What really sank the Titanic?

Last update: April 14, 2008 - 9:29 PM

Scientists have discovered that the builder of the Titanic struggled for years to obtain enough rivets and skilled riveters and ultimately settled on faulty materials that doomed the ship, which sank 96 years ago today. More than 1,500 people died.

The builder's own archive, the two scientists say, harbors evidence of a deadly mix of low-quality rivets and lofty ambition as the builder labored to construct the world's three biggest ships at once -- the Titanic and two sisters, Olympic and Britannic.

For a decade, scientists have argued that the liner went down fast after hitting the iceberg because the ship's builder used substandard rivets that let tons of icy seawater rush in. Historians say that evidence in the archive of Harland & Wolff, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, settles the argument behind one of the most famous sinkings of all time. The company says the findings are flawed.

Each of the great ships under construction required 3 million rivets that acted like glue, and the scientists in a new book -- "What Really Sank the Titanic" by Citadel Press -- say the shortages peaked during Titanic's construction. "The board was in crisis mode," said Jennifer Hooper McCarty, a team member.

She and Tim Foecke collected clues from 48 recovered Titanic rivets, modern tests, computer simulations, comparisons with century-old metals as well as documentation of what engineers and shipbuilders of that era considered state of the art.

The scientists say the troubles began when the colossal plans forced Harland & Wolff to reach beyond its usual suppliers and include smaller forges, which tended to have less skill.

At the time, shipbuilders were moving from iron to stronger steel rivets. The rival Cunard line, the scientists found, had made the switch years before. Harland & Wolff also used steel rivets, the scientists said, but only on Titanic's central hull, where stresses were expected to be greatest. Iron rivets were chosen for the ship's stern and bow. And the bow, as fate would have it, is where the iceberg struck. And the damage, Foecke noted, "ends close to where the rivets transition from iron to steel." NEW YORK TIMES

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