The Facts - What did the Survivors See of the Break-up of the Titanic?

The British Inquiry Accounts:

The following witnesses at the British Inquiry made no statement at all about the ship sinking.

George Cavell, Trimmer in Lifeboat 15
Frank Herbert Morris, Steward in Lifeboat 14
John Edward Hart, Steward in Lifeboat 15
Joseph Thomas Wheat, Steward in Lifeboat 11
James Taylor, Fireman in Lifeboat 1
Lady Duff-Gordon, First-class Passenger in Lifeboat 1
Frederick Sheath, Trimmer in Lifeboat 1
Elizabeth Leather, Stewardess in Lifeboat 16
Annie Robinson, Stewardess in Lifeboat 11
Walter Wynn, Quartermaster in Lifeboat 9
Frederick Fleet, Look-Out in Lifeboat 6
George Alfred Hogg, Look-Out in Lifeboat 7
Samuel Hemming, Lamp-Trimmer in Lifeboat 4
Wilfred Seward, Pantry Steward in Lifeboat 3
Alfred Crawford, Steward in Lifeboat 8
Edward John Buley, Able-bodied Seaman in Lifeboat 10
Ernest Archer, Able-bodied Seaman in Lifeboat 16
Joseph Bruce Ismay, First-class Passenger in Collapsible C
Paul Mauge, Chef's Assistant in Lifeboat 13

Archie Jewell, Look-Out in Lifeboat 7

Mr. Jewell did not say whether the ship sank intact or not.

Just tell us shortly what you yourself saw then. What did you see that happened to the “Titanic” before she went down and as she went down? -We stopped there and watched her gradually sink away. We could see the people about on the deck before the lights went out. As she went away by the head so the lights went out, and we heard some explosions as she was going down. But all the lights went out and we could only see a black object in front of us.

Was it light enough to see if her stern was up in the air? - Yes. I saw the stern straight up in the air.

At that time were the lights still burning or had they gone out? - No. As the stern stood up in the air so all the lights went out.

Joseph Scarrott, Able-Bodied Seaman in Lifeboat 14

Mr. Scarrott also did not say how the Titanic sank.

426. (The Commissioner.) How soon after you saw the bridge level with the water did the ship disappear? -Well, I cannot say as regards the time, but when it got there the ship went with a rush, and you could hear the breaking up of things in the ship, and then followed four explosions.

George William Beauchamp, Fireman in Lifeboat 13

Fireman Beauchamp did not say.

757a. (Mr. Raymond Asquith.) When she sank were you near enough to see what happened; did you see how she sank? - Yes, she went down bows first; I could see the stern and then the stern went.

758. Did you hear any explosion? - I could hear a roaring just like thunder.

Robert Hichens, Quartermaster in Lifeboat 6

Robert Hichens claimed he did not see the Titanic go down.

1209. Did you see the “Titanic” go down? - No, Sir.

1210. Did you see her lights? - The last time I looked I saw her lights.

1211. Was your back to her then? - Yes. I was steering away from her then.

1212. You were steering? - Yes.

1213. The last time you looked you saw the lights, and then you did not see them any more? - No, Sir.

William Lucas, Able-Bodied Seaman in Collapsible D, transferred to #12

Mr. Lucas was asked if he saw the ship sink, but gave no details.

1561. Did you see the “Titanic” sink? - Yes.

1562. How far off were you when she sank? - I suppose about 150 yards.

1563. Then it was not very long after you left her that she did sink? - No.

1564. Had you been rowing all the time? - I was not rowing long before she went down.

Frederick Barrett, Leading Fireman in Lifeboat 13

Mr. Barrett was not asked, but just offered that he did see the ship go down.

2199. I gather, Barrett, really, that you felt the cold so much that you do not remember very much? - No, I remember the ship went down.

2200. You remember the ship going down? - Yes; then I must have fallen asleep.

Reginald Lee, Look-Out in Lifeboat 13

Reginald Lee did not see the ship in her last moments.

2553. Did you lay off for some time in the boats. I mean, lay off the “Titanic”? - We were about a quarter to half a mile away from the ship, laying off until she disappeared.

2554. So that you could see what was happening? - Yes.

2555. Then did you see her settling by the head? - She went down by the head.

2560. Did you see her stern? - No. I cannot say that I did from where I was in the boat. I was standing in the bottom of the boat, and I did not actually see the last part of her go. I saw her just before that, but when people said, “She’s gone; that’s the last of her,” I did not actually see it. I cannot say.

