Photos of the sunken Titanic underwater. Secret of the ocean. How they searched and found the legendary Titanic. Real photos of the Titanic

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 quickly became overgrown with a mass of legends and speculation. At the same time, for several decades, the place where it rests lost ship, 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 for possible ways lifting it from freezing the shell with nitrogen to filling it with millions of ping pong balls.

In the 1960-1970s, 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 examine 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, 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 approximately 600 meters from each other. At the same time, both the stern and the bow were seriously deformed when sank to the bottom, but the bow was still better preserved.

Ship model. 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 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 liner's final resting place is located at a depth of 3,750 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 in layers of clam shells, and stalactites of rust hang from many of the metal pieces.

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. His current state such that there can be no talk of any lifting of the ship. The ship will forever remain at the bottom 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", who personally has 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 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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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.

This is the final fourth part of the story about the Titanic and is dedicated to the 28th anniversary of the discovery of the ship at the bottom of the ocean. This time you will see modern photographs of the Titanic and will be able to compare them with archival photographs.

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 ship's hull 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 first necessary to 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 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 pursued 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. documentary"Ghosts of the Abyss: Titanic"), thanks to which many new facts were discovered 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. 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 you can see another hole - this is the well in which there was main staircase. 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, 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. Some 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”. 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 stern 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 airliner modernity "Allure of the Seas", 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).

Titanic is a ship that challenged higher powers. A miracle of shipbuilding and the most big ship of its time. The builders and owners of this giant passenger fleet arrogantly declared: “The Lord God himself cannot sink this ship.” However, the ship launched on its maiden voyage and did not return. It was one of the largest disasters, forever etched in the history of navigation. In this topic I will talk about the most key points related to the Titanic. The topic consists of two parts, the first part is the history of the Titanic before the tragedy, where I will tell you about how the ship was built and went on its fateful voyage. In the second part we will visit the bottom of the ocean, where the remains of a drowned giant lie.

First, I will briefly talk about the history of the Titanic's structure. There are a lot interesting photos ship, which depicts the construction process, mechanisms and assemblies of the Titanic, etc. And then the story will tell about the tragic circumstances that were destined to happen on this fateful day for the Titanic. As always happens with major disasters, the Titanic tragedy occurred due to a series of mistakes that coincided on one day. Each of these mistakes individually would not have entailed anything serious, but all together they resulted in death for the ship.

Titanic was laid down on March 31, 1909 at the shipyards of the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding company in Belfast, Northern Ireland, launched on May 31, 1911, passed sea trials on April 2, 1912. The ship's unsinkability was ensured by 15 watertight bulkheads in the hold, creating 16 conditionally watertight compartments; the space between the bottom and the second bottom flooring was divided by transverse and longitudinal partitions into 46 waterproof compartments. The first photo shows the Titanic slipway, construction is just beginning.

The photo shows the laying of the Titanic's keel

In this photo, the Titanic is on the slipway next to the Olympic, its twin brother

And these are the huge steam engines of the Titanic

Giant crankshaft

This photo shows the turbine rotor of the Titanic. The huge size of the rotor stands out especially against the background of the working

Titanic propeller shaft

Ceremonial photo - the Titanic hull is completely assembled

The launching process begins. The Titanic slowly sinks its hull into the water

The giant ship almost left the slipways

Titanic's launch is successful

And now the Titanic is ready, the morning before the first official launching in Belfast

The Titanic was officially launched and transported to England. The photo shows the ship in the port of Southampton before its fateful voyage. Few people know, but during the construction of the Titanic, 8 workers died. This information is available in a selection of interesting facts about the Titanic.

This is the last photograph of the Titanic taken from the shore in Ireland.

