1 00:00:02,042 --> 00:00:03,375 [dramatic music] 2 00:00:03,583 --> 00:00:07,042 - Tonight, one of the most legendary disasters in history. 3 00:00:07,042 --> 00:00:08,250 [foghorn blares] 4 00:00:08,250 --> 00:00:10,042 - When we talk about Titanic, 5 00:00:10,042 --> 00:00:12,292 we're talking about the largest 6 00:00:12,292 --> 00:00:15,958 manmade moving object of her time. 7 00:00:15,958 --> 00:00:18,875 - Literally hundreds of people shouting for help 8 00:00:18,875 --> 00:00:21,167 in the water in the darkness. 9 00:00:21,167 --> 00:00:23,958 - Questions persist around what really happened 10 00:00:23,958 --> 00:00:26,000 that fateful night and why. 11 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:27,583 - Was it just the iceberg 12 00:00:27,583 --> 00:00:30,875 or did other things happen that led to it? 13 00:00:30,875 --> 00:00:33,542 - Whose decision was it to travel faster? 14 00:00:33,542 --> 00:00:36,917 - Titanic did suffer a large bunker fire 15 00:00:36,917 --> 00:00:38,833 that began in Belfast. 16 00:00:38,833 --> 00:00:41,500 - Now we explore the top theories 17 00:00:41,500 --> 00:00:45,125 behind this iconic ship's tragic end. 18 00:00:45,125 --> 00:00:47,542 - They're basically looking for a shadow in the dark. 19 00:00:47,542 --> 00:00:49,208 - No one knew that these photos existed, 20 00:00:49,208 --> 00:00:51,708 but they may reveal something about Titanic 21 00:00:51,708 --> 00:00:54,042 that we never knew before. 22 00:00:54,042 --> 00:00:56,708 - Can new evidence reveal more about how 23 00:00:56,708 --> 00:00:59,792 and why the Titanic sank? 24 00:00:59,792 --> 00:01:02,333 [dramatic music] 25 00:01:14,917 --> 00:01:17,375 - [Laurence] On April 10th, 1912, 26 00:01:17,375 --> 00:01:21,250 the Titanic set sail from the English port of Southampton 27 00:01:21,250 --> 00:01:23,167 on its maiden voyage to New York. 28 00:01:24,292 --> 00:01:26,625 This is the golden age of ship travel 29 00:01:26,625 --> 00:01:29,292 and Titanic is the era's crown jewel. 30 00:01:30,333 --> 00:01:33,208 - Titanic, to put it lightly, massive. 31 00:01:33,208 --> 00:01:35,833 It's as long as four city blocks. 32 00:01:35,833 --> 00:01:37,292 It is 17 stories tall. 33 00:01:37,292 --> 00:01:39,208 It is as wide as a four-lane highway. 34 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,458 - She is a hundred feet longer 35 00:01:42,458 --> 00:01:46,667 and thousands of tons heavier than any ship ever built 36 00:01:46,667 --> 00:01:47,708 - [Laurence] On board, 37 00:01:47,708 --> 00:01:51,125 Titanic is carrying just over 2200 people, 38 00:01:51,125 --> 00:01:56,125 1,316 passengers, and 885 crew members. 39 00:01:58,417 --> 00:02:00,000 - If you're a first class passenger, 40 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,500 you had access to things like a squash court, ballrooms, 41 00:02:03,500 --> 00:02:04,208 Turkish bath. 42 00:02:04,208 --> 00:02:05,583 This is the ship 43 00:02:05,583 --> 00:02:07,708 that has a first ever swimming pool aboard it, 44 00:02:07,708 --> 00:02:09,208 four different restaurants, 45 00:02:09,208 --> 00:02:12,333 everything ranging from a Parisian cafe to a dining saloon 46 00:02:12,333 --> 00:02:15,042 that could hold about 500 people in it. 47 00:02:15,042 --> 00:02:16,375 - As passengers walk on board, 48 00:02:16,375 --> 00:02:18,875 they're greeted with a large grand staircase, 49 00:02:18,875 --> 00:02:20,000 which would be something one 50 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:21,083 would see in a great hotel 51 00:02:21,083 --> 00:02:22,917 rather than onboard a ship. 52 00:02:22,917 --> 00:02:24,208 - Second and third class passengers 53 00:02:24,208 --> 00:02:25,750 don't have as much access to these amenities 54 00:02:25,750 --> 00:02:27,250 as first class does. 55 00:02:27,250 --> 00:02:29,292 However, there is running water in every single cabin 56 00:02:29,292 --> 00:02:31,708 in the ship, which is a huge luxury. 57 00:02:32,833 --> 00:02:35,375 - [Laurence] But it's below the passenger decks 58 00:02:35,375 --> 00:02:38,458 where we find the Titanic's technological wonders. 59 00:02:39,625 --> 00:02:42,625 - The Titanic is full of advanced technological features 60 00:02:42,625 --> 00:02:46,542 from 30-foot tall steam engines that power the propellers 61 00:02:46,542 --> 00:02:48,000 to advanced safety features 62 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,917 including remote controlled watertight compartments. 63 00:02:50,917 --> 00:02:53,500 - If the ship had a collision, 64 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:55,583 the watertight doors could be closed 65 00:02:55,583 --> 00:02:58,625 and only that compartment would fill with water. 66 00:02:58,625 --> 00:03:00,458 The other compartments would be safe 67 00:03:00,458 --> 00:03:02,250 and the ship would continue to float. 68 00:03:02,250 --> 00:03:03,625 [telegraph tapping] 69 00:03:03,625 --> 00:03:05,958 - Titanic also has a very modern thing, 70 00:03:05,958 --> 00:03:07,542 which is a wireless set 71 00:03:07,542 --> 00:03:10,292 so she can communicate several hundred miles 72 00:03:10,292 --> 00:03:12,708 with other ships and also to land. 73 00:03:12,708 --> 00:03:15,542 This was really the beginning of the modern radio. 74 00:03:16,750 --> 00:03:19,333 - [Laurence] The ship is so technologically advanced 75 00:03:19,333 --> 00:03:22,083 that its owner and operator, the White Star Line 76 00:03:22,083 --> 00:03:25,250 is confident enough to make a bold claim. 77 00:03:25,250 --> 00:03:27,708 - The Titanic, the unsinkable ship, 78 00:03:28,792 --> 00:03:31,375 God himself will not be able to sink this ship. 79 00:03:33,375 --> 00:03:35,458 - [Laurence] On the evening of April 14th, 80 00:03:35,458 --> 00:03:38,083 the Titanic is cruising through the North Atlantic, 81 00:03:38,083 --> 00:03:40,500 about two and a half days away from New York. 82 00:03:41,667 --> 00:03:44,208 - The sea was completely calm like a mirror. 83 00:03:44,208 --> 00:03:47,125 The stars were setting right down to the horizon. 84 00:03:47,125 --> 00:03:48,542 In fact, some of the passengers said 85 00:03:48,542 --> 00:03:51,083 that they could see the stars reflected 86 00:03:51,083 --> 00:03:52,875 on the surface of the water. 87 00:03:53,167 --> 00:03:56,333 - [Laurence] Then just before 11:40 PM 88 00:03:56,333 --> 00:03:59,583 something ominous emerges from the dark. 89 00:03:59,583 --> 00:04:04,042 - Titanic's lookouts are staring ahead at the calm ocean 90 00:04:04,042 --> 00:04:06,208 and then they notice a dark object 91 00:04:06,208 --> 00:04:08,625 coming out of the haze in front of them 92 00:04:08,625 --> 00:04:10,375 and they ring the bell three times 93 00:04:10,375 --> 00:04:11,625 to indicate to the bridge 94 00:04:11,625 --> 00:04:13,875 there's an object dead ahead. 95 00:04:13,875 --> 00:04:17,583 In charge of Titanic that night is First Officer Murdoch. 96 00:04:17,583 --> 00:04:20,208 He is the first officer on the bridge 97 00:04:20,208 --> 00:04:22,208 also staring ahead with his binoculars. 98 00:04:22,208 --> 00:04:24,542 As soon as they hear the warning of the bells, 99 00:04:24,542 --> 00:04:28,125 Murdoch gives the order harder starboard to turn the ship 100 00:04:28,125 --> 00:04:29,542 to the left hand side 101 00:04:29,542 --> 00:04:32,792 and immediately Titanic slowly starts to turn. 102 00:04:32,792 --> 00:04:35,792 - [Laurence] And then just 37 seconds 103 00:04:35,792 --> 00:04:38,375 after the iceberg is first spotted, 104 00:04:38,375 --> 00:04:40,167 Titanic makes contact. 105 00:04:40,167 --> 00:04:42,625 [hard impact and metal grinding] 106 00:04:42,625 --> 00:04:46,375 - She misses the berg that she can see above the surface, 107 00:04:46,375 --> 00:04:49,458 but unfortunately a spur of the berg under the water 108 00:04:49,458 --> 00:04:51,708 scrapes along Titanic's hull. 109 00:04:51,708 --> 00:04:55,208 The impact of the iceberg is in fact so slight 110 00:04:55,208 --> 00:04:57,333 that most passengers sleep through it 111 00:04:57,333 --> 00:04:59,042 and some who were already awake 112 00:04:59,042 --> 00:05:00,958 just regard it as a small bump. 113 00:05:00,958 --> 00:05:02,625 [water gushing] 114 00:05:02,625 --> 00:05:05,542 - [Laurence] But it's much more than a small bump. 115 00:05:05,542 --> 00:05:09,000 - Immediately Murdoch knows he had hit an iceberg. 116 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,792 He orders the watertight compartments to be sealed 117 00:05:11,792 --> 00:05:14,167 and the watertight doors to be lowered. 