The Four Hours That Doomed Titanic

Name: The Four Hours That Doomed Titanic
Genre: Documentary

A collision described in calm bureaucratic language began a countdown that ended with the world’s largest liner disappearing.

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Transcript

Four hours after Titanic struck an iceberg, the largest passenger ship yet built would vanish.
Titanic left Southampton for New York on April 10th, 1912, wrapped in confidence.
On the fourth day of its maiden voyage, Titanic met an iceberg off Newfoundland.
A U.S. Hydrographic Office memorandum called it serious bow damage, while admitting the extent remained unknown.
On the bridge, Titanic’s officers faced a collision later preserved in Senate hearing records.
Senate records provided the exact words spoken by Titanic’s bridge officers.
The impact tore open Titanic’s hull, sending seawater into multiple compartments.
Ice reports circulated daily, and ice had been reported near the disaster site for days.
The Amerika ice report went through Titanic’s radio room.
Senate records captured the bridge crew’s warning: “Iceberg right ahead.”
About four hours separated the impact from Titanic’s final sinking at 2:20 a.m. on April 15th.
Titanic had 20 lifeboats, enough for only about half of the 2,228 people aboard.
Those 20 boats exceeded government standards, while owners and builders rejected plans for as many as 64.

The iceberg had started a four-hour countdown—and Titanic’s 20 lifeboats could carry only about half the people aboard.

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