On April 14, 1912, the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' collided with an iceberg, damaging the hull's plates below the waterline on the starboard side, causing the front compartments to flood. The ship then sank two hours and forty minutes later, with approximately 1,496 fatalities as a result of drowning or

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

. Since then, many

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

have been suggested regarding the disaster. These theories have been refuted by subject-matter experts.

Pack ice

The pack ice theory is not a conspiracy theory since it accepts that the sinking was an accident. However, it differs from the commonly accepted theory and is considered implausible by the vast majority of historians. Captain L. M. Collins, a former member of the Ice Pilotage Service, based a conclusion on three pieces of evidence and going off of his own experience of ice navigation and witness statements given at the two post-disaster enquiries, that what the ''Titanic'' hit was not an iceberg but low-lying pack ice. His book, called ''The Sinking of the Titanic: The Mystery Solved'' (2003) goes into further detail about the events. #There were no reports of haze the entire night of the sinking, but at 11.30 pm the two lookouts spotted what they believed to be haze on the horizon, extending approximately 20° on either side of the ship's bow. Collins believes that what they saw was not haze but a strip of pack ice, ahead of the ship. #Each witness had a different description of the ice. high by the lookouts, high by Quartermaster Rowe on the deck, and only very low in the water by Fourth Officer Boxhall, on the starboard side near the darkened bridge. "An optical phenomenon that is well known to ice navigators" where the flat sea and extreme cold distort the appearance of objects near the waterline, making them appear to be the height of the ship's lights, about above the surface near the bow, and high alongside the superstructure explains what probably happened by the witnesses' descriptions. #The ''Titanic'' made a turn by rotating one-third of the way from the bow, which caused her rudder to hard over and crushed her starboard side into an iceberg. This would have caused the ship to flood, capsize, and sink within minutes, damaging the

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

side of the hull and potentially the superstructure.

''Olympic'' exchange hypothesis

One of the controversial and elaborate theories surrounding the sinking of the ''Titanic'' was advanced by Robin Gardiner in his book ''Titanic: The Ship That Never Sank?'' (1998). Gardiner draws on several events and coincidences that occurred in the months, days, and hours leading up to the sinking of the ''Titanic'', and concludes that the ship that sank was in fact ''Titanic''s

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

, disguised as ''Titanic'', as an insurance scam by its owners, the International Mercantile Marine Group, controlled by American financier

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

that had acquired the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

in 1902.

RMS_Olympic_arriving_Jarrow_for_scrapping

Researchers Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall took issue with many of Gardiner's claims in their book ''Olympic and Titanic: The Truth Behind the Conspiracy'' (2004). Author Mark Chirnside has also raised serious questions about the switch theory. British historian Gareth Russell, for his part, calls the theory "so painfully ridiculous that one can only lament the thousands of trees which lost their lives to provide the paper on which it has been articulated." He notes that, "since the sister ships had significant interior architectural and design differences, switching them secretly in a week would be nearly impossible from a practical standpoint. A switch would also not be economically worthwhile, since the ship's owners could have simply damaged the ship while docked (for instance, by setting a fire) and collected the insurance money from that 'accident', which would have been far less severe, and infinitely less stupid, than sailing her out into the middle of the Atlantic with thousands of people, and their luggage, on board, and ramming her into an iceberg".

Deliberately sunk

Another claim that started gaining traction in late 2017, alleges that J. P. Morgan deliberately sank the ship in order to kill off several millionaires who were in opposition to the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

. Some of the wealthiest men in the world were aboard the ''Titanic'' for her maiden voyage, several of whom, including

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He was among the most ...

, Benjamin Guggenheim, and Isidor Straus, were allegedly opposed to the creation of a U.S.

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

. No evidence of their opposition to Morgan's centralized banking ideas has been found: Astor and Guggenheim never spoke publicly on the subject, while Straus spoke in favour of the concept. All three men died during the sinking. Conspiracy theorists suggest that Morgan arranged to have the men board the ship and then sunk it to eliminate them. Morgan cancelled his ticket for ''Titanic'''s maiden voyage due to a reported illness, while Guggenheim had not purchased a ticket before Morgan's cancellation. Morgan, nicknamed the "

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

of Wall Street", had helped create

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

, U.S. Steel, and

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...

