Yet another watertight door question

[Paul Lee]

Hi all,
Happy Christmas btw!

....now, down to business!

Is there any testimony that shows that any watertight doors, other than those in the boiler/engine rooms etc. were closed? e.g. those doors that needed to be closed by hand in the crew and passenger areas?

Incidentally, were there any watertight doors on Scotland Road?

Best wishes!

Paul

 

[David G. Brown]

Paul -- Check Boxhall's testimony about problems he had getting around manual doors which the crew was closing immediately after the accident. These doors were in the bow area. Since there is no evidence of a direct order to close them from the bridge, the fact the crew was peforming this work is indicative of a high degree of organization and training.

Also, there is testimony from several stewards about closing doors in the midship and after sections of third class.

Sorry I can't give exact quotes because my notes are packed away at the moment.

-- David G. Brown

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hi Paul,

Several 1st Class passengers who had rooms on E-deck reported seeing crew working on closing or trying to close the W/T doors on F-deck. In some cases it seems that had trouble because the doors had already been closed on F-deck itself.

Yes there were W/T doors in the after section of Scotland Road. Deck plans suggest 5 and if they had been closed some 3rd Class passengers could have been trapped.

 

[Per Erik Kjepso]

Paul,

Sorry for stealing your tread, but while you are on the WTDs; What about the stokers and engineers in the boiler rooms during the collision: When the ship hit the iceberg, WTDs got closed right away, did the duty people have any escapeways after the WTDs got closed or were they trapped and left to die?

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>did the duty people have any escapeways after the WTDs got closed or were they trapped and left to die?<<

Each of the boiler rooms and the engine rooms had escape ladders in there for exactly that purpose. Nobody who was down in any of them had a problem getting out when it was time to do so save for one man with a broken leg and those who remained with him in Boiler Room Five.

Getting off the ship was another matter.