Sinking of HMT Titanic

[ijnfleetadmiral]

The following is a transcript from an interview with CDR Harold Philston, RNR, former Chief Officer of HMT Titanic.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Commander Philston, you were Chief Officer of HMT Titanic at the time of her sinking, correct?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Yes, sir, that is correct.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Tell us about the final voyage.

CDR. PHILSTON:
We sailed from New York on December 26, 1944 with Prime Minister Churchill on board. Capt. Falver wished to head straight across the Atlantic, which would have been the quickest journey back to England, but the Prime Minister overruled him and ordered him to head South along the East Coast for awhile, claiming that if we headed straight across the Atlantic, we would, as he put it, "be playing right into the enemy's hands...we'd be right where he'd expect us to be."

SENATOR HAVERS:
So the decision to head South along the Eastern Seaboard was the Prime Minister's, not Capt. Falver's?

CDR. PHILSTON:
That is correct, sir...I was on the bridge when the conversation between the Prime Minister and Capt. Falver took place. I heard every word clearly.

SENATOR HAVERS:
How long did you head South?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Until December 30th. Once we were South of Bermuda, the Prime Minister gave permission to turn West.

SENATOR HAVERS:
And how fast was the Titanic going at this time?

CDR. PHILSTON:
We were going about 10 knots, sir.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Why not go faster if the Prime Minister was so concerned about U-boats?

CDR. PHILSTON:
The Titanic was an old ship, sir...her engines weren't exactly new.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Tell us about the morning of the sinking.

CDR. PHILSTON:
I was on the bridge along with Capt. Falver and most of the officers. The Prime Minister was also present.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Was he on the bridge a lot?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Almost constantly, sir...it was almost as though he were commanding the ship himself.

SENATOR HAVERS:
And what were the opinions of the ship's officers on this?

CDR. PHILSTON:
We felt suffocated, sir...like the Prime Minister didn't trust us to do our jobs. It was especially hard on Capt. Falver.

SENATOR HAVERS:
When did the first torpedo hit?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Just before 10:45 AM, sir.

SENATOR HAVERS:
And where did it hit?

CDR. PHILSTON:
I can't be sure, sir...I didn't see exactly where. Farther aft, I think.

SENATOR HAVERS:
And what were the reactions of Capt. Falver and your fellow officers?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Capt. Falver and all the officers were consummate professionals, sir...we kept calm and Capt. Falver ordered the watertight doors closed and all passengers to the Boat Deck with their lifebelts on. He also ordered the lifeboats uncovered and swung out.

SENATOR HAVERS:
And what was the Prime Minister's reaction when the torpedo hit?

CDR. PHILSTON:
He turned to Capt. Falver and ordered that his lifeboat be equipped with a machine gun so he could "avoid capture at all costs."

SENATOR HAVERS:
And what was Capt. Falver's reply to this?

CDR. PHILSTON:
He pretty much ignored the Prime Minister's demands, sir...he was more concerned about ascertaining the condition of the ship and seeing to the safety of the passengers at that point.

SENATOR HAVERS:
How long a time was there between the first torpedo hit and the next attack?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Perhaps two minutes, sir.

SENATOR HAVERS:
How many torpedo hits were scored in the second attack?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Three, sir.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Where did these torpedoes hit?

CDR. PHILSTON:
From what I could see, sir, the first two struck between the second and third funnels and the last abreast the second funnel, all on the starboard side.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Was the Titanic still moving after the first torpedo hit?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Yes, sir...she was moving at about 6 knots. After the other three torpedoes hit, I heard several explosions deep within the ship. I'm assuming those were boiler explosions, for soon after black smoke began pouring from the ventilators around the first and fourth funnels. The smoke was especially thick from the ventilators around the fourth funnel.

SENATOR HAVERS:
When did the Prime Minister abandon ship?

CDR. PHILSTON:
He was the first passenger in the first lifeboat launched.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Did he get the machine gun he wanted?

CDR. PHILSTON:
No sir, he did not. He demanded it, but Capt. Falver finally lost patience and yelled at him to shut up and get in the boat.

