Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate,
Washington, D.C.
TESTIMONY TAKEN BEFORE WILLIAM ALDEN SMITH, CHAIRMAN OF THE
SUBCOMMITTEE, SITTING SEPARATELY.
TESTIMONY OF MR. CAPT. JOHN J. KNAPP, UNTIED STATES NAVY, HYDROGRAPHER,
HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE, NAVY DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C.
The witness was sworn by the Senator Smith
SENATOR SMITH: Captain, will you state your name and what official position you hold?
CAPT. KNAPP: John J. Knapp. I am a captain in the United States Navy. I am the hydrographer of the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
SENATOR SMITH: Will you tell the committee what special branch of the public service you have in charge?
CAPT. KNAPP: I am in charge of the Hydrographic Office, which is under the Bureau of Navigation of the Navy Department. The duty of the Hydrographic Office, under the law is to improve the means of safe navigation of the seas, for the benefit of the Navy and the maritime marine, by providing nautical charts, sailing directions, navigators, and manuals of instruction. In carrying out this duty it becomes necessary to collect information of all kinds that may affect the charts of the various seas and harbors of the world, and the sailing directions, which latter are what might be called the guidebooks of the seas. To accomplish the work above outlined, the Hydrographic Office collects information not only from original surveys made under its direction, but from the surveys made by the Coast and Geodetic Society of the Untied States, and from those made under the supervision or direction of the hydrographic offices of the Governments. In order that the charts and sailing directions may be at all times accurate, showing the conditions that exist in the various seas and harbors which in any way affect the navigation thereof, our office collects from mariners and those conversant with the sea reports affecting the publications of the office. The office has voluntary observers aboard the seagoing ships of all nations. These observers report to the office by radiomessages or by letter, and their reports are scanned and criticized by technical experts, and the information so gained is given to the Navy and to the merchant marine. Whenever reports are made which have immediate effect upon the safety of navigation, they are given at once to the maritime community and the public generally and are again flashed out to the sea by means of radiograms, the latter, as a rule, from the wireless stations under the control of the Navy Department.
For more than a quarter of a century the Hydrographic Office of the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, has been publishing graphically from month to month a series of charts known as the Pilot Chart of the North Atlantic Ocean, depicting thereon the physical conditions of the ocean and of the atmosphere for the current month, as well as the location of dangers to navigation as reported by incoming ships. A summary of these dangers and a more detailed description than the space on the pilot chart would permit was in time given from week to week on a printed sheet known as the Hydrographic Bulletin. These publications were circulated freely among the shipmasters and shipping people in return for their news of the sea, the point of contact between the office at Washington and the marine world being a chain of branch hydrographic offices at the principal seaports.
Practically all the captains in the trans­Atlantic trade cooperate in this work by handing in their information upon arrival in port to the branch hydrographic offices. In recent years the collection of marine data has been immensely accelerated by the use of radio telegraphy and the Hydrographic Office is thereby enabled to publish daily in a so­called daily memorandum whatever important reports of dangers have been received. This sheet is prepared every afternoon and is mailed to the branch hydrographic offices and there given publicity to all concerned. By this means, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, etc. are daily put in possession of the accumulated reports of dangerous derelicts and icebergs, which have been edited by experts in this line of work. Thus in the case of the recent loss of the Titanic, the shipping companies and shipmaster had been put in possession of the experience and judgment of a trained staff in the Hydrographic Office as summarized in a pamphlet printed in April, 1909, entitled "North Atlantic ice movements," giving a study of the entire question with diagrams to show the usual limits of ice for a period of 10 years. More specifically, the shipping community had been provided from month to month with the pilot chart showing the conditions of ice up to the time of printing and with the weekly Hydrographic Bulletin giving all pertinent details in regard to ice and derelicts and also the daily memorandum summarizing the collected reports of each day.
