| Author |
Message |
    
Paul Lee
Member
Username: dpl
Post Number: 1019
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 2, 2004 - 3:35 pm: | 
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Just more ramblings from me:
Nobody knows where Daniel Buckley's room was. All we know is that it was in the bow, in
3rd class, and in (at least) a 4 berth cabin (as there was him and three others in the room).
When the collision occurred, he heard a noise, jumped out of bed, and his feet got wet from
a small amount of water coming from under the door. This meant that, in the space of a very
short space of time, the water had risen to just over the height of the deck below. Could some
measure of flooding be extracted from his evidence?
On G-deck, there were no 3rd class cabins, just open berths. In compartment 4, this would be above
the 1st and 2nd class baggage room, which had water in there at 12.05am - too late for Buckley
obviously, unless his account was an exaggeration.
As Lord Mersey said:
"There is a stairway on the port side on G deck which leads down to the first class baggage room
on the Orlop deck immediately below. There was water in this baggage room 25 minutes after
the collision. Half an hour after the collision water was up to G deck in the mail room."
I also find it unlikely that the White Star would place only 4 people in an open berth, when there
were cabins available. It seems unlikely deck G was used. Also, Buckley says that the room was "small".
On F-deck, there were 3rd class cabins in compartments 3, 4 and 5. The cabins in compt. 3 could only be flooded
either by the No.2 hatch or the staircase from the open 3rd class berths on G-deck. According to Poingdestre,
the seaman's quarters on E-deck were flooded about 12.20am. It doesn't seem likely to me that it would take 40
minutes for water to come trickling underneath Buckley's door shortly after the collision, and then for the water
level to rise to the next deck in 40 minutes. This would imply an acceleration in the flooding rate. However, only
5 minutes after the collision, water was seen swirling round the base of the fireman's spiral staircase, again
implying a reasonably slow rate of flooding.
In compt.4, the 3rd class compartments could be flooded either up the staircases leading from G-deck or
via the bunker hatch, or even via the squash racket court. According to Lord Mersey's report:
"In No. 3 hold the mail room was afloat about 20 minutes after the collision. The bottom
of the mail room which is on the Orlop deck, is 24 feet above the keel."
Again, this implies a very slow rate of flooding in this compartment.
That leaves us with compartment no.5; to get to the 3rd class areas, the water could rise up from G-deck via the
staircases etc. This room leaves us with a conundrum. It is directly above boiler room 6, which, depending on whom you believe. was either
flooded shortly after the collision (Barrett), or was dry enough for people to stay in there and draw
the fires (Beauchamp).
I must also note that Miss Elizabeth Walton's companion (Mrs.Roberts) had a maid, who had a cabin on E deck forward.
Within a short space of time after the collision, the maid's room was underwater. All this makes me think that the flooding
was somewhat different from that presented in Lord Mersey's report - and, by inference, the evidence presented at
the BoT inquiry.
Cheers
Paul
--
http://www.paullee.com |
Paul Lee
Member
Username: dpl
Post Number: 1022
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 - 12:00 pm: |
|
I feel, having done a bit of calculation, that the flooding that Buckley refers to may have occurred in the 3rd class area on F-deck. If so, then it does indicate a faster rate of flooding than observed in the fireman's passage/spiral staircase a few minutes after the berg strike.
If this is right, then it means that Buckley got his feet wet from water in the hold area (as distinct from the passage), which had flooded completely and risen up the number 2 hatch. If the grounding theory is right, then this implies damage to both the hold and the passage.
Lord Mersey noted that, for the staircase to have become flooded, the iceberg must have penetrated 3.5 feet inside the hull, as this is the distance between the outer skin and the passage. However, according to this blueprint, I make the distance more like 9 feet. I always thought the idea of the berg penetrating that far inside the ship at this location alone (though of course this can't be proven) to be a bit unbelievable.
Cheers
Paul
--
http://www.paullee.com
PS If this is correct, then for the hold to be flooded to F deck, minus the passage, then this will mean that roughly 2800 tonnes would be required inside that compartment.
PPS I'll let someone else work out, given a head of something like 55 feet, what size hole would be required for this rate of inlet given that it would have taken a few (5-10) minutes. |
