An eerie video of the last hours of the Titanic that is a must-watch. Titanic

On the night of September 1, 1985, an American-French expedition led by oceanographer Robert Ballard discovered the Titanic's steam boiler at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Soon the remains of the ship itself were discovered. Thus ended the many-year epic search for the sunken steamship, which was carried out by several independent researchers, but for a long time was unsuccessful due to the incorrect coordinates of the ship’s death, broadcast on the fateful night of 1912. The discovery of the remains of the Titanic opened a new page in its history: answers to many controversial issues; a number of facts that were considered proven and irrefutable turned out to be erroneous.

The first intentions to find and raise the Titanic appeared immediately after the disaster. The families of several millionaires wanted to find the bodies of their dead relatives in order to properly bury them, and discussed the issue of raising the Titanic with one of the companies that specialized in underwater salvage work. But at that time there was no technical possibility to carry out such an operation. A plan was also discussed to drop charges of dynamite on the ocean floor so that some bodies would rise to the surface from the explosions, but these intentions were eventually abandoned.

Later, a whole series of crazy projects for raising the Titanic were developed. For example, it was proposed to fill the hull of the ship with ping pong balls or attach helium cylinders to it, which would raise it to the surface. There were many other projects, mostly science fiction. In addition, before trying to raise the Titanic, it was necessary to first find it, and this was not so simple.

For a long time, one of the controversial issues in the history of the Titanic was the coordinates broadcast along with the distress signal. They were determined by the fourth mate Joseph Boxhall based on the coordinates that were calculated several hours before the collision, the speed and course of the ship. There was no time to check them in detail in that situation, and Carpathia, which came to the rescue a few hours later, successfully reached the boats, but the first doubts about the correctness of the coordinates arose already during the investigation in 1912. At that time, the question remained open and , when the first serious attempts to search for the Titanic began in the 80s, researchers were faced with a problem: the Titanic was neither at the specified coordinates nor near them. The situation was also complicated by the local conditions of the disaster - after all, the Titanic was at a depth of almost 4 km and the search required appropriate equipment.

In the end, luck smiled on Robert Ballard, who had been preparing for the expedition step by step for almost 13 years. After almost two months of searching, when only 5 days remained until the end of the expedition and Ballard was already beginning to doubt the success of the event, some strange shadows appeared on the monitor connected to the video camera on the deep-sea descent vehicle. This happened at almost one in the morning on September 1, 1985. It soon became clear that this was nothing more than the wreckage of some kind of ship. After some time, one of the steam boilers was discovered and there was no doubt that the wreckage belonged to the Titanic. The next day, the front part of the ship's hull was discovered. The absence of a stern was a big surprise: after an investigation in 1912, it was officially considered that the ship had sunk entirely.

Ballard's first expedition answered many questions and gave the world a number of modern photographs of the Titanic, but much still remained unclear. A year later, Ballard again went to the Titanic, and this expedition already used a deep-sea descent vehicle that could deliver three people to the ocean floor. There was also a small robot that made it possible to conduct research inside the ship. This expedition clarified many questions that had remained open since 1912, and after it Ballard no longer planned to return to the Titanic. But what Ballard did not do, others did, and new expeditions soon flocked to the Titanic. Some of them were purely research in nature, some had the goal of lifting various objects from the bottom, incl. and for sale at auctions, which caused many scandals about the moral and ethical side of the issue. James Cameron also went down to the Titanic several times; not only for the filming of his 1997 film, but also for research using robotics inside the ship (see the documentary "Ghosts of the Abyss: Titanic"), which led to the discovery of many new facts about the condition of the ship and its once magnificent finish.

Regarding the issue of raising the Titanic, after Ballard’s expeditions it became obvious that this operation would not only be extremely complex and expensive; The ship's hull has been in such a state for a long time that it will simply fall apart, if not during lifting, then on the surface.

1. Let's see what the Titanic looks like now and what it looked like before. The Titanic sank in the Atlantic at a depth of almost 4 km. While diving, the ship broke into two parts, which now lie on the bottom about six hundred meters from each other. There are a lot of debris and objects scattered around them, incl. and quite a large piece of the Titanic's hull.

2. Model of the bow. When the ship fell to the bottom, the bow was very well buried in the silt, which greatly disappointed the first researchers, because it turned out to be impossible to inspect the place where it hit the iceberg without special equipment. The torn hole in the hull, which is visible on the model, was formed by hitting the bottom.

3. Panorama of the bow, collected from several hundred images. From right to left: the spare anchor winch protrudes directly above the edge of the bow, behind it there is a mooring device, immediately behind it is an open hatch to hold No. 1, from which the breakwater lines diverge to the sides. On the inter-superstructure deck there is a fallen mast, under it there are two more hatches into the holds and winches for working with cargo. In the front part of the main superstructure there used to be a captain's bridge, which collapsed when it fell to the bottom and can now be discerned only by individual details. Behind the bridge there is a superstructure with cabins for officers, captain, radio room, etc., which is crossed by a crack that formed at the site of the expansion joint. A gaping hole in the superstructure is the place for the first chimney. Immediately behind the superstructure, another hole is visible - this is the well in which the main staircase was located. To the left there is something very ragged - there was a second pipe.