, is the namesake of

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

, and was credited with almost single-handedly saving the U.S. banking system during the

Panic of 1907 The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly fell almost ...

. Morgan did have a hand in the creation of the Federal Reserve, and owned the International Mercantile Marine, which owned the White Star Line, and thus the ''Titanic''. Morgan, who had attended the ''Titanic'' launching in 1911, had booked a personal suite aboard the ship with his own private promenade deck and a bath equipped with specially designed cigar holders. He was reportedly booked on the ship's maiden voyage but instead cancelled the trip and remained at the French resort of

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; ; ), known locally and simply as Aix, is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern French Departments of France, department of Savoie. His allegedly last-minute cancellation has fuelled speculation among conspiracy theorists that he knew of the ship's fate. This theory has been refuted by ''Titanic'' experts George Behe, Don Lynch, and Ray Lepien who have each provided alternate, more widely-accepted theories as to why Morgan cancelled his trip. Conspiracy theorist Stew Peters has advanced an alternative version of the theory, alleging the Rothschilds were behind both the Federal Reserve and the ''Titanic''’s sinking. Peters also claimed that the Titan submersible implosion was orchestrated via sabotage in order to prevent its own passengers from discovering that the ''Titanic'' was sunk by a "controlled demolition" instead of an iceberg.

Closed watertight doors

Another theory involves ''Titanic''s watertight doors. This theory suggests that if these doors had been opened, the ''Titanic'' would have settled on an even keel and therefore, perhaps, remained afloat long enough for rescue ships to arrive. However, this theory has been rebutted for two reasons: first, the first four compartments were naturally watertight, thus it was impossible to lower the concentration of water in the bow significantly. Second, Bedford and Hacket have shown by calculations that any significant amount of water aft of boiler room No. 4 would have resulted in capsizing of the ''Titanic'', which would have occurred about 30 minutes earlier than the actual time of sinking.Hacket C. and Bedford, J.G. (1996). ''The Sinking of the S.S. Titanic – Investigated by Modern Techniques''. The Northern Ireland Branch of the Institute of Marine Engineers and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, 26 March 1996 and the Joint Meeting of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, 10 December 1996 Additionally, the lighting would have been lost about 70 minutes after the collision due to the flooding of the boiler rooms. Bedford and Hacket also analyzed the hypothetical case that there were no bulkheads at all. Then, the vessel would have capsized about 70 minutes before the actual time of sinking and lighting would have been lost about 40 minutes after the collision. Later, in a 1998 documentary titled ''Titanic: Secrets Revealed'', the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

ran model simulations which also rebutted this theory. The simulations indicated that opening ''Titanic''s watertight doors would have caused the ship to capsize earlier than it actually sank by more than a half-hour, supporting the findings of Bedford and Hacket.

Expansion joints hypothesis

''Titanic'' researchers continued to debate the causes and mechanics of the ships breakup. According to his book, '' A Night to Remember'', Walter Lord described ''Titanic'' as assuming an "absolutely perpendicular" position shortly before its final plunge. This view remained largely unchallenged even after the wreck was discovered by

Robert Ballard Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is noted for his work in underwater archaeology (maritime archaeology and archaeology of ...

in 1985, which confirmed that ''Titanic'' had broken in two pieces at or near the surface; paintings by noted marine artist Ken Marschall and as imagined onscreen in

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

's film ''

'', both depicted the ship attaining a steep angle prior to the breakup. Most researchers acknowledged that ''Titanic''s aft

expansion joint A expansion joint, or movement joint, is an assembly designed to hold parts together while safely absorbing temperature-induced expansion and contraction of building materials. They are commonly found between sections of buildings, bridges, s ...

