Did you know? The Titanic was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A pure product of the“Harland & Wolff” shipyards, she was the fruit of the labor of over 15,000 Irish workers, all determined to make the Titanic the biggest liner in the world. This huge construction project earned Belfast a considerable reputation, which was unfortunately undermined when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
The Titanic project
Let’s set the scene. It’s the early 1900s… The turn of the century seems to be inspiring the world’s great and good, and pushing Western civilization to surpass itself. Technological surpassing, and surpassing the impossible. Le Monde likes to think that the twentieth century will be an opportunity for Man to reinvent himself.
But the Titanic story really begins in 1907, when J. Bruce Ismay and James Pirrie dined together in London. J. Bruce Ismay was Managing Director of the White Star Line shipping company at the time, while James Pirrie was a senior partner in Harland and Wolff, which owned several shipyards in Belfast and built all the White Star Line’s ships.
The latter note that a rival company, Cunard Line, has just launched the Lustania and Mauretania, 2 ships that could weaken their business. Both White Star Line and Cunard Line connect Europe with America. Competition is fierce, and each company tries to outdo the other.
The 2 men imagined a completely new kind of liner, as oversized as it was comfortable. A superliner, with capacities that outstripped the competition, comfortable, luxurious and capable of sailing to America faster than any other ship of the time.
Thus was born the idea of the R.M.S. Titanic.
The R.M.S. Titanic (Royal Mail Steamer) is intended to be a masterpiece of early 20th-century technology.
This liner will have to carry up to 2,400 passengers, 2,000 tons of freight… All this at an average speed of 22 knots. The Titanic will leave Southampton every Wednesday, reaching New York 6.5 days later…
In any case, these were the aspirations of these 2 men.
The Titanic under construction – Public domain
The Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast (Northern Ireland) were responsible for building the Titanic and 2 other super liners (the Olympic and the Gigantic). Construction then began, and the figures were impressive:
Construction is arduous, intense and difficult. Nevertheless, it is of crucial importance to England. The company intends to showcase its shipbuilding expertise…. all over the world.
Because the specifications are impressive. Let’s face it, the Titanic will be a jewel of innovation and technology. Here are just a few of the features:
White Star Line takes great care to ensure the liner’s safety during construction. That’s why we insist on a double-bottom hull, with 16 watertight compartments. The watertight doors are closed electrically from the gangway. This means the ship can continue to float with 2 main compartments flooded.
The construction soon became the talk of the world. In America, New York was forced to rethink the length of its docks to accommodate the Titanic’s impressive dimensions.
The Titanic – Public domain
Everyone can’t wait to see this gigantic liner set sail.
On March 31, 1909, the Titanic was finally completed. However, it had to wait until May 31, 1911, in Belfast, to be officially inaugurated in front of thousands of people.
The interiors were fitted out in March 1912, and test runs were organized in April of the same year. Everything seems perfect, and 2 days later, the ship arrives in Southampton, from where it will set sail a week later for New York.
On April 4, 1912, in Southampton harbor, the crew of the ocean liner Titanic completed their final preparations before the scheduled departure on April 10.
Everything suggests that the Titanic is ready. Carefully built, inspected, tested… It’s ready to take on the Atlantic Ocean… But this was without counting on a dramatic mistake that will cost the lives of thousands of passengers…
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