Titanic's First 15 Minutes After the Collision: Jumping to Conclusions

Board of Trade Conclusion:

• The BoT concluded that water was flooding the firemen’s tunnel on Titanic five minutes after the collision, indicating damage to the ship’s side abaft of bulkhead B.

Hendrickson’s Testimony:

• Lead fireman Charles George Hendrickson testified about seeing water rushing in from the starboard side at the bottom of the fireman’s passage.
• This testimony has been pivotal in analyses of Titanic’s initial damage and subsequent flooding.

Design and Flooding Dynamics:

• The #1 hold was narrow and would have flooded quickly, potentially overflowing onto G-deck within 20 minutes of the collision.
• The firemen’s passage was watertight except for the access from the #1 hold, and the twin spiral stairs ran from D-deck to the tank top.

Timeline of Events:

• Hendrickson was asleep during the collision and was awakened by Fireman Ford.
• He went topside to the well deck, saw ice on the deck, and discussed the situation with others before deciding to return to his bunk.
• Approximately 15 minutes after the collision, Hendrickson saw water coming in from the starboard side while descending the spiral stairs.

Reevaluation of Testimony:

• The water seen by Hendrickson was likely the result of overflow from the #1 hold at G-deck, not direct collision damage.
• Other testimonies, including those of Firemen Alfred Shiers and James Taylor, support the idea that the water was from overflow rather than initial damage.

Conclusion:

• The BoT’s conclusion that the water seen was due to initial collision damage may have been premature.
• The flooding observed by Hendrickson and Ford was likely due to the overflow of the #1 hold, occurring over 15 minutes after the collision.