1. Titanic – the ship of dreams!

2. THE UNSINKABLE Titanic It was on a Friday afternoon that the Titanic, the newest luxury-liner to Britain's White Star Fleet, departed from Queenstown, Ireland, on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York. It carried 1,343 passengers, a crew of 885, and 3,814 sacks of mail. There was great excitement aboard as the big ship knifed its way through the Atlantic at 23 knots, a speed certain to set a new crossing record. A few hundred miles past the halfway point, lookouts in the crow's nest sighted an iceberg less than a quarter mile away. There was no time to stop or to swerve. The muffled grinding on impact gave little indication that the unsinkable Titanic had been fatally wounded.

3. The map from Southampton to New York Southhampton New York

5. An artists impression of the size of the iceberg that the Titanic hit on April 15, 1912.

6. Captain J. Smith

7. The Facts? When? At 11:59 P.M. on Monday, April 15, 1912. Shortly after 2 A.M. the Titanic slid to its watery grave. Where? 1,191 mi. from New York. Who? There were 2228 people on board of the Titanic, 337 in first class, 285 second class, 721 in third class and 885 crew members. The Loss? 1,493 passengers and crewmen perished. The Titanic had cost more than $8 million. The Survivors? Only 705 Titanic passengers survived The Cause? The experts agreed that the Titanic's captain, E. J. Smith, must have known of iceberg danger at least an hour before the disaster, yet there were no orders given to reduce speed. The weather was clear and cold with excellent visibility. Apparently, to achieve a record crossing was very important. The captain, passengers, and crew firmly believed the Titanic's publicity, that she was unsinkable. All were given the orders of "full speed ahead”. What could possibly happen to an unsinkable ship?

8. The Disaster? It was just before midnight when the iceberg was spotted dead ahead, rising 30 metres above the surface of the water. Seconds later the Titanic rammed with a solid crunch on the portside forward, then climbed the submerged iceberg, tearing out the forward end of the ship below the waterline. The sound was so muffled that no one was frightened. After a few minutes, the more curious passengers, in a happy mood, drifted on deck to look around and reached over the bow rail to touch the iceberg. They were unaware of a 2nd danger. A fire that had broken out in the coal bunkers before leaving Southampton was still not extinguished. At 12:25am, after having the damage assessed, Captain Smith ordered all persons assembled on the upper deck. With everyone in good spirits, this was accomplished in 15 minutes. Passengers were informed of what had happened and of the captain's decision to abandon ship. There was no panic until at 12:50am Chief Officer Murdock ordered "Crews to the boats! Women and children 1st."

9. Those in the lifeboats could see that the Titanic had sunk 8 – 10 metres, and her stern was out of the water. Lifeboat crews rowed furiously toward safety. A mile away from the wounded liner, survivors watched the Titanic break in two pieces, the forward half slipping beneath the surface. For a moment the rear half righted itself, then there was another explosion and it too began to sink in the icy waters. Survivors later reported they could hear the ship's string orchestra playing as the huge bottom section disappeared.

10. The Rescue? Many ships had picked up the Titanic's SOS signal: "Have struck iceberg. Badly damaged. Rush aid." The Carpathia arrived at the scene about 4 A.M. and took on board such shocked and dazed survivors as it could find, then headed for New York. The Carpathia, with 700 survivors aboard, arrived in New York at 9am on April 18.

11. The Discovery? The first live Titanic pictures were taken on September 1, 1985, the day the wreckage of the ship was finally discovered. The following year, search crews returned to the area armed with a submersible vehicle named Alvin. In 1986, in later trips underwater, more artefacts were recovered from the wreckage of the Titanic. In total, more than 5,000 pieces have been recovered from the wreckage site. Today, the wreckage of the Titanic is considered by many to be a memorial to the lives of the 1,493 people who died when the ship sank on an early spring morning in 1912.

12. Why is it important to recover and conserve artefacts from Titanic’s wreck site? The bottom of the deep ocean is a hostile environment. Over time, man-made objects will be covered in bacteria, and corroded by salt and acids. Even the Titanic is slowly being destroyed by iron-eating micro-organisms and will one day collapse on the ocean floor. Artefacts that are not recovered from the wreck site will eventually be lost. RMS Titanic, Inc, is committed to recovering, conserving, and exhibiting artefacts from Titanic’s wreck site to help preserve the physical memory of the Ship and the people who perished in the disaster.

13. The pictures?

14. Crab

15. Your task? Now in your SOSE book, write down the following headings and complete the answers using the information you have read. Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? 5 Facts?