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AN UNSINKABLE TITANIC

[Illustration: Photo by Brown Bros., New York

STOKE-HOLE OF A TRANSATLANTIC LINER]




  AN
  UNSINKABLE
  TITANIC

  EVERY SHIP
  ITS OWN LIFEBOAT

  BY
  J. BERNARD WALKER
  Editor of the Scientific American

  [Illustration]

  NEW YORK
  DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
  1912


  COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY
  DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY

  Published, July, 1912

  THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRESS
  RAHWAY, N. J.




                        To
  THE MEMORY OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE _TITANIC_,
                    JOHN BELL,
     AND HIS STAFF OF THIRTY-THREE ASSISTANTS,
      WHO STOOD AT THEIR POSTS IN THE ENGINE-
         AND BOILER-ROOMS TO THE VERY LAST,
            AND WENT DOWN WITH THE SHIP,
              THIS WORK IS DEDICATED




PREFACE


It is the object of this work to show that, in our eagerness to make the
ocean liner fast and luxurious, we have forgotten to make her safe.

The safest ocean liner was the _Great Eastern_; and she was built
over fifty years ago. Her designer aimed to make the ship practically
unsinkable--and he succeeded; for she passed through a more severe
ordeal than the _Titanic_, survived it, and came into port under her own
steam.

Since her day, the shipbuilder has eliminated all but one of the safety
devices which made the _Great Eastern_ a ship so difficult to sink.
Nobody, not even the shipbuilders themselves, seemed to realise what was
being done, until, suddenly, the world's finest vessel, in all the
pride of her maiden voyage, struck an iceberg and went to the bottom in
something over two and a half hours' time!

If we learn the lesson of this tragedy, we shall lose no time in getting
back to first principles. We shall reintroduce in all future passenger
ships those simple and effective elements of safety--the double
skin, the longitudinal bulkhead, and the watertight deck--which were
conspicuous in the _Great Eastern_, and which alone can render such a
ship as the _Titanic_ unsinkable.

       *       *       *       *       *

The author's acknowledgments are due to the "Scientific American" for
many of the photographs and line drawings reproduced in this volume;
to an article by Professor J. H. Biles, published in "Engineering," for
material relating to the Board of Trade stipulations as to bulkheads;
to Sir George C. V. Holmes and the Victoria and Albert Museum for data
regarding the _Great Eastern_, published in "Ancient and Modern Ships";
to Naval Constructor R. H. M. Robinson, U.S.N., for permission to
reproduce certain drawings from his work, "Naval Construction," and
to Naval Constructor Henry Williams, U.S.N., who courteously read the
proofs of this work and offered many valuable suggestions. The original
wash and line drawings are by Mr. C. McKnight Smith.

  J. B. W.

  NEW YORK, _June_, 1912.




CONTENTS


  CHAPTER                                      PAGE

  I.    INTRODUCTORY                              1

  II.   THE EVER-PRESENT DANGERS OF THE SEA      19

  III.  EVERY SHIP ITS OWN LIFEBOAT              35

  IV.   SAFETY LIES IN SUBDIVISION               51

  V.    THE UNSINKABLE _GREAT EASTERN_ OF
          1858                                   69

  VI.   THE SINKABLE _TITANIC_                   91

  VII.  HOW THE GREAT SHIP WENT DOWN            116

  VIII. WARSHIP PROTECTION AGAINST RAM,
          MINE, AND TORPEDO                     136

  IX.   WARSHIP PROTECTION AS APPLIED TO
          SOME OCEAN LINERS                     161

  X.    CONCLUSIONS                             179





ILLUSTRATIONS


  Stoke-Hole of a Transatlantic Liner         _Frontispiece_

                                                        PAGE
  Riveting the Outer Skin on the Frames of a
    65,000-Ton Ocean Liner                                 3

  Growth of the Transatlantic Steamer from 1840
    to 1912                                                7

  Receiving Submarine Signals on the Bridge               13

  Taking the Temperature of the Water                     17

  Fire-Drill on a German Liner: Stewards are Closing
    Door in Fire-Protection Bulkhead                      21

  Fire-Drill on a German Liner: Hose from Bellows
    Supplies Fresh Air to Man with Smoke Helmet           25

  Fire-Drill on a German Liner: Test of Fire-Mains
    is Made Every Time the Ship is in Port                29

  The 44,000-Ton, 25-1/2-Knot _Lusitania_                    37

  Provisioning the Boats During a Boat Drill              43

  Loading and Lowering Boats, Stowed Athwartships         43

  The Elaborate Installation of Telegraphs, Telephones,
    Voice-Tubes, etc., on the Bridge of an
    Ocean Liner                                           47

  Hydraulically-operated, Watertight Door in an
    Engine-Room Bulkhead                                  53

  Diagram Showing Protective Value of Transverse
    and Longitudinal Bulkheads, Watertight Decks,
    and Inner Skin                                        57

  Closing, from the Bridge, All Watertight