Titanic's Fog Horn

[jim mclaughlin]

If Titanic had blown the fog horn would Californian not have heard it? It was a dead calm night.

 

[SmileyGirl]

If Titanic had blown the fog horn would Californian not have heard it? It was a dead calm night.

Ooh that’s a good question, I’d like to know this.

 

[Steven Christian]

I've never read of any ships reporting hearing Titanics steam safety devices when they lifted or the reports from her rockets. So probably not on the fog horns. But different frequencies travel differentley so ?

 

[Steven Christian]

Also if the Californian was as close as some have claimed wouldn't the lookouts have reported her blowing off steam when the safeties lifted. There must have been a visable plume if only briefly.

 

[Aaron_2016]

If Titanic had blown the fog horn would Californian not have heard it? It was a dead calm night.

3rd officer Pitman was asked if the Titanic's whistle could be heard 5 miles away.


Q - If there had been a vessel that night within 5 miles of the Titanic, could not her whistle have been heard that distance?

A - No; but you could have heard her blowing off steam at a far greater distance than you could hear the steam whistle. She was blowing off steam for three-quarters of an hour, I think, and you could hear that much farther than you could hear any steam whistle.

Q - Then it would stand to reason that if there was a ship or vessel of any kind within a distance of 5 miles it ought to have heard the blowing off of the steam?

A - She could have heard that 10 miles that night.


.

 

[Mike Spooner]

Question why did not use the whistle? If I am not mistaken isn't that part of the rules when a ship is in distress?

 

[jim mclaughlin]

I live on a hill overlooking Belfast harbor, approx. 8 miles away. Every newyear at midnight ships in harbor sound their foghorn and it is clearly audible despite many obstructions. never mind over a flat calm sea.

 

[Robert T. Paige]

During my assignment in the Navy on Treasure Island, fog horns could be heard from many ships, both near and far on a foggy night in San Francisco Bay

Ooh that’s a good question, I’d like to know this.

Yes.
I would be interested in the answer, too.

One explanation I have heard was that it was thought that continuous blowing of the fog horn would only increase the anxiety of the passengers.

One of the "nit-picks" or "goofs" of the 1953 "Titanic" movie is that the fog horn or one of the whistles on the Titanic is heard, continuously sounding during the sinking.

Another trivial thing about "whistles" that seems curious to landlubbers such as myself.
I always associate "whistles" with things that go "tweet-tweet" or are high pitched rather than the deep bass voice of the "whistle" which is still sounded regularly on former RMS , now Hotel, Queen Mary.
Is "whistle" a more correct Naval Term than "horn" ? And if so, why ?

 

[Ioannis Georgiou]

Titanic did not had a fog horn. She had whistles. The whistles need steam (dry steam) which they got directly from the boiler rooms. With no steam there was no way to blow them. (Only the whistles on the forward 2 funnels were functional, the others were dummies.)

 

[Mike Spooner]

With no steam there was no way to blow them? There was plenty of steam been blow away! Probably the question of not to alarm the passengers is a good answer.

 

[David G. Brown]

A bit of a trick question here...but what is the physical difference between a "whistle" and a "fog horn?" And, why do we differentiate between them?

-- David G. Brown

 

[Ioannis Georgiou]

With no steam there was no way to blow them? There was plenty of steam been blow away! Probably the question of not to alarm the passengers is a good answer.

No there was not. The steam blown off was coming out of the steam escape pipes. For the whistles there was another pipe, they could not use both. (Also the whistles need dry steam.)

 

[Mike Spooner]

Were did the dry steam come from? As Titanic boilers did not use super heated dry steam for the engines.

 

[Mike Spooner]

If Titanic had blown the fog horn would Californian not have heard it? It was a dead calm night.

More like if the ship was 19-20 miles away as stated by Lord they wouldn't of heard it!
As Mersey had in his head at one time was only 5 miles away! If that was the case the crew members on the California would of definite heard it, especially in the dead of night!

 

[Ioannis Georgiou]

Were did the dry steam come from? As Titanic boilers did not use super heated dry steam for the engines.

The steam would come from the boiler room, it run the pipe for whistles which had a water separator. The water would run down back to the boilers. However as I said, they could not use both pipes at the same time. After the steam was vented off by the escape pipes there was nothing left to use the whistles.