The first days of the voyage were successful for the ship, there were no signs of trouble, the ocean was completely calm. On the night of April 14, the sea remained calm, but icebergs were visible in some places in the sailing area. They did not embarrass Captain Smith... At 11:40 in the evening, a cry was suddenly heard from the observation post on the mast: “An iceberg is right on course!”... Everyone knows about further events that took place on the ship. The “unsinkable” Titanic failed to resist water element and went to the bottom. As already mentioned, many factors turned against the Titanic that day. It was fatal bad luck that killed the giant ship and more than 1,500 people

The official conclusion of the commission investigating the causes of the sinking of the Titanic stated: the steel used to sheath the hull of the Titanic was of low quality, with a large admixture of sulfur, which made it very brittle at low temperatures. If the casing were made of high-quality, tough steel with a low sulfur content, it would significantly soften the force of the impact. The metal sheets would simply bend inward and the damage to the body would not be so serious. Perhaps then the Titanic would have been saved, or at least would have remained afloat for a long time. However, for those times this steel was considered the best; there was simply no other. This was only the final conclusion; in fact, a number of other factors occurred that did not allow us to avoid a collision with the iceberg

Let us list in order all the factors that influenced the sinking of the Titanic. The absence of any of these factors could save the ship...

First of all, it is worth noting the work of the Titanic radio operators: the main task of the telegraph operators was to serve especially wealthy passengers - it is known that in just 36 hours of work the radio operators transmitted more than 250 telegrams. Payment for telegraph services was made on the spot, in the radio room, and at that time it was quite large, and tips flowed like a river. Radio operators were constantly busy sending telegrams, and although they received several messages about drifting ice, they did not pay attention to them

Some criticize the lookout's lack of binoculars. The reason for this lies in the tiny key to the binoculars box. A tiny key that opened the cabinet where the binoculars were kept could have saved the Titanic and the lives of 1,522 dead passengers. This should have happened if not for the fatal mistake of a certain David Blair. Keyman Blair was transferred from service on the “unsinkable” liner just a few days before the ill-fated voyage, but he forgot to give the key to the binocular locker to the employee who replaced him. That is why the sailors on duty at the observation tower of the liner had to rely solely on their eyes. They saw the iceberg too late. One of the crew members on watch that fateful night later said that if they had binoculars, they would have seen the ice block earlier (even if it was pitch black) and the Titanic would have had time to change course.”

Despite warnings about icebergs, the captain of the Titanic did not slow down or change the route, so confident was he that the ship was unsinkable. The speed of the ship was too high, due to which the iceberg hit the hull with maximum force. If the captain had ordered the ship's speed to be reduced in advance, upon entering the iceberg belt, then the force of the impact on the iceberg would not have been enough to break through the Titanic's hull. The captain also did not make sure that all the boats were filled with people. As a result, far fewer people were saved

The iceberg belonged to a rare type of so-called. “black icebergs” (overturned so that their dark underwater part reaches the surface), which is why it was noticed too late. The night was windless and moonless, otherwise the lookouts would have noticed the whitecaps around the iceberg. The photo shows the same iceberg that caused the sinking of the Titanic.

There were no red rescue flares on the ship to signal distress. Confidence in the ship's power was so high that no one even thought of equipping the Titanic with these missiles. But everything could have turned out differently. Less than half an hour after meeting the iceberg, the captain’s mate shouted:
Lights on port side, sir! The ship is five or six miles away! Boxhall clearly saw through his binoculars that it was a single-tube steamer. He tried to contact him using a signal lamp, but the unknown vessel did not respond. “Apparently, there is no radiotelegraph on the ship, they could not help but see us,” Captain Smith decided and ordered helmsman Rowe to signal with emergency flares. When the signalman opened the box with the missiles, both Boxhall and Rowe were dumbfounded: the box contained ordinary white missiles, not emergency red ones. “Sir,” Boxhall exclaimed in disbelief, “there are only white rockets here!” - Can't be! - Captain Smith was amazed. But, convinced that Boxhall was right, he ordered: “Shoot the whites.” Maybe they'll realize we're in trouble. But no one guessed, everyone thought it was a fireworks display on the Titanic