4. Titanic's nose. The most fascinating object of underwater photographs of a ship. At the end you can see the loop on which the cable that held the mast was placed.

5. In the photo on the left you can see the spare anchor winch rising above the bow.

6. Main anchor on the port side. It's amazing how he didn't fly down when he hit the bottom.

7. Spare anchor:

8. Behind the spare anchor there is a mooring device:

9. Open hatch to hold No. 1. The lid flew off to the side, apparently when it hit the bottom.

10. On the mast there used to be the remains of a “crow’s nest”, where the lookouts were located, but ten or twenty years ago they fell down and now only the hole in the mast reminds of the “crow’s nest”, through which the lookouts got to the spiral staircase. The protruding tail behind the hole is the fastening of a ship's bell.

11. Ship's side:

12. Only one of the steering wheels remains from the captain's bridge.

13. Boat deck. The superstructure on it was either uprooted or torn in places.

14. The preserved part of the superstructure in the forward part of the deck. Bottom right is the entrance to the 1st class grand staircase.

15. Surviving davits, a bathtub in Captain Smith's cabin and the remains of a steamship whistle, which was installed on one of the pipes.

16. In place of the main staircase there is now a huge well. No traces of the stairs remain.

17. Staircase in 1912:

18. And the same perspective in our time. Looking at the previous photo, it’s somehow hard to believe that this is the same place.

19. Behind the stairs there were several elevators for 1st class passengers. Separate elements from them have been preserved. The sign shown below on the right was located opposite the elevators and indicated the deck. This inscription belonged to deck A; The bronze letter A has already fallen off, but traces of it remain.

20. 1st Class Lounge on Deck. This is the bottom of the main staircase.

21. Although almost all of the wooden trim of the ship has long been eaten by microorganisms, some elements are still preserved.

22. The restaurant and 1st class lounge on Deck D were separated from the outside world by large stained glass windows, which have survived to this day.

23. Remnants of former beauty:

24. From the outside, the windows are recognizable by the characteristic double portholes.

25. Chic chandeliers have been hanging in their places for more than 100 years.

26. The once magnificent interiors of the 1st class cabins are now littered with rubbish and debris. In some places you can find preserved elements of furniture and objects.

27.

28.

29. A few more details. The door to the restaurant on Deck D and the sign indicating the service doors:

30. The stokers had their own “front staircase”. In order to avoid encountering passengers, a separate staircase led from the boiler rooms to the stokers' cabins.

31. Hundreds of objects are scattered along the ocean floor, ranging from ship parts to personal belongings of passengers.

32. Some pairs of shoes lie in a very characteristic position: for someone this place has become a grave.

33. In addition to personal belongings and objects, large parts of the casing are also scattered along the bottom, which they also tried to repeatedly raise to the surface.

34. If the bow was preserved in more or less decent condition, then the rear part, after falling down, became a shapeless pile of metal. Starboard:

35. Left side:

36. Feed:

37. On the 3rd class promenade deck, it is difficult to discern individual details of the ship.

38. One of three huge screws:

39. After the ship broke into two parts, even steam boilers spilled out onto the bottom.

40. The engine room was located at the fracture point, and now these giants, the height of a three-story building, are visible to researchers. Piston device:

41. Both steam engines together:

42. The dry dock in Belfast, where the final painting of the ship's hull was carried out, still exists today as a museum exhibit.

43. And this is what the Titanic would look like against the backdrop of the largest passenger liner of our time, Allure of the Seas, which was put into operation in 2010:

Comparison in numbers:
- The displacement of "Allure of the Seas" is 4 times greater than that of the "Titanic";
- The length of the modern liner is 360 m (100 m longer than the Titanic);
- The greatest width is 60 m versus 28 for the Titanic;
- The draft is approximately the same (about 10 m);
- The speed is also almost the same (22-23 knots);
- Crew size - 2.1 thousand people (there were up to 900 on the Titanic, many of whom were stokers);
- Passenger capacity - up to 6.4 thousand people (on the Titanic up to 2.5 thousand).

On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the most modern passenger liner at that time, the Titanic, making its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and soon sank. At least 1,496 people died, 712 passengers and crew were rescued.

The Titanic disaster very quickly became overgrown with a mass of legends and speculation. At the same time, for several decades, the place where the lost ship rested remained unknown.

The main difficulty was that the location of the death was known with very low accuracy - we were talking about an area 100 kilometers in diameter. Considering that the Titanic sank in an area where the depth of the Atlantic is several kilometers, finding the ship was very problematic.

Titanic. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The bodies of the dead were going to be raised with dynamite

Immediately after the shipwreck, relatives of wealthy passengers who died in the disaster came up with a proposal to organize an expedition to raise the ship. The initiators of the search wanted to bury their loved ones and, to be honest, return the valuables that had sunk to the bottom along with their owners.