118 00:05:14,167 --> 00:05:17,042 - [Laurence] But the water continues to pour into the ship 119 00:05:17,042 --> 00:05:21,292 and five minutes later, Titanic's engines shut down. 120 00:05:22,417 --> 00:05:26,208 At 12:05, 25 minutes after hitting the iceberg, 121 00:05:26,208 --> 00:05:28,500 Captain Smith orders the first lifeboats 122 00:05:28,500 --> 00:05:30,542 to be prepared for launch. 123 00:05:30,542 --> 00:05:32,042 - They're very well aware 124 00:05:32,042 --> 00:05:33,667 that they do not have enough lifeboats for everyone 125 00:05:33,667 --> 00:05:36,792 and there had been no lifeboat drills. 126 00:05:36,792 --> 00:05:39,542 There was no way to really get the proper information out 127 00:05:39,542 --> 00:05:41,708 to the passengers in a way 128 00:05:41,708 --> 00:05:45,375 that would facilitate a orderly evacuation of the ship 129 00:05:45,375 --> 00:05:47,875 without incurring panic. 130 00:05:47,875 --> 00:05:49,375 Here you are in the middle of the ocean. 131 00:05:49,375 --> 00:05:51,125 It's freezing cold out. 132 00:05:51,125 --> 00:05:53,833 You're on this enormous ship. 133 00:05:53,833 --> 00:05:57,083 You gotta have a leap of faith to get in a very small boat 134 00:05:57,083 --> 00:05:58,875 and leave that ship. 135 00:05:58,875 --> 00:06:00,375 - People are scrambling 136 00:06:00,375 --> 00:06:01,750 and panicking all across the deck 137 00:06:01,750 --> 00:06:04,542 as the final lifeboat is about to depart. 138 00:06:05,833 --> 00:06:08,500 They're realizing that there is no other means of escape 139 00:06:08,500 --> 00:06:10,042 at this point. 140 00:06:10,042 --> 00:06:13,542 - The bow is now moved deeper and deeper into the water 141 00:06:13,542 --> 00:06:15,625 and slowly we begin to see the stern 142 00:06:15,625 --> 00:06:18,667 or the back of the ship come up out of the water. 143 00:06:18,667 --> 00:06:22,125 - At about 2:18 AM the front of the ship, 144 00:06:22,125 --> 00:06:23,833 because it's full of so much water 145 00:06:23,833 --> 00:06:26,458 is dipping in underneath the surface. 146 00:06:27,542 --> 00:06:29,917 The pressure of all the water from the front 147 00:06:29,917 --> 00:06:32,208 mixed with the weight of the propellers in the back 148 00:06:32,208 --> 00:06:34,875 causes the ship to snap in half. 149 00:06:34,875 --> 00:06:37,625 [dramatic music] 150 00:06:38,417 --> 00:06:41,042 - After Titanic breaks in half, 151 00:06:41,042 --> 00:06:44,500 her stern comes right up into almost vertical position 152 00:06:45,708 --> 00:06:48,458 and then slowly slips beneath the waves. 153 00:06:52,167 --> 00:06:54,583 On the surface there is panic. 154 00:06:54,583 --> 00:06:57,750 There are lifeboats rowing away from the scene 155 00:06:57,750 --> 00:07:01,792 to avoid suction and now there are 1,500 people 156 00:07:01,792 --> 00:07:03,583 in the water in the darkness. 157 00:07:05,583 --> 00:07:07,167 - [Laurence] Rescue ship Carpathia 158 00:07:07,167 --> 00:07:08,958 reaches Titanic's coordinates 159 00:07:08,958 --> 00:07:13,125 at 3:30 AM only to miss the sinking ship 160 00:07:13,125 --> 00:07:15,792 by a little more than an hour. 161 00:07:15,792 --> 00:07:19,875 They rescue 706 survivors from the lifeboats. 162 00:07:19,875 --> 00:07:24,542 Two thirds of Titanic's passengers and crew are gone. 163 00:07:24,542 --> 00:07:28,542 News of the sinking makes headlines around the world. 164 00:07:28,542 --> 00:07:32,042 - There's no doubt that the ship struck an iceberg. 165 00:07:32,042 --> 00:07:33,667 What everyone wants to know 166 00:07:33,667 --> 00:07:38,167 is how this seemingly unsinkable ship could suddenly sink 167 00:07:39,542 --> 00:07:43,542 beneath the Atlantic within three short hours. 168 00:07:43,542 --> 00:07:45,708 - [Laurence] Within days of the tragedy, 169 00:07:45,708 --> 00:07:49,250 the US Senate launches an inquiry to answer that question. 170 00:07:49,250 --> 00:07:52,917 A parallel investigation soon follows in Great Britain. 171 00:07:53,708 --> 00:07:55,000 - Both investigations 172 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,042 are looking at one potential contributing factor 173 00:07:57,042 --> 00:07:58,500 to the sinking of Titanic, 174 00:07:58,500 --> 00:08:00,792 which is the speed at which the boat was traveling. 175 00:08:00,792 --> 00:08:02,458 - The Titanic's projected rate of speed 176 00:08:02,458 --> 00:08:04,208 for the voyage was 18 knots. 177 00:08:04,208 --> 00:08:07,583 Yet the inquiry finds that it entered the iceberg field 178 00:08:07,583 --> 00:08:09,917 operating at 23 knots, 179 00:08:09,917 --> 00:08:13,375 which then leads to the question, 180 00:08:13,375 --> 00:08:15,917 whose decision was it to travel faster? 181 00:08:18,292 --> 00:08:21,542 Captains often do something that's called banking time, 182 00:08:21,542 --> 00:08:23,417 which means when conditions are good, 183 00:08:23,417 --> 00:08:24,792 they'll travel faster 184 00:08:24,792 --> 00:08:28,167 so they can either arrive ahead of schedule 185 00:08:28,167 --> 00:08:31,958 or be ahead of schedule in case of inclement weather 186 00:08:31,958 --> 00:08:35,000 that might make them slow down and use more caution. 187 00:08:36,208 --> 00:08:38,375 - Until Sunday night, Titanic was ahead of schedule. 188 00:08:38,375 --> 00:08:40,542 They had no problem with weather, no problem with fog. 189 00:08:40,542 --> 00:08:43,708 The ocean was calm, everything was going their way. 190 00:08:43,708 --> 00:08:46,167 - [Laurence] Despite these perfect conditions, 191 00:08:46,167 --> 00:08:47,875 Titanic received six messages 192 00:08:47,875 --> 00:08:51,542 from other ships warning of icebergs ahead. 193 00:08:51,542 --> 00:08:53,625 - But despite all of these warnings, again, 194 00:08:53,625 --> 00:08:54,833 'cause it was nice weather, 195 00:08:54,833 --> 00:08:56,083 because the ocean ocean was calm, 196 00:08:56,083 --> 00:08:58,708 Titanic decided to just steam straight ahead 197 00:08:58,708 --> 00:09:00,250 at the same speed that they were maintaining 198 00:09:00,250 --> 00:09:02,500 for the majority of the trip. 199 00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:03,708 - [Laurence] As investigators question 200 00:09:03,708 --> 00:09:06,583 why the Titanic didn't avoid the iceberg, 201 00:09:06,583 --> 00:09:09,542 one answer seems to be speed. 202 00:09:09,542 --> 00:09:12,500 [dramatic music] 203 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,500 Soon the managing director of the White Star Line, 204 00:09:17,500 --> 00:09:21,208 Bruce Ismay, finds himself under scrutiny. 205 00:09:21,208 --> 00:09:25,083 Ismay was a passenger on the Titanic and survived. 206 00:09:25,083 --> 00:09:28,083 - Ismay is this incredibly wealthy 207 00:09:28,083 --> 00:09:32,375 and influential businessman that wants to dominate 208 00:09:32,375 --> 00:09:33,875 in the shipping market in England, 209 00:09:33,875 --> 00:09:36,292 and so that's why he builds Titanic. 210 00:09:36,292 --> 00:09:37,542 The problem with Ismay 211 00:09:37,542 --> 00:09:39,625 is that he's also incredibly ambitious. 212 00:09:39,625 --> 00:09:43,042 - One of the things that comes out in the inquiry 213 00:09:43,042 --> 00:09:45,125 is that one of the first class passengers 214 00:09:45,125 --> 00:09:48,875 actually overheard Bruce Ismay urging Captain Smith 215 00:09:48,875 --> 00:09:50,875 to put on all possible boilers 216 00:09:50,875 --> 00:09:53,625 to arrive in New York a day early. 217 00:09:53,625 --> 00:09:57,250 Ismay also boasted to the first class passengers 218 00:09:57,250 --> 00:10:00,458 that they were planning on arriving in New York a day early 219 00:10:00,458 --> 00:10:01,875 to make a big splash. 220 00:10:02,917 --> 00:10:05,625 - [Laurence] When it's Ismay's turn to testify, 221 00:10:05,625 --> 00:10:07,000 he insists that he never 222 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,167 specifically ordered Captain Smith 223 00:10:09,167 --> 00:10:09,958 to speed up. 224 00:10:11,042 --> 00:10:12,875 - Ismay's response to these claims 225 00:10:12,875 --> 00:10:14,958 is that he sees no reason 226 00:10:14,958 --> 00:10:17,542 why commander should not go full speed 227 00:10:17,542 --> 00:10:20,292 provided he can see ice in time to avoid it. 228 00:10:21,833 --> 00:10:24,458 - Public sentiment is not very kind towards Ismay 229 00:10:24,458 --> 00:10:25,625 for that statement, 230 00:10:25,625 --> 00:10:27,167 but it's also not kind towards him 231 00:10:27,167 --> 00:10:29,833 because it's later found out that he jumped into a lifeboat 232 00:10:29,833 --> 00:10:31,708 and left women and children behind on the deck 233 00:10:31,708 --> 00:10:33,208 of the Titanic as it sank. 234 00:10:33,208 --> 00:10:36,708 - This caused the public really to blame Bruce Ismay 235 00:10:36,708 --> 00:10:39,625 for the excessive speed of the Titanic. 