In Part 1 of this article, we reviewed the main conspiracy theory surrounding the sinking of the Titanic, the perceived switch with RMS Olympic. This second part looks into the theories surrounding the question: "What sank the unsinkable?"
An Insurance Scam Massively Backfires?
The commonly-held belief that the Titanic fatally struck an iceberg in the north Atlantic has been questioned a few times in the years since the event.
One theory is linked to Part 1 of this article and again comes from Robin Gardiner in his book “Titanic: The Ship That Never Sank?” (1998. Ian Allen Publishing). This theory suggests that, while en-route to the proposed location where the attempt to sabotage the ship – ostensibly by releasing the sea cocks to slowly flood the vessel – was to take place, Titanic and Olympic (henceforth referred to simply as Titanic) actually struck an un-lit International Mercantile Marine Company (IMM) vessel.
IMM had absorbed White Star Line in 1902 and the ship that was struck is said to have been one of the vessels positioned to rescue passengers from theTitanic once the controlled sinking had commenced. This would explain why the boat was drifting without any form of lighting and why it was not seen in sufficient time to prevent the collision.
This theory, explains Gardiner, would also justify the actions of the nearby Californian, a ship that was castigated in the trials following the Titanic tragedy for not making her way to the stricken liner to assist in the rescue. It is said that the Californian did not react to the distress signals that were sighted as it was waiting for the Titanic to reach it; IMM also owned the Leyland line, which operated the Californian and the ship was on duty to rescue passengers from the Titanic. It remains unclear within the remit of this rumour as to whether the distress flares that were seen from the Californian came from the Titanic or the IMM ship that she had struck. Gardiner also surmises that the ice found on the deck of the liner did not come from the iceberg at all, but instead was shaken loose from the rigging of the IMM vessel and the Titanic itself by the impact.
An unnamed survivor of the sinking also noted seeing a half-submerged vessel in the water directly after the collision; Gardiner suggests that this was most likely a lifeboat which had been knocked from the IMM ship during the collision and other theories put forward that the IMM ship then limped away from the scene so as not to be found within the area of the Titanic although there remains the possibility that the sinking vessel sighted was in fact the IMM rescue boat itself.
Iceberg or Pack Ice?
The iceberg theory was once again called into question in 2003 when former Captain of the Ice Pilotage Service, L. M. Collins, published his book, “The Sinking of the Titanic: The Mystery Solved” (2003, Souvenir Press). In his study, Collins drew on his experience in ice navigation along with witness statements from the two post-incident enquiries that took place at the time.
Collins notes that reports relating to the height of the ice varied dependant on the position on the ship of the witness. These reports varied from being low in the water on the starboard side, through 60ft high in front of the ship to a massive 100ft (30m) high being reported by Quartermaster Rowe on the poop deck. Collins suggests that this difference in heights can be attributed to an optical illusion common to navigators of ice plains whereby cold air and flat seas combine to make the ice appear to be as high as the vessel’s lights at that point. The lights of the Titanic were positioned at approximately 60ft above the waterline at the bow and 100ft above the waterline along the superstructure of the ship. The report of ice being low in the water came from Fourth Officer Boxhall who was positioned on the darkened starboard side at the time of the collision.
Further to this Collins states that, as the Titanic turned through pivoting at a point located approximately a quarter of her length from the bow, reports of the ship being pulled hard to starboard would have actually resulted in the ship not catching a glancing blow from the iceberg but instead striking it square on the starboard side. Collins relates that a collision such as this would be more likely to crush the entire starboard hull and possibly even the superstructure resulting in the ship capsizing and sinking within minutes.
Part 3 of this article delves into the world of the unknown as we look at some supernatural-themed legends of the Titanic.
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