Shipbucket

what number did you come to.

If the ship had stayed on course and slammed into the iceberg, you'd be posting here saying how dumb the captain was for not having swerved around it!

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Colo, you have a real good point there.

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Current Worklist: http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewto ... f=5&t=5562

what matters now is further protecting the wreck from pillage by salvagers.

Yeah maybe I've been a bit too hard on Captain Edwards. But I think people are being too hard on the design of the ship, especially after seeing all those lifeboats hanging uselessly off Concordia.

Lifeboats aren't meant to carry people back to shore from the Middle of the Atlantic - Stephen Crane can tell you that. The lifeboats on Titanic were just supposed to ferry people from sinking ship to non-sinking ship, and from that standpoint, given the over two hours it took for the boat to sink, it's really the guy literally sleeping on the job on Californian's radio room that's perhaps most culpable for lost life. But other than that the ship pretty much worked as advertised. Hell if the ship had modern watertight compartments the stern likely would've stayed afloat practically indefinitely, just like with several USN cruisers and destroyers running into Long Lance torpedoes.

I, and any other reasonable man, should refuse to blame poor Cyril Evans, Californian's radioman. He attempted to warn Titanic's radioman Jack Phillips no less than twice, but was told by Phillips in plain language via Morse code "Shut up, shut up! I am busy; I am working Cape Race!" This meant that Phillips gave the man a figurative slap in the face, by literally telling him that the Astor's instructions to their dog-sitters were more important than his ice warning. Under these circumstances, one can hardly say that Mr. Evans generates any culpability for simply going to bed after a hard day's work... especially when Harold Bride, Titanic's radioman on the previous shift, had received and acknowledged his ice warning.

Third Officer C.V. Groves also attempted to contact Titanic whom they believed that they spotted at a range of roughly 10 miles, via signal lamp as a secondary means of attempting to pass on the ice warning. The ship they spotted, a 'large and well-lit liner' in the direction of Titanic, did not respond. Unbeknownst to the crew of the California's crew, Titanic could not have possibly spotted the signal lamp... David Blair, released from his position as Titanic's Second officer, left the ship with the key to the locker containing the ship's binoculars. At ten miles, a single signal lamp would have been difficult, if not impossible, to read without binoculars. I have never been able to understand why someone with such a sterling reputation as Captain Smith simply did not break open the locker, knowing that his years of experience and station in the company would protect him from the worst of the repercussions of that action.

Titanic's fate cannot be placed at the feet of any one man, there are simply too many strange happenings and outstanding misfortunes. Trying to say 'this man caused the horrible loss of life' is similar to attempting to pin down exactly who is responsible for 'causing' the World Trade Center to collapse through 'poor design' and 'insufficient preparation'- because, after all, the Empire State Building had been hit by aircraft before and survived. So, we knew it was possible for a building to be hit by a airplane and survive... why didn't their building preform equally well?

Rather a silly thought, now isn't it, once it's put in prospective?

This.

I really like the internet badasses who can do anything better than everyone else.

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USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

He has an opinion.
I have an opinion.
You have an opinion.

He stated his; I stated mine.
We both gave the reasons we believe as we do.

Whether you like mine or not, it's a well reasoned argument.

I was agreeing with you.

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USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

Couldn't tell... had a bad day when I read it and was feeling a bit harried.
Just misunderstood.
Additionally, I was reading Burroughs all week, and figured I got a bit flowery... I can get annoying.