The cargo-passenger steamer California, on a London-Boston flight, missed the Titanic on the evening of April 14, and a little over an hour later it was covered in ice and lost speed. Its radio operator Evans contacted the Titanic at about 11 p.m. and wanted to warn about the difficult ice conditions and that they were covered in ice, but the Titanic’s radio operator Philippe, who had just had difficulty establishing contact with Cape Race, rudely interrupted him: “Leave me alone!” I'm busy working with Cape Race! And Evans “fell behind”: there was no second radio operator on the California, it was a difficult day, and Evans officially closed the radio watch at 23:30, having previously reported this to the captain. As a result, all the blame for the biased investigation into the sinking of the Titanic fell on the captain of the California, Stanley Lord, who proved his innocence until his death. He was acquitted only posthumously after Hendrik Ness, captain of the ship Samson, testified...

On the map the place where the Titanic sank

So, the night of April 14-15, 1912. Atlantic. On board the fishing vessel "Samson". "Samson" returns from a successful fishing trip, avoiding encounters with US ships. On board are several hundred slaughtered seals. The tired crew rested. The watch was kept by the captain himself and his first mate. Captain Ness was in good standing with his owners. The voyages of his ship were always successful and brought good profits. Hendrik Ness was known as an experienced and risk-taking captain, not too scrupulous about violating territorial waters or exceeding the number of animals killed. “Samson” often found himself in foreign or forbidden waters, and he was well known to US Coast Guard ships, with whom he successfully avoided close acquaintance. In a word, Hendrik Ness was an excellent navigator and a gambling, successful businessman. Here are the words of Ness, from which the whole picture of what is happening becomes clear:

“The night was amazing, starry, clear, the ocean was calm and gentle,” Ness said. “The assistant and I chatted, smoked, sometimes I went out of the control room onto the bridge, but I didn’t stay there for long - the air was absolutely freezing.” Suddenly, accidentally turning around, I saw two unusually bright stars in the southern part of the horizon. They surprised me with their brilliance and size. Shouting to the watchman to hand over the telescope, I pointed it at these stars and immediately realized that these were the masthead lights of a large ship. “Captain, I think this is a coast guard ship,” the mate said. But I thought about it myself. There was no time to figure it out on the map, but we both decided that we had entered the territorial waters of the United States. The meeting with their ships did not bode well for us. A few minutes later, a white rocket flew over the horizon, and we realized that we had been discovered and were being asked to stop. I still hoped that everything would work out and we would be able to escape. But soon another rocket took off, and after some time a third... Things turned out badly: if we had been searched, I would have lost not only all the loot, but also, possibly, the ship, and we would all have gone to prison. I decided to leave.

He ordered to turn off all the lights and give full speed. For some reason we were not followed. After some time, the border ship disappeared altogether. (This is why witnesses from the Titanic claimed that they clearly saw a large steamer in the distance, leaving them. The ill-fated California at that time was sandwiched in ice and was not visible from the Titanic at all.) I ordered a change of course to the north, we were going at full speed and only slowed down in the morning. On the twenty-fifth of April we dropped anchor off Reykjavik in Iceland and only then did we learn about the Titanic tragedy from newspapers delivered by the Norwegian consul.

During the conversation with the consul, it was as if I had been hit on the head: I thought: weren’t we at the scene of the disaster then? As soon as the consul left our board, I immediately rushed to the cabin and, looking through the newspapers and my notes, realized that the dying people saw us not as the Californian, but as us. This means that it was us who were called to help with rockets. But they were white, not red, emergency ones. Who would have thought that people were dying very close to us, and we were leaving them at full speed on our reliable and large “Samson”, which had both boats and boats on board! And the sea was like a pond, quiet, calm... We could save them all! Everyone! Hundreds of people died there, and we saved stinking seal skins! But who could know about this? But we didn’t have a radiotelegraph. On the way to Norway, I explained to the crew what happened to us and warned that all of us had only one thing left to do - remain silent! If they find out the truth, we will become worse than lepers: everyone will shy away from us, we will be kicked out of the fleet, no one will want to serve with us on the same ship, no one will give us a hand or a crust of bread. And none of the team took any oath.