—designed to allow for flexing of the hull in a seaway—played little to no role in the ship's breakup, though debate continued as to whether the ship had broken from the top downwards or from the bottom upwards. In 2005, a History Channel expedition to the wreck site scrutinized two large sections of ''Titanic''s keel, which constituted the portion of the ship's bottom from immediately below the site of the break. With assistance from naval architect Roger Long, the team analysed the wreckage and developed a new break-up scenario which was publicised in the television documentary ''Titanic's Final Moments: Missing Pieces'' in 2006. One hallmark of this new theory was the claim that ''Titanic''s angle at the time of the breakup was far less than had been commonly assumed—according to Long, no greater than 11°. Long also suspected that ''Titanic''s breakup may have begun with the premature failure of the ship's aft expansion joint, and ultimately exacerbated the loss of life by causing ''Titanic'' to sink faster than anticipated. In 2006, the History Channel sponsored dives on ''Titanic''s newer sister ship, , which verified that the design of ''Britannic''s expansion joints was superior to that incorporated in the ''Titanic''. To further explore Long's theory, the History Channel commissioned a new computer simulation by JMS Engineering. The simulation, whose results were featured in the 2007 documentary ''Titanic's Achilles Heel'', partially refuted Long's suspicions by demonstrating that ''Titanic''s expansion joints were strong enough to deal with any and all stresses the ship could reasonably be expected to encounter in service and, during the sinking, actually outperformed their design specifications. But, most important is that the expansion joints were part of the superstructure, which was situated above the strength deck (B-deck) and therefore above the top of the structural hull girder. Thus, the expansion joints had no meaning for the support of the hull. They played no role in the breaking of the hull. They simply opened up and parted as the hull flexed or broke beneath them. Brad Matsen's 2008 book ''Titanic's Last Secrets'' endorses the expansion joint theory. One common oversight is the fact that the collapse of the first funnel at a relatively shallow angle occurred when the forward expansion joint, over which several funnels stays crossed, opened as the hull was beginning to stress. The opening of the joint stretched and snapped the stays. The forward momentum of the ship as she took a sudden lurch forwards and downwards sent the unsupported funnel toppling onto the starboard bridge wing. One theory that would support the fracturing of the hull is that the ''Titanic'' partly grounded on the shelf of ice below the waterline as she collided with the iceberg, perhaps damaging the keel and underbelly. Later during the sinking, it was noticed that Boiler Room four flooded from below the floor grates rather than from over the top of the watertight bulkhead. This would be consistent with additional damage along the keel compromising the integrity of the hull.

Fire in coal bunker

This claim states that fire began in one of ''Titanic'' coal bunkers approximately 10 days prior to the ship's departure, and continued to burn for several days into the voyage. Fires occurred frequently on board steamships due to spontaneous combustion of the coal. The fires had to be extinguished with fire hoses, by moving the coal on top to another bunker and by removing the burning coal and feeding it into the furnace. This event has led some authors to theorize that the fire exacerbated the effects of the iceberg collision, by reducing the structural integrity of the hull and a critical bulkhead. Senan Molony has suggested that attempts to extinguish the fire – by shoveling burning coals into the engine furnaces – may have been the primary reason for the ''Titanic'' steaming at full speed prior to the collision, despite ice warnings. Most experts disagree. Samuel Halpern has concluded that "the bunker fire would not have weakened the watertight bulkhead sufficiently to cause it to collapse." Also, it has been alternatively suggested that the coal bunker fire actually helped ''Titanic'' to last longer during the sinking and prevented the ship from rolling over to starboard after the impact, due to the subtle port list created by the moving of coal inside the ship prior to the encounter with the iceberg.Titanic's Guardian Angel
– by Parks Stephenson. Retrieved 5 January 2017. Some of these foremost ''Titanic'' experts have published a detailed rebuttal of Molony's claims.Titanic: Fire & Ice (Or What You Will)
Various Authors. Retrieved 23 January 2017.

References

Bibliography

External links

Was there a fire aboard ''Titanic''?
CBC News
Olympic & Titanic – An Analysis Of The Robin Gardiner Conspiracy Theory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Titanic conspiracy Theories Science and technology-related conspiracy theories Pseudohistory

Death conspiracy theories Pseudoscience