236 00:10:39,625 --> 00:10:41,333 Ismay himself did actually say 237 00:10:41,333 --> 00:10:44,375 that he regretted surviving the Titanic disaster. 238 00:10:44,375 --> 00:10:46,542 - The Senate investigation concluded 239 00:10:46,542 --> 00:10:50,667 that Captain Smith was moving at high speeds 240 00:10:50,667 --> 00:10:52,708 through the ice fields 241 00:10:52,708 --> 00:10:54,542 and that was a contributing factor 242 00:10:54,542 --> 00:10:55,875 to the sinking of the ship. 243 00:10:56,625 --> 00:10:58,417 The British inquiry thought 244 00:10:58,417 --> 00:11:00,500 that this was merely a freak accident 245 00:11:00,500 --> 00:11:03,708 that captains can maneuver ships all the time at full speed 246 00:11:03,708 --> 00:11:07,375 through ice fields after ice warnings. 247 00:11:07,375 --> 00:11:12,167 And so Ismay and the captain were essentially absolved 248 00:11:12,167 --> 00:11:13,000 of any guilt. 249 00:11:14,708 --> 00:11:19,208 - But as historians study Titanic more and more, 250 00:11:19,208 --> 00:11:22,667 they start to notice that there might be more to the story 251 00:11:22,667 --> 00:11:24,667 than what originally appears. 252 00:11:24,667 --> 00:11:27,000 - Despite all the factors from the inquiry 253 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,000 and what historians and archaeologists have studied 254 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,208 over the years, the question still remains, 255 00:11:32,208 --> 00:11:34,875 if the ship was that massive, and that unsinkable, 256 00:11:34,875 --> 00:11:36,833 and that technologically advanced, 257 00:11:37,208 --> 00:11:40,375 could an iceberg really be the root cause 258 00:11:40,375 --> 00:11:42,042 of the ship sinking? 259 00:11:46,042 --> 00:11:48,042 - [Laurence] Both the US and British inquiries 260 00:11:48,042 --> 00:11:51,208 blamed the Titanic's sinking on the ship's high speed 261 00:11:51,208 --> 00:11:54,375 in the face of numerous iceberg warnings. 262 00:11:54,375 --> 00:11:57,292 Even so, questions remain. 263 00:11:57,292 --> 00:12:02,208 - The night of the 14th of April, 1912 is totally clear. 264 00:12:03,542 --> 00:12:05,958 The water is calm, the stars are bright. 265 00:12:05,958 --> 00:12:08,875 The stars are even setting down to the horizon. 266 00:12:08,875 --> 00:12:10,833 - [Laurence] But in this area, 267 00:12:10,833 --> 00:12:14,000 even perfectly clear weather can be deadly. 268 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,542 - There's no moon up at the time. 269 00:12:15,542 --> 00:12:18,750 The moon phase was such that it was coming up much later 270 00:12:18,750 --> 00:12:20,875 in the morning and so it's dark. 271 00:12:20,875 --> 00:12:22,833 It was very dark. 272 00:12:22,833 --> 00:12:25,417 - The meteorological records of the time 273 00:12:25,417 --> 00:12:29,250 and also from log books of other ships in the area show us 274 00:12:29,250 --> 00:12:33,042 the Titanic sank in this very cold part of the Atlantic 275 00:12:33,042 --> 00:12:34,375 called the Labrador current. 276 00:12:35,792 --> 00:12:37,708 The Labrador current carries icebergs 277 00:12:37,708 --> 00:12:40,042 that originate in Baffin Bay 278 00:12:40,042 --> 00:12:42,208 and then they come all the way around Newfoundland 279 00:12:42,208 --> 00:12:45,167 and then they come down what's known as Iceberg Alley, 280 00:12:45,167 --> 00:12:49,208 where they then mix into the much warmer Gulf Stream 281 00:12:49,208 --> 00:12:52,417 and it's sending these really large bergs deep 282 00:12:52,417 --> 00:12:54,125 into the North Atlantic. 283 00:12:55,708 --> 00:12:58,042 - The last few winters had been fairly mild 284 00:12:58,042 --> 00:13:00,708 and this actually creates more icebergs 285 00:13:00,708 --> 00:13:02,208 'cause there's melting and there's fractures 286 00:13:02,208 --> 00:13:04,042 and the ice falls off these ice sheets 287 00:13:04,042 --> 00:13:06,042 and falls into the ocean. 288 00:13:06,042 --> 00:13:08,500 - The tip of the iceberg that you can see above the water 289 00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:12,292 is a small fraction of this enormous block of ice 290 00:13:12,292 --> 00:13:15,208 that's huge like a sail under the water 291 00:13:15,208 --> 00:13:18,458 and it's being dragged along by the Labrador current 292 00:13:18,458 --> 00:13:22,000 and it's bringing these enormous icebergs much further south 293 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,958 than normal into the Gulf Stream. 294 00:13:24,958 --> 00:13:26,375 - Normally in a typical year, 295 00:13:26,375 --> 00:13:29,083 you'd see around 125 icebergs in this area, 296 00:13:29,083 --> 00:13:32,917 but in 1912, specifically around April of 1912, 297 00:13:32,917 --> 00:13:35,625 they saw around 400 icebergs, 298 00:13:35,625 --> 00:13:39,375 which was the most that they had seen in about 50 years. 299 00:13:39,375 --> 00:13:41,667 - Seven minutes of steaming time beyond 300 00:13:41,667 --> 00:13:43,042 where Titanic collided, 301 00:13:43,042 --> 00:13:46,542 there is a barrier of ice that's three miles wide 302 00:13:46,542 --> 00:13:48,042 and 30 miles long, 303 00:13:48,042 --> 00:13:51,125 and in fact, this barrier of field ice is suppressing 304 00:13:51,125 --> 00:13:53,000 the swell in the North Atlantic 305 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,125 and it's cutting off the waves. 306 00:13:55,125 --> 00:13:57,875 It's extremely rare to have conditions 307 00:13:57,875 --> 00:14:00,375 that calm on the North Atlantic. 308 00:14:00,375 --> 00:14:04,125 Normally where you have ice mixing with the warmer water 309 00:14:04,125 --> 00:14:06,542 of the Gulf Stream, you get fogs. 310 00:14:06,542 --> 00:14:09,917 But that night they had an area of very, very high pressure 311 00:14:09,917 --> 00:14:12,917 and that was keeping the air crystal clear. 312 00:14:12,917 --> 00:14:15,250 - [Laurence] The night is almost too clear 313 00:14:15,250 --> 00:14:18,292 and that makes the crew very wary. 314 00:14:19,458 --> 00:14:21,833 - Reginald Lee, who was on the crow's nest said, 315 00:14:21,833 --> 00:14:23,708 "A clear starry night overhead, 316 00:14:23,708 --> 00:14:25,500 but at the time of the accident 317 00:14:25,500 --> 00:14:29,208 there was a haze extending more or less round the horizon. 318 00:14:29,208 --> 00:14:32,292 It was a dark mass that came through that haze." 319 00:14:32,292 --> 00:14:34,042 - The iceberg that sinks the Titanic 320 00:14:34,042 --> 00:14:36,542 is pretty large in scale. 321 00:14:36,542 --> 00:14:39,833 It's 50 to a hundred feet tall and 400 feet long. 322 00:14:39,833 --> 00:14:42,000 So you would think seeing this object, 323 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,750 you would notice it coming from miles away. 324 00:14:44,750 --> 00:14:46,375 So what happened that night 325 00:14:46,375 --> 00:14:48,875 that the crew almost missed it entirely? 326 00:14:48,875 --> 00:14:51,625 [dramatic music] 327 00:14:54,208 --> 00:14:57,167 - Early in the evening, the officer of the ship 328 00:14:57,167 --> 00:14:59,125 starts to realize that we have dropping 329 00:14:59,125 --> 00:15:01,458 both seawater temperatures and air temperatures, 330 00:15:01,458 --> 00:15:03,417 and this suggests the presence of ice. 331 00:15:03,417 --> 00:15:06,333 You can't see it perhaps, but you know it's out there. 332 00:15:06,333 --> 00:15:10,125 - The electric lights on the Titanic started forming frost 333 00:15:10,125 --> 00:15:11,667 on the outside of them, 334 00:15:11,667 --> 00:15:13,458 so they started to look like little ice crystals basically, 335 00:15:13,458 --> 00:15:16,250 that's how cold it had suddenly gotten. 