2561. Did you see her stern in the air at all during any of the time? Well, I did not see her just before her final disappearance. I did not see that, I cannot say that I did.

John Poingdestre, Able-Bodied Seaman in Lifeboat 12

Mr. Poingdestre did see the ship break apart. You said you saw the “Titanic” sink? - Yes.

3107. How far away were you when she sank? - About 150 yards.

3108. Now will you describe to us what you saw happen when she sank? - Well, I thought when I looked that the ship broke at the foremost funnel.

3109. What led you to that conclusion? - Because I had seen that part disappear.

3110. If she sank by the head you would see that part disappear, would you not? - Yes.

3111. What was there about the disappearance that led you to think she broke? - Because she was short; the afterpart righted itself after the foremost part had disappeared.

3112. (The Commissioner.) Do you mean to say that the fore part of the vessel went down to the bottom, and that then the remainder came on an even keel? - Yes.

James Johnson, Steward in Lifeboat 2

James Johnson was not asked and did not say if the ship broke up.

3509. Now,Mr. Johnson, you told us you rowed away and came back again. Did you see the “Titanic” sink? - I saw her go down.

3510. How far off were you from her then in your boat? - It might have been three-quarters of a mile, or it might have been a little bit less.

Thomas Patrick Dillon, Trimmer in Lifeboat 4

Mr. Dillion wasn't in the best place to see a breakup, as he ended up in the water during that time.

3858. (Mr. Raymond Asquith.) Before the ship actually went down did you see her make any movements? - Yes, she took one final plunge and righted herself again.

3859. She gave a plunge and righted herself again? - Yes.

3860. Did you notice anything about the funnel? - Not then.

3861. Did you afterwards notice something about the funnel? - Yes.

3862. What? - When she went down.

3863. Was that after you had left the ship? - Before I left the ship.

3864. What did you notice? - Well, the funnel seemed to cant up towards me.

3865. It seemed to fall aft? - Yes; it seemed to fall up this way.

3866. Was that the aftermost funnel? - Yes.

3867. Did you get the idea that the ship was breaking in two? - No.

3868. Did the funnel seem to fall towards you? - Yes.

3869. (The Commissioner.) That is the after funnel? - Yes, my Lord.

3882. (Mr. Raymond Asquith.) When you came up again, after you were sucked down - you told us you were sucked down and came up again was the ship still floating then? - No.

3883. She had sunk when you came up again? - Well, I saw what I thought would be the afterpart of her coming up and going down again, final.

3884. Then she had not sunk? - She came up and went down again.

3885. You saw what you thought was the afterpart coming up again? - I thought it was the ship coming up again. She came up and went down again - finish.

Thomas Ranger, Greaser in Lifeboat 4

Mr. Ranger did describe the Titanic seeming to break off.

4090. (The Attorney-General.) Did you see the vessel go down? - Yes.

4094. Just tell us what you saw of the ship going down; describe it to the Court? - The forward end of the ship went underneath and seemed to break off, and the afterpart came back on a level keel.

4095. Then, when she came back on a level keel, what happened to the afterpart of her, then? - It turned up and went down steadily.

4096. Turned up that way, stern up. (Showing.) - Yes.

4097. Did she remain like that at any time? - No.

4098. Will you just describe to us what you mean? - She just slowly turned up and went down. You could see the three propellers in the air.

4099. The foremost part of the afterpart of the vessel began to go down into the water? - Yes.

4100. And the stern went up? - Yes.

4112. You saw the vessel dive down? - Yes.

4113. The fore part of her? - Yes.

Alfred Shiers, Fireman in Lifeboat 5

Alfred Shiers was asked what he saw, but gave no details whatsoever.

4661. Did you see the vessel sink? - Yes.

Charles Hendrickson, Leading Fireman in Lifeboat 1

Fireman Hendrickson's made the same statement as Shiers, with no detail.

5016. Did you see the ship sink? - Yes.

Frederick Scott, Greaser in Lifeboat 4

Mr. Scott did see the ship break in half.

5673. We pulled away from the ship’s side and we had not been away long before the ship started breaking up, and her stern went up in the air, and you could see her three propellers nearly the same as you can see them on the model.

5674. You got away? - Yes; we had just got at the stern of her when she started breaking up.

5675. You say she started breaking up? - Yes; she broke off at the after- funnel, and when she broke off her stern end came up in the air and came down on a level keel and disappeared.