The decisive attitude of the relatives came across a categorical verdict from experts: the technology for searching and lifting the Titanic from great depths simply did not exist at that time.

Then a new proposal was received - to drop dynamite charges to the bottom at the supposed site of the disaster, which, according to the authors of the project, were supposed to provoke the ascent of the corpses of the dead from the bottom. This dubious idea also did not find support.

The First World War, which began in 1914, postponed the search for the Titanic for many years.

Interior of the veranda for first class passengers of the Titanic. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Nitrogen and ping pong balls

They started talking about searching for the liner again only in the 1950s. At the same time, proposals began to appear on possible ways to raise it - from freezing the body with nitrogen to filling it with millions of ping-pong balls.

In the 1960s and 1970s, several expeditions were sent to the area where the Titanic sank, but all of them were unsuccessful due to insufficient technical preparation.

In 1980 Texas oil tycoon John Grimm financed the preparation and conduct of the first large expedition to search for the Titanic. But, despite the availability of the most modern equipment for underwater searches, his expedition ended in failure.

Played a major role in the discovery of the Titanic ocean explorer and part-time US Navy officer Robert Ballard. Ballard, who was involved in improving small unmanned underwater vehicles, became interested in underwater archeology and, in particular, the mystery of the Titanic sinkhole back in the 1970s. In 1977, he organized the first expedition to search for the Titanic, but it ended in failure.

Ballard was convinced that finding the ship was only possible with the help of the latest deep-sea bathyscaphes. But getting these at your disposal was very difficult.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Doctor Ballard's Secret Mission

In 1985, having failed to achieve results during an expedition on the French research vessel Le Suroît, Ballard moved to the American vessel R/V Knorr, with which he continued the search for the Titanic.

As Ballard himself said many years later, the expedition, which became historic, began with a secret deal concluded between him and the command of the Navy. The researcher really wanted to get the Argo deep-sea research vehicle for his work, but the American admirals did not want to pay for the work of the equipment to search for some historical rarity. The ship R/V Knorr and the Argo apparatus were supposed to carry out a mission to survey the sites of the sinking of two American nuclear submarines, Scorpion and Thresher, which sank back in the 1960s. This task was secret, and the US Navy needed a person who could not only carry out the necessary work, but also be able to keep it secret.

Ballard's candidacy was ideal - he was quite famous, and everyone knew about his passion for finding the Titanic.

The researcher was offered: he could get the Argo and use it to search for the Titanic if he first found and examined the submarines. Ballard agreed.

Only the leadership of the US Navy knew about the Scorpion and Thrasher; for the rest, Robert Ballard simply explored the Atlantic and looked for the Titanic.

Robert Ballard. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

"Comet tail" at the bottom

He coped with the secret mission brilliantly, and on August 22, 1985, he was able to again begin the search for the liner that perished in 1912.

None of the most advanced technology would have ensured his success if not for the previously accumulated experience. Ballard, while examining the sinkhole sites of the submarines, noticed that they left at the bottom a kind of “comet tail” of thousands of fragments. This was due to the fact that the hulls of the boats were destroyed when sank to the bottom due to enormous pressure.

The scientist knew that during the dive on the Titanic, the steam boilers exploded, which meant that the liner should have left a similar “comet tail.”

It was this trace, and not the Titanic itself, that was easier to detect.

On the night of September 1, 1985, the Argo apparatus found small debris at the bottom, and at 0:48 the camera recorded the Titanic’s boiler. Then it was possible to discover the bow of the ship.

It was found that the bow and stern of the broken liner were located at a distance of about 600 meters from each other. At the same time, both the stern and the bow were seriously deformed when immersed in the bottom, but the bow was still better preserved.

Ship layout. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

House for underwater inhabitants

The news of the discovery of the Titanic became a sensation, although many experts hastened to question it. But in the summer of 1986, Ballard carried out a new expedition, during which he not only described in detail the ship at the bottom, but also made the first dive to the Titanic on a manned deep-sea vehicle. After this, the last doubts were dispelled - the Titanic was discovered.

The last resting place of the liner is located at a depth of 3750 meters. In addition to the two main parts of the liner, tens of thousands of smaller debris are scattered along the bottom over an area of 4.8×8 km: parts of the ship’s hull, remains of furniture and interior decoration, dishes, and personal belongings of people.

The wreckage of the ship is covered with multi-layered rust, the thickness of which is constantly growing. In addition to multi-layered rust, 24 species of invertebrate animals and 4 species of fish live on and near the hull. Of these, 12 species of invertebrates clearly gravitate towards shipwrecks, eating metal and wooden structures. The interior of the Titanic was almost completely destroyed. The wooden elements were consumed by deep sea worms. The decks are covered with a layer of shellfish, and stalactites of rust hang from many of the metal elements.

