Just before midnight in the North Atlantic, the RMS Titanic
fails to divert its course from an iceberg, ruptures its hull,
and begins to sink. Four days earlier, the Titanic, one of the
largest and most luxurious ocean liners ever built, departed
Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic
Ocean. While leaving port, the massive ship came within a couple
of feet of the steamer New York but passed safely by, causing a
general sigh of relief from the passengers massed on the ship's
decks. The Titanic was designed by the Irish shipbuilder William
Pirrie and spanned 883 feet from stern to bow. Its hull was
divided into 16 compartments that were presumed to be
watertight. Because four of these compartments could be flooded
without causing a critical loss of buoyancy, the Titanic was
considered unsinkable. On its first journey across the highly
competitive Atlantic ferry route, the ship carried some 2,200
passengers and crew. After stopping at Cherbourg, France, and
Queenstown, Ireland, to pick up