HER MAIDEN VOYAGE
The day she passed her sea trials, the Titanic sailed overnight to Southampton, arriving on 3 April. There she was loaded with the mountain of supplies needed for the voyage and the crew was recruited.
On 10 April, 914 passengers boarded and shortly after midday the Titanic began her maiden voyage. She crossed the Channel to Cherbourg, France, where more passengers boarded before returning to Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland. There she picked up seven second-class and 113 steerage (third-class) passengers – most of whom were leaving Ireland to start a new life in the New World.
On the afternoon of 11 April she set off across the Atlantic bound for New York. She was carrying 2,228 people and had enough lifeboats for less than half of them.
THE SINKING
Three days later on 14 April 1912 the Titanic hit an iceberg six times her size. It ripped large gashes in her side and at 11.40pm water begun pouring into six of her bulkheads. She had been designed to stay a float with up to four bulkheads flooded. At 12.05 on the 15 April the Captain gave the orders to lower the lifeboats. By 2.20am the Titanic sank with at least 1,500 people still onboard.
It took five years to build her but only 2 hours 40 minutes for her to sink.
Initial bungled attempts at loading the lifeboats meant the first few left only partially loaded. She was carrying 1,343 passengers and 885 crew. In the end 705 people survived and 1,523 people died.