Titanic conspiracy theories

In the years following the sinking of the superliner RMS Titanic many alternative theories about how the Titanic sank have been put forward. The accepted reason for the sinking, which resulted in the death of more than 1,500 people, was that the ship struck an iceberg at 11:40 PM on April 14, 1912 and sank two hours and forty minutes later. The iceberg buckled the hull allowing water to enter the ship’s first five watertight compartments, one more than the Titanic was designed to stay afloat with.

As with many famous events of the 20th Century, unconventional theories have been brought up as the cause of the disaster. Stories of curses on the ship and theories that an iceberg was not the reason the Titanic sank have been brought up many times since the ship sank. Most of the stories and theories have been debunked by Titanic experts, the thiefs and theories having been based on inaccurate or incomplete facts.

Curses

Titanic's number

File:Titanic belford.gif

The RMS Titanic's hull under construction at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast

When Titanic sank, claims were made that a curse existed on the ship. One of the most widely spread legends linked directly into the sectarianism of the city of Belfast, where the ship was built. It was suggested that the ship was given the number 390904 which, when read backwards in a mirror, was claimed to spell 'no pope', a sectarian slogan attacking Roman Catholics that was (and is) widely used provocatively by extreme Protestants in Northern Ireland, where the ship was built. In the extreme sectarianism of north-east Ireland (Northern Ireland itself did not exist until 1920), the ship's sinking, though mourned, was alleged to be on account of the sectarian anti-Catholicism of its manufacturers, the Harland and Wolff company, which had an almost exclusively Protestant workforce and an alleged record of hostility towards Catholics.

Harland and Wolff did have a record of hiring few Catholics; whether that was through policy or because the company's shipyard in Belfast's bay was located in almost exclusively Protestant East Belfast—through which few Catholics would dare to travel—or a mixture of both, is a matter of dispute.

The 'no pope' story is in fact an urban legend, with no basis in fact. RMS Olympic and Titanic were assigned the yard numbers 400 and 401 respectively, and Titanic's official numerical Board of Trade designation was 131,428. The source of the story may have been from reports by dock workers in Queenstown (Cobh) of anti-Catholic graffiti that they found on its coal bunkers when they were loading coal.

Mummy’s curse

Another suggested source of a Titanic "curse" is the Princess Amen-Ra who lived in 1050 B.C. According to legend after her discovery in the 1890s in Egypt, purchaser after purchaser of the mummy ran into serious misfortune including bankruptcy, amputation, other serious injuries and several deaths. The mummy was donated to the British Museum where it continued to cause mysterious problems for visitors and staff. The mummy was eventually purchased by journalist William Thomas Stead who dismissed the claims as quirks of circumstance; though he did arrange for the mummy to be hidden under the body of his car for fear that it would not be taken aboard the ship because of its reputation. He reportedly revealed to other passengers the presence of the mummy the night before the accident. The mummy itself was placed in the first-class cargo hold. However, eyewitness accounts report that, once the Captain gave the order to abandon ship, the mummy appeared on deck.

This is another urban legend as the British Museum never received the mummy, only the lid of its sarcophagus which is on display at the museum. Additionally, except during war and special exhibits abroad, the coffin lid has not left the Egyptian room.

Alternative theories

Submarine Involvement

There have also been stories of German U-boat involvement. By 1912, the new German navy was ready for war and had perfected the use of submersible ships. Lights seen by survivors, which are believed by historians to either be the nearby SS Californian or an unknown third ship, after the ship sank has been cited as possible evidence of a submarine. The theory claims that a German U-boat had been stalking the Titanic and that the sub fired a torpedo at the iceberg when collision between the Titanic and the iceberg seemed inevitable. This theory of the sinking was granted more credence following the 1915 torpedoing of the RMS Lusitania, though the motivation of such an act by the German navy is rarely satisfyingly explained. Indeed, despite their naval preparations at this time, the German monarchy in 1912 was not seeking a war with Britain and passenger accounts of the sensation of the impact do not tally with those who experienced a torpedo attack. The collision of the Titanic and the iceberg created nothing more than a shudder, which was so slight that many 1st class passengers were not even awakened.

Pack ice theory

In 2003 Captain L. M. Collins, a former member of the Ice Pilotage Service published The Sinking of the Titanic: The Mystery Solved proposing, based upon his own experience of ice navigation, and witness statements given at the two post-disaster enquiries, that what the Titanic hit was not an iceberg but low-lying pack ice. He based his conclusion upon three main pieces of evidence.

