Chapter I: Preface

It is the object of this work to show that, in our eagerness to make the ocean liner fast and luxurious, we have forgotten to make her safe.

The safest ocean liner was the _Great Eastern_; and she was built over fifty years ago. Her designer aimed to make the ship practically unsinkable--and he succeeded; for she passed through a more severe ordeal than the _Titanic_, survived it, and came into port under her own steam.

Since her day, the shipbuilder has eliminated all but one of the safety devices which made the _Great Eastern_ a ship so difficult to sink. Nobody, not even the shipbuilders themselves, seemed to realise what was being done, until, suddenly, the world's finest vessel, in all the pride of her maiden voyage, struck an iceberg and went to the bottom in something over two and a half hours' time!

If we learn the lesson of this tragedy, we shall lose no time in getting back to first principles. We shall reintroduce in all future passenger ships those simple and effective elements of safety--the double skin, the longitudinal bulkhead, and the watertight deck--which were conspicuous in the _Great Eastern_, and which alone can render such a ship as the _Titanic_ unsinkable.

* * * * *

The author's acknowledgments are due to the "Scientific American" for many of the photographs and line drawings reproduced in this volume; to an article by Professor J. H. Biles, published in "Engineering," for material relating to the Board of Trade stipulations as to bulkheads; to Sir George C. V. Holmes and the Victoria and Albert Museum for data regarding the _Great Eastern_, published in "Ancient and Modern Ships"; to Naval Constructor R. H. M. Robinson, U.S.N., for permission to reproduce certain drawings from his work, "Naval Construction," and to Naval Constructor Henry Williams, U.S.N., who courteously read the proofs of this work and offered many valuable suggestions. The original wash and line drawings are by Mr. C. McKnight Smith.

J. B. W.

NEW YORK, _June_, 1912.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. INTRODUCTORY 1

II. THE EVER-PRESENT DANGERS OF THE SEA 19

III. EVERY SHIP ITS OWN LIFEBOAT 35

IV. SAFETY LIES IN SUBDIVISION 51

V. THE UNSINKABLE _GREAT EASTERN_ OF
1858 69

VI. THE SINKABLE _TITANIC_ 91

VII. HOW THE GREAT SHIP WENT DOWN 116

VIII. WARSHIP PROTECTION AGAINST RAM,
MINE, AND TORPEDO 136

IX. WARSHIP PROTECTION AS APPLIED TO
SOME OCEAN LINERS 161

X. CONCLUSIONS 179

ILLUSTRATIONS

Stoke-Hole of a Transatlantic Liner _Frontispiece_

PAGE
Riveting the Outer Skin on the Frames of a
65,000-Ton Ocean Liner 3

Growth of the Transatlantic Steamer from 1840
to 1912 7

Receiving Submarine Signals on the Bridge 13

Taking the Temperature of the Water 17

Fire-Drill on a German Liner: Stewards are Closing
Door in Fire-Protection Bulkhead 21

Fire-Drill on a German Liner: Hose from Bellows
Supplies Fresh Air to Man with Smoke Helmet 25

Fire-Drill on a German Liner: Test of Fire-Mains
is Made Every Time the Ship is in Port 29

The 44,000-Ton, 25½-Knot _Lusitania_ 37

Provisioning the Boats During a Boat Drill 43

Loading and Lowering Boats, Stowed Athwartships 43

The Elaborate Installation of Telegraphs, Telephones,
Voice-Tubes, etc., on the Bridge of an
Ocean Liner 47

Hydraulically-operated, Watertight Door in an
Engine-Room Bulkhead 53

Diagram Showing Protective Value of Transverse
and Longitudinal Bulkheads, Watertight Decks,
and Inner Skin 57

Closing, from the Bridge, All Watertight Doors
Throughout the Ship by Pulling a Lever 63

_Great Eastern_, 1858; Most Completely Protected
Passenger Ship Ever Built 71

Longitudinal Section and Plan of the _Great
Eastern_, 1858 77

Two Extremes in Protection, and a Compromise 83

_Great Eastern_, Lying at Foot of Canal Street,
North River, New York 87

Fifty Years' Decline in Safety Construction 93

_Olympic_, Sister to _Titanic_, reaching New York
on Maiden Voyage 97

The Framing and Some of the Deck Beams of the
_Imperator_, as Seen from Inside the Bow,
Before the Outside Plating is Riveted On 103

How the Plating of the Inner Bottom of Such a
Ship as the _Titanic_ May Be Carried up the
Side Frames to Form an Inner Skin 107

Twenty of the Twenty-nine Boilers of the _Titanic_
Assembled Ready for Placing in the Ship 111

The Last Photograph of the _Titanic_, Taken as
She was Leaving Southampton on Her Maiden
Voyage 117

Swimming Pool on the _Titanic_ 121

The _Titanic_ Struck a Glancing Blow Against an
Under-Water Shelf of the Iceberg, Opening up
Five Compartments 125

Comparison of Subdivision in Two Famous Ships 129

The Vast Dining-Room of the _Titanic_ 133

The United States Battleship _Kansas_ 137

Plan and Longitudinal Section of the Battleship
_Connecticut_ 143

Midship Section of a Battleship 149

Safety Lies in Subdivision 155

The 65,000-Ton, 23-Knot _Imperator_, Largest Ship
Afloat 159

Longitudinal Section and Plan of the _Imperator_ 163

The Rotor, or Rotating Element, of One of the
Low-Pressure Turbines of the _Imperator_ 167

The 26,000-Ton, 23½-Knot _Kronprinzessin Cecilie_,
a Thoroughly Protected Ship 171