Titanic sunk by steering blunder, new book claims.
 

It was always thought the Titanic sank because its crew were sailing too fast and failed to see the iceberg before it was too late.
But now it has been revealed they spotted it well in advance but still steamed straight into it because of a basic steering blunder.
According to a new book, the ship had plenty of time to miss the iceberg but the helmsman panicked and turned the wrong way.
By the time the catastrophic error was corrected it was too late and the side of the ship was fatally holed by the iceberg.
Even then the passengers and crew could have been saved if it had stayed put instead of steaming off again and causing water to pour into the broken hull.

The revelation, which comes out almost 100 years after the disaster, was kept secret until now by the family of the most senior officer to survive the disaster. Second Officer Charles Lightoller covered up the error in two inquiries on both sides of the Atlantic because he was worried it would bankrupt the liner's owners and put his colleagues out of job.

Since his death – by then a war hero from the Dunkirk evacuation – it has remained hidden for fear it would ruin his reputation.
But now his granddaughter the writer Lady (Louise) Patten has revealed it in her new novel.
"It just makes it seem all the more tragic," she said.
"They could easily have avoided the iceberg if it wasn't for the blunder."
The error on the ship's maiden voyage between Southampton and New York in 1912 happened because at the time seagoing was undergoing enormous upheaval because of the conversion from sail to steam ships.
The change meant there was two different steering systems and different commands attached to them.


Some of the crew on the Titanic were used to the archaic Tiller Orders associated with sailing ships and some to the more modern Rudder Orders. Crucially, the two steering systems were the complete opposite of one another. So a command to turn "hard a starboard" meant turn the wheel right under the Tiller system and left under the Rudder.

When First Officer William Murdoch spotted the iceberg two miles away, his "hard a-starboard" order was misinterpreted by the Quartermaster Robert Hitchins. He turned the ship right instead of left and, even though he was almost immediately told to correct it, it was too late and the side of the starboard bow was ripped out by the iceberg.

"The steersman panicked and the real reason why Titanic hit the iceberg, which has never come to light before, is because he turned the wheel the wrong way," said Lady Patten who is the wife of former Tory Education minister, Lord (John) Patten.
Whilst her grandfather Lightoller was not on watch at the time of the collision, her book Good as Gold reveals that a dramatic final meeting of the four senior officers took place in the First Officer’s cabin shortly before Titanic went down.

There, Lightoller heard not only about the fatal mistake, but also what happened next, up on the bridge. While Hitchins had made a straightforward error, what followed was a deliberate decision. Bruce Ismay, chairman of Titanic’s owner, the White Star Line, persuaded the Captain to continue sailing.

For ten minutes, Titanic went "Slow Ahead" through the sea.
This added enormously to the pressure of water flooding through the damaged hull, forcing it up and over the watertight bulkheads, sinking Titanic many hours earlier than she otherwise would have done.
"Ismay insisted on keeping going, no doubt fearful of losing his investment and damaging his company’s reputation,” said Lady Patten. "The nearest ship was four hours away. Had she remained at ‘Stop’, it’s probable that Titanic would have floated until help arrived."

The truth of what happened on that historic night was deliberately buried.
Lightoller, the only survivor who knew precisely what had happened, and who would later go on to be a twice-decorated war hero, decided to hide what he knew from the world, including two official inquiry into the sinking.
By his code of honour, he felt it was his duty to protect his employer – White Star Line – and its employees.


Lady Patten said: "The inquiry had to be a whitewash. The only person he told the full story to was his beloved wife Sylvia, my grandmother.
"As a teenager, I was enthralled by the Titanic. Granny revealed to me exactly what had happened on that night and we would discuss it endlessly."
"She died when I was sixteen and, though she never told me to keep the knowledge to myself, I didn’t tell anyone.
"My mother insisted that everything remained strictly inside the family: a hero’s reputation was at stake.
"Nearly forty years later, with Granny and my mother long dead, I was plotting my second novel and it struck me that I was the last person alive to know what really happened on the night Titanic sank.
"My grandfather’s extraordinary experiences felt like perfect material for Good As Gold. ”

yep. Titanic didn't steer away from an iceburg.

Until the 1910-1930s (depending on the nation) steering orders were giving backwards. Hard Starboard meant turn the wheel to starboard not turn the ship. Wonder if that was his mistake. :hmmm:

But it didn't hamper HMS Titanic movement out of port. Port and starboard was well understood during what is often the most critical point of any voyage, departure. Both helm and steering control knew the meaning of the commands.

Although it seems logical it is not a factor.

It's possible. I'm always dubious of those 'Kept secret for all these years' claims, but human error is certainly something that can't be discounted, in which case I feel deeply sorry for the ships pilot and I dare say he would not have wanted to leave that ship and most likely went down with her.
I do ponder that if she had gone hard astern and kept on an intercept course and hit the 'berg head on, whether she still would have gone down... :hmmm:

Hichens survived:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...RMS_Titanic%29

Not a very likable person it appears.....

Mike.

Indeed. Well pointed out. One of the less dignified characters of the disaster it would seem.

I don't know what evidence this woman uses to support this new Titanic conspiracy theory, but it fails the prima facie test. With a ~650yd class turning radius, two miles of sea room and the iceberg ahead (heck, in fact, in any direction), it hardly matters which way the quartermaster turned the wheel. The ship is supposed to turn a hair faster left than right because of its propellers rotation but it is not a huge factor.

In this case, the big mistake would have been to "correct" the "wrong" turn, but even then, with TWO whole miles of sea room, the turn could likely have been reversed with room to spare.

Oh I've heard this one before and can believe it.

I thought the props turned opposite each other? :hmmm:

Yes, but there are three of them, so two would have to share one turning direction and the third the opposite direction, and the force would be biased to one side.

:doh: Didn't know she had three props.

I thought she either had two like a Cruiser or four like a Battleship. :damn:

I've not seen many ships with three. :hmmm:

I thought Jack sunk the ship :88)

never seen the movie?

no. the titanic sank because of incompetence in judgement. If the titanic had rammed head on, it wouldve survived. or if they hadntve gone emergency back they wouldve cleared it. If it rammed, the bow would be crumpled, yes but it wouldve survived. And the telegraph operator ignired the multiple iceberg warnings. it was also a blunder in engineering. what makes a ship with 4 bulkheads so unsinkable? why give the dam thing such a small rudder.

they also couldve offloaded passengers ON the iceberg.

There that's the real blunder. The wrong turn was not not as much a blunder than what followed.

The man is responsible for the many lives lost because of his deliberate and conscious BLUNDER.

Surviving the Titanic