336 00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:18,125 - As the ship is approaching ice, 337 00:15:18,125 --> 00:15:19,625 we're getting the situation where we're, 338 00:15:19,625 --> 00:15:20,958 we have a separation 339 00:15:20,958 --> 00:15:22,333 of layers of air 340 00:15:22,333 --> 00:15:25,042 and so near the surface of the water, near the ice, 341 00:15:25,042 --> 00:15:26,417 the air is rather cold, 342 00:15:26,417 --> 00:15:28,708 warmer air rises above and you get a layered effect 343 00:15:28,708 --> 00:15:31,292 and then you do get some flow of air between them. 344 00:15:33,083 --> 00:15:37,208 - When you have cold air and warm air meet, 345 00:15:37,208 --> 00:15:40,167 it forms a kind of lens, 346 00:15:41,667 --> 00:15:43,500 and that lens, what it can do is it can bend light around it 347 00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:46,500 and create images that might not actually be there. 348 00:15:46,500 --> 00:15:50,833 - It was behaving in the opposite way to a desert mirage. 349 00:15:50,833 --> 00:15:53,042 In a desert, you have a very hot surface 350 00:15:53,042 --> 00:15:55,208 and the light actually bends slightly upwards 351 00:15:55,208 --> 00:15:57,000 and that brings the sky onto the ground 352 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:58,750 and that's why people in the desert think, 353 00:15:58,750 --> 00:16:01,208 oh, there's water over there, when there actually isn't. 354 00:16:01,208 --> 00:16:04,042 But the Titanic was so cold where it sank 355 00:16:04,042 --> 00:16:06,208 that in fact the light was bending downwards 356 00:16:06,208 --> 00:16:07,958 around the curvature of the earth 357 00:16:07,958 --> 00:16:10,250 and this was raising the horizon upwards, 358 00:16:10,250 --> 00:16:13,250 which appeared as a haze all around the horizon 359 00:16:13,250 --> 00:16:15,542 caused by the molecular scattering of light 360 00:16:15,542 --> 00:16:18,125 and the depth of air that you can see through. 361 00:16:18,125 --> 00:16:23,083 - This haze, sometimes it's referred to as the fata bromosa, 362 00:16:23,708 --> 00:16:25,292 a fairy fog. 363 00:16:25,292 --> 00:16:28,333 If you've ever been fishing on a lake early in the morning, 364 00:16:28,333 --> 00:16:31,250 you're gonna see a haze across the top of the water. 365 00:16:31,250 --> 00:16:36,250 Most of us think of mirage as a false image 366 00:16:36,250 --> 00:16:37,542 and it's not a false image, 367 00:16:37,542 --> 00:16:40,250 it was just a hindrance to seeing the iceberg. 368 00:16:40,250 --> 00:16:42,750 - The haze around the horizon was the same color 369 00:16:42,750 --> 00:16:44,042 as the berg, 370 00:16:44,042 --> 00:16:46,042 so instead of seeing the white iceberg 371 00:16:46,042 --> 00:16:47,583 against the dark night, 372 00:16:47,583 --> 00:16:51,208 they're seeing the white iceberg against a white mist. 373 00:16:51,208 --> 00:16:54,250 - Captain Smith is well aware of the situation. 374 00:16:54,250 --> 00:16:57,917 At one point before he retires, he mentions to the officers 375 00:16:57,917 --> 00:17:00,208 that if any haze was observed at all, 376 00:17:00,208 --> 00:17:02,750 no matter how slight, he should be awakened. 377 00:17:02,750 --> 00:17:03,708 That never happened. 378 00:17:05,042 --> 00:17:07,458 - [Laurence] Adding to the confusion that night, 379 00:17:07,458 --> 00:17:10,000 the lookouts weren't using binoculars. 380 00:17:11,042 --> 00:17:13,042 - There were binoculars on the Titanic, 381 00:17:13,042 --> 00:17:14,708 they were stashed away in a locker. 382 00:17:14,708 --> 00:17:18,292 Problem was the one crew member that had the key 383 00:17:18,292 --> 00:17:21,458 to the locker had been reassigned to another ship 384 00:17:21,458 --> 00:17:24,375 at the last minute so no one could access the locker, 385 00:17:24,375 --> 00:17:27,292 open it up and get ahold of those binoculars. 386 00:17:27,292 --> 00:17:29,000 Had they had the binoculars, 387 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:30,792 it is possible that that magnification 388 00:17:30,792 --> 00:17:32,083 could have been used 389 00:17:32,083 --> 00:17:34,500 to cut through that optical illusion 390 00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:37,500 and had them see the iceberg far enough in advance 391 00:17:37,500 --> 00:17:39,375 so that they could have made their way around. 392 00:17:39,375 --> 00:17:41,208 - [Laurence] But not everyone agrees 393 00:17:41,208 --> 00:17:43,708 that binoculars would've helped. 394 00:17:43,708 --> 00:17:46,375 - Binoculars were for inspecting an object 395 00:17:46,375 --> 00:17:48,208 that you'd already detected 396 00:17:48,208 --> 00:17:50,833 and in fact the best way to spot ice at night 397 00:17:50,833 --> 00:17:52,083 is with the naked eye 398 00:17:52,083 --> 00:17:54,583 because it gives you a broad field of vision. 399 00:17:54,583 --> 00:17:56,750 The officers had binoculars, by the way, 400 00:17:56,750 --> 00:18:00,833 because their job was to inspect what the lookouts detected, 401 00:18:00,833 --> 00:18:03,667 so at the detection end you don't need binoculars. 402 00:18:03,667 --> 00:18:06,375 Had Titanic's lookouts had binoculars, 403 00:18:06,375 --> 00:18:08,542 it would've narrowed their field of vision 404 00:18:08,542 --> 00:18:11,167 and they may have picked up the iceberg later. 405 00:18:15,417 --> 00:18:18,750 - In 1909, construction begins on the Titanic 406 00:18:18,750 --> 00:18:20,417 in Belfast, Ireland. 407 00:18:20,417 --> 00:18:23,083 It's designed to be not only the most lavish ship 408 00:18:23,083 --> 00:18:26,042 on the seas, but one of the safest. 409 00:18:26,042 --> 00:18:29,500 - Titanic's construction starts in 1909 410 00:18:29,500 --> 00:18:34,125 and its design specifically had safety features 411 00:18:34,125 --> 00:18:36,417 that were new and innovative for the time period, 412 00:18:36,417 --> 00:18:40,250 which really led to the media calling her unsinkable. 413 00:18:40,250 --> 00:18:43,042 - Titanic's builders and her owner 414 00:18:43,042 --> 00:18:45,125 boast on the maiden voyage 415 00:18:45,125 --> 00:18:47,667 that Titanic can be sliced crosswise 416 00:18:47,667 --> 00:18:50,792 into three separate pieces and each individual piece 417 00:18:50,792 --> 00:18:52,292 will float. 418 00:18:52,292 --> 00:18:54,625 - Part of the design of the Titanic was to allow it 419 00:18:54,625 --> 00:18:59,583 to be a massive lifeboat in the event that damage occurred, 420 00:19:00,667 --> 00:19:02,167 they could shut the four compartments 421 00:19:02,167 --> 00:19:04,750 or however many compartments had been punctured 422 00:19:04,750 --> 00:19:07,042 and eventually the passengers 423 00:19:07,042 --> 00:19:09,167 could be rescued within that time. 424 00:19:09,167 --> 00:19:11,167 - However, historians contend 425 00:19:11,167 --> 00:19:13,875 that there was one small mistake 426 00:19:13,875 --> 00:19:15,542 with the design of the ship. 427 00:19:15,542 --> 00:19:18,667 [dramatic music] 428 00:19:18,667 --> 00:19:23,708 - Titanic is a massive 800-foot-plus long ship 429 00:19:24,833 --> 00:19:28,292 separated by steel walls known as bulkheads. 430 00:19:28,292 --> 00:19:31,250 Those walls separated the watertight compartments 431 00:19:31,250 --> 00:19:34,083 in the ship by which there were 16, close to double 432 00:19:34,083 --> 00:19:35,708 the number of water tank compartments 433 00:19:35,708 --> 00:19:38,208 or compartments that you'd see in your typical ship. 434 00:19:38,208 --> 00:19:40,583 - If you've ever walked through a submarine, 435 00:19:40,583 --> 00:19:42,750 you have a door that you have to hunker down 436 00:19:42,750 --> 00:19:44,875 and walk through and then they can close that door. 437 00:19:44,875 --> 00:19:46,292 That's a bulkhead. 438 00:19:46,292 --> 00:19:49,333 The same type of bulkhead that was on Titanic. 439 00:19:49,333 --> 00:19:51,208 - The bulkhead has two purposes. 440 00:19:51,208 --> 00:19:52,792 One, to contain any water 441 00:19:52,792 --> 00:19:55,125 that might make it into the ship in case of a puncture 442 00:19:55,125 --> 00:19:57,292 and to actually strengthen the hull. 443 00:19:58,458 --> 00:20:00,667 - It's engineered such that if the ship 444 00:20:00,667 --> 00:20:03,708 were to be hit in one of those watertight compartments, 445 00:20:03,708 --> 00:20:06,208 they could close the doors on either side of it 446 00:20:06,208 --> 00:20:08,875 and only that compartment will fill with water. 447 00:20:08,875 --> 00:20:12,583 Worst case scenario, if it hits on a bulkhead wall, 448 00:20:12,583 --> 00:20:14,833 it would fill two watertight compartments. 449 00:20:14,833 --> 00:20:17,208 Titanic is so special 450 00:20:17,208 --> 00:20:20,333 that if any of the first four watertight compartments 451 00:20:20,333 --> 00:20:23,750 or all four are compromised, the ship would still float. 