In article , Robert Casey
writes:

Perhaps if the rudder had been larger, the Titanic might have turned away
quicker and missed the berg. But that's really irrelevant. The ship was
clearly
going too fast for conditions.


There's also the possibility that the cold water around
there made the steel the ship was constructed with somewhat
brittle. That the metalurgy of steel wasn't that well
controlled or understood back then. And that the batch
of steel used for the hull wasn't as good as it should have
been. And that modern ship builders would never use it
today. That the same ship built with good steel could have
taken that iceberg hit with much less if any damage.

More than a possibility, it's been documented from samples brought up from the
wreck. Lot of sulfur in that steel.

Perhaps what makes the Titanic disaster so intriguing is that there were so
many seemingly-small factors that contributed. The lack of even one of these
small factors could have averted the sinking, or at least the loss of life.

For example:

If the lookouts had binoculars, they probably would have seen the berg sooner,
and the attempt to steer around it would have been successful. (The binoculars
were locked in the second officers' cabin, but neither he nor the other
officers knew it at the time. Still there).

If any of the six ice warnings had been heeded, and speed reduced just a bit,
the attempt to steer around the berg would have been successful.

If the first officer had not tried to steer around the berg, the ship would
have stayed afloat.

If there had been lifeboat space for all, all could have been saved. (The
design of the Olympic class could accomodate enough lifeboats - special davits
were used that allowed more lifeboats, by stacking them on the boat deck. But
lifeboats cost money, took up deck space, and everyone thought they'd never be
used. So the full number were not provided. After the disaster, sister ships
Olympic and Britannic were equipped with adequate lifeboats by simply reverting
to the original plan).

If there had been 24 hour radio watch required, the nearby Californian could
have saved most if not all who perished.

If Titanic had used a standard distress flare signal, (I don't think such a
signal existed in April 1912) the nearby Californian could have saved most if
not all who perished.

If better steel, a bigger rudder, higher bulkheads, double hull (not just a
double bottom), or higher capacity pumps had been used, the disaster could have
been avoided or the ship kept afloat long enough for all to be saved.

If the officer on the Californian who knew Morse Code and who used to listen in
when "Sparks" was off duty had remembered to wind up the magnetic detector, he
would have heard the distress calls and Californian could have saved most if
not all who perished. But he forgot and heard nothing.

I still wouldn't sail a ship thru iceberg infested waters.

Not at full speed with inadequate lookout capability and a big, slow turning
ship!

Which proves the point: Titanic was not being operated properly for the
conditions encountered. Other ships had stopped completely, or were proceeding
at greatly reduced speed, because of the ice.

73 de Jim, N2EY