SENATOR HAVERS:
And what was Prime Minister's reaction to this?

CDR. PHILSTON:
He went red in the face and told Capt. Falver he would have his career for that. Capt. Falver didn't look like he really cared at that point.

SENATOR HAVERS:
What time was the first lifeboat launched?

CDR. PHILSTON:
At 10:49 AM, sir.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Describe the sinking for us.

CDR. PHILSTON:
Capt. Falver placed me in charge of the fourth boat launched. We started down the falls at 10:52. By this time the water was almost up to the forward well deck. About a minute later, the bridge was underwater. She went very quickly after that.

SENATOR HAVERS:
What time did she go under?

CDR. PHILSTON:
10:54 AM, sir...she went bow-first with maybe a 10-degree list to starboard.

SENATOR HAVERS:
How many survivors did you see?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Hundreds in the water. Only five boats were able to be launched before the ship went down.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Was Capt. Falver among them?

CDR. PHILSTON:
No sir...he was not. As my lifeboat was being launched I saw him head back toward the bridge. That was the last I ever saw of him.

SENATOR HAVERS:
Did you see the Prime Minister's boat?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Yes, sir...about two minutes after the ship went down, a German U-boat surfaced and launched three rafts. These went out to the various lifeboats, and when the Prime Minister was found, he was manhandled roughly into the raft, which then headed back to the U-boat. Once all the rafts and crewmen were on board, the U-boat submerged again.

SENATOR HAVERS:
What do you think happened to the Prime Minister?

CDR. PHILSTON:
I'd rather not guess, sir...everyone knows how much Hitler hates him.

SENATOR HAVERS:
I see. Thank you for your time...you may step down.

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[VONHARRIS]

Great story! A lot of imagination!

[Fish In The Water]

SENATOR HAVERS:
When did the Prime Minister abandon ship?

CDR. PHILSTON:
He was the first passenger in the first lifeboat launched.

Good old Winnie, leading the way again... :O:



Nice read, thanks! :up:

[flag4]

...had me thrown for a minute. the titanic 1944??

but then it clicked! thanks. i really enjoyed reading it:yeah:

[Jimbuna]

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9329/sh32008083120262129.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/263/sh32008083120262129.jpg/)

The Titanic wasn't armed and it was an iceberg that caused her sinking :O::03:

[JazzJR]

But this one (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Olympic_ggbain_09366.jpg) didn't sunk. :yeah: But look at the size of that ship. :o It was the only Passengership which sunk a U-Boat U-103. The Propeller just sliced through U-103'S pressure hull. But the crew of U-103 blew her ballast tanks, scuttled and abandoned the submarine.

[flag4]

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9329/sh32008083120262129.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/263/sh32008083120262129.jpg/)

The Titanic wasn't armed and it was an iceberg that caused her sinking :O::03:

...ohhh, you've spoiled it now!!!:wah:

[Jimbuna]

LOL :DL

[MILLANDSON]

What the story doesn't cover is how Churchill, due to being equally as awesome as Chuck Norris, then proceeded to escape from his bonds and single-handedly incapacitated the entire u-boat crew, before surfacing the boat, replacing the German flag with the Union Jack hanky he had in his pocket, and sailed all the way back to England by himself.

:yeah::O::D:arrgh!:

[Fish In The Water]

^^^ All in a day's work for Super Winnie! :03:

[FIREWALL]

Now the real story of what happened to Winnie.

After seeing that all the lifeboats were full of women and children.

He grabbed a life ring and jumped up and sat on it like a hemorrhoid ring and THEN pulled out the Union Jack hankie and sailed to England. :yep:

And I have that on impeccable sources. :O:

[Bismarcklover101]

ijnfleetadmiral,
All i have to say is you got lucky finding her! :D So everyone know ijnfleetadmiral and I are friends, he is the one who told me about this site!!!
Nikki

[Fish In The Water]

So everyone know ijnfleetadmiral and I are friends, he is the one who told me about this site!!!
Nikki

Welcome aboard Nikki! Great to see your first post... :sunny:

[ijnfleetadmiral]

The following is part of an interview with retired Kriegsmarine Generaladmiral Kurt Hossel, telling the other side of the sinking of HMT Titanic.