1. At 11:30pm on the night of the sinking the two lookouts spotted what they believed to be haze on the horizon, extending approximately 20 degrees on either side of the ship's bow, despite there being no other reports of haze at any time. Collins believes that what they saw was not haze but a strip of pack ice, three to four miles ahead of the ship. (Collins, 2003, p16)
2. The ice was variously reported as 60 feet high by the lookouts, 100 feet high by Quatermaster Rowe on the poop deck, and only very low in the water by Fouth Officer Boxhall, on the starboard side near the darkened bridge. Collins believes that this was due to 'an optical phenomenon that is well known to ice navigators' where the flat sea and extreme cold distort the appearance of objects near the waterline, making them appear to be the height of the ship's lights, about 60 feet above the surface near the bow, and 100 feet high alongside the superstructure. (Collins, 2003, p17-18)
3. A ship such as the Titanic turned by pivoting about a point approximately a quarter of the ship's length from the bow, with the result that with her rudder hard over, she could not have avoided crushing her entire starboard side into an iceberg were such a collision to occur, with the result that 'the hull and possibly the superstructure on the starboard side would have been rent. In all probability the ship would have flooded, capsized, and sunk within minutes.' (Collins, 2003, p24-25)

Coal Fire

Ohio State University engineer Robert Essenhigh released a theory in November 2004 that a coal fire had led to the disaster. A pile of stored coal started to smoulder and to get control over that situation, more coal was put into the furnaces, leading to higher speeds while navigating the iceberg-laden waters.

Essenhigh states that records prove that fire control teams were on standby at the ports of Cherbourg and Southampton because of the fire in the stockpile, and that such fires are known to have and still rage. The reason behind why the Titanic actually set off from Southampton with one of its bunkers on fire, to this day, is unknown (spontaneous combustion of coal, however, is not an unknown phenomenon and it is possible that the fire arose after the ship left port). Such fires were a common phenomenon aboard coal-fired ships and one of many reasons why marine transportation switched to oil in the early 1900s. It is similarly theorized that such a bunker fire was responsible for the explosion of the USS Maine in 1898, by setting off her powder magazines.

'The Ship That Never Sank'?

One of the most controversial and complex theories regarding the sinking of the Titanic was put forward by Robert Gardiner in his book 'TITANIC: The Ship That Never Sank?' (published 1999).

In it, Gardiner draws on several events and coincidences that occurred in the months, days and hours leading up to the sinking of the Titanic to form his theory. Put simply, his theory is that the ship that hit the iceberg on 14 April 1912 was in fact the Titanic's sister-ship the Olympic, disguised as the Titanic. All this was part of an insurance scam of huge proportions by the White Star Line.

The Olympic was the older sister to the Titanic, built alongside the more famous vessel but launched much earlier, in October 1910. She was to all purposes identical to the Titanic, save for small detailing such as the promenade deck windows. These were not glazed in the Olympic. In the Titanic the front half of the promenade deck was fitted with smaller glazed windows to protect passengers from spray.

On September 20 1911, the Olympic was involved in a collision with the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Hawke near Southampton. The cruiser smashed its ram into the side of the Olympic, seriously damaging both ships. The inquiry (an internal Royal Navy one) found its ship free of all blame. This set in motion Gardiner's theory.

Gardiner's revised history

He proposes that:

With a verdict against them, the White Star Line was left without an insurance claim to cover the cost of fixing the serious damage caused to the Olympic in the collision (so serious that the central turbine's mountings were damaged). The ship would have to be returned to Belfast, dry-docked and repaired. The Titanic was at the time being fitted out in the same dock. This would mean the White Star's flagship liner was out of action, and the Titanic's completion date would be delayed. All this amounted to a serious financial loss for the company (Estimated at £10 million in today's money). The worst fears were realised when it was found that some keel damage had occurred during the collision.

Gardiner proposes that, to get at least one vessel out and earning money, it was decided to turn the 95% complete Titanic into the Olympic. Very few parts of either ship bore the name. Most that did (lifeboats, bell, compass binnacle and, of course, name badges) were all easily moved over to the Titanic.

The conversion was done in two months and the Titanic (now the Olympic) returned to Southampton and spent the next 25 years in the line's service.

Work would have continued on the hull of the original Olympic. The decision to dispose of the vessel would have been taken early on. The repair bill was huge and the ship's immense build costs were barely paid off. Repairs were done as quickly as possible, with added bracing being used to strengthen the damaged keel plating. The windows and detailing was converted to 'Titanic' using the panelling taken from the original when it was converted into its elder sister.

At this time, the ship now working under the name 'Olympic' returned to the yard yet again, this time under the pretence of having a damaged propeller blade replaced. Gardiner says that this was in fact so that the conversion could be completed with more structural components.

Gardiner uses as evidence the Titanic's sea trials. When the Olympic was trialled in 1910, these took two days, including several high speed runs. When the Titanic went out for trials, they were over in one day, with no working over half-speed. Gardiner says this was because the patched-up hull could not take any long periods of high speed.

The plan to dispose of the ship and collect the insurance money was hatched as follows. The Titanic (ex-Olympic) would steam out into the Atlantic, where the sea cocks would be opened and the ship slowly flooded. Numerous ships would be stationed nearby to take off the passengers. The shortage of lifeboats would not matter as the ship would sink so slowly that the boats could make several trips between the sinking Titanic and the rescuers.

This could be achieved easily as the White Star Line was part of the vast International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM) group, owned by J.P. Morgan. This group included the Leyland Line, owners of the SS 'Californian' that features so prominently in the events of 14th/15 April. The Captain of the Californian had proved in service in the Boer War that he could manage such an operation, disembarking large numbers of troops from troop ships to shore in small boats.

