Could deliberate flooding of the stern section have saved the Titanic?

Question

The Titanic sank because the damage in the foreward part of the ship was so severe that the flooding there could not be stopped because the water flowed over the bulkheads. In a chain reaction, the bow kept going down and the ship was doomed. However, if the the stern area could have been deliberately flooded, could this have stabilized the ship and averted enough flooding to save the Titantic?

Answer 1

good question: if you was there you'd have saved most.

here is the answer: ship would have sunk but the rescue would have happened.

"Counter flooding' to maintain an even keel, prevent listing as in port to starboard; kepts the vessel from capsizing.

Effective at Pearl harbor.

Flooding the stern of the RMS Titanic would have lost power as in those telegraphs. But once they got answers they could have started to counter flood, it would have also stabilized the ship as to allow full lifeboats.

The practice of counter-flooding for damage control was not appreciated or taught prior to the TITANIC’s untimely. demise. It became commonplace practice.


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the watertight bulkheads between the boiler rooms had been carried upward to the Main, or Shelter Deck(officially referred to as “C Deck” on the ship’s plans), instead of the top of F Deck, the ship would have remained floating. This oversight became apparent during Edward Wilding’s forensic assessment in the late spring of 1912. The OLYMPIC was immediately retrofitted to correct this shortcoming and humanity witnessed the birth of the watertight compartment, as opposed to the older watertight bulkheads employed up to that time. This spilling over of intruding sea water over the forward bulkheads was exacerbated by the deepening head-ward list of the ship, which increased the volume of water that could pour over each bulkhead. In this respect they would have been better off leaving the watertight doors open and allowing sea water to enter the boiler rooms and engineroom. By spreading the water aft, the head-ward tilt would have been reduced, and the intake of water thereby reduced, keeping the bow as high as possible. This would not have saved the ship, but could have prolonged itssinking by as much as 2 to 4 hours. That may not seem significant, but keep in mind that the S.S. CARPATHIAarrived on scene at 4 AM, just 1 hour and 40 minutes after the TITANIC sank

Answer 2

Actually I think you are in danger of believing all the Hollywood crap that's been pumped out about that ship. In fact, in order to save weight, the watertight bulkheads that might have saved the ship had been constructed so that they actually stopped short of the ceilings, so the water simply flooded over the tops of the bulkhead into the next section and so on. And there were no watertight doors in the bows - where on earth did you get THAT idea. It wasn't a ferryboat you know, but a truly huge ocean liner. Also, the iceberg that sank the ship tore a hole 90 metres long. You can't plug a hole like that with a band aid! Within half an hour, there would have been 40,000 tons of seawater dragging the boat down by the bows - once it was more than two thirds under the water, the ships back would have broken, and the end would have been very quick then. No one could have saved that ship - it was doomed from the day they decided to cut corners.

Answer 3

It might have delayed the sinking, but it wouldn't have prevented it. What WOULD have saved a LOT of lives was the use of the HUGE 'lifeboat' that was available....that is...the iceberg that the ship hit. They had engine power for quite a while after the ship was holed....so they SHOULD have gone back TO the iceberg....tossed everything floatable between it and the ship...and had people get across on this 'raft' stuff TO the iceberg. Not everybody would have lived...but there would have been a lot more survived than there were when the body count was made.

Answer 4

If the underwater part of the ship had been divided into many separate compartments, that would have saved it. This way, if one section is filled with water, the rest of the ship would still be dry.

Answer 5

The ship still would have gone down, but that may have evened the sinking - sinking while still sitting upright instead of turning on its end. It may have taken a little longer, too, but it would still be where it is today.

Answer 6

Titanic Stern Section

Answer 7

Might have saved lives, not the ship.

Answer 8

No. It's been tried on a computer simulation, and the model capsized.

Answer 9

Thank you all for your replies and opinions.