5676. It went up in the air and came back on a level keel? - Yes.

5677. Then did she go up again before she disappeared? - No.

5678. Simply sank? - She simply sank.

5679. (The Commissioner.) Where did she break? - The after-funnel.

5680. (The Attorney-General.) Do you mean between the third and fourth funnels? - No, the after-funnel. From the after-funnel to the stern of her.

5681. Do you mean the break was aft of her last funnel? - Yes, just aft of the last funnel.

5682. (The Commissioner.) Aft of the ventilating funnel? - Yes, that is right. The Commissioner: Does this agree with the other evidence? The Attorney-General: No.

5684. You could not see how far forward she parted? - No.

Charles Joughin, Cook in Collapsible B

Unlike other witnesses, Baker Joughin described hearing some of the early signs of the breakup, while he was in the deck pantry on A deck. He did not describe seeing the ship break up, however.

6040. Tell us what happened? - I went to the deck pantry, and while I was in there I thought I would take a drink of water, and while I was getting the drink of water I heard a kind of a crash as if something had buckled, as if part of the ship had buckled, and then I heard a rush overhead.

6049. You say that you heard this sound of buckling or crackling. Was it loud; could anybody in the ship hear it? - You could have heard it, but you did not really know what it was. It was not an explosion or anything like that. It was like as if the iron was parting.

6050. Like the breaking of metal? - Yes.

Samuel James Rule, Steward in Lifeboat 15

Steward Rule did not see the ship go down at the last. His statements make it unclear as to whether he saw any breakup minutes earlier.

6609. Did you see her go down? - Well, yes, I saw her.

6610. Were her electric lights burning to the end - to the last? - Very near to the last.

6611. Did you see her actually founder? - I did not see her actually go down at the last.

Albert Victor Pearcey, Pantryman in Collapsible C

Mr. Pearcey does not say one way or the other whether the ship intact or not.

10452. Did you see the vessel go down? - Yes.

10453. Were you facing her when she went down? - Yes.

10454. Were her lights burning? - Yes, the lights were burning.

10455. Up to the last? - Yes.

10463. Will you tell the Court what you saw? Explain to the Court what you saw when the vessel sank? - Of course, when she sank she went down. She went down this way (showing). I could not exactly say. I am only rough myself, and I cannot describe it.

10464. Let us see if we can help you. Did she appear to be plunging down by the head or the stern? - She was plunging forward.

10465. Did you see her stern out of the water at all? - Yes, Sir.

10466. Was the stern upstanding? - Yes.

10467. So that the stern was up in the water like that (showing)? - Yes.

Edward Brown, Steward in Collapsible A

Although Mr. Brown seems a bit unsure of what he saw, he does describe the bow breaking off.

10551. Did you hear any noise from the ship as she went down under you - any explosions? - What I took to be an explosion, Sir - a great noise, a great report.

10553. Could you help me with regard to this; if you did not notice say so: Did you notice whether the bow broke off? - With the first report of that explosion I saw the afterpart of the ship giving a tremble like this (showing), and I thought by the afterpart going up like this (showing), and giving a bit of a tremble that the bow had fallen off. I might be wrong.

10554. But that was your conclusion from it? - Yes.

Charles Donald MacKay, Steward in Lifeboat 11

Mr. MacKay was not asked for, and did not state any details about the state of the ship during the sinking.

10800. How far away? - To the best of my ability a quarter of a mile.

10801. Were you within sight when the ship went down? - We watched all proceedings.

10849. Did you see the ship sink? - Yes.

George Symons, Look-out in Lifeboat 1

Look-out Symons described the ship breaking in half

11510. Then when you saw her like that, what was the next thing that happened? - I pulled a little further away to escape, if there was any suction. I stood and watched it till I heard two sharp explosions in the ship. What they were I could not say. Then she suddenly took a top cant, her stern came well out of the water then.

11511. A top cant? - You know what I mean to say, she took a heavy cant and her bow went down clear.

11512. Head downwards? - Head down, and that is the time when I saw her lights go out, all her lights. The next thing I saw was her poop. As she went down like that so her poop righted itself and I thought to myself, “The poop is going to float.” It could not have been more than two or three minutes after that that her poop went up as straight as anything; there was a sound like steady thunder as you hear on an ordinary night at a distance, and soon she disappeared from view.

11513. Let us see if we quite understand what you are saying about it. Suppose that is the stem and that is the stern. (Describing.) You saw her first of all with her stem downward? - Yes.

