Signals of Distress – What Color Were They?

Historical Context:

• The British Board of Trade (BOT) authorized the use of socket distress signals for passenger steamers and emigrant ships in the 1880s.
• Titanic was equipped with 36 socket distress signals, meeting BOT requirements for distress signaling.

Socket Distress Signals:

• Manufactured by The Cotton Powder Company, these signals were designed to be fired from gunmetal rail sockets on the ship.
• The signals were about 2 inches in diameter and 7.5 inches in height, and were supplied in boxes of 24, 12, or 6.

Discovery at the Wreck Site:

• An opened box containing 17 unfired socket signals was found at the Titanic wreck site in 2004.
• The signals had distinctive shapes with a hole in the center for inserting a friction tube used to fire the signal.

Eyewitness Accounts:

• Titanic’s Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall and Second Officer Charles Lightoller described the distress signals as throwing out white stars or balls.
• Some Titanic survivors reported seeing colored stars, but these accounts are less consistent.

Californian’s Observations:

• Crew members on the SS Californian, including Second Officer Herbert Stone and Apprentice James Gibson, reported seeing white rockets from the direction of the Titanic.
• These signals were seen as white stars bursting in the sky.

Technical Details:

• The signals were propelled by a charge in the base, reaching heights of about 500 feet before exploding.
• The signals produced a loud report and threw out stars, which were primarily white, though some witnesses described them as bluish.

Regulatory Requirements:

• In 1912, distress signals were required to be rockets or shells throwing stars of any color, fired one at a time at short intervals.
• The Cotton Powder Company designed their signals to avoid confusion with private night signals, which were typically colored.

Modern Interpretations:

• Some modern interpretations, such as those presented in a 2012 National Geographic special, suggested the signals had colored stars based on minimal evidence.
• The primary purpose of signals was to indicate distress, and they were designed to be seen and heard over long distances.