck in 2019, simply replied: "People will see what they want" (26/09/2019) and posted this image: Claim: The starboard B-deck windows on the wreck are narrow, which matches the Olympic, not the Titanic. - Yes. Ever since "Titanic" came out 25 years ago, a debate has arisen about a pivotal scene toward the end that has become almost as iconic as the film itself. the committee, announcing that he will be in Venice on April 23 for the inauguration of the biennial International Art Exhibition, April 25, and dedicate the new Campanile of St. keeping quiet all those years had taken a great toll on his health and the sanity So there is nothing surprising with the fact that an iceberg caused enough damage to the starboard side (not bottom) of the hull so as to breach watertight compartments that eventually led to its sinking. However, there are several large issues with this theory. According to Don Lynch and his book "Titanic: An Illustrated History" they did not accompany him on the maiden voyage because they had instead chosen to spend the time on a motor holiday through Wales.. Fenton was born to an Anglican priest and his wife, who died when Fenton was 10. Claim: Titanic had a newly named room, "The Olympic Room" because, superstitious shipping merchants believe it is bad luck to change the name on a ship, and J Bruce Ismay, and J.P. Morgan thought it best to have the Olympic's name still somewhere on board. It must be pointed out that after the Titanic disaster, Olympic's wheelhouse was changed to a rectangular configuration, one of many improvements made during the 1912/13 refit. This is one of several undocumented, unreferenced claims. When they were not working, they were in the pub, drinking and talking. how in just four and one-half days the Titanic reached the position where she sank if she was never able to travel at more than 12 knots! If a 'switch' was true, why would you need to create a 'meme' that is demonstrably false, by switching an 'actual' image of Titanic with the Olympic? This is another one of those inaccurate claims that more importantly does not make any sense even if it was accurate. 5. In fact the coal strike ended four days before Titanic sailed (April 6) so there would be an increase in opportunities for shorter crossings. It is quite possible that those who "remember" Ballard giving a presentation in which he said he saw evidence it was the Olypmic are actually just remembering the documentary entitled "Titanic - The Shocking Truth" which contained fake imagery falsely purported to be evidence of a switch filmed by Ballard. Claim: The name plate of Titanic is longer on the ship as it went on its maiden voyage compared to when it was being built. This image allegedly shows 'hull plating from the wreck showing white and light grey paint showing through the black top coat'. 24. Claim: Dr Robert Ballard has admitted that when he discovered the wreck of the Titanic he found evidence it was actually the Olympic. The number 401, Titanic's shipyard number, is also on the Titanic's starboard propeller. In Titanic's case, it was likely due to improper ballasting--too much on the port side or too little on the starboard. The vessel which sailed out of Southampton on 10 April 1912 can only have been a 45,000 ton ship with the last minute addition of 1,000 tons of GRT in her B Deck public rooms and enclosed area on A Deck. Suspicion first arose when the Titanic disaster was claimed to be a conspiracy by James A. Fenton, otherwise known as "Paddy the Pig." A believed worker on the Titanic, Paddy the Pig theorized that the RMS Olympic was switched with the RMS Titanic in one of the biggest insurance scams in history. To be able to go into that room and see that marble fireplace still sitting there As for the White Star Line itself, it was the The above images are used by conspiracy theorists alleging a difference in portholes. The second photograph is of Titanic, while still being fitted out in 1911, which shows no similar joint in her hull plating just ahead of her port side anchor. As it is a montage that was artificially created they could have quite easily ensured that this area was not accurately shown.? Seacocks opened to hasten the sinking 401: Titanic's propeller is on Olympic About This Item. would have remained in surplus. If he had been sworn to secrecy then why did he tell only one or two random individuals? Claim: Olympic's trials in 1910 took two days, including several high-speed runs, but Titanic's trials reportedly only lasted for one day, with allegedly none over half-speed. The wreck clearly has a flat wheelhouse and hence it must be Titanic. Olympic was the first to be launched, pronounced the largest and most luxuriest ship in the world. Titanic or Olympic: Which Ship Sank? Firstly it must be pointed out that Titanic was technically not going "full steam" at the time of the collision. After a million men had walked out for 37 days the government intervened and ended the strike by passing a minimum wage law. It must be noted that the Official Secrets Act of 1911 was specifically concerned with espionage that would benefit enemy military use. Both had the same configuration of portholes in March 1912. In 1967 he enrolled at Magdalen College, Oxford, initially intending to study English but later switching to psychology, philosophy, and physiology. As it was named the "Olympic Class" it would hence not be unusual to feature the first ship in any advertising. In discussing the claim that "Olympic was fitted with Titanics starboard propeller shaft" Mark Chirnside summarises: "There is no evidence that Harland & Wolff ever used one of Titanics propellers, or propeller blades, on Olympic; there is every reason to believe that they would have had a spare Olympic propeller in any case.". Linoleum flooring covered with carpets, 34. 36. And also the Olympic was 500 miles away and would have been a much better solution if such a rescue was necessary. Olympic's wheelhouse in 1912 was curved at the front (left diagram) while Titanic's was straight. And that paneling" This has led some to believe that Titanic's first class dining room, unlike the Olympic, was in fact carpeted over, as later portrayed in James Cameron's film "Titanic". Titanic was at full steam but not achieving maximum speed James Fenton, in full James Martin Fenton, (born April 25, 1949, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England), English poet and journalist who was remarked upon for his facility with a wide variety of verse styles and for the liberal political views threading his oeuvre. (Click to enlarge). The Government man read the crew the Official Secrets 12. As far as I am The Hawke impacted the Olympic in the stern area. Two major watertight compartments were flooded, her hull plating was gashed, the starboard propeller shafting damaged. In this close up of the post-disaster image of Olympic, and this slipped to $4,509,270 in 1911. 1 were never lit at all. 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