Damage Above Water

[Jessie M.]

So one thing I was actually curious about when it comes to the disaster is the actual damage to the ship... throughout the sinking. I (and I'm sure plenty of you guys as well) have seen a butt ton of forensics as the two halves of the ship sank to the sea floor - but I'd like to know about the damage to the ship in between the iceberg collision and time it took to slip beneath the waves after the breakup.

God awful doodle strikes again!
Regardless; this is where Titanic first starts to take damage. The iceberg pops some rivets, creating several small holes in the hull similarly in my little doodle. After this, the ship starts to strain a bit - Lightholler (I think) mentioning in his testimony that some of the expanding joints (I think) were starting to come apart.

Other than this though I'm not certain of the damage to the ship. I've seen recreations that show doors and walls crunching under pressure, but I don't know if this really happened or not.

Forum; you're thoughts?

 

[Scott Mills]

I do not recall any witness stating that there was any damage visible on the superstructure of the ship, nor on the hull of the ship. This includes people in the life boats; although to be fair, while unlikely, above water damage at the waterline could have been submerged by the time starboard lifeboats hit the water.

The only visible signs a collision occurred at all may have been the ice some survivors claimed to see on the forecastle immediately after the collision.

As far as the actual damage to the ship, I have no doubt that separated plates were involved that resulted, at least partially, from rivet failure; however, at this point in time I do not think anyone can speak authoritatively about the damage done to Titanic during the collision, at least not in absolute terms. For example, given the reports of the flooding on the ship, and the physics involved, I think it is likely that Titanic suffered grounding damage as well; and there is a possibility that the Titanic also lost a propeller during the collision, which seems impossible given the flooding Titanic suffered if Titanic only suffered a glancing blow on the forward starboard side.