RMS Titanic Survivors True Accounts of The Sinking

[starmanskye]

One thing that really astonishes & disturbs me about this sinking is the obscured fact that majority of 3rd class passengers, immigrants crammed into lowest steerage decks, were cold-bloodedly prevented from leaving their spaces by locked-gates guarded by Steamship officers. In only a couple instances were 3rd class women & children passengers allowed topside, but only just as last available lifeboats were being sent away so very few immigant women & children survived -- AFAIK, no men. RIP.

[Davis4037]

One error i noticed is that the man who introduced Lightholler said that he was the only surviving officer, when in fact the third, fourth, and fifth officer also survived.

[thomasjefferson6]

Titanic did not sent out its first distress signal until 47 minutes after the collision, and when it did so, it gave an incorrect position. Californian was surrounded by pack ice, and its Captain Lord quite correctly had stopped for the night, rather than continue in the dark and risk collision with a berg. Lord did not think that the ship he saw was Titanic, thinking it a smaller ship five away, and also thought that it did not have wireless, Titanic being the only ship around that had it.

[MrKnockna]

To add to what I have said below I think the signal lamp was blotted out by the power of the ships lighting , so all the lights could have been switched off and the lamp could have been seen. The officers on board the Californian would thought it very odd that all the lights were switched off and would have informed the Captain who then would be obliged to radio across so I think this idea would have worked but they seemed to have done nothing at all to contact the Californian.

[op0614]

@MrKnockna you're playing monday morning quarterback. Nobody could have known that hitting the iceberg straight on would have save her.  The engineers were to busy manning the pumps and supplying power to the wireless office as well, supervising the dampening and evacuation of boiler rooms then to tinker about with the ships lighting system.

[op0614]

Continued... With the ice field that the Californian was stopped in, especially at night, it is doubtful that she would have been there in time other than to pick up the dead and some survivors. It took 4 hours to reach Titanic and that was navigating the ice fields WITH light.

[MrKnockna]

@op0614 Other ships had hit icebergs before and the damage was as I described it, so sailors would have been well aware of that. None of these ever sank. Yes I agree the engineers were very busy but what I suggested could have been done very quickly. I think you are confusing the Californian with the Carphathia. The Californian was very near and could have gone over removed everyone from the Titanic and still had plenty of time to spare.

[MrKnockna]

CONTINUED FROM BELOW. The electrical engineer should have been instructed to put a single switch to the ships lighting so that an SOS could be seen by the californian. In tandem with that a small boat with strong oarsmen could have rowed over very quickly and alerted them with a loudhailer.

[MrKnockna]

I think the loss of the Titanic can be put down to incompetence of the crew and here are my reasons 1. The message was not sent to the bridge. 2. The crows nest did not have glasses. 3. Hard to starboard was wrong option simply because there wasnt time. Full astern should have been the only order and take the hit. The front would have been crushed { about 10 feet } but she would have stayed afloat. Their only hope of survival lay with the Californian so a message must be got to her. CONTINUED

[jposh707]

It's a joy to hear these interviews. The story of the Titanic's sinking absolutely comes to life thanks to these colorful first-hand accounts from survivors. To anyone who pooh-poohs the importance of oral history, I would highly recommend this video.

[daniellekelley88]

"i sometimes believe that i sunk the titanic" aww that broke my heart

[juliusmaloney]

Were there any 3rd Class survivors at all?

[juliusmaloney]

@Billy6052, wow would hat be a maritime defence, wouldn't you know the difference between fireworks & a series of distress flares. The whole tragedy was such a series os terrible missteps, thank you for the info.

[juliusmaloney]

I had no idea that there was another vessel so close by, what was the defence given by the crew of The Californian for not going to Titanic's aid?

[Billy6052]

@juliusmaloney Well one of them was they thought all the flares going up in the sky was the Titanic celebrating and having a party, that is in the original film entitled 'A Night To Remember' but I have no way of knowing if it's entirely true or not.

[Davis4037]

@juliusmaloney Billy is correct that they didnt realize that the flares were distress flair, mainly because White Star Line used White rockets, while most others used certain colors, also the Californian had its wireless set off, mainly due to Jack Phillips telling him to shut up. That was the ship that sent the most vital message recieved that never went to the bridge, the ship name was probably mixed up.

[juliusmaloney]

Does anyone else think that the second officer telling his story seems to have very little urgency in regards to his response to a ship that is in the process of taking on a lot of water.... I'm not sure how quickly he deduces that there is a problem only when a mailbag floats by....

[Taryna87]

what's the name of the third person speaking?

[CunningStunt777777]

An excellent addition to an otherwise poor collection on Youtube. Regardless of the various debates on the subject, this dispenses with the 'science of the sinking' to paraphrase Dr Ballard, but puts you there, in the shoes of those that lived it. You can't beat that.

[TwineLightMedia]

I find it remarkable that they've not talked about it breaking up.

[teenietiff19]

@TwineLightMedia You do realize that they were in COMPLETE darkness in the middle of the Atlantic. They were terrified and freezing. I doubt they even wanted to look at the ship sink with all the people still on board. I know I wouldnt..

[TwineLightMedia]

@teenietiff19 Really??!?!! Thanks for clarifying that...

[vtecivicsib18]

@TwineLightMedia its pathetic that he had to clerify it, are u some form of retard bacteria forming on the underbelly of someones nutsack in Germania? ur weird...

[VickiT89]

Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for sharing.

[MrSoulMechanic]

Unbelievable and chilling account of terror that lived with these people the rest of there lives

[philipfry4073]

Thumbs up if you watched the whole thing!

