Had the Californian received those transitions, they would have been able to provide rescue to the passengers of the Titanic before the ship had sunk and prevented the substantial loss of life. ![]() Just under an hour and a half later, the Titanic would start sending out SOS alerts to advise that they had hit an iceberg and required rescue. Surprised at the somewhat rude response, the Californian’s wireless operator turned off his machine for the night and went to sleep. Frustrated that his work was interrupted, Phillips sent the Californian a terse message asking them to stop sending any further transmissions until he had caught up on the backlog. The transmission was received by the on-duty wireless operator, Jack Phillips, who was busy sending a backlog of passenger telegrams. At 10:20pm, the Californian spotted the Titanic on the horizon and sent out another iceberg warning to the ship, just 20 miles away. Later that evening, after encountering an ice field, the Californian opted to stop for the night and wait for the morning when visibility conditions were safer. Read more about: History’s Greatest Mysteries Mistakes that sank the Titanic Despite the warning, the Titanic continued on full steam ahead. The Titanic’s on-duty wireless officer, Harold Bride, picked up the transmission for the Antillian and passed it up to the captain. They had spotted three large icebergs to their south. Villain: The CalifornianĪt 6:30 on the evening of the 14th, a nearby ship, the Californian, had sent out an iceberg warning to a nearby ship, the Antillian. Unfortunately, due to the distance between the two ships, and the speed at which the Titanic was going down, the Carpathia didn’t arrive until an hour after the Titanic had sunk. The Carpathia was just under 60 miles away from the Titanic, but despite the danger that icebergs posed to the ship, Captain Rostron diverted the Carpathia at full speed to assist as quickly as possible. As soon as he received the distress call, Captain Arthur Henry Rostron rerouted the Carpathia and began preparing to onboard survivors. Shortly after midnight, only a few days into her trip, the ship received a distress signal from the Titanic saying it had struck an iceberg. The RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Carpathia departed from New York on 11th April 1912. But these were not heeded and the ship travelled at speed until it struck an iceberg and sank.Read more about: Mysteries 10 Things You May Not Know About the Titanic It was produced by Benjamin Steele, who was the marine superintendent for White Star Line at Southampton Docks on 6 April 1912, and was specifically addressed to Smith.Īs depicted in the 1997 film starring Kate Winslet, Capt Smith later received warnings of icebergs while the liner was en route to New York. The note shows that White Star Line was taking a responsible approach and fulfilling its duty of care to its passengers and crew at the time Titanic set sail. ![]() “It later helped show that White Star Line acted responsibly up until Titanic sailed.” He would have read it and then given it back to whoever brought it. One of the major attractions to it is that it would have been in the hands of Captain Smith on the bridge of the Titanic. “This was not a mass-produced document but a one-off report specifically for Captain EJ Smith. ![]() The obstacle would have done some serious damage and ripped a hole in the hull of Titanic had it gone straight over it. “The obstruction wasn’t an iceberg but the mast of a wreck that had been reported by the Rotterdam, a Dutch liner that had travelled from New York. The estimated cost is put at £8,000–£12,000.Īuctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “This report was from the offices of the White Star Line’s marine superintendent at Southampton directly to Captain Smith warning him of a potential obstruction ahead. ![]() The document was acquired by an American collector of Titanic memorabilia, who is is selling it on 23 April at auction at Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.
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