A wallet recovered from the Titanic. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Are all the people left with shoes left?

During the 30 years that have passed since the discovery of the ship, the Titanic has been rapidly deteriorating. Its current state is such that there can be no talk of any lifting of the vessel. The ship will forever remain at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

There is still no consensus on whether human remains were preserved on the Titanic and around it. According to the prevailing version, all human bodies completely decomposed. However, information periodically appears that some researchers have nevertheless stumbled upon the remains of the dead.

But James Cameron, director of the famous film "Titanic", whose personal account includes over 30 dives to the liner on the Russian Mir deep-sea submersibles, is sure of the opposite: “We saw shoes, boots and other footwear at the site of the sunken ship, but our team has never encountered human remains.”

Things from the Titanic are a profitable product

Since the discovery of the Titanic by Robert Ballard, about two dozen expeditions have been carried out to the ship, during which several thousand objects were raised to the surface, ranging from the personal belongings of passengers to a piece of plating weighing 17 tons.

The exact number of objects recovered from the Titanic is impossible to establish today, since with the improvement of underwater technology, the ship has become a favorite target of “black archaeologists” who are trying to obtain rarities from the Titanic by any means.

Robert Ballard, lamenting this, remarked: “The ship is still a noble old lady, but not the same lady I saw in 1985.”

Items from the Titanic have been sold at auction for many years and are in great demand. So, in the year of the 100th anniversary of the disaster, in 2012, hundreds of items went under the hammer, including a cigar box that belonged to the captain of the Titanic ($40 thousand), a life jacket from the ship ($55 thousand), and a master key first class steward ($138 thousand). As for the jewelry from the Titanic, their value is measured in millions of dollars.

At one time, having discovered the Titanic, Robert Ballard intended to keep this place secret, so as not to disturb the resting place of one and a half thousand people. Perhaps he shouldn't have done this.

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The sinking of the Titanic claimed the lives of 1,517 of the 2,229 passengers and crew (official figures vary slightly) in one of the worst maritime disasters in world history. 712 survivors were taken aboard RMS Carpathia. After this disaster, a great outcry swept through the public affecting attitudes towards social injustice, radically changed the way passengers were transported along the North Atlantic route, the rules for the number of lifeboats carried on board passenger ships were changed and the International Ice Survey was created (where merchant ships crossing the North Atlantic on... As before, precise information about the location and concentration of ice is transmitted using radio signals). In 1985, a major discovery was made, the Titanic was discovered at the bottom of the ocean and became a turning point for the public and for the development of new fields of science and technology. April 15, 2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanic. It became one of the most famous ships in history, and her image remains in numerous books, films, exhibitions and monuments.

TITANIC WRECK IN REAL TIME

duration - 2 hours 40 minutes!

The British passenger liner Titanic departs Southampton, England on her maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. The Titanic called to Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland before heading west towards New York. Four days into the passage, she struck an iceberg at 11:40 pm, 375 miles south of Newfoundland. Just before 2:20 a.m., the Titanic broke up and sank. More than a thousand people were on board at the time of the accident. Some died in the water within minutes from hypothermia in the waters of the North Antaltic Ocean. (Frank O. Brainard Collection)

The luxury liner Titanic is pictured in this 1912 photograph as she left Queenstown for New York on her ill-fated final voyage. The ship's passengers included a list of the richest people in the world, such as millionaires John Jacob Astor IV, Benjamin Guggenheim and Isidore Strauss, as well as more than a thousand emigrants from Ireland, Scandinavia and other countries seeking a new life in America. The disaster was met with shock and outrage around the world at the enormous loss of life and the failure of regulatory and operational parameters that led to this disaster. The investigation into the sinking of the Titanic began within days and led to significant improvements in maritime safety. (United Press International)

Crowd of workers. The Harland and Wolf shipyards in Belfast where the Titanic was built between 1909 and 1911. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, and was the largest ship afloat on her maiden voyage. The ship is visible in the background of this 1911 photo. (Photo archive / Harland & Wolff Collection / Cox)

Photo from 1912. In the photo, a luxurious dining room on board the Titanic. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an onboard gym, swimming pool, libraries, upscale restaurants and luxurious cabins. (Photo archive The New York Times / American Press Association)

Photo from 1912. Second class dining room on the Titanic. A disproportionate number of people - more than 90% of those in second class - remained on board because of the "women and children first" protocols followed by lifeboat loading officers. (Photo archive The New York Times / American Press Association)

Photo taken April 10, 1912, showing the Titanic leaving Southampton, England. The tragic sinking of the Titanic occurred a century ago, one of the reasons for the death, according to some, was the weak rivets used by the ship's builders in some parts of this ill-fated liner. (Associated Press)

Captain Edward John Smith, commander of the Titanic. He commanded the largest ship at that time making its maiden voyage. The Titanic was a massive ship - 269 meters long, 28 meters wide and weighing 52,310 tons. 53 meters separated from the keel to the top, almost 10 meters of which were below the waterline. The Titanic was higher above the water than most city buildings at the time. (The New York Times Archive)