When this happened, we had been on patrol since 12 December 1944. None of us were very happy at once again being 'lucky' enough to be spending Christmas far out in the Atlantic instead of home in the bomb shelters with our families, but we made the best of it that we could.

We'd celebrated New Year's the night before with a simple toast of cognac by all crewmembers. Normally I wouldn't have allowed this, but I made an exception for the holiday. We were SSE of Bermuda when my Sonar Operator picked up a merchant at medium speed. Naturally we made to intercept, for we hadn't sighted a damn thing our entire patrol...not even a hunter-killer group.

At 1038, I rose the periscope and was stunned to see an enormous four-funnel liner steaming practically right towards us. As best I could guess it, she was moving at around 10 knots or so. I knew it could only be Titanic, but we knew she was supposed to be far North of here, transporting the British Blowhard back to England after a conference with the ailing Roosevelt. I always had a bit of sympathy for that man, and for his eventual successor Truman, for having to deal with the British Blowhard cannot have been easy.

I informed my crew of what was heading towards us, and excitement was prevalent throughout the boat. Indeed, it seemed that the boat herself was trembling with anticipation. At 1042, the range was down to around 2,100 yards. I fired Tubes 1, 2, and 3 and waited. Two minutes later, a torpedo hit the hull abreast the third funnel and exploded, sending a huge column of water into the air. This hit did not finish her, but appeared to merely slow her down, for her speed dropped to around 6 knots after this hit.

Even so, I knew we had her. At 1045, I fired Tubes 4, 5, and 6 and all three hit not a minute later, so close were we to the target by now; I estimated the range to be less than 600 yards. There appeared to be fires breaking out on board, for when I looked through the periscope I saw black smoke coming from the base of the first and second funnels, especially around the latter.

I didn't see her final plunge, but at 1054, my Sonar Operator reported breaking up noises and sounds of her heading to the bottom. We surfaced and reversed course, heading back to the area of the sinking in the hopes of finding the British Blowhard alive. When we reached the survivors, we stopped our engines and I ordered three parties into rafts over the side to search the survivors both in the lifeboats and in the water.

I wished we could've done more for the survivors, but we had to move on all too soon. We gave those in the boats every ounce of alcoholic beverages on board, telling them to ration it out and that it would help keep them warm. Churchill was in the third lifeboat we searched, and we captured him without much fuss. Once we captured him, the rafts were ordered back to the ship. We then gave the survivors a bearing on Bermuda and submerged again.

Once submerged, we set course back to Lorient. We strapped Churchill to an empty bunk and our Medic drugged him heavily with morphine to keep him quiet. He spent the entire trip back to Lorient in a morphine-induced sleep, for I have no doubt that if we had not kept him in this state, he would've used everything in his power to get us detected and probably sunk.

We returned to Lorient on 11 January 1945. As soon as we docked, I turned Churchill over to an SS detachment which met our boat, and that was the last I ever saw of him. I learned later he was transported to Berlin, where he met the same fate as the conspirators of the 20 July plot...garroted on a meathook with piano wire. I understand Himmler and Goebbels both witnessed his final moments, and it was filmed for the Fuhrer's enjoyment later.

For capturing Churchill, I was personally promoted Generaladmiral by the Fuhrer, and those crewmembers who personally captured him were all awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class.

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[Fish In The Water]

At 1038, I rose the periscope and was stunned to see an enormous four-funnel liner steaming practically right towards us.Enormous though she was, it's still amazing she was big enough to hold Winnie's ego... :O:

Another good read, thanks!

[JazzJR]

Ship: Tit :haha::D:rotfl2:

[VONHARRIS]

The following is part of an interview with retired Kriegsmarine Generaladmiral Kurt Hossel, telling the other side of the sinking of HMT Titanic.


For capturing Churchill, I was personally promoted Generaladmiral by the Fuhrer, and those crewmembers who personally captured him were all awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class.