452 00:20:24,250 --> 00:20:26,208 - [Laurence] But there's one critical weakness 453 00:20:26,208 --> 00:20:27,750 in the design. 454 00:20:27,750 --> 00:20:31,125 - Titanic's watertight bulkheads were not carried 455 00:20:31,125 --> 00:20:34,875 all the way up and they were not capped by a watertight deck 456 00:20:34,875 --> 00:20:36,167 because that would've interfered 457 00:20:36,167 --> 00:20:39,042 with crew and passengers being able to move about the ship 458 00:20:39,042 --> 00:20:42,042 and also it would've interfered with cargo loading. 459 00:20:42,042 --> 00:20:44,625 - They didn't want to ruin the design 460 00:20:44,625 --> 00:20:45,875 and the experience for the passengers 461 00:20:45,875 --> 00:20:47,917 by placing the bulkhead walls all the way up 462 00:20:47,917 --> 00:20:49,417 through the deck, 463 00:20:49,417 --> 00:20:52,417 that means that at any point if one compartment floods 464 00:20:52,417 --> 00:20:55,583 and it goes above the waterline and above the bulkhead, 465 00:20:55,583 --> 00:20:57,917 it can flow into the next compartment. 466 00:20:58,250 --> 00:21:01,708 - [Laurence] On the night of April 14th, 1912, 467 00:21:01,708 --> 00:21:04,083 the bulkheads are put to the test. 468 00:21:04,083 --> 00:21:05,250 [hard impact and metal grinding] 469 00:21:05,250 --> 00:21:06,917 - Titanic hits the iceberg, 470 00:21:06,917 --> 00:21:09,458 it scrapes across the right side of the ship, opens it up, 471 00:21:09,458 --> 00:21:12,250 water starts rushing into the front compartments. 472 00:21:12,250 --> 00:21:13,917 The watertight doors are shut, 473 00:21:13,917 --> 00:21:16,875 but water starts flowing into the other compartments 474 00:21:16,875 --> 00:21:19,042 that are not protected by those bulkheads. 475 00:21:19,042 --> 00:21:20,875 The squash courts, the mail room, 476 00:21:20,875 --> 00:21:22,083 and even the boiler rooms 477 00:21:22,083 --> 00:21:24,250 are starting to fill up with water. 478 00:21:24,250 --> 00:21:27,292 - There is water pouring in the side of the ship 479 00:21:27,292 --> 00:21:28,333 and Thomas Andrews, 480 00:21:28,333 --> 00:21:29,542 the ship's designer, 481 00:21:29,542 --> 00:21:32,500 goes down and sees all the water coming in. 482 00:21:32,500 --> 00:21:35,583 - Because of Andrew's familiarity with the Titanic, 483 00:21:35,583 --> 00:21:38,875 he's able to tell from the moment of impact 484 00:21:38,875 --> 00:21:42,833 until that moment how much water has come into the ship. 485 00:21:42,833 --> 00:21:46,083 He's able to take that water flow rate 486 00:21:46,083 --> 00:21:48,375 and calculate how long it will take 487 00:21:48,375 --> 00:21:50,833 to fill the four bulkheads 488 00:21:50,833 --> 00:21:52,000 and then he notices 489 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,833 that it's in watertight compartment number five, 490 00:21:54,833 --> 00:21:56,792 and that the pumps aren't handling it. 491 00:21:56,792 --> 00:21:59,083 That's when he comes to the conclusion 492 00:21:59,083 --> 00:22:00,958 that the ship is going to founder. 493 00:22:02,583 --> 00:22:04,500 - [Laurence] According to survivors, 494 00:22:04,500 --> 00:22:07,292 approximately 45 minutes after the collision, 495 00:22:07,292 --> 00:22:09,625 Andrews informs the captain 496 00:22:09,625 --> 00:22:13,583 that the first five compartments are now flooded. 497 00:22:13,583 --> 00:22:17,333 - The captain and the designer then proceed down 498 00:22:17,333 --> 00:22:19,125 to the engine room to talk to the chief engineer 499 00:22:19,125 --> 00:22:21,833 to try to figure out what can be done and what can be saved. 500 00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:26,208 - As water flowed into the forward compartments of Titanic 501 00:22:26,208 --> 00:22:27,958 that were damaged by the iceberg, 502 00:22:27,958 --> 00:22:31,875 this weight of water caused the bow to dip down. 503 00:22:31,875 --> 00:22:33,042 And of course, 504 00:22:33,042 --> 00:22:34,958 because the bulkheads didn't have a watertight deck 505 00:22:34,958 --> 00:22:36,417 on the top, 506 00:22:36,417 --> 00:22:38,583 it meant that water spilled over from one bulkhead 507 00:22:38,583 --> 00:22:40,333 into the next, into the next, 508 00:22:40,333 --> 00:22:42,000 rather like an ice cube tray. 509 00:22:43,542 --> 00:22:46,875 - The weight of the water is forcing the bow 510 00:22:46,875 --> 00:22:51,542 of the ship down and the ship begins to tilt. 511 00:22:51,542 --> 00:22:55,125 Passengers begin to feel it and as the weight gets heavier 512 00:22:55,125 --> 00:22:58,333 and heavier, that angle increases. 513 00:22:59,625 --> 00:23:02,708 - Now the heaviest parts of the ship are the two engines 514 00:23:02,708 --> 00:23:03,833 in the rear. 515 00:23:03,833 --> 00:23:07,250 So you have a large heavy concentration here 516 00:23:07,250 --> 00:23:08,833 due to the engines, 517 00:23:08,833 --> 00:23:11,208 but you have a large heavy concentration here 518 00:23:11,208 --> 00:23:12,542 due to the water. 519 00:23:12,542 --> 00:23:15,625 - And so basically you have an issue of weight 520 00:23:15,625 --> 00:23:18,417 and displacement and eventually 521 00:23:18,417 --> 00:23:20,042 the ship can't fight it anymore. 522 00:23:20,042 --> 00:23:22,708 [dramatic music] 523 00:23:27,625 --> 00:23:29,542 - [Laurence] Some argue that the Titanic 524 00:23:29,542 --> 00:23:32,542 would've been better off with no bulkheads at all. 525 00:23:32,542 --> 00:23:33,750 - The ship builders believed 526 00:23:33,750 --> 00:23:35,292 that they had thought of everything 527 00:23:35,292 --> 00:23:38,542 when building the Titanic, but they were sadly mistaken. 528 00:23:38,542 --> 00:23:40,708 - What they didn't anticipate 529 00:23:40,708 --> 00:23:42,542 was that an iceberg collision 530 00:23:42,542 --> 00:23:45,958 could scrape along the side of the ship and cause damage 531 00:23:45,958 --> 00:23:47,125 in six compartments. 532 00:23:47,125 --> 00:23:49,292 They were imagining it might be a head-on collision 533 00:23:49,292 --> 00:23:50,958 or a puncture. 534 00:23:50,958 --> 00:23:54,125 - This design feature ends up being the problem 535 00:23:54,125 --> 00:23:57,833 because with all of this water that's seeping into the front 536 00:23:57,833 --> 00:23:59,333 because it's got nowhere else to go 537 00:23:59,333 --> 00:24:00,875 because it's being sealed off, 538 00:24:00,875 --> 00:24:03,500 this causes the front of the ship to dip 539 00:24:03,500 --> 00:24:05,875 below the water line and ultimately sink. 540 00:24:05,875 --> 00:24:08,542 Had there not been any bulkhead walls there, 541 00:24:08,542 --> 00:24:10,708 the dispersion of water might've been much more even 542 00:24:10,708 --> 00:24:12,625 because it wasn't going from adjacent compartment 543 00:24:12,625 --> 00:24:14,917 to adjacent compartment, it would've taken longer to sink, 544 00:24:14,917 --> 00:24:17,083 which meant more people could have been saved. 545 00:24:17,083 --> 00:24:20,833 That design was a catastrophe waiting to happen. 546 00:24:24,708 --> 00:24:28,000 - The Titanic's tragic story captures the imagination 547 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:31,042 of the public and experts of all kinds, 548 00:24:31,042 --> 00:24:33,542 who still seek answers about how and why the ship sunk 549 00:24:33,542 --> 00:24:36,042 decades after its demise. 550 00:24:36,042 --> 00:24:40,875 In 1985, more than 70 years after the tragedy, 551 00:24:40,875 --> 00:24:45,208 explorer Bob Ballard makes the discovery of a lifetime, 552 00:24:45,208 --> 00:24:47,542 the remains of the Titanic 553 00:24:47,542 --> 00:24:51,375 two and a half miles down on the floor 554 00:24:51,375 --> 00:24:52,708 of the Atlantic Ocean. 555 00:24:54,542 --> 00:24:57,750 - So Ballard's find begins a whole new era 556 00:24:57,750 --> 00:24:59,500 in the story of the Titanic, 557 00:24:59,500 --> 00:25:00,833 and allows us for the first time 558 00:25:00,833 --> 00:25:03,583 to try to understand what really happened. 559 00:25:05,375 --> 00:25:07,542 - Other explorations head down to the ship 560 00:25:07,542 --> 00:25:11,208 and they end up bringing up about 5,000 artifacts 561 00:25:11,208 --> 00:25:12,833 for scientific exploration. 562 00:25:12,833 --> 00:25:15,458 - Expeditions in the late nineties brought back 563 00:25:15,458 --> 00:25:19,042 a lot of material including steel and rivets. 