First Mate William McMaster Murdoch is seen as a local hero in his home town of Dalbeattie, Scotland, but in the film Titanic was portrayed as a coward and a murderer. At a ceremony on the 86th anniversary of the sinking, Scott Neeson, executive vice president of the film's producers 20th Century Fox, presented a check for five thousand pounds sterling ($8,000) to Dalbeattie School as an apology for the painting to the officer's relative. (Associated Press)

It is believed that this iceberg caused the Titanic disaster on April 14-15, 1912. The picture was taken aboard the Western Union ship, Mackay Bennett, under the command of Captain DeCarteret. McKay Bennett was one of the first ships to reach the site where the Titanic sank. According to Captain DeCarteret, it was the only iceberg at the site when he arrived. It is therefore assumed that he was responsible for this tragedy. A collision with an iceberg caused the Titanic's hull plates to buckle inward in a number of places on board and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments into which water instantly poured out. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. (United States Coast Guard)

Passengers and some crew members were evacuated by lifeboats, many of which were launched only partially full. This photograph of a lifeboat from the Titanic approaching the rescue ship Carpathia, was taken by Carpathia passenger Louis M. Ogden and was on display in the 2003 exhibition of photographs that relate to the Titanic (bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, by Walter Lord). (National Maritime Museum/London)

Seven hundred and twelve survivors were brought aboard from lifeboats on the RMS Carpathia. This photograph taken by Carpathia passenger Louis M. Ogden shows the Titanic lifeboat approaching the rescue ship, Carpathia. The photograph was part of an exhibition in 2003 at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, named after Walter Lord. (National Maritime Museum/London)

Although the Titanic had advanced safety features, such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, it lacked lifeboats enough to accommodate all those on board. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people—a third of her total passenger and crew capacity. This sepia photograph depicting the recovery of the Titanic's passengers is one of the memorabilia about to go under the hammer at Christies in London, May 2012. (Paul Tracy/EPA/PA)

Press representatives interview Titanic survivors disembarking the rescue ship, Carpathians, May 17, 1912. (American Press Association)

Eva Hart is depicted as seven years old in this photograph taken in 1912 with her father, Benjamin, and mother Esther. Eve and her mother survived the sinking of the British liner Titanic on April 14, 1912, but her father died during the disaster. (Associated Press)

People stand on the street waiting for the arrival of Carpathia after the sinking of the Titanic. (Photo archive The New York Times/Wide World)

A huge crowd gathered in front of the White Star Line office on lower Broadway in New York City to receive the latest news about the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912. (Associated Press)

The New York Times editorial board at the time of the sinking of the Titanic, April 15, 1912. (Photo archive of The New York Times)

(Photo archive of The New York Times)

Two messages that were sent from America by Lloyds insurers in London in the mistaken belief that other ships, including the Virginian, were on their way to help when the Titanic sank. These two memorable messages are due to go under the hammer at Christies in London in May 2012. (AFP/EPA/Press Association)

Laura Francatelli, and her employers Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon and Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, standing on a rescue ship, Carpathians (Associated Press/Henry Aldridge and Son/Ho)

This vintage print shows the Titanic shortly before leaving on its maiden voyage in 1912. (New York Times Archive)

A photograph released by Henry Aldridge and Son/Ho auction in Wiltshire, England, April 18, 2008 shows an extremely rare Titanic passenger ticket. They were auctioning the complete collection of the last American Titanic Survivor by Miss Lilian Asplund. The collection consists of a number of important objects, including a pocket watch, one of the few remaining tickets for the Titanic's maiden voyage and the only example of the direct emigration order the Titanic thought to exist. Lillian Asplund was a very private person, and because of the terrible event she witnessed, on a cold April night in 1912, she rarely talked about the tragedy that claimed the lives of her father and three brothers. (Henry Aldridge)

(National Maritime Museum/London)

Breakfast menu on board the Titanic, signatures of survivors of the disaster. (National Maritime Museum/London)

The bow of the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean, 1999 (Institute of Oceanology)

The image shows one of the Titanic's propellers on the ocean floor during an expedition to the site of the tragedy. Five thousand items are scheduled to go under the hammer as a single collection on April 11, 2012, 100 years after the sinking of the ship (RMS Titanic, Inc, via Associated Press)

Photo August 28, 2010, released for the premiere of the exhibition, Inc.-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, shows the starboard side of the Titanic. (Prime Exhibitions, Inc.-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute)

Dr. Robert Ballard, the man who found the Titanic's remains almost two decades ago, returned to the site and took stock of the damage from visitors and hunters for "souvenirs" of the ship. (Institute of Oceanography and Archaeological Research Center/University of Rhode Island Grad. School of Oceanography)

The giant propeller of the sunken Titanic lies on the floor of the North Atlantic in this undated photo. The propeller and other parts of the famous ship were seen by the first tourists to visit the wreck in September 1998.

