Characteristics of the accident. Drawing by Willy Stöwer • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS In 2012, the granddaughter of a surviving officer, Charles Lightoller, made public a secret information, held by his grandfather:when Murdoch gave his order, Robert Hichens, the helmsman, would have turned to the wrong side . According to her, if the order had been carried out correctly, the Titanic would not have sunk. Ismay, scapegoat for the press Another theory is also studied:a documentary titled Titanic. The New Evidence argues that a large fire broke out in the ship's coal stores before it sailed. The temperature, which reached perhaps 1,000 degrees, would have severely damaged the steel and weakened the hull structure, which would have increased the extent of the damage caused by the iceberg. Other hypotheses, often fanciful, suggest sabotage, an alloy of defective rivets, or even the curse of a pharaoh! In any case, there is only one culprit:the iceberg itself. President of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay was singled out by the press and public opinion at the time as being responsible for the tragedy. The rumor accused him of having forced the captain to force the engines to establish a speed record, or of having economized on the construction materials of the liner. The press dubbed him Brute ("villain") Ismay or "the coward of the Titanic for leaving the ship. Although he was exonerated by the inquest, his reputation suffered, and he had to resign as president in 1913. Human error and bad luck A quiet, moonless night. The watchmen did not have binoculars, which, combined with the absence of the moon and flat seas (no waves breaking on the iceberg, its presence was undetectable), made it impossible to perceive the danger in time. A hasty maneuver . The first officer immediately ordered a change of tack, in order to avoid a frontal collision, which caused something much worse:the iceberg scraped the hull below the waterline, resulting in the flooding of six watertight compartments. A chaotic evacuation. The apparent lack of seriousness of the shock caused the captain, stunned and distraught, to wait half an hour before ordering the evacuation. The lifeboats, already in short supply, were only half full, condemning many passengers to death. Confusing signals. The Titanic sent out several distress signals, which were either misdirected or ignored. The Californian , the closest boat to the Titanic , did not interpret the bengal lights and Morse code signals as distress signals, and the radio operator of this freighter, who had switched off the device, could not receive the telegrams calling for help. A third boat? One theory claims a ship was closer to the Titanic than the Californian and the Carpathia , but ignored the distress signals. It was said to be an irregular whaler who did not reveal his position for fear that his illegal activities would be discovered.
