A marine historian has clarified deductions drawn from the discovery of new wreckage from the Titanic.

One of Titanic’s three props – the new hull pieces were found half a mile south of here. Photo: Ralph White

Following the location last summer of two new hull pieces from the ship, lying in a newly located debris field away from the wreck’s main and stern sections, some reports have suggested that the ship could have sunk more quickly than previously thought.

"The bottom line is that she hit the berg at 11.40pm on 14 April 1912 and she sank at 2.20am the next morning... All we are saying is that because of the nature of our discovery, it indicates that the last stages of the sinking seem to have happened more quickly than previously thought," Simon Mills, Historical Consultant for the 2005 expedition and present aboard the mother ship during the week-long August survey, told Divernet.

The expedition, funded by History Channel, involved ROV filming plus six mini-sub dives. Leading roles were taken by well-known technical divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, presenters of History Channel’s Deep Sea Detectives series.

The discoveries were two large pieces of hull underside, each about 28m by 12m, about half a mile south of the stern section. Mills’ statement suggests that the complete detachment of the recently found bottom plates occurred around the time the ship broke its back, speeding up the final phase of filling and sinking as the main section went down bow-first, dragging the partially detached stern section after it.

All will be explained with the screening of Titanic’s Final Moments, History Channel’s documentary about the finds and exactly what they may have meant for ship’s sinking, in the US on 26 February. Screening in the UK and possibly other countries is expected to follow.

Aside from his work on History’s Titanic project Simon Mills owns, and is an authority on, the wreck of Titanic’s near-sister Britannic, which lies in the Aegean’s Kea Channel.

The opulent ship was launched in 1914 but, with the outbreak of war in Europe, never sailed as a luxury liner. She was sunk by a mine in 1916 en route to Salonica to evacuate troops injured in the Gallipoli campaign, with the loss of 26 lives.

The 260m-long ship is the largest known merchant wreck in the world. She lies on her starboard side in 120m of water, divers first touching down on her rails at about 90m. Major expeditions to the wreck were mounted in 1998 and 2003.

Related links
New theory on Titanic sinking
Visiting the Titanic, 2003
Diving the Britannic, 2003
Diving the Britannic, 1998
Britannic – first pictures, 1998



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