(Ralph White/Associated Press)

A 17-ton part of the Titanic's hull rises to the surface during an expedition to the site of the tragedy in 1998. (RMS Titanic, Inc, via Associated Press)

July 22, 2009, photo of the 17-ton part of the Titanic, which was raised and restored during an expedition to the site of the tragedy. (RMS Titanic, Inc, via Associated Press)

Gold-plated American Waltham pocket watch, property of Karl Asplund, in front of a contemporary watercolor painting of the Titanic by CJ Ashford at Henry Aldridge & Son auctions in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, April 3, 2008. The watch was recovered from the body of Karl Asplund who drowned on the Titanic, and is part of Lillian Asplund, the last American to survive the disaster. (Kirsty Wigglesworth Associated Press)

Currency, part of the Titanic collection, is photographed in a warehouse in Atlanta, August 2008. The owner of the largest trove of Titanic artifacts is putting the huge collection up for auction as a single lot in 2012, to mark the 100th anniversary of the world's most famous shipwreck. (Stanley Leary/Associated Press)

Photos of Felix Asplund, Selma and Karl Asplund and Lilian Asplund, at Henry Aldridge and Son auctions in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, April 3, 2008. The photographs were part of Lillian Asplund's collection of Titanic-related items. Asplund was 5 years old in April 1912 when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage from England to New York. Her father and three siblings were among the 1,514 killed. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press)

Exhibits at the Titanic Artifact Exhibit at the California Science Center include binoculars, a comb, dishes and a broken incandescent light bulb, February 6, 2003. (Michel Boutefeu/Getty Images, Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times)

Spectacles among the wreckage of the Titanic were among the Titanic's choice artifacts. (Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)

Golden Spoon (Titanic Artifacts) (Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)

The chronometer from the Titanic Bridge is on display at the Science Museum in London, 15 May 2003. The chronometer, one of more than 200 artifacts salvaged from the sinking of the Titanic, was on display at the launch of a new exhibition dedicated to its ill-fated maiden voyage, along with bottles of perfume. The exhibition took visitors on a chronological journey through the life of the Titanic, from its conception and construction, to life on board, and its sinking into the Atlantic Ocean in April 1912. (Alastair Grant/Associated Press)

Titanic speed meter logo and articulated lamp. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Artifacts of the Titanic are displayed in the media for preview purposes only, to announce the historical sale is complete. a collection of artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck site and a display of highlights from the collection at sea by the Intrepid, Air & SpaceMuseum January 2012. (Chang W. Lee / The New York Times)

Cups and pocket watches from the Titanic are displayed during a Guernsey auction press conference, January 5, 2012. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images, Brendan McDermid/Reuters Michelle Boutefeu/Getty Images-2)

Spoons. RMS Titanic, Inc. is the only company authorized to remove elements from the ocean floor where the Titanic sank (Douglas Healey / Associated Press)

Gold mesh wallet. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The April 2012 edition of National Geographic magazine (online versions available on iPad) features new images and drawings from the Titanic wreck that remains on the sea floor, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). (National Geographic)

Two propeller blades peek out from the sea darkness. This optical mosaic is assembled from 300 high-resolution images. (COPYRIGHT © 2012 RMS Titanic, Inc; Produced by AIVL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Understanding this tangle of metal presents endless challenges for specialists. Says one: “If you interpret this material, you must love Picasso.” (COPYRIGHT © 2012 RMS Titanic, Inc; Producers AIVL, WHOI)

The Titanic's two engines lie in a gaping hole in the stern. Wrapped in “rusticles”—orange stalactites made of iron that eat bacteria—these massive structures, four stories high, were the largest moving man-made objects on Earth at the time. (COPYRIGHT © 2012 RMS Titanic, Inc; Producers AIVL, WHOI)

TITANIC WRECK IN REAL TIME

duration - 2 hours 40 minutes!

Press representatives interview Titanic survivors disembarking the rescue ship, Carpathians, May 17, 1912. (American Press Association)

People stand on the street waiting for the arrival of Carpathia after the sinking of the Titanic. (Photo archive The New York Times/Wide World)

A huge crowd gathered in front of the White Star Line office on lower Broadway in New York City to receive the latest news about the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912. (Associated Press)

The New York Times editorial board at the time of the sinking of the Titanic, April 15, 1912. (Photo archive of The New York Times)

(Photo archive of The New York Times)

Laura Francatelli, and her employers Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon and Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, standing on a rescue ship, Carpathians (Associated Press/Henry Aldridge and Son/Ho)

This vintage print shows the Titanic shortly before leaving on its maiden voyage in 1912. (New York Times Archive)

(National Maritime Museum/London)

Breakfast menu on board the Titanic, signatures of survivors of the disaster. (National Maritime Museum/London)

The bow of the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean, 1999 (Institute of Oceanology)

(Ralph White/Associated Press)

A 17-ton part of the Titanic's hull rises to the surface during an expedition to the site of the tragedy in 1998. (RMS Titanic, Inc, via Associated Press)

July 22, 2009, photo of the 17-ton part of the Titanic, which was raised and restored during an expedition to the site of the tragedy. (RMS Titanic, Inc, via Associated Press)

Spectacles among the wreckage of the Titanic were among the Titanic's choice artifacts. (Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)

Golden Spoon (Titanic Artifacts) (Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)

Titanic speed meter logo and articulated lamp. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Spoons. RMS Titanic, Inc. is the only company authorized to remove elements from the ocean floor where the Titanic sank (Douglas Healey / Associated Press)

Gold mesh wallet. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

105 years ago, the Titanic's only voyage began. We offer interesting real stories of the passengers of the liner.