Hendrik Ness spoke about what happened only 50 years later, before his death. However, no one can be directly blamed for the sinking of the Titanic. If the rockets had been red, he would certainly have rushed to help. In the end, no one had time to help. Only the steamer "Carpathia", developing an unprecedented speed of 17 knots, rushed to the aid of the dying people. Captain Arthur H. Roston ordered the preparation of beds, spare clothing, food, and quarters for the rescued. At 2 hours 45 minutes, “Carpathia” began to encounter icebergs and their fragments, large ice fields. Despite the danger of a collision, the Carpathia did not slow down. At 3 hours 50 minutes on the Carpathia they saw the first boat from the Titanic, at 4 hours 10 minutes they began to save people, and by 8 hours 30 minutes the last living person was picked up. In total, Carpathia saved 705 people. And “Carpathia” delivered all those rescued to New York. The photo shows a boat from the Titanic

Now let's move on to the second part of the story. Here you will see the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean in the form in which it remained after the tragedy. For seventy-three years the ship lay in its deep underwater grave as one of the countless evidence of human carelessness. The word "Titanic" has become synonymous with adventures doomed to failure, heroism, cowardice, shock and adventure. Societies and associations of surviving passengers were created. Entrepreneurs involved in the recovery of sunken ships dreamed of raising a superliner with all its countless riches. In 1985, a team of divers led by American oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard found it, and the world learned that under the enormous pressure of the water column, the giant ship broke into three parts. The wreckage of the Titanic was scattered over an area with a radius of 1600 meters. Ballard found the ship's bow, which had sunk deep into the ground under its own weight. Eight hundred meters away from her lay the stern. Nearby were the ruins of the middle part of the hull. Among the wreckage of the ship, various objects of material culture of that distant time were scattered all over the bottom: a set of kitchen utensils made of copper, wine bottles with corks, coffee cups with the emblem of the shipping line." White Star", toiletries, door handles, candelabra, kitchen stoves and ceramic doll heads that small children played with... One of the most stunning underwater images that Dr. Ballard's movie camera captured was a broken sloop beam hanging limply from the side of the ship - a silent witness to the tragic night, which will forever remain on the list of world disasters. The photo shows the wreck of the Titanic, the photo was taken. underwater vehicle"World"

Over the past 19 years, the hull of the Titanic has undergone serious destruction, the reason for which was not at all sea water, and souvenir hunters who are gradually plundering the remains of the liner. For example, the ship’s bell or mast lighthouse disappeared from the ship. In addition to direct plunder, damage to the ship is caused by time and the action of bacteria, leaving behind only rusty ruins

In this photo we see the Titanic's propeller

Huge ship anchor

One of the Titanic's piston engines

Preserved underwater cup from the Titanic

This is the same hole that formed after the encounter with the iceberg. Perhaps, in addition to weak steel, the rivets between the sheets of metal failed, and water poured into 4 compartments of the Titanic, leaving no chance of salvation. There was no point in pumping water out; it was equivalent to pumping water from ocean to ocean. The Titanic sank to the bottom, where it rests to this day. There is talk of raising the Titanic to the surface in order to set up a museum, meanwhile various souvenir lovers continue to take the ship apart piece by piece. How many more secrets does the Titanic keep? It is unlikely that anyone will answer this question in the near future.

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 were changed passenger ships and the International Ice Survey was created (where merchant ships crossing the North Atlantic continue to transmit accurate information about the location and concentration of ice 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 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. Tragic death The Titanic happened 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, who is seen as a local hero in his hometown Dalbeattie, Scotland, but in the film Titanic was portrayed as a coward and a murderer. At the ceremony, on the 86th anniversary of the sinking of the ship, Scott Neeson, Executive Vice President 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 film 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 & Son/Ho)

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

Photo 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 spoke 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 photograph. 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 artifacts from the Titanic is putting the huge collection up for auction as a single lot in 2012, on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic. famous shipwreck in the world. (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)

Titanic artifacts displayed in tools mass 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 (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; Produced by 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; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)

Exactly 100 years have passed since the day the most famous maritime disaster in history - the sinking of the Titanic. On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the ship collided with an iceberg and sank in the waters of the North Atlantic.

