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- 115 years since the launch of the Titanic: how the story of the "unsinkable" liner began
115 years since the launch of the Titanic: how the story of the "unsinkable" liner began
2026 marks the 115th anniversary of the launching of the Titanic liner in Belfast, a ship destined to become the most famous in the history of navigation. For more than two years of construction and one flight, it has managed to become a symbol of technological progress, luxury and at the same time human arrogance. About how the descent of the Titanic took place, what the press wrote about the "unsinkable" liner and why its maiden voyage turned into a disaster — in the Izvestia article.
Belfast Titanic Launch: What was it like
The historic event took place on May 31, 1911 in Belfast (Northern Ireland), 10 months after the twin brother of the Titanic, the transatlantic liner Olympic, was launched. The construction was carried out at the famous Harland & Wolf shipyard commissioned by the White Star Line, which planned to use the ship for regular flights between Southampton (Hampshire, Great Britain) and New York (USA). The project was considered one of the most ambitious in the history of shipbuilding at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Titanic liner at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, shortly before launching on May 13, 1911
At the time of launch, the Titanic was the largest passenger ship in the world. Its construction was carried out using the largest gantry crane at that time, and about 3 thousand people were involved in various stages of the work. They even built entire residential blocks for the shipyard staff in Belfast, where the workers lived with their families.
After more than two years of construction, the ship's hull was brought to the mouth of the Lagan River in the Belfast Bay area. Contemporaries noted that the size of the vessel was amazing: its length was comparable to several city blocks, and the height of the power plant was like a three—story building. Special attention should be paid to the anchor, which was transported through the streets of Belfast by a team of 20 horses.
The descent became a global event. According to historians, about 100,000 people gathered at the shipyard and the surrounding areas — workers, residents of Belfast, invited guests and representatives of the press. Among those present were influential figures of the era, including financier John Pierpont Morgan, the head of the White Star Line, Joseph Bruce Ismay, and employees of the shipbuilding company. A separate podium was set up for journalists not far from the bow of the future liner.
The descent procedure was clearly organized and, according to media reports, went "without a hitch." At 12:05 p.m., a red signal flag was raised at the stern of the vessel, warning of the need to clear the waters of the Lagan River from small vessels. At 12:13 p.m., the retaining mechanisms were released, and the hull began to move along the slipway.
To facilitate the descent, the builders used a special lubricating mixture of seal oil, liquid soap and engine oil. It took about 23 tons of materials to prepare the coating. After 62 seconds, the 269-meter hull descended onto the water and found itself in the waters of the Lagan River.
Olympic (right) and Titanic (left) during construction at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, 1909
At the time of the launch, the Titanic was without engines and most of the equipment. After the ceremony, it was towed to the completion pier, where a new stage began: installation of systems, interior decoration and work on the interior. There was still almost a year left before the construction was completed, during which time the ship was brought into full technical readiness and prepared for the first voyage.
"The unsinkable giant": what the media wrote about the liner
The launch and subsequent exit of the Titanic into the Atlantic Ocean were perceived by contemporaries as a symbol of the technological triumph of Great Britain and the entire shipbuilding industry of the early 20th century. In the press of that time, the liner was often described as the pinnacle of engineering and the greatest achievement of the industrial era.
Journalists emphasized that the appearance of such a ship marks a new stage in the development of transatlantic transportation. In newspaper publications, the Titanic was called the future flagship of the Atlantic, and its creators were innovators who managed to approach the limit of the technical capabilities of their time.
The UK's leading industry magazine, The Shipbuilder, dedicated to shipbuilding and industry innovations, dubbed the Titanic unsinkable. This statement was immediately picked up by other media outlets, making it almost a mandatory epithet when referring to the ship. However, the engineers of the White Star Line shipbuilding company themselves stated that the Titanic was practically unsinkable.
The basis for such statements were the design features of the vessel. Its hull was divided into 16 waterproof compartments, which were separated from each other by strong transverse bulkheads with airtight doors. The engineers assumed that even with serious damage, the ship would be able to stay afloat for a long time due to intact compartments. An additional protection was the double bottom, which created another barrier to water in the event of a hole.
The first and last voyage of the Titanic
The Titanic sailed on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912, leaving the port of Southampton in England and heading for New York. The route included stops in Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cove) in Ireland, where additional passengers and cargo boarded.
The ship was carrying crew members and more than 2,000 passengers — representatives of the aristocracy, major entrepreneurs, as well as emigrants heading to the United States in search of a new life. For first class passengers, the liner offered an unprecedented level of luxury: spacious cabins, restaurants, pleasure decks and lounges.
The voyage was calm, and the first days of the voyage did not portend any trouble. The ship maintained high speed, striving to arrive in New York as soon as possible. However, later the crew began to receive warnings about the presence of icebergs in the area of the route. Despite this, the liner continued to move almost without reducing speed, which later became one of the key factors in the tragedy.
An engraving depicting the sinking ship Titanic after a collision with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean
On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The impact hit the starboard side and caused a series of hull damage below the waterline. Water began to flow into several compartments at once. The situation quickly spiraled out of control and it soon became clear that it was impossible to save the liner.
A few hours after the collision, the Titanic sank, completing its only voyage, which went down in history as one of the largest maritime disasters of the 20th century. Of the more than 2.2 thousand passengers, only 712 managed to escape. Most died of hypothermia in the cold waters of the Atlantic.
Harbingers of trouble and the first losses
Long before its fateful voyage, the Titanic began collecting its first tragic statistics. The victims were the workers involved in its construction. At the beginning of the 20th century, occupational safety standards were almost not observed, so accidents were considered a common occurrence. Of the approximately 1,500 workers, six people died, mainly due to falls from heights, about 246 more were injured, and 28 remained disabled.
Crew members of the White Star Line SS Olympic rowing on one of the lifeboats after the Titanic disaster
The manufacture and installation of rivets was considered a particularly dangerous stage — they required about 3 million. The metal elements were made by hand, then heated to 900 degrees and quickly delivered to the installation site. This work was often performed by young workers who risked burns and serious injuries.
After the disaster, various "omens" attracted public attention. Among them, the absence of the traditional rite of breaking a bottle of champagne on board when launching the liner was often mentioned. Some attributed this to the peculiarities of the shipbuilding company's corporate culture, which might not attach importance to such rituals.
Others attributed the decision to the scale and complexity of the descent procedure, where technical tasks were more important than symbolic traditions. There were also versions that the refusal of the ceremony could be related to the desire to emphasize the status of the Titanic as an unsinkable liner.
A special place in subsequent interpretations was occupied by Morgan Robertson's novel "Futility", published in 1898. It described the giant liner Titan, which was considered unsinkable, but died after colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic. After the sinking of the Titanic, many people noticed coincidences, including the name of the ship, the route and the circumstances of the disaster. However, historians consider this to be just a literary fiction, and not a harbinger of disaster.
Along with this, there were real warnings about the danger. On the night of April 14, 1912, the radio room of the Titanic received several reports about the ice situation — icebergs and floating ice. Despite this, the ship continued to move at high speed. Later, Captain Edward Smith tried to adjust the route, shifting it south of the usual line, but this did not save the situation: the liner entered the danger zone and collided with an iceberg.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