564 00:25:19,042 --> 00:25:22,417 I was lucky enough to be able to examine those materials 565 00:25:22,417 --> 00:25:24,750 along with my colleague Dr. Tim Foecke 566 00:25:24,750 --> 00:25:27,667 at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 567 00:25:27,667 --> 00:25:29,875 - In their book "What Really Sank the Titanic," 568 00:25:29,875 --> 00:25:32,708 they posed their theory as to what they believe 569 00:25:32,708 --> 00:25:35,542 actually led to the Titanic sinking as rapidly as it did. 570 00:25:35,542 --> 00:25:38,500 [dramatic music] 571 00:25:40,292 --> 00:25:44,417 - Titanic's hull is built like a patchwork quilt of steel 572 00:25:44,417 --> 00:25:46,167 where you have big steel plates 573 00:25:46,167 --> 00:25:49,875 and these are stitched together by metal rivets. 574 00:25:49,875 --> 00:25:53,917 - A rivet is essentially a two-headed nail, 575 00:25:53,917 --> 00:25:58,583 so plates would be placed together with pre-punched holes 576 00:25:58,583 --> 00:26:02,042 and a rivet would be passed through that hole 577 00:26:02,042 --> 00:26:05,583 and then hammered on each end to create a head 578 00:26:05,583 --> 00:26:07,792 and effectively a watertight seal. 579 00:26:08,958 --> 00:26:11,375 - [Laurence] The Titanic's hull is held together 580 00:26:11,375 --> 00:26:14,375 by 3 million six-inch long rivets. 581 00:26:14,375 --> 00:26:16,208 These are traditionally made of steel. 582 00:26:17,500 --> 00:26:19,792 As Foecke and Hooper examine Titanic's rivets 583 00:26:19,792 --> 00:26:23,625 under a microscope, they make a stunning discovery. 584 00:26:24,792 --> 00:26:28,333 - Titanic was built using two types of rivets, 585 00:26:28,333 --> 00:26:29,792 wrought iron and steel. 586 00:26:29,792 --> 00:26:33,125 Steel was used in the middle section. 587 00:26:33,125 --> 00:26:35,708 That makes sense because the center section 588 00:26:35,708 --> 00:26:38,417 of the Titanic is going to feel the highest stresses 589 00:26:38,417 --> 00:26:40,125 during its voyage. 590 00:26:40,125 --> 00:26:43,750 In the bow and the stern, they used wrought iron rivets 591 00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:46,167 and when we think about the collision 592 00:26:46,167 --> 00:26:47,208 what's important 593 00:26:47,208 --> 00:26:50,375 is understanding how and where it happened. 594 00:26:50,375 --> 00:26:52,333 It happened in the starboard side, 595 00:26:53,292 --> 00:26:54,958 low on the hull of the ship 596 00:26:54,958 --> 00:26:59,250 but across the bow and six compartments all in an area 597 00:26:59,250 --> 00:27:01,125 that was wrought iron rivets. 598 00:27:01,125 --> 00:27:04,500 - Wrought iron traditionally is a much softer metal 599 00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:06,917 than steel, not to mention in these rivets 600 00:27:06,917 --> 00:27:11,208 they also find a high percentage of what's called slag. 601 00:27:11,208 --> 00:27:15,875 - Slag is a byproduct of how we create wrought iron 602 00:27:15,875 --> 00:27:20,583 and it helps to mix and remove impurities from the iron 603 00:27:20,583 --> 00:27:21,750 when it's created. 604 00:27:22,708 --> 00:27:25,333 In traditional wrought iron that's used 605 00:27:25,333 --> 00:27:30,458 for ship building, bridges, fire escapes, the Eiffel Tower, 606 00:27:30,458 --> 00:27:33,375 this material has about 2 to 3% slag. 607 00:27:34,917 --> 00:27:39,958 On Titanic, the wrought iron had 9% on average 608 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,042 up to 12%, which is three to four times 609 00:27:43,042 --> 00:27:44,583 what you would normally see. 610 00:27:44,583 --> 00:27:47,458 It can create weakness exactly in the places 611 00:27:47,458 --> 00:27:50,208 where you need it to be holding the ship together. 612 00:27:50,208 --> 00:27:52,833 - [Laurence] So why would the builders of the Titanic 613 00:27:52,833 --> 00:27:57,875 use rivets made of impure irons that might not be as strong? 614 00:27:59,250 --> 00:28:02,000 - There was a lot of stress and there was a lot of pressure 615 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,125 to complete the Titanic on schedule. 616 00:28:05,125 --> 00:28:08,083 In order to do that, they had to find ways to source iron 617 00:28:08,083 --> 00:28:10,750 and steel as rapidly as they could. 618 00:28:11,958 --> 00:28:16,792 In 1901, they stopped requiring testing of iron 619 00:28:18,208 --> 00:28:19,542 for ship building. 620 00:28:19,542 --> 00:28:22,208 Iron was easy to source, faster to source, 621 00:28:22,208 --> 00:28:25,542 and they knew that they could rivet it up quickly. 622 00:28:25,542 --> 00:28:27,375 - So the rivet itself is half the tale. 623 00:28:27,375 --> 00:28:30,208 The second half of the tale is how many rivets are used. 624 00:28:30,208 --> 00:28:31,333 The more rivets you put, 625 00:28:31,333 --> 00:28:33,458 the more effective that joint strength is 626 00:28:33,458 --> 00:28:34,708 to the strength of the steel plate 627 00:28:34,708 --> 00:28:36,125 that it's trying to connect. 628 00:28:36,125 --> 00:28:38,333 In the places up forward where damage was observed, 629 00:28:38,333 --> 00:28:41,458 there are less rows of rivets, 630 00:28:41,458 --> 00:28:44,167 so right off the bat you have a weaker joint to begin with. 631 00:28:44,167 --> 00:28:48,333 Add to that, now you have these potentially weakened rivets 632 00:28:48,333 --> 00:28:50,167 or poorly manufactured rivets 633 00:28:50,167 --> 00:28:53,833 and you have a place where the seams may fail 634 00:28:53,833 --> 00:28:56,958 with less force than might have been expected. 635 00:28:56,958 --> 00:29:01,042 - The wrought iron material on Titanic under the microscope 636 00:29:01,042 --> 00:29:03,792 has particles of slag that, in some cases, 637 00:29:03,792 --> 00:29:06,708 are so small you can't see them with the naked eye. 638 00:29:06,708 --> 00:29:08,875 So when we think about the disaster 639 00:29:08,875 --> 00:29:10,708 and the role that materials played 640 00:29:10,708 --> 00:29:14,042 in one of the most famous ship sinkings, 641 00:29:14,042 --> 00:29:19,000 we're literally talking about microscopically small material 642 00:29:20,292 --> 00:29:23,083 that could have taken down a ship that was 800 feet long. 643 00:29:24,542 --> 00:29:26,875 - [Laurence] These findings lead the two scientists 644 00:29:26,875 --> 00:29:28,250 to a new realization. 645 00:29:29,292 --> 00:29:32,375 - During the collision with the iceberg 646 00:29:32,375 --> 00:29:34,875 as it hit the starboard side, 647 00:29:34,875 --> 00:29:38,208 it's hitting and straining sections of the ship 648 00:29:38,208 --> 00:29:40,042 where there's wrought iron rivets. 649 00:29:40,042 --> 00:29:44,042 The rivet's already under a lot of strain 650 00:29:44,042 --> 00:29:46,625 because it's holding those plates together, 651 00:29:46,625 --> 00:29:49,333 so it doesn't need much for the iceberg 652 00:29:49,333 --> 00:29:54,250 to begin that glancing blow that then causes one head to pop 653 00:29:55,500 --> 00:29:57,042 and then the rivets next to it 654 00:29:57,042 --> 00:30:01,333 are holding more of those plates and then they begin to pop. 655 00:30:01,333 --> 00:30:04,292 So you can imagine a series of rivets 656 00:30:04,292 --> 00:30:07,375 whose heads are popping almost like the opening of a zipper 657 00:30:07,375 --> 00:30:09,583 along the side of the ship. 658 00:30:09,583 --> 00:30:11,333 When we did computer modeling 659 00:30:11,333 --> 00:30:15,375 to look at how steel rivets perform versus wrought iron, 660 00:30:15,375 --> 00:30:20,417 we saw the steel could withstand five times the stress 661 00:30:20,417 --> 00:30:21,500 before it would pop. 662 00:30:23,042 --> 00:30:25,125 - So the question that comes out of this understanding 663 00:30:25,125 --> 00:30:27,333 is were these weakened rivets 664 00:30:27,333 --> 00:30:30,917 potentially part of the failure, part of the sinking story? 665 00:30:30,917 --> 00:30:32,333 It's possible they were. 666 00:30:36,542 --> 00:30:39,125 - [Laurence] After countless expeditions to the wreck, 667 00:30:39,125 --> 00:30:41,625 scientists think they know what contributed 668 00:30:41,625 --> 00:30:43,583 to the Titanic disaster. 669 00:30:43,583 --> 00:30:47,125 Then in 2012, an unexpected treasure 670 00:30:47,125 --> 00:30:50,125 is found hidden in an English attic. 671 00:30:50,125 --> 00:30:52,292 - A bunch of old photos are found, 672 00:30:52,292 --> 00:30:55,125 many of which are of the ship Titanic 673 00:30:55,125 --> 00:30:57,208 during the last days of its construction. 