11514. I understand you to say you saw her stem downwards? - Yes.

11515. Did you see her head going well down? - Her head was going well down.

11516. And you saw her stern out of the water like that? (Describing.) Yes, her stern was well out of the water.

11517. I understand you to say that at one period you saw her stern right itself? - It righted itself without the bow; in my estimation she must have broken in half.

11518. Can you form any idea from what part of the vessel it was that she appeared to right herself? - I should think myself it was abaft the after expansion plate.

11722. “And after we had put off from No. 1 boat I saw this light still bearing in much the same direction and at about the same distance away. I saw no red or green lights at all at this time. At this time the forecastle-head of the “Titanic” was all awash; and when we were about a quarter of a mile off I heard two sharp explosions following each other rapidly. The “Titanic” seemed to me to split in two, the head disappearing completely, and the poop coming up and seeming to right itself for a moment, the lights all went suddenly out, and she seemed to take an upturn plunge, standing up on end, and with a roar she disappeared.

Albert Edward James Horswill, Fireman in Lifeboat 1

Mr. Horswill did not see the ship in it's final dive.

12336. Did you see the “Titanic” go down? - No.

12337. Was your back to it? - No, I never saw it go down at all.

Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, First-class Passenger in Lifeboat 1

Although Sir Duff-Gordon claimed to be watching the ship, he gave no details of what he saw.

12543. You do not know where? - I had been watching the “Titanic,” of course, to the last moment, and after that, of course, one did not know where it had been.

Samuel Collins, Fireman in Lifeboat 1

Mr. Collins also gave no details.

12988. After a time did you see her go down? - I saw her go down.

Robert William Pusey, Fireman in Lifeboat 1

Again, no details were given by Mr. Pusey.

13100. Did you see the ship go down from that point? - Yes, but not very clearly.

Charles Herbert Lightoller, Second Officer in Collapsible B

Mr. Lightoller's description of the Titanic's end, disagrees with many of the other witnesses, in that he is very specific that the afterpart did *not* settle back to the water. He is convinced the ship sank intact.

14074. (The Solicitor-General.) I do not know whether you can help us at all in describing what happened to the ship. You were engaged and had other things to think about; but what did happen to the ship? Can you tell us at all? - Are you referring to the reports of the ship breaking in two?

14075. Yes? - It is utterly untrue. The ship did not and could not have broken in two.

14076. (The Commissioner.) If you saw it - if you saw what happened, tell us what it was? - After the funnel fell there was some little time elapsed. I do not know exactly what came or went, but the next thing I remember I was alongside this collapsible boat again, and there were about half a dozen standing on it. I climbed on it, and then turned my attention to the ship. The third if not the second funnel was still visible, certainly the third funnel was still visible. The stern was then clear of the water.

14077. Which do you call the second and third? - Numbering them from forward, my Lord.

14078. The second was visible? - The third was visible - I am not sure if the second was visible, but I am certain the third was visible, and she was gradually raising her stern out of the water. Even at that time I think the propellers were clear of the water. That I will not be certain of.

14079. Had the funnel broken away? - Only the forward one.

14080. But you are not sure about the second one? - I am not sure whether that was below water or not, that I cannot say.

14081. That is what I mean. I want to know from you. Was it below water in the sense that the ship had sunk so as to immerse it in the water, or had it broken adrift? - No, the second funnel was immersed.

14082. It appears to me, looking at that model, that if that was so the stern must have been very well up in the air? - Well, I daresay it was, my Lord; it would be.

14083. And the propellers all visible? - Yes, clear of the water. That is my impression.

14084. (The Solicitor-General.) When you say the third funnel was visible I understand you to mean part of it? - Yes, some part of the funnel. As a matter of fact, I am rather under the impression that the whole of the third funnel was visible.

14084a. (The Commissioner.) It seems to me the ship would be almost perpendicular? - She did eventually attain the absolutely perpendicular.

The Solicitor-General: Perhaps this profile will help you. (Handing the same to the Witness.)

14092. (The Solicitor-General.) Did you continue watching the afterpart sufficiently to be able to tell us whether the afterpart settled on the water at all? - It did not settle on the water.

14093. You are confident it did not? - Perfectly certain.

The Solicitor-General: Your Lordship knows a lot of witnesses have said their impression was the afterpart settled on the water.

14094. (The Commissioner.) I have heard that over and over again. (To the Witness.) That you say is not true? - That is not true, my Lord. I was watching her keenly the whole time.

