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To date there are still many myths that persist about the sinking of the RMS TITANIC. Because of the sheer loss of life or due to the lost luxury of the ship many people who don't know the story continue to believe in age old myths about the Titanic disaster. This topic I will debunk some of the myths that will be stated below.

Before I go on I wish to state that I have been studying the Titanic disaster since I was seven years old and I have accumilated years of knowledge on the subject therefore I can with comfort claim to be an authority if an amateur one since I don't have the any degrees from colleges or at least not yet. I have seen virtually every Hollywood adaptation of the sinking of the Titanic back to films made in the same year it went down. Also I have seen many documentaries on the subject have read many books about it.

Myth 1# Are there still bodies on the Titanic wreck site?
Answer: No, to date no signs of any bodies have been seen either in the debris field or in the various ROV ventures into the wreck itself. Given the process in which the human body decays in water and the amount of wildlife activity on the wreck site. Any human traces would all but have vanished due to these factors. Also given the great depth at which the Titanic lies any bodies that did not go down with the ship would have been crushed due to the pressure. There are however shoes from the bodies that still lie on the ocean floor. Since the leather was treated any bacteria have not been able to decompose the shoes of the victims.

Myth 2# Was the sinking of the Titanic caused by a large 300 ft gash?
Answer: No, when the Titanic collided with the iceberg the rivets holding the hull together were sheered off causing the metal plates to separate. These small seperations were enough to cause a large amount of water to seep into the hull of the Titanic and cause the ship to sink. The rate of the water pouring into the ship was so great that any efforts of the crew to stop the water from further flooding the ship were valiant but utterly futile. An expedition launched in the 1990's used a special type of sonar to penetrate the mud that the bow of the Titanic sits in. And what they found were small separations in the hull that were no larger than a persons finger. But these small separations were enough to cause the ships safety equipment to fail to stop the flooding.

Myth 3# Did women and children just survive the sinking?
Answer: No, a great deal of men survived the sinking. Many of them were let into boats by First Officer William Murdoch. Whenever there were no more women and children around to fill the boats men were permitted to enter the boats. It was up to how the officers on the Titanic how they interpreted their orders to allow women and children into the boats. Officers like Murdoch interpreted the orders given to him as a very vague order. He tried to save all that he could, while his subordinate Second Officer Charles Lightoller only permitted women and children to enter the boats. Now some men did dress like women in order to gain entry into the boats but given the Victorian values still persisted into the Gilded Age it was viewed as disgraceful to enter a boat when there were still women and children on board the ship.

Myth 4# Did the passengers react to the collision with the iceberg and the increasing tilt of the ship?
Answer: Yes and No. Many passengers in the upper levels of the ship simply noticed a small nudge, some said it was like when a train pulled into the station. There wasn't really a violent collision felt by those in the first class areas. But in the Second and Third Class areas this was a different story. They heard the crash far more clearly than those in the lavish areas above them. Many third class passengers who's living areas were in the bowels of the ship would have been thrown from their bunks and often heard the crash clearly. It was only when the ships engines stop that the first class passengers took notice of the collision. Some even reported seeing a grey mass outside of their portholes. Once word of the collision spread among the passengers many people didn't think that an iceberg could do much to the ship. Afterall the ship had been called the safest ever built and called unsinkable. Many refused to believe that the ship would actually sink. But the fact that there was something was wrong was apparent to those living in the third class areas. Many of them awoke to find water on the floors of their rooms. They would have known that something was wrong with the ship. Many of the crew who worked in the engine and boiler rooms would have been alerted to the collision. Because many passengers didn't believe that the ship would sink this explains why so many were relucant to get into a lifeboat. Also this is due to the crews inexperience with the emergency procedures and how much stress the boats and davits could take. Many when walking down stairs noticed there was a slight tilt like it was like walking uphill. But other than that weird sensation they didn't really take note of anything. It was only when water came pouring over the sides of the ship that many of the passengers took the seriousness of the situation.

Myth 5#: Did all the people on the Titanic freeze to death or drown?
Answer: While many people did die because of the extreme cold of the water and those without lifejackets certainly would have drowned especially since they couldn't swim. These weren't the only ways in which people died. I read an account of a man who was rescued from the water who was bleeding from the mouth and nose. He had been sucked down with the ship and the pressure had crushed his chest and he died shortly thereafter. Also many people died because of the lifejackets. When jumping from the boat deck to the water which was a distance of 80 feet the lifejackets would snap their necks. The lifejackets were essentially large pieces of cork placed in a canvas liner. Also given the fact that when the ship's stern rose into the air the large distance a person would have fallen they would have hit the water like a sack of bricks and more than likely have broken their backs or legs. Chief Chef Charles Joughin was able to survive in the water for a very long time before he was rescued due to the fact that he was throughly drunk. The alcohol would have constricted his blood vessels and allowed him to survive in the extreme cold. But for whatever reason many people did die that night when the Titanic sank.