On April 10, 1912, the British liner Titanic left the port of Southampton on its first and last voyage. Four days later, after colliding with an iceberg, the now legendary liner crashed. There were 2,208 people on board the ship, and only 712 passengers and crew members managed to escape. 3rd class passengers buried alive at the bottom of the ocean, and millionaires choosing the best seats in half-empty lifeboats, an orchestra playing until the last moment and heroes saving their loved ones at the cost of their own lives... All this is not only footage from a Hollywood film, but also real stories of passengers from the Titanic.

The real cream of society gathered on the passenger deck of the Titanic: millionaires, actors and writers. Not everyone could afford to buy a first class ticket - the price was $60,000 at current prices.

3rd class passengers bought tickets for only $35 ($650 today), so they were not allowed to go above the third deck. On the fateful night, the division into classes turned out to be more noticeable than ever...

One of the first to jump into the lifeboat was Bruce Ismay, the general director of the White Star Line, which owned the Titanic. The boat, designed for 40 people, set sail with only twelve.

After the disaster, Ismay was accused of boarding a rescue boat, bypassing women and children, and also of instructing the captain of the Titanic to increase speed, which led to the tragedy. The court acquitted him.

William Ernest Carter boarded the Titanic at Southampton with his wife Lucy and two children Lucy and William, as well as two dogs.

On the night of the disaster, he was at a party in the restaurant of a first-class ship, and after the collision, he and his comrades went out onto the deck, where the boats were already being prepared. William first put his daughter on boat No. 4, but when it was his son's turn, problems awaited them.

13-year-old John Rison boarded the boat directly in front of them, after which the officer in charge of boarding ordered that no teenage boys be taken on board. Lucy Carter resourcefully threw her hat on her 11-year-old son and sat down with him.

When the landing process was completed and the boat began to descend into the water, Carter himself quickly boarded it along with another passenger. It was he who turned out to be the already mentioned Bruce Ismay.

21-year-old Roberta Maoney worked as a maid to the Countess and sailed on the Titanic with her mistress in first class.

On board she met a brave young steward from the ship's crew, and soon the young people fell in love with each other. When the Titanic began to sink, the steward rushed to Roberta's cabin, took her to the boat deck and put her on the boat, giving her his life jacket.

He himself died, like many other crew members, and Roberta was picked up by the ship Carpathia, on which she sailed to New York. Only there, in her coat pocket, did she find a badge with a star, which at the moment of parting the steward put in her pocket as a souvenir of himself.

Emily Richards was sailing with her two young sons, mother, brother and sister to her husband. At the time of the disaster, the woman was sleeping in the cabin with her children. They were awakened by the screams of their mother, who ran into the cabin after the collision.

The Richards were miraculously able to climb into the descending lifeboat No. 4 through the window. When the Titanic completely sank, the passengers of her boat managed to pull seven more people out of the icy water, two of whom, unfortunately, soon died of frostbite.

The famous American businessman Isidor Strauss and his wife Ida traveled in first class. The Strauss had been married for 40 years and had never been separated.

When the ship's officer invited the family to board the boat, Isidore refused, deciding to give way to women and children, but Ida also followed him

Instead of themselves, the Strauss put their maid in the boat. Isidore's body was identified by a wedding ring; Ida's body was not found.

The Titanic featured two orchestras: a quintet led by 33-year-old British violinist Wallace Hartley and an additional trio of musicians hired to give Café Parisien a continental flair.

Usually, two members of the Titanic orchestra worked in different parts of the liner and at different times, but on the night of the ship's sinking, all of them united into one orchestra.

One of the rescued Titanic passengers would write later: “Many heroic deeds were performed that night, but none of them could compare with the feat of these few musicians, who played hour after hour, although the ship sank deeper and deeper and the sea got closer to the place where they stood. The music they performed entitled them to be included in the list of heroes of eternal glory."

Hartley's body was found two weeks after the sinking of the Titanic and sent to England. A violin was tied to his chest - a gift from the bride. There were no survivors among the other orchestra members...

Four-year-old Michel and two-year-old Edmond traveled with their father, who died in the sinking, and were considered "orphans of the Titanic" until their mother was found in France.

Michel died in 2001, the last male survivor of the Titanic.