Among all the maritime disasters that occurred in Peaceful time The Titanic ranks third in terms of the number of victims - 1,517 people.

We remember the events of 100 years ago.

The Titanic was built in 1909-1911 by the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff (Belfast, Northern Ireland). In the photo: workers walk from the Harland and Wolf plant in Belfast. A ship still under construction can be seen in the background, 1911. (Photo Photographic Archive | Harland & Wolff Collection | Cox):

The Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911. In the photo: the ship at the Harland and Wolf shipyard before launching, 1911:

In April 1912, the largest passenger liner in the world set sail from the English port of Southampton to New York. on your first and last trip. On board were the richest people in the world. (Photo by United Press International):

Departure from the English port of Southampton, April 10, 1912. The dimensions of the Titanic are 269 meters long, 28.2 meters wide, 18.4 meters high. The Titanic was taller than most city buildings at the time. (AP Photo):

The Titanic was not only the largest, but also the most luxurious liner of its time: there were GYM's, swimming pools, libraries, upscale restaurants and luxurious cabins. In the Foto: one of the restaurants. (Photo The New York Times Photo Archives | American Press Association):

There were three classes on the Titanic: 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This photograph of the second class room. (Photo by The New York Times Photo Archives | American Press Association):

English naval officer (27 January 1850 - 15 April 1912). (Photo by The New York Times Archives):

William McMaster Murdoch - First Mate. It was he who was on watch and could not prevent a collision with the iceberg. William Murdoch died along with the Titanic.

James Cameron's film of the same name shows how Murdoch took money from a rich passenger for the right to board a boat, shot two passengers, and then shot himself. None of this is true. In fact, William Murdoch honestly fulfilled his duty and did everything to save as much as possible more people. 75% of all those rescued from the Titanic were evacuated from the starboard side, where rescue operation It was William Murdoch who commanded. (AP Photo):

A photograph of the 30-meter-high iceberg that the Titanic is believed to have collided with. The photo was taken from the cable-laying ship Mina, which was one of the first ships to discover the wreck of the Titanic. According to the Mina crew, it was the only iceberg near the disaster site.

The iceberg belonged to a rare type of “black iceberg”, i.e. turned over so that their dark underwater part reaches the surface. Because of this, he was noticed too late. At the moment of the collision of the iceberg with the Titanic, a pressure of 2.5 tons per square cm arose. Thick metal would have held up, but the rivets holding the metal sheets of the Titanic's hull could not. The seams spread over a length of about 90 meters, immediately damaging 5 of the 16 conditionally waterproof compartments of the ship. (Photo by United States Coast Guard):

Almost all the women and children from the 1st and 2nd class cabins were saved from the Titanic. More than half of the women and children from the 3rd class cabins died because... it was difficult for them to get up through the labyrinth of narrow corridors. Also, almost all the men died. Total from the sinking of the Titanic 1,517 people died.

In the photo: the Titanic lifeboat, taken by one of the passengers of the Carpathia steamship. It was the Carpathia that removed from the lifeboats surviving passengers of the Titanic (712 people). (Photo: National Maritime Museum | London):

Another photograph taken by a passenger on the steamer Carpathia, showing the boats with the rescued passengers of the Titanic. (Photo: National Maritime Museum | London):

There were 2,229 people on board the Titanic, but the total capacity of the lifeboats was only 1,178 people. The reason was that, according to the rules in force at that time, the total capacity of lifeboats depended on the tonnage of the ship, and not on the number of passengers and crew members. And without a lifeboat, only wearing a life jacket, it was almost impossible to survive: the temperature of the sea water was only 0.56 degrees Celsius.