The Commissioner: I had a difficulty in realizing how it could possibly be that the afterpart of the ship righted itself for a moment.

14095. (The Solicitor-General.) Your evidence is that the ship remained stiff? - Yes.

14096. Now just carry it on, did you continue watching her until she disappeared? - I did.

14097. Just tell us what happened, as you saw it? - After she reached an angle of 50 or 60 degrees, or something about that, there was this rumbling sound, which I attributed to the boilers leaving their beds and crushing down on or through the bulkheads. The ship at that time was becoming more perpendicular, until finally she attained the absolute perpendicular - somewhere about that position (describing), and then went slowly down. She went down very slowly until the end, and then, after she got so far (describing), the afterpart of the second cabin deck, she, of course, went down much quicker.

Herbert John Pitman, Third Officer in Lifeboat 5

LikeMr. Lightoller,Mr. Pitman also claimed the stern did not settle back on the water. He also stated the ship sank intact.

15071. Well, that exhausts it. Now you saw the vessel go down? - Yes.

15072. What did she do when she went down; you were an officer, perhaps you can tell us. Inquires have been made of others. How did she sink? She sank by the head, we know that? - Yes.

15073. Describe it in your own way. - That is the position I saw her in when we left. She gradually disappeared like that; she went right on end like that and went down that way (demonstrating).

15074. Did her afterpart ever right itself? - I should not think so; I did not see it.

15075. Before she finally disappeared? - No.

15076. Could you have seen it if it had happened? - I think so; I was only barely 100 yards away.

15077. Were you keeping your eyes upon her? - I was.

15078. You know this is suggested - supposing that is the head of the ship and going down in this way with the afterpart coming up in that way; a number of witnesses have said that before she finally foundered, plunged into the sea, the afterpart righted itself like that and then she went down. The question is whether you think that is true that she broke in two in that way bringing her afterpart level with the water again and then went down in that way. Did she crack in the middle? - I do not think so. If the afterpart had broken off it would have remained afloat.

15079. Not broken off, but cracked in that way? - No.

15080. At all events, the point is this: Did you see the afterend of the ship - you saw it up in the air - right itself and come flush with the water again? - It did not.

15081. And you say you looked, and if it had happened you would have seen it? - Certainly.

Joseph Groves Boxhall, Fourth Officer in Lifeboat 2

Mr. Boxhall said he did not see the ship at the last.

15467. How far were you from the ship when she did sink? Approximately, half-a-mile.

15468. That means that you could not see what happened? - No, I could not.

Harold Godfrey Lowe, Fifth Officer in Lifeboat 14

Mr. Lowe agreed with both of Lightoller and Pitman, that the stern end of the Titanic did not settle back. However, he said nothing about the ship sinking intact.

16015. Did you see the “Titanic” sink? - I did.

16016. Can you tell me anything about this righting of the afterend of the vessel; did you see that? - No, I did not see her right at all - you mean to say that she evened up on her keel?

16017. Yes, the afterpart of her? - No, my Lord, I did not.

16018. Did you see her actually go down? - I did.

16019. If she had righted herself in that way would you have seen it? Yes, because I was within 150 yards of her. (Q.) And you did not see that? -(A.) I did not.

George Thomas Rowe, Quartermaster in Collapsible C

Mr. Rowe stated he was not in a position to see if the stern righted, and was not asked if she sank intact or not.

17700. (The Commissioner.) Did you see the “Titanic” go down? - Yes.

17701. You know how the foundering has been described to us by some witnesses; that is to say that she was down by the head. Supposing this is the head (indicating), that she was down by the head in that way and then before she went down her afterpart righted itself and lay on an even keel, as far as the keel went, on the surface of the water. Is that so? - I could not say that. I was looking at her practically stem on - what we call stem on.

Conclusions for the British Inquiry Accounts:

Similar to the American Inquiry, very few people said they saw the ship sink intact. Reading thru account after account, it actually feels as if the Assessors were *avoiding* the subject of whether the ship broke apart.

Many witnesses were asked if they saw the ship sink, and then the Assessor abruptly changed the subject to something else! Toward the end of Lightoller's evidence above, the Commissioner (Lord Mersey) even states he does not understand how the stern could right itself. Had he already made up his mind, that the ship had sank intact?

As in the American table, the category below for those who did not state whether the ship broke apart or not, includes both those who did not say, and those who were unsure what really did happen to the Titanic in the final moments.

British Inquiry Totals