Winnie Coates was heading to New York with her two children. On the night of the disaster, she woke up from a strange noise, but decided to wait for orders from the crew members. Her patience ran out, she rushed for a long time along the endless corridors of the ship, getting lost.

She was suddenly directed by a crew member towards the lifeboats. She ran into a broken closed gate, but it was at that moment that another officer appeared, who saved Winnie and her children by giving them his life jacket.

As a result, Vinnie ended up on the deck, where she was boarding boat No. 2, which, literally by miracle, she managed to dive into..

Seven-year-old Eve Hart escaped the sinking Titanic with her mother, but her father died during the crash.

Helen Walker believes that she was conceived on the Titanic before it hit an iceberg. “This means a lot to me,” she admitted in an interview.

Her parents were 39-year-old Samuel Morley, the owner of a jewelry store in England, and 19-year-old Kate Phillips, one of his workers, who fled to America from the man's first wife, seeking to start a new life.

Kate got into the lifeboat, Samuel jumped into the water after her, but did not know how to swim and drowned. “Mom spent 8 hours in the lifeboat,” said Helen. “She was in only a nightgown, but one of the sailors gave her his jumper.”

Violet Constance Jessop. Until the last moment, the stewardess did not want to be hired on the Titanic, but her friends convinced her because they believed that it would be a “wonderful experience.”

Before this, on October 20, 1910, Violette became a stewardess of the transatlantic liner Olympic, which a year later collided with a cruiser due to unsuccessful maneuvering, but the girl managed to escape.

And Violet escaped from the Titanic on a lifeboat. During the First World War, the girl went to work as a nurse, and in 1916 she got on board the Britannic, which... also sank! Two boats with a crew were pulled under the propeller of a sinking ship. 21 people died.

Among them could have been Violet, who was sailing in one of the broken boats, but again luck was on her side: she managed to jump out of the boat and survived.

Fireman Arthur John Priest also survived a shipwreck not only on the Titanic, but also on the Olympic and Britannic (by the way, all three ships were the brainchild of the same company). Priest has 5 shipwrecks to his name.

On April 21, 1912, the New York Times published the story of Edward and Ethel Bean, who sailed in second class on the Titanic. After the crash, Edward helped his wife into the boat. But when the boat had already sailed, he saw that it was half empty and rushed into the water. Ethel pulled her husband into the boat.

Among the Titanic's passengers were the famous tennis player Carl Behr and his lover Helen Newsom. After the disaster, the athlete ran into the cabin and took the women to the boat deck.

The lovers were ready to say goodbye forever when the head of the White Star Line, Bruce Ismay, personally offered Behr a place on the boat. A year later, Carl and Helen got married and later became the parents of three children.

Edward John Smith - captain of the Titanic, who was very popular among both crew members and passengers. At 2.13 a.m., just 10 minutes before the ship's final dive, Smith returned to the captain's bridge, where he decided to meet his death.

Second Mate Charles Herbert Lightoller was one of the last to jump from the ship, miraculously avoiding being sucked into the ventilation shaft. He swam to collapsible boat B, which was floating upside down: the Titanic's pipe, which came off and fell into the sea next to him, drove the boat further from the sinking ship and allowed it to remain afloat.

American businessman Benjamin Guggenheim helped women and children into lifeboats during the crash. When asked to save himself, he replied: “We are dressed in our best clothes and are ready to die like gentlemen.”

Benjamin died at the age of 46, his body was never found.

Thomas Andrews - first class passenger, Irish businessman and shipbuilder, was the designer of the Titanic...

During the evacuation, Thomas helped passengers board lifeboats. He was last seen in the first class smoking room near the fireplace, where he was looking at a painting of Port Plymouth. His body was never found after the crash.

John Jacob and Madeleine Astor, a millionaire science fiction writer, and his young wife traveled first class. Madeleine escaped on lifeboat No. 4. John Jacob's body was recovered from the depths of the ocean 22 days after his death.

Colonel Archibald Gracie IV is an American writer and amateur historian who survived the sinking of the Titanic. Returning to New York, Gracie immediately began writing a book about his voyage.

It became a real encyclopedia for historians and researchers of the disaster, thanks to the large number of names of stowaways and 1st class passengers who remained on the Titanic. Gracie's health was severely compromised by hypothermia and injuries, and he died at the end of 1912.

Margaret (Molly) Brown is an American socialite, philanthropist and activist. Survived. When panic arose on the Titanic, Molly put people into lifeboats, but she herself refused to get in.

“If the worst happens, I’ll swim out,” she said, until eventually someone forced her into lifeboat number 6, which made her famous.

After Molly organized the Titanic Survivors Fund.

Millvina Dean was the last surviving passenger of the Titanic: she died on May 31, 2009, aged 97, in a nursing home in Ashurst, Hampshire, on the 98th anniversary of the liner's launch.

Her ashes were scattered on October 24, 2009 at the port of Southampton, where the Titanic began its first and last voyage. At the time of the death of the liner she was two and a half months old