[philster611]

Amazing even after 50 years plus they still remember the events so clearly and with such detail

[darkkitsune]

@philster611 Most these were recorded in the 30's. The last Titanic survivor died in 2009.

[philster611]

@darkkitsune Yes I know, I believe it was Milvena Dean. She lived to a ripe old age. I have seen interviews with her and her mind was amazingly sharp up until her last days......Do you know exactly when these were recorded? Just wondered due to the varied recording quality.......

[heroicndashing]

so there was another ship close by?..I wonder why they didn't come to the rescue

[daro2096]

"When she got to 60 degrees..."

He must be wrong because now they know the stern could not have been that high out of the water. The stern went no higher then 12 degrees before the breakup.

[TheGlassPhantom]

@daro2096 Lightoller never actually describes the ship braking in half in the recording, none of the officers do, they were trying to protect the reputation of the white stare line. The one thing that bugs me about the new sinking theory is they all say the stern just dropped like a rock with the bow. I personally believe that the ship did break at a lower angle and as she sunk, the bow dragged the stern vertical before tearing itself free. And that's what Charles Lightoller saw that night.

[daro2096]

@TheGlassPhantom

They now think the breakup began at the surface. As the bow went under the stern went up smashing into the bow causing the top decks to fold down. The keel broke probably 500 feet under the water after the bow forced the stern under causing an implosion.

As to the testimonies of surviving officiers I would rather believe those who had no reason to lie. I.E. their jobs, security, etc. I would rather trust a passenger from 3rd class who has nothing to lose.

[TheGlassPhantom]

@daro2096 I agree completely, Charles Joughin and Jack Thayer's description of how she sank holds much more to them then Lightoller's description, and they had nothing to hide, hell they lost friends and family on that ship. My point being they all said at one point the stern reached an almost 90 degree angle as she made her final plunge, and a lot of the new sinking theory saying that never happened is what bugs me about it. I think its completely feasible that she broke at the lower angle01/02

[TheGlassPhantom]

@daro2096 then the larger front section pulled the middle of the ship down, mashing the upper decks and then pulled the smaller stern section vertical before she went under. and again, yes, I would take They're word over an officer trying to protect a shipping company's name any day. 02/02

[daro2096]

@TheGlassPhantom

Have you seen the new animation of the sinking? As the ship broke up the watertight compartments either side of the breakup filled very quickly.

I think it is this one: watch?v=U8YXJJmHzow

[TheGlassPhantom]

@daro2096 yup, seen that documentary quite a few times. if you watch this simulation:

watch?v=R5iDp-McRt8&feature=re­lated

it's very close to what I think happened, only beef I have is at around 7:45 the stern flops back for some reason which I don't agree with, and a lot of new sinking simulations have it drop like a rock with the bow. in the above simulation from 7:30 to 7:45 you see the stern go vertical, and I think that's what Charles Lightoller saw. he might have even genuinely thought--

[TheGlassPhantom]

@daro2096 the sound of the break up was the boilers coming loose. But, again, this is all just what I think happened. Things like this will probably circle around forever unless someone makes a machine that can see back in time and we can actually watch what happened. lol

[nw8000]

I think he was in on it

Why They Sunk The Titanic Part 1

[sarahwright345]

Why does it sound like he is reading from something pre-prepared? Did he write a book and is reading from it?

[Airsoftattack123]

@sarahwright345 Nah, that is just how people talked back then.

[philster611]

@sarahwright345 He is speaking the English of the early 20th century. It was much more clipped back then.

[Neobn]

sounds like he´s reading, and not speakin freely.

[Ilovekirby]

@Neobn He probably jotted down stuff that he did not want to forget to say. Or maybe he rehearsed it

[philster611]

@Neobn Its early 20th century Lancashire accent... Thats how they spoke

[leahcimrac]

This video is truly incredible. I never thought there would have been these audio recordings out avalible.

[andrewthomas1912]

Thanks for posting. Its great tp hear the voices of the people who were actually there that night.

[TempusFugit101]

If you are ever in New York, on west 12st, there is the pier where the Titanic was supposed to dock. On the metal gantry in faded letters, you can still see Cunard and White Star Line.

[alanheath]

I find the comment about not being out to break records odd as it would seem one of the reasons for the 'crash' was the speed which the ship was travelling

[ProudLU]

wow what a find!!!!!!!!! Thank you for posting this video!!! It brings history to life!

[Titan52berg]

Absolutely Incredible!! This is the first time I have ever heard the entire commentary by Titanic's Second Officer! To hear the actual experience described by someone so closely connected with that fateful night in April, 1912 is, without a doubt, the most detailed account one could ever hear! Excellent verbal depiction of what happened to .R.M.S Titanic!

[g1a1r1y3]

Thank you very much for posting this (and if you had a hand in it, for compiling these interviews). It was wonderful. This was a refreshing perspective compared to so many insidious "documentaries" with their "new discoveries".

More people should listen to this.

[JojoplusBo]

thank-you for clearing that up. I find myself thinking that it would have been a priviledge to have been there while he gave his account of that fatefull night..

[JojoplusBo]

...this account by Charles lightoller is chilling to hear....but thank-you for posting! Is this actually his voice??

[Billy6052]

Yes that is a genuine audio recording of Lightoller.

[ClubPenguinMovies123]

charles lightoller was on 4 other shipwrecks? which ones?

[TheRevJonnyNemo]

@ClubPenguinMovies123 you should read the story of violet jessup:

titanicuniverse com /titanic-survivor-violet-jesso­p/1575