By now you must be enjoying a glass of fine German beer with GrossAdmiral Karl Doenitz himself!
Well done!
If I may , I would put those men up - and those crewmembers who personally captured him - for the Knight's Cross!

A very imaginative story! :salute:

[Jimbuna]

ijnfleetadmiral,
All i have to say is you got lucky finding her! :D So everyone know ijnfleetadmiral and I are friends, he is the one who told me about this site!!!
Nikki

Welcome to SubSim matey :sunny:

[ijnfleetadmiral]

Well done! If I may , I would put those men up - and those crewmembers who personally captured him - for the Knight's Cross!

Danke! Yes, I would have, but none were eligible as none had the EK1 as of yet.

-Hossel

[VONHARRIS]

Danke! Yes, I would have, but none were eligible as none had the EK1 as of yet.

-Hossel

I agree but in such a rare occasion an one time deal could be worked out!

[ijnfleetadmiral]

You might be right...I may very well appeal to the Grossadmiral about this. Nothing like getting rid of the British Blowhard to warrant special considerations!

-Hossel

[MILLANDSON]

Enormous though she was, it's still amazing she was big enough to hold Winnie's ego... :O:


The ship wasn't holding Winnie's ego - his ego was keeping the ship afloat! :O:

[Bismarcklover101]

MILLANDSON,
Ouch! That was mean!

Matt,
Like i told you before you found her, LEAVE HER ALONG :D :)
Nikki

[ijnfleetadmiral]

And like I said before: too late. :03::D

-Matt

[Bismarcklover101]

Matt,
I'm so going to kick your butt :D so get me if you thing you can :) :P
Nikki

[ijnfleetadmiral]

When the war is over...kameraden. Right now, there are oceans to conquer, convoys to intercept, ships to sink, enemy personnel to kill, and a Reich to help rule Festung Europa.

TORPEDOS...LOS! :yeah:

-Matt

[Bismarcklover101]

Matt,
I'm so going to kick your butt :D and like i said, just be glad she didn't have any cannons :D
Nikki

[ijnfleetadmiral]

That's just it...she WAS armed! Which is why I attacked submerged, therefore rendering her guns null & void. :D

-Matt

[Bismarcklover101]

Matt,
If her CO had half a brain, She would have rammed you, you nuckle-head:D!!!!
Nikki

[ijnfleetadmiral]

Can't ram what you don't see...thank goodness for the electric, wakeless torpedoes! He didn't know what hit him until it was too late.

-Matt

[Bismarcklover101]

Matt,
Don't get Cocky!! If she has cannons, she could have easy biten you, and you know it! :P :D
Nikki

[ijnfleetadmiral]

Not necessarily...merchant gunners have a bad habit of not getting the range until the sub is almost under, and then straddles don't do much - if any - damage.

-Matt

[Bismarcklover101]

Matt,
Lets flip it for a moment, She never had to prove herself in war like her Elder sister, She was sunk in 1912 :P so there :P
Nikki

[ijnfleetadmiral]

Britannic didn't have to prove herself, either...she was a hospital ship.

-Matt

[MILLANDSON]

MILLANDSON,
Ouch! That was mean!


I might love the guy, but even I can admit that Winnie had a fairly colossal ego :O::arrgh!:

[Bismarcklover101]

MILLANDSON,
I told ijnfleetadmiral to leave Titanic along to begin with!!!
Nikki

[ijnfleetadmiral]

And you see how well I listen at times...should tell ya something.:salute:

-Matt

[Bismarcklover101]

Hey ijnfleetadmiral,
Just be glad I don't kick your Butt :D:O::smug:

[MFP]

The following is a transcript from an interview with CDR Harold Philston, RNR, former Chief Officer of HMT Titanic.

SENATOR HAVERS:
How long did you head South?

CDR. PHILSTON:
Until December 30th. Once we were South of Bermuda, the Prime Minister gave permission to turn West.



But was it the real Churchill? I am sure that he knew that England is East of Bermuda. :haha: Probably one of his lookalikes.

[Bismarcklover101]

Hey Matt,
Is there a part to with this story :D:O::haha::D Off Topic, Sorry I haven't been on in a while!!!
Nikki