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Titanic’s CQD/SOS distress position, as calculated by Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall shortly after the ship struck the iceberg, was 41°46′N, 50°14′W. This position was broadcast in Titanic’s CQD (and later SOS) messages to nearby ships as the location for rescuers to reach. However, when the Titanic wreck was finally discovered by Dr. Robert Ballard in 1985, it was located approximately 13 nautical miles southeast of Boxhall’s calculated position, at 41°43.9′N, 49°56.8′W. The discrepancy may be due in part to haste in its calculation, and to drift.
Boxhall’s calculated position was crucial for guiding potential rescue ships including the RMS Carpathia, which headed to the coordinates he provided. Despite the discrepancy the position was accurate enough to facilitate the rescue, but it led to confusion at the Inquiries into the sinking and has fuelled a century of debate about which ships may have been nearby as the Titanic sank.
Stories and Articles
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Titanica! Samuel Halpern
Titanic’s reported distress positions and why they were so far west of the Titanic wreck site.
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Titanicology Samuel Halpern
What potential errors may have led to a incorrect distress position being transmitted by the Titanic; historical navigation practices explained.
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Titanica! Senan Molony
Case-closed on the Californian?
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Titanica! Captain Lewis Marmaduke Collins
Explore why Titanic’s CQD distress position was accurate, despite a 13-mile drift to the wreck site, according to navigational analysis.
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Titanicology Mark Chirnside and Samuel Halpern
The theory that Titanic altered course at 11.30 p.m. is nothing more than unsupported, unsubstantiated speculation, and the supposition that clocks used by the crew were set back by 24 minutes before the accident does not hold up when all available evidence is considered.
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Titanica! Samuel Halpern
Titanic's First Call For Help
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