Ismay undoubtedly wanted Titanic to beat Olympic's maiden voyage speed. Even in 1913, shipping companies wanted their latest vessels to be bigger and better than older bottoms in the fleet. Increasing Titanic's tonnage through the use of those "Ismay Screens" and other minor changes were part of this concept. Titanic was virtually identical to Olympic in every meaningful way, but was made to be "bigger" just for appearances sake. Undoubtedly, Britannic would have come out even "bigger" than Titanic and made an even faster maiden crossing.
Beating Olympic's maiden voyage was well within Titanic's capability. But, that alone would not have required taking any unnecessary chances. After all, Olympic's maiden voyage speed was nothing to write home about. It wasn't even close to a speed record for the North Atlantic. So, while there was probably great desire for Titanic to be faster than Olympic on its maiden voyage, there was little necessity.
That said, we know Titanic's speed was increased throughout the voyage as the machinery was increasingly "run in." This was normal procedure. (Most people under 30 don't remember the day when you had to "break in" a new car by running in slowly and at varying speeds for 3,000 miles.) By Monday the engines would have been ready for Ismays great speed stunt.
But, the accident happened on Sunday evening. At the time Titanic was making 22 1/2 knots. That's not a breathaking speed for a trans-Atlantic liner in 1913. In fact, an overall speed of 22 knots is needed to keep the sailing schedule demanded by White Star. So, Titanic cannot be said to have been "speeding" across the ocean at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912. It was simply making the speed demanded by the route.
As late on April 14 as the second before the accident, Titanic was being operated in the normal manner for a trans-Atlantic liner. Those ships did not reduce speed just because there might be danger ahead because the passengers demaned fast passage.
Looking back from a safe distance of 90 years, we have a tendency to say, "He should have known." But, what should he have known -- that Titanic would run over an iceberg? That it would sink before dawn? We know those things, but what we know as facts were future events unknowable to Captain E.J. Smith. We cannot ask him to have changed his decisions based upon foreknowledge of future events. Titanic was making 22 1/2 knots because that's what its builders, its owners, its passengers, and its captain wanted it to be doing at 11:39 p.m. on April 14, 1912.
-- David G. Brown