674 00:30:58,542 --> 00:31:00,292 These photos were taken by a man named John Kempster 675 00:31:00,292 --> 00:31:02,667 who was the chief electrical engineer at the shipyard 676 00:31:02,667 --> 00:31:04,208 where Titanic was being built. 677 00:31:04,208 --> 00:31:05,833 No one knew that these photos existed, 678 00:31:05,833 --> 00:31:08,250 but after looking at them 679 00:31:08,250 --> 00:31:09,875 it may reveal something about Titanic 680 00:31:09,875 --> 00:31:12,625 that we never knew before. 681 00:31:12,625 --> 00:31:14,958 - The photos are sold at auction, 682 00:31:14,958 --> 00:31:18,750 but before that, Irish journalist, Senan Malony, 683 00:31:18,750 --> 00:31:21,875 is able to study them in detail. 684 00:31:21,875 --> 00:31:24,208 - There's some discoloration on the exterior hull 685 00:31:24,208 --> 00:31:26,083 of the ship in and around the area 686 00:31:26,083 --> 00:31:27,792 in which the damage occurs 687 00:31:27,792 --> 00:31:30,042 that causes the sinking of the Titanic. 688 00:31:30,042 --> 00:31:31,375 - At first, he just assumes 689 00:31:31,375 --> 00:31:33,208 that it's maybe like a reflection off of the water, 690 00:31:33,208 --> 00:31:35,958 but in other photos he starts to see 691 00:31:35,958 --> 00:31:38,583 the same black streak appear 692 00:31:38,583 --> 00:31:43,208 and he thinks this might possibly be the culprit. 693 00:31:44,875 --> 00:31:46,750 - At the time of the Titanic's sailing, 694 00:31:46,750 --> 00:31:49,042 oil had not yet become a fuel of choice. 695 00:31:49,042 --> 00:31:52,167 Coal in the form of coal bunkers were how we stored 696 00:31:52,167 --> 00:31:55,292 the chemical energy to drive the ship through the water. 697 00:31:55,292 --> 00:31:58,792 - Titanic carries 6,600 tons of coal 698 00:31:58,792 --> 00:32:00,792 in these 30-foot-high bunkers 699 00:32:00,792 --> 00:32:02,333 that sit next to the hull of the ship 700 00:32:02,333 --> 00:32:04,375 as well as the interior bulkhead. 701 00:32:04,375 --> 00:32:07,542 Coal is shoveled into these gigantic boilers 702 00:32:07,542 --> 00:32:10,208 of which there are 29 of them aboard the ship 703 00:32:10,208 --> 00:32:12,500 and they're thrown in there by these stokers. 704 00:32:12,500 --> 00:32:14,750 [sound of shoveling] 705 00:32:14,750 --> 00:32:16,625 - In April, 1912, 706 00:32:16,625 --> 00:32:19,417 when Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage, 707 00:32:19,417 --> 00:32:20,708 there was a coal strike 708 00:32:20,708 --> 00:32:22,333 and so coal had been transshipped 709 00:32:22,333 --> 00:32:24,458 from a number of other vessels. 710 00:32:25,042 --> 00:32:28,167 - Titanic stoker, John Dilley, survives the accident 711 00:32:28,167 --> 00:32:29,958 and afterwards he tells a report of it. 712 00:32:29,958 --> 00:32:31,875 Even before Titanic set sail, 713 00:32:31,875 --> 00:32:34,542 a coal fire had started in one of the bunkers 714 00:32:34,542 --> 00:32:38,417 and it continued to smolder and continued to be ablaze 715 00:32:38,417 --> 00:32:41,500 even after the Titanic took off for sea. 716 00:32:41,500 --> 00:32:44,958 - Every boiler front and furnace was very accessible 717 00:32:44,958 --> 00:32:46,625 to the local supply of coal. 718 00:32:46,625 --> 00:32:48,917 This place, these coal bunkers adjacent 719 00:32:48,917 --> 00:32:51,333 to this watertight bulkhead 720 00:32:51,333 --> 00:32:55,125 and so that becomes a concern when the fire begins. 721 00:32:55,125 --> 00:32:57,833 - Malony theorizes that the black streak 722 00:32:57,833 --> 00:32:59,333 on the side of the ship 723 00:32:59,333 --> 00:33:03,042 is because of an uncontrollable fire in the coal bunkers. 724 00:33:07,208 --> 00:33:10,792 - Maybe this burning fire could have damaged the steel 725 00:33:10,792 --> 00:33:12,167 of either the hull 726 00:33:12,167 --> 00:33:14,333 or the adjacent watertight bulkhead 727 00:33:14,333 --> 00:33:17,833 that separated boiler room six from boiler room five. 728 00:33:17,833 --> 00:33:19,458 And if that's the case, 729 00:33:19,458 --> 00:33:23,417 perhaps a failure of either of those two structural elements 730 00:33:23,417 --> 00:33:26,042 could have contributed, if not caused, the ultimate sinking 731 00:33:26,042 --> 00:33:27,417 of the Titanic. 732 00:33:27,417 --> 00:33:29,625 - [Laurence] Records show the Titanic's coal 733 00:33:29,625 --> 00:33:31,750 had been loaded into the bunkers 734 00:33:31,750 --> 00:33:34,208 three weeks before she set sail. 735 00:33:34,208 --> 00:33:38,292 Malony believes it's possible that's when the fire started. 736 00:33:38,292 --> 00:33:40,583 - One kernel of coal can heat up 737 00:33:40,583 --> 00:33:44,458 and because it's trapped within these giant 30-foot bunkers, 738 00:33:44,458 --> 00:33:46,917 it can smolder for quite some time 739 00:33:46,917 --> 00:33:48,500 before being detected, 740 00:33:48,500 --> 00:33:50,833 which could ultimately lead to it starting and spreading 741 00:33:50,833 --> 00:33:52,083 a much larger fire. 742 00:33:53,042 --> 00:33:54,208 From the bowels of the ship 743 00:33:54,208 --> 00:33:56,000 right at the very bottom of the ship, 744 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,625 there's no place to dump coal overboard. 745 00:33:58,625 --> 00:34:01,458 There's no place to just dump it into the water. 746 00:34:01,458 --> 00:34:03,125 - [Laurence] The stokers on the ship 747 00:34:03,125 --> 00:34:06,375 are left with only one choice. 748 00:34:06,375 --> 00:34:08,792 - Bunker fires in ships can be very dangerous 749 00:34:08,792 --> 00:34:11,375 because the coal burns very, very hot 750 00:34:11,375 --> 00:34:13,333 so that if you play a hose on it, 751 00:34:13,333 --> 00:34:15,333 it just evaporates the water. 752 00:34:15,333 --> 00:34:18,542 So the best way to extinguish a bunker fire on a ship 753 00:34:18,542 --> 00:34:22,708 is by raking out the coal and putting it on the boiler. 754 00:34:22,708 --> 00:34:27,292 It took Titanic's firemen four days to rake out 755 00:34:27,292 --> 00:34:31,958 all the burning coal before the fire was fully extinguished. 756 00:34:31,958 --> 00:34:33,542 - [Laurence] With the coal bunker empty, 757 00:34:33,542 --> 00:34:38,083 the crew can see the damage caused by the coal fire. 758 00:34:38,083 --> 00:34:40,708 - A stoker tells investigators, after the sinking, 759 00:34:40,708 --> 00:34:45,208 that one of the bulkhead walls was red hot at the time. 760 00:34:45,208 --> 00:34:47,458 It is possible that that amount of heat 761 00:34:47,458 --> 00:34:49,708 could have very well discolored the metal wall 762 00:34:49,708 --> 00:34:52,375 within the ship, which leads to that black mark 763 00:34:52,375 --> 00:34:54,292 that Malony saw in those photos. 764 00:34:55,333 --> 00:34:58,875 - Other stokers talked about seeing that steel 765 00:34:58,875 --> 00:35:01,292 of the bulkhead being red hot. 766 00:35:01,292 --> 00:35:04,750 Steel when it achieves a certain temperature 767 00:35:04,750 --> 00:35:06,542 can change phase. 768 00:35:06,542 --> 00:35:10,083 It changes its form and can become brittle. 769 00:35:11,083 --> 00:35:12,333 - [Laurence] Malony's theory 770 00:35:12,333 --> 00:35:14,542 is that this fire- damaged bulkhead 771 00:35:14,542 --> 00:35:18,208 is the key to the sinking of the Titanic. 772 00:35:18,208 --> 00:35:21,167 - In the bulkhead wall that's been damaged 773 00:35:21,167 --> 00:35:22,833 by the coal bunker fire, 774 00:35:22,833 --> 00:35:26,208 we now have the final two compartments that flood 775 00:35:26,208 --> 00:35:27,708 as a result of the collision. 776 00:35:27,708 --> 00:35:32,083 So you can imagine that the stress caused by oncoming water 777 00:35:32,083 --> 00:35:34,708 and the flooding of water as it gushes 778 00:35:34,708 --> 00:35:36,708 through the starboard side, 779 00:35:36,708 --> 00:35:41,292 maybe the bulkhead wall was already weakened or embrittled 780 00:35:41,292 --> 00:35:43,708 because of that coal bunker fire 781 00:35:43,708 --> 00:35:46,083 and may have failed sooner than expected. 782 00:35:47,458 --> 00:35:50,208 - [Laurence] But why would the Titanic have knowingly set sail 783 00:35:50,208 --> 00:35:52,167 with an ongoing coal fire? 784 00:35:53,250 --> 00:35:55,333 - Malony suggests that the ship set sail 785 00:35:55,333 --> 00:35:58,208 because the White Star Line was already receiving bad press 786 00:35:58,208 --> 00:35:59,625 due to the fact that the maiden voyage 787 00:35:59,625 --> 00:36:02,792 had been delayed by about three weeks. 