Titanic hits the Iceberg
1912 illustration of Titanic's collision with the iceberg at 11.40pm on Sunday 14 April.
Titanic was travelling at over 20 knots (about 23 miles per hour) when she struck the iceberg. In less than 10 seconds her hull was ripped opened below the waterline on the starboard (right hand) side for a length of 300 feet (91 metres). Within 10 minutes the ship's five forward compartments were flooded to a height of 14 feet (4.25 metres) above the keel.
Titanic's collision with the iceberg was a freak accident in which six compartments were immediately open to the sea. The massive inrush of water, with which the pumps and system of hull subdivision could not cope, doomed the ship.
It is interesting to note that shortly after completing her 2 April sea trials, a fire developed in the coal stored in the starboard side coal bunker. It was not fully extinguished until 13 April. It is speculated that the fire may have made the hull plates in this area more brittle.