On the 14 April Officer Murdoch was not officially on duty, yet he was on the bridge. Gardiner says this was because he was one of the few high-ranking officers that knew of the plan, and was keeping a watch out for the rescue ships.

Gardiner then makes one his most controversial statements — that the Titanic did not strike an iceberg, but one of the IMM rescue ships that was drifting on station with its lights out. Gardiner based this theory on the facts that the supposed iceberg was seen at such a short distance by the lookouts on the Titanic (a darkened ship is much harder to see), and that he does not believe an iceberg could inflict such sustained and serious damage to a steel double-hulled vessel such as the Titanic.

This also explains the actions of the Californian (which traditionally is seen as failing to come to the rescue of the Titanic after sighting its distress rockets). The ship that was hit by the Titanic was the one seen by the Californian, firing distress rockets because it had been seriously damaged. The Californian did not act because it was on duty to rescue the passengers of the Titanic, which was not expected to send up rockets. At the Inquiry, the captain of the Californian, Stanley Lord, was forced by the owners of White Star and IMM to give false information to cover up their scam, which is why he said he was in the area of the sinking, when in fact he was further west, waiting for the Titanic to rendezvous with him.

The ice on the deck of the Titanic is explained by Gardiner. He is not convinced that any part of the Titanic could have collided with an iceberg, had it existed, to form such shattered ice. He says the vibration of the collision and the engines going astern shook ice from the rigging of both the Titanic and the mystery ship it hit which fell onto the deck. The Titanic also dragged one of the other ship's lifeboats with it, which explains the mysterious accounts of one passenger, who says she saw a half-submerged boat floating in the water just after the collision.

The Titanic took a great deal of distance to slow down and stop, and the mystery ship limped away to put distance between itself and the disaster (if found, it would indicate something other than a simple iceberg collision).

As it happened, the already fragile structure of the ship gave way and the Titanic sank. According to the theory, the cover-up was that the ship had hit an iceberg. The vast majority of the crew were not aware of the scam, and both Captain Smith and First Officer Murdoch died in the sinking, as did 1,503 passengers and crew. The owners of IMM/White Star effected a cover-up, with Captain Lord of the Californian as the scapegoat. That concluded Gardiner's theory. This theory made sense but also many reasons contradict his theory.

Debunking

The theory has proved highly controversial, and indeed largely debunked by other Titanic experts. Like most conspiracy theories seemingly 'conclusive' evidence can be produced to both prove and disprove the theories. Gardiner has produced two books to back up his theory, producing evidence from both British and American Inquiries.

The main points against Gardiner's claims are:

The Olympic and Titanic, whilst externally identical, differed in more than mere window design. The internal structure of the Titanic was very different to accommodate several new features, including two B-Deck luxury suites, with private promenade decks. It would be in no way a simple job to convert the two.

If White Star really wanted to commit insurance fraud, there were many better ways of doing it than gambling with the lives of passengers (especially of wealthy passengers such as made up Titanic's first-class manifest during her maiden voyage, whose families could have ruined IMM if they felt their loved ones had been deliberately sacrificed for IMM's profit margins) and valued senior personnel such as Capt. Smith in mid-Atlantic. A fire started on purpose in a coal bunker whilst the ship was empty and at dock (not an uncommon occurrence) would have suited such a purpose. Breakage of the hull could then be explained away as a result of the fire.

Californian did not have sufficient passenger capacity to take aboard all of Titanic's complement, and the locations of all ships known to be in the vicinity on that night have been accounted for. There is no record of the supposed "mystery ship," let alone the "rescue flotilla" it supposedly belonged to, and no insurance claim was ever filed for it.

Since the wreck of the Titanic was found in 1985 many surveys have been conducted. The ship's yard number (401) has been found on every part expected to bear it — propeller blades, rudder, anchors, and so on. These numbers are engraved into the parts, not simply painted, and would be nearly impossible to change.

The builders of the Titanic, Harland & Wolff, maintained excellent records and accounts throughout the building of the White Star super-liners. None show any evidence that work on the scale suggested by Gardiner was carried out. The number of men working on each project, the sub-contractors employed and the use of yard equipment is all documented and shows no discrepancy. Also, H&W employed thousands of men. It is almost inconceivable that all of them would have remained silent for so long (Gardiner claimed to have interviewed an H&W employee who claimed that the workers were threatened into silence by use of the Official Secrets Act, presumably the 1911 version, but the Official Secrets Act pertained to secrets of interest to national security, which would not have included an insurance scam involving Titanic and Olympic). All of the executives said to be involved have long since died, and no evidence of such a scam was ever found in their personal papers.

Titanic spent many hours at high speed (at or near her design speed of 23 knots) on all three days of her voyage (confirmed by both ship's logs and passenger reports), invalidating the assertion that she was somehow speed-restricted during her voyage.

Gardiner's distortion of eyewitness testimony and other historical sources has been noted by numerous researchers and historians.

External links

• The Mummy on the Titanic
• The Mummy's Curse
• Olympic & Titanic - An Analysis of the Robin Gardiner Conspiracy Theory' written by author Mark Chirnside