788 00:36:02,792 --> 00:36:04,583 - [Laurence] Not everyone believes the coal fire 789 00:36:04,583 --> 00:36:08,542 was burning hot enough to cause any structural damage. 790 00:36:08,542 --> 00:36:11,875 - If Malony's coal fire theory is true, 791 00:36:13,333 --> 00:36:15,875 the damage to the interior watertight bulkhead 792 00:36:15,875 --> 00:36:19,208 should have caused the water pressing against it 793 00:36:19,208 --> 00:36:21,708 to damage the structural integrity 794 00:36:21,708 --> 00:36:24,458 and the bulkhead would've collapsed right away. 795 00:36:24,458 --> 00:36:28,333 But we know due to testimony of the crew 796 00:36:28,333 --> 00:36:32,000 that the bulkhead did not give way for over two hours. 797 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:33,958 - The coal bunker fire on the Titanic 798 00:36:33,958 --> 00:36:37,917 was located directly under the first class swimming pool. 799 00:36:37,917 --> 00:36:42,917 If the fire had reached 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, 800 00:36:43,917 --> 00:36:45,792 the passengers on that deck 801 00:36:45,792 --> 00:36:48,875 would have definitely felt that temperature. 802 00:36:48,875 --> 00:36:50,625 In addition, the stokers, 803 00:36:50,625 --> 00:36:52,625 the people working around the engines 804 00:36:52,625 --> 00:36:54,625 that were coming in and out of that room 805 00:36:54,625 --> 00:36:57,542 would've needed protective gear to get that close. 806 00:36:57,542 --> 00:37:00,667 It's just hard to imagine that it would have gotten that hot 807 00:37:00,667 --> 00:37:03,250 and we wouldn't have seen or heard anything 808 00:37:03,250 --> 00:37:05,333 from the passengers on the ship. 809 00:37:05,333 --> 00:37:07,750 - So maybe if coal was burning that hot, 810 00:37:07,750 --> 00:37:09,167 it could have damaged the bulkhead 811 00:37:09,167 --> 00:37:10,583 and it could have compromised the ship, 812 00:37:10,583 --> 00:37:12,250 thus leading to its sinking. 813 00:37:12,250 --> 00:37:13,833 But at the end of the day, 814 00:37:13,833 --> 00:37:16,125 regardless of damaged bulkhead or not, 815 00:37:16,125 --> 00:37:19,250 when the Titanic hit that iceberg, its fate was sealed. 816 00:37:23,125 --> 00:37:24,500 [waves crashing] 817 00:37:24,708 --> 00:37:26,583 - [Laurence] The question of what really caused the Titanic 818 00:37:26,583 --> 00:37:28,583 to sink after the iceberg collision 819 00:37:28,583 --> 00:37:32,208 has been asked since the day the infamous ship went down. 820 00:37:33,333 --> 00:37:35,708 - By the time the Carpathia pulls into New York, 821 00:37:35,708 --> 00:37:38,208 the press are waiting, the public's waiting, 822 00:37:38,208 --> 00:37:39,667 the politicians are waiting. 823 00:37:39,667 --> 00:37:42,542 How could something so grand, something so large, 824 00:37:42,542 --> 00:37:45,125 the pinnacle of technology of our day disappear 825 00:37:45,125 --> 00:37:46,417 in two and a half hours 826 00:37:46,417 --> 00:37:51,167 and with 700 people surviving out of 2,200? 827 00:37:51,167 --> 00:37:53,208 This is hard to imagine. 828 00:37:53,208 --> 00:37:54,625 People want answers. 829 00:37:55,875 --> 00:37:58,958 - [Laurence] From excess speed, to structural flaws, 830 00:37:58,958 --> 00:38:00,583 to a secret fire, 831 00:38:00,583 --> 00:38:02,667 if any one of those was managed, 832 00:38:02,667 --> 00:38:05,000 could the tragedy have been prevented? 833 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,875 - When disasters like the Titanic sinking occur, 834 00:38:08,875 --> 00:38:13,000 we often want to point blame at one person, 835 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,292 one specific factor. 836 00:38:15,292 --> 00:38:17,917 - Could it have just been one thing 837 00:38:17,917 --> 00:38:21,375 or was it a perfect storm of multiple different factors 838 00:38:21,375 --> 00:38:23,167 that contributed to 839 00:38:23,167 --> 00:38:26,500 this sinking event of epic proportions? 840 00:38:27,042 --> 00:38:29,500 [dramatic music] 841 00:38:31,875 --> 00:38:33,625 - There were many mistakes 842 00:38:33,625 --> 00:38:35,125 that could have easily been avoided, 843 00:38:35,125 --> 00:38:38,958 everything ranging from high speeds, to structural issues, 844 00:38:38,958 --> 00:38:43,333 to a secret fire, just layer upon layer of issues 845 00:38:43,333 --> 00:38:45,542 that compounded on top of each other. 846 00:38:45,542 --> 00:38:47,583 - Like almost any accident. 847 00:38:47,583 --> 00:38:49,750 There is a cascade of events or situations 848 00:38:49,750 --> 00:38:51,875 that occurred to bring us to the point 849 00:38:51,875 --> 00:38:53,625 where the failure occurs. 850 00:38:53,625 --> 00:38:57,500 - It's not one thing that causes it, but a series of things. 851 00:38:58,875 --> 00:39:02,333 - One analogy might be if you throw a rock down a mountain, 852 00:39:02,333 --> 00:39:04,667 you might be able to stop the rock, 853 00:39:04,667 --> 00:39:07,667 but once it becomes an avalanche, it's game over. 854 00:39:09,417 --> 00:39:13,708 - It took decisions, it took flawed material, 855 00:39:13,708 --> 00:39:18,708 it took bad environmental conditions, mother nature, 856 00:39:19,958 --> 00:39:22,208 to bring all these things together in one place 857 00:39:22,208 --> 00:39:23,958 and cause an accident. 858 00:39:23,958 --> 00:39:29,000 - This was a perfect combination of many events 859 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:33,292 all happening at the same time at the very same place. 860 00:39:33,292 --> 00:39:35,792 - [Laurence] More than 110 years later, 861 00:39:35,792 --> 00:39:37,875 all the theories and evolving evidence 862 00:39:37,875 --> 00:39:40,542 haven't dampened the passionate curiosity 863 00:39:40,542 --> 00:39:43,250 surrounding the Titanic's demise. 864 00:39:43,250 --> 00:39:45,500 - People are still fascinated by it. 865 00:39:45,500 --> 00:39:49,000 When you think of all the people on Titanic, rich and poor, 866 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:50,750 and crew and passengers, 867 00:39:50,750 --> 00:39:54,250 it's a bit like a microcosm of humanity. 868 00:39:54,250 --> 00:39:57,292 And then the iceberg lurking in the darkness 869 00:39:57,292 --> 00:40:00,208 almost represents the awesome power of nature 870 00:40:00,208 --> 00:40:01,417 and the universe. 871 00:40:01,417 --> 00:40:03,500 So really, the story of the Titanic 872 00:40:03,500 --> 00:40:05,542 speaks to the human condition. 873 00:40:06,833 --> 00:40:09,625 - There's probably more down there than we realize. 874 00:40:09,625 --> 00:40:13,000 As a disaster it leaves us wanting to know more. 875 00:40:14,417 --> 00:40:18,125 - Carpathia rushed to the scene, saved 712, 876 00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:23,000 and it's those people we have to remember today. 877 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:28,042 The 1496 who did not survive all still have stories to tell. 878 00:40:29,500 --> 00:40:31,042 - Titanic is always gonna be one of those instances 879 00:40:31,042 --> 00:40:34,875 that is constantly studied, constantly picked over. 880 00:40:34,875 --> 00:40:36,875 As technology continues to improve 881 00:40:36,875 --> 00:40:38,250 and advance, 882 00:40:38,250 --> 00:40:41,375 who knows what new discoveries we might make about Titanic 883 00:40:41,375 --> 00:40:43,542 as it sits at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean? 884 00:40:43,542 --> 00:40:48,542 And ultimately we might end up finding the real reason 885 00:40:49,750 --> 00:40:51,417 why Titanic sank to the bottom of the ocean so quickly. 886 00:40:53,375 --> 00:40:55,458 - If the wreckage could be raised, 887 00:40:55,458 --> 00:40:57,542 we might answer more lingering questions 888 00:40:57,542 --> 00:40:59,958 about the Titanic's final hours. 889 00:40:59,958 --> 00:41:03,917 Until then, so much remains a mystery. 890 00:41:03,917 --> 00:41:06,083 And with Titanic's hull predicted to collapse 891 00:41:06,083 --> 00:41:09,333 by the year 2030, battered by deep sea currents 892 00:41:09,333 --> 00:41:11,625 and consumed by bacteria, 893 00:41:11,625 --> 00:41:14,458 the last secrets of this notorious ship 894 00:41:14,458 --> 00:41:16,375 may soon be buried forever. 895 00:41:16,375 --> 00:41:18,167 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 896 00:41:18,167 --> 00:41:22,042 Thank you for watching "History's Greatest Mysteries." 897 00:41:22,042 --> 00:41:24,708 [dramatic music]