| Author |
Message |
    
David G. Brown
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2001 - 8:33 pm: | 
|
One area that does not seem to have received much attention is sound. We all know that steam screamed out of the vent pipes. And, we've read about the breakup sounds. But, what did people hear in between?
What I am most concerned with are the "small" sounds--the creaking, groaning, or even snapping. What did people hear from the fabric of the ship while it was foundering? These sounds may be our best clue to how and why the stern began to break away. We may learn about other aspects of the sinking as well.
Anyone have any knowledge of passengers or crew talking about the sounds Titanic made as it sank?
-- David G. Brown |
Dan Cherry
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2001 - 6:34 pm: |
|
Havig read much of the passengers' and crews' testimonies and examined many period newspapers over the years, I cannot seem to recall much about noises and sounds, except for the obvious ones such as the collision, gunshots, and the final plunge (i.e., crashing objects, explosions that were referred to erroneously as boiler explosions, and the cries of people during the final plunge and sinking.
One of the few references of sinking sounds I came across is from the British Inquiry's web site at http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTInq06Joughin01.html.
Baker Joughin recalled a noise near the end, which I suppose was around 2:10-2:15 a.m.
The references are questions 6040, 6049 and 6050. He describes a sound like buckling or breaking of iron.
Many passengers describe in the throes of the sinking they heard anywhere from one to several "tremendous" explosions, to use the description by Mrs. J. Stuart White, and many of the witnesses attribute this as boiler explosions. Would this not be the point where the ship split apart?
My research barely scratches the surface of testimonies and accounts. Hopefully someone will uncover this, because I, too, have an interest in this subject of noise during the Titanic's last minutes afloat...
Regards,
Dan C. |
Richard Paola
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2001 - 7:30 pm: |
|
interesting point David..i seem to recall one account which described a sound from the sinking ship that was similar to an "agonizing moaning sound" as if the ship was "a large beast crying from its mortal wound"; something to that effect. remember, through all this, the sound of ragtime music from the band could be heard, apparently, almost to the very end; whether the music could be heard from the lifeboats, i do not know. |
David G. Brown
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2001 - 11:55 pm: |
|
Thanks to Richard and Dan for coming up with a couple of useful bits of information. I admit this is a off-the-wall sort of search that I'm doing. However, I do have a point. I believe that sounds made by any ship are directly related to what is happening at the time. Engineers are trained to listen to their machinery first, then read the gauges because changes in sound often preceed changes in temperature, pressure, or whatever. Did the ship groan, crackle or pop earlier in the evening. That would be a clue as to the nature of the damage and to any changes in the structure as the hull filled with water. And, it occurred to me that all of the reports of the sinking are much like a silent movie filled with lots of visual excitement...but devoid of the sounds that must have taken place.
-- David G. Brown |
Rena Murray
Member
Username: pawpersuasion
Post Number: 4
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, November 1, 2007 - 1:25 am: |
|
When the ship hit the berg, Madeline Astor thought it was a mishap in the kitchen and Lady Duff Gordon thought someone was tearing a long long strip of calico.
source "A Night to Remember" |
Dick Jackson Roe II
Member
Username: duffys_friend
Post Number: 18
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Monday, July 21, 2008 - 8:00 am: |
|
The engine room scenes in "A Night to Remember" were filmed at a pumping station before the piston steam engines were dismantled. though smaller than Titanic's, I assume they sounded similar. |
Stanley C Jenkins
Member
Username: stanley_c_jenkins
Post Number: 467
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 12:30 am: |
|
There were various references to sounds. The collision, for example, was thought by some to be a problem with one of the screws, while the terrific roar of steam being let off was followed by a strange period of silence. When the ship started to sink the sound of breaking bulkheads, etc., was thought to be explosions beneath the sea. I am sure that the sound of the band could be heard by those in the boats - sound carries at sea, especially on a still night. |