Myth 6# Were Jack Dawson and Rose real people?
Answer: Because of the enormous popularity of the movie and soundtrack many people believe there was a real Jack and Rose. But to be truthful these individuals never existed and are merely characters to move the plot along in the film. However it is true that there were many young lives snuffed out that night and it's certainly possible that many of these young people were lovers. An interesting note there was a real Dawson on board the RMS TITANIC. His name was Joseph Dawson he was from Dublin Ireland. He worked as a stoker or a person who fed coal into the huge boilers on the ship. He was 23 when the Titanic struck the iceberg. He did die during the sinking and was recovered by the Mackey Bennet.

This is a description of his body when it was recovered. All credits go to Encyclopedia Titanica

"NO. 227 - MALE - ESTIMATED AGE 30 - HAIR LIGHT & MOUSTACHE
CLOTHING - Dungaree coat and pants; grey shirt.

NO MARKS ON BODY OR CLOTHING

EFFECTS - N. S. & S. Union 35638"

Joseph was buried in Fairview Lawn Cemetary in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Due to the initials on the grave being J. Dawson many people believe that it is the grave of Jack Dawson the fictional character from the Titanic film.

A really good post AW. It seems no one could really answer the Jack Dawson question, because I always end up with a "not sure" response.

And just some more info on the rivets, the ones towards the centre of the ship were steel, however, due to the tight angel near the front; the rivet machine at H&W stopped working, so they instead used Type 3 (known as "Best") Iron rivets, because the Type 4 (known as "Best Best") Iron Rivets and the steel ones were "too hard to knock into place".

Once again, great post.

If most of the rivets were steel than when the collision happened it is likely to assume that the damage done to the hull of the ship would not have been fatal. But because the steel rivets were only used in parts of the ship Harland and Wolff thought a collision was likely to take place that being the forward section of the Bow then the ship would survive the impact. But since the collision glanced the side of the ship and with the poor quality iron rivets this allowed the hull to become comprimised.

Great post, this was really intresting to read.

Myth 7#Were the Third Class passengers locked in lower sections of the ship while the lifeboat was being loaded?
Answer: This unfortunately is a myth with some truth behind it. The Titanic was seperated by class and Third Class passengers had there own areas of the ship where they were permitted to be but any of the upper levels of the ship were off limits to them. As the ship began to sink it was felt by many of the officers that if they let the other passengers from below come up on deck that it would cause a panic and with only a limited amount of room in the boats it was felt that they should wait until some of the passengers from First and Second class had left the ship before they allowed the Third Class passengers to enter a boat. This however did not stop the Third Class Passengers from finding other ways to get up on deck. Many of them climbed up the large cargo cranes on the stern section of the ship to get up on deck. Other passengers with the kindness of the crew were permitted to go up on deck. Many simply waited for there turn to enter a lifeboat. But as the ship continued to sink farther into the water and with the lifeboats being launched from the ship only half full and sometimes with only a few people on board when many of the Third Class passengers eventually made it up on deck they found most of the lifeboats had already been launched and there were only a few collaspible boats left that were stored on the roof of the officers quarters right behind the bridge. Interestingly though a few very lucky Third Class passengers found their way on deck by an unlikely event. Daniel Buckley who was in a large group of third class passengers were found locked behind a gate and when one of their number a very large muscular man threw himself at the gate it broke and this broken gate allowed Daniel Buckley to make it up onto the deck and into a lifeboat. Unfortunately there is evidence that many Third Class Passengers after finding out there were no more lifeboats simply went back to their rooms and waited for the end. Many also died by getting lost in the bowels of the ship since many of the public areas they had seen were only the Third class areas.

Myth 8# If all the lifeboats had been filled it would have saved alot more people?
Answer: It is common knowledge that the Titanic didn't carry enough lifeboats for it's passengers and crew. The Titanic had 20 lifeboats with four of those being collaspible boats meaning they were made out of canvas and wood. The lifeboats when fully loaded could carry 1,178 people out of the 2,200 on board. Even with the boats filled to capacity there still would have been 1,022 people who would have died. But given that Thomas Andrews the ships builder had done the math he pronounced the Titanic had about two and a half hours before she would sink. So given the short amount of time to get people off and the crew's inexperience with the lifeboats and how much they could really accommodate it is doubtful that it would have made any difference. Regardless 705 people were rescued and a total of 1,500 people died that night.

Myth 9# What was the identity of the third mystery ship?
Answer: The answer to this question has long been the center of controversy. We do know that the SS Californian was about 10 miles away from the Titanic but it's radio operator had switched off the power to the marconi instrument and thus Titanic's distress call wasn't heard. Now the identity of the third mystery ship may never be known but in my personal opinion it was the Samson. It was a Norwegian sealing hunting ship that according to one of it's former crew members was in the area when the Titanic was sinking. According to him they saw the rockets and the lights from the port holes but because they were hunting seals illegally in territorial waters they fled the seen at the site of the rockets. It was only till later they learned of the sinking of the Titanic. However there is no way to conclusively prove the identity of the third ship other than to state that the third ship was spotted by members of the Titanic's crew and that of the Carpathia's crew.

That's all very good stuff, Ahura. However, by now, most of that can be found in pretty much any book or documentary about the Titanic (ad nauseum).