In the photo: a boat picks up a passenger in a life jacket from the water. (Photo by Paul Treacy | EPA | PA):

Surviving passengers disembark from the rescue ship Carpathia, New York, April 17, 1912. ( American Photos Press Association):

Greeting survivors from the Titanic, New York. (Photo by The New York Times Photo Archives | Times Wide World):

In the photo: the family that was on board the Titanic. The daughter and mother survived, the father died. (AP Photo):

New York, April 14, 1912. People on the streets are waiting for news about the fate of the passengers of the sunken Titanic. (AP Photo):

The latest news about the number of survivors and deaths is posted on the street in New York. (Photo by The New York Times Photo Archives):

The very first articles from Ogonyok magazine, published in April 1912. This is how they found out details in Russia at a time when there was no Internet, television or even radio. It is worth noting that when the Titanic sank, in Russia it was the morning of April 2 according to the Julian calendar, and in Europe and America it was the night from 14 to 15 according to the Gregorian calendar:

Postcard of the Titanic, 1912. (Photo New York Times Archives):

A rare exhibit - ticket on the first and last flight Titanica. (Photo):

The wreck of the Titanic was discovered on September 1, 1985.. This was done by former US Navy Commander and Oceanology Professor Robert Dwayne Ballard. Initially, he planned to keep the coordinates of the ship's location secret so that no one could desecrate this place, which he considered a cemetery.

On the first dive, Ballard's team confirmed that the Titanic had broken in two during the dive.

In the photo: Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 3,750 meters. 1999 (Photo by P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology):

Among all the maritime disasters that occurred in peacetime, The Titanic ranks third in terms of the number of victims- 1,517 people.

Disappointing 1st place belongs to the Philippine ferry Dona Paz, which collided with an oil tanker in 1987. More than 4 thousand people died in the collision and subsequent fire.

2nd place belongs to wooden paddle steamer The Sultana sank on April 27, 1865 on the Mississippi River due to a steam boiler explosion and fire. More than 1,700 people died.

Starboard side of the Titanic, August 28, 2010. (Photo by Premier Exhibitions, Inc. | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution):

(Photo by Institute for Archaeological Oceanography & Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island Grad. School of Oceanography):

One of the ship's propellers lying on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by Ralph White | AP):

A 17-ton section of the Titanic's hull is raised to the surface, 1998. (Photo by RMS Titanic, Inc., via Associated Press):

The same 17-ton piece from the Titanic, July 22, 2009. (Photo by RMS Titanic, Inc., via Associated Press):

Scattered along the seabed great amount various items, including parts of the ship, interior items and personal belongings of passengers. At an auction in April 2012 to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, 5,000 items were sold as a single lot.

A gold-plated pocket watch recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth Associated Press):

Money. (Photo by Stanley Leary | Associated Press):

Photos from the collection of Lilian Asplund (right), a survivor of the Titanic. She was 5 years old then. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth | Associated Press):

Binoculars, comb, dishes and a cracked lamp. (Photo by Michel Boutefeu | Getty Images, Chester Higgins Jr. | The New York Times):

Glasses. (Photo by Bebeto Matthews | Associated Press):

Chronometer from the captain's bridge. (Photo by Alastair Grant | AP):

(Photo by Chang W. Lee | The New York Times):

Spoons. (Photo by Douglas Healey | Associated Press):

Gilded handbag. (Photo by Mario Tama | Getty Images):

Some more photos of the Titanic. The bow and stern parts of the vessel were found on the ocean floor 650 meters from each other. (Photo COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution):

This is the first full image of the sunken Titanic, collected from 1,500 individual images high resolution, obtained using sonars - means of sound detection of underwater objects using acoustic radiation. View from above. (Photo COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI). (Clickable, 2400×656 px):

Opened food. Side view. In addition, the best steel of the time, from which the Titanic was made, became brittle at low temperatures. (Photo COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI). (Clickable, 2400×824 px):

Two engines of the Titanic - the largest passenger liner in the world at the time of construction, which was considered unsinkable. (Clickable, 2400×1692 px):

Interesting fact: the last surviving passenger of the Titanic, Millvina Dean, who was 2.5 months old at the time of the sinking of the liner, died on May 31, 2009 at the age of 97 years.