If you want to really impress, try throwing some of the lesser-known mysteries of the Titanic at people:

1. The short story Futility, by the American amateur mystic Morgan Robertson (1861-1915), which was published in 1898 (fourteen years before the Titanic sailed). The story is about the "Titan", which also hit an iceberg and sank. The similarities are astonishing --

• Flag of the Titanic and the Titan was British;
• Both sailed in April
• Titanic had 60,250 tons water displacement; Titan, 70,000;
• Titanic was 882 feet long; Titan, 800;
• Both ships' top speed was 24 knots;
• Titanic had a capacity to carry 3,000+ people; Titan, around 3,000;
• Number aboard at the time on Titanic's voyage was 2,200; on Titan, 2,000;
• Both ships had three propellers;
• Titanic had 20 lifeboats (1,178 places); Titan had 24 (500 places);
• Titanic had 15 watertight bulkheads; Titan had 19;
• Both ships hit the iceberg on the starboard side

That's been called a remarkable and frightening coincidence, and possibly a premonition. Robertson was never known to have any others that came so close to reality.


2. A coal bunker fire was detected on the Titanic around the time of her sea trials (for her to be certified by the British Board of Trade before entering passenger service). The fire broke out in the starboard side of bunker #10 (at the back end of boiler room #6...the critical boiler room later in the disaster (it was in this boiler room that a bulkhead, weakened under what was thought to be mysterious circumstances, apparently gave way). The inspector from the Board of Trade never discovered the fire, nor did anyone report it to him. It was never extinguished during the trip (in spite of efforts to do so). Titanic stoker Fred Barrett, a survivor, reported in hearings that the bulkhead (between boiler rooms 5 and 6) was distorted ("dinged") from the heat - on both sides.


3. The ice warning from the steamer "Baltic" reported also that a tanker, named "Deutschland" was drifting in the shipping lanes "not under control" (it had run out of coal to fire its boilers), and that it was a hazard to navigation. This is a key reason why Ismay pocketed that warning rather than allow it to remain posted in the chartroom of the Titanic. Captain Smith was worried about Ismay's now proven desire to arrive in New York Harbor a day earlier than announced in most papers (which was supposed to be Wednesday the 17th). Buried inside the Monday, April 15th (1912) edition of the New York Times was a small shipping announcement placed by Ismay on behalf of the White Star Line, announcing that Titanic would arrive at 4:00 P.M. on Tuesday April 16th. This establishes the rumors of Ismay pushing for speed as a fact. Not as trials, but to prove that the Titanic was faster than any of the Cunard ships then famous at the time (Mauretania and Lusitania). Ismay talked to both Chief Engineer Bell and Captain Smith about dipping into the emergency coal reserve (reserved for actual emergencies only). Smith was worried about the embarrassment that would come of steaming to within sight of New York Harbor, only to stop dead and out of steam before docking. And the warning about the tanker which ran out of coal would have reinforced Smith's concerns.

4. Several eyewitness accounts report that, after striking the iceberg, and the Titanic came to a complete stop, that efforts to stem the inrush of water through the buckled outer bulkheads was working. Ideally, that would have given the crew enough time to keep the ship afloat for help to arrive and get every single person off. However, other accounts by eyewitnesses also clearly indicate that the ship not only got underway again, after a short respite (and at a moderate speed), but even made a change of direction to try and clear some of the ice field. The sudden inrush of water through the buckled outer bulkheads is what doomed the ship to a sudden foundering, as the pumps and hoses could not stay ahead of that much influx of water. The only person who would have pressed for Titanic to go ahead? Ismay. The thought is that he intended to make for Halifax, in Nova Scotia (Canada)...where there were better resources to deal with the emergency (and less press)...being closer than New York from their location (only a little over 400 nautical miles).


There's more...but I will stop there for now...

There are some who believe that the Titanic continued to move causing more water to pour into the ship.

Who would that have been? I have several books detailing survivor accounts (and the transcripts of both the U.S. and British inquiries). None of them mention that. In fact, anyone who did mention the moments after the iceberg all consistently mention the ship coming to a dead stop. Many then report the distinct impression of the ship getting under way again. (either through feeling motion and/or hearing the engines again...or being out on deck and feeling the rush of moving air and seeing the ship starting to slide past things).

It's on an article on Encyclopedia Titanica

Perhaps you could quote it in greater detail, and provide a link. Because that's sure a new one on me. And I am leery of it.

The article was based on a book called The last log of the titanic

I have that book, and read it in detail. I don't recall Brown mentioning anything about passengers or crew referring to the ship not stopping. And I have read the book more than a few times.

See...this is why you cannot always trust everything that is written in a book, magazine, or on a web page.

But I would still like to have some sort of reference I can refer to. A link, a bibliographical blurb...whatever.

I think what is happening here is that you are misinterpreting what Brown wrote in the book (and the article is simply quotes from the book, probably posted by someone else).

Brown pointed out in the book (and I don't need to read the whole article if it is just excerpts from the book itself) that survivors noted that the ship got underway again, and that some stokers and engineering staff down below noted that the water started coming in in great force once the ship was indeed underway at that point.

That's not quite the same thing you said...FYI