A trained seaman can and does estimate the probable speed and direction of drift of any dangerous obstruction, so that if he had knowledge of the existence of an iceberg or a derelict in a certain location at a given date he reckons its future position for an interval of a few days.
SENATOR SMITH: Captain, have you any means of knowing the ice conditions in the North Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland on the 14th day of April last, or on any preceding day of that week?
CAPT. KNAPP: The Hydrographic Office, prior to the 14th of April, was constantly receiving reports of ice in the North Atlantic. These reports began to come in early in the winter, as the ice moved down to the eastward of Newfoundland. These ice reports as received, as heretofore stated, are given out to the maritime world daily, and prior to the 14th of April, in what is called the Daily Memorandum, issued by the office, there had been on several days ice so published that had been reported near the spot of the Titanic disaster.
The April Pilot Chart, which was issued March 28, 1912, showed that in March ice had come as far south as latitude 44-degrees N. The Daily Memorandum prior to the 13th instant showed that the trend of ice was to the southward, icebergs being sighted below the forty­third parallel on April 7, 8, 9, and 11; on the 9th and 11th it had reached the forty­second parallel, and on the 11th some of it was seen south of latitude 42-degrees.
The Daily Memorandum of April 15 contains a message from the steamship Amerika via steamship Titanic and Cape Race, Newfoundland, April 14, 1912 to the Hydrographic Office, Washington, D.C.
Amerika has passed two large icebergs in 41-degrees 27-minutes N., 50-degrees 8-minutes W., on the 14th of April. KNUTH.
On the morning of the 15th of April, the day following the accident, the office received a radiogram sent by the steamship Amerika via the Titanic to Cape Race, and from there forwarded to Washington, reporting ice in latitude 41-degrees 27-minutes N., longitude 50-degrees 8-minutes W. The ice so reported was about 19 miles to the southward of where the Titanic struck.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you the message sent to you by the Amerika through the steamship Titanic to which you refer?
CAPT. KNAPP: Yes. It was as follows:
S.S." Amerika" via S.S. Titanic and Cape Race, N.F. April 14, 1912.
Hydrographic Office, Washington D.C.
Amerika has passed two large icebergs in 41-degrees 27-minutes N., 50-degrees 8-minutes W., on the 14th of April. KNUTH.
Upon request, the Hamburg­American Line, to which line the steamship Amerika belongs, furnished to the Hydrographic Office this copy (hereunto appended). As will be seen by a reference thereto, the wireless message was sent from the Amerika to the Titanic at 11:45 a.m. (New York time, it is understood):
Hydrographic Office, Washington D.C.
Amerika has passed two large icebergs in 41-degrees 27-minutes N., 50-degrees 8-minutes W., on the 14th of April. KNUTH.
SENATOR SMITH: Captain, will you kindly tell the committee how extensive this ice flow was, to which you have just referred?
CAPT. KNAPP: I submit to the committee this chart [Chart No. 1], which shows the ice as reported by the various steamers which passed through those waters at about that time and, in connection therewith, the following copies of ice reports made by said steamers.
The ice reports referred to are here printed in the record, as follows:
MARINE DATA FOR THE UNITED STATES HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE.
REPORTS OF WRECKS, DERELICTS, ICE, AND OTHER OBSTRUCTIONS TO NAVIGATION.
[Copy. File No. 62908­2995. British S. S. Californian. Master, Lord. Received in branch hydrographic office, Boston, Mass., April 22. Received in Hydrographic Office April 23.]
April 14, 6:30 p.m., latitude 42.05 N., longitude 49.10 W., sighted two large icebergs 5 miles south of the above position. At 7:15 p.m., latitude 42.05 N., longitude 49.20 W., two bergs, and 7:30 p.m. two bergs. At 10:20 p.m. latitude 42.05 N., longitude 50.07 W., encountered heavy packed field ice, extending north and south as far as the eye could see and about 5 miles wide; also numerous bergs could be seen. From above position until April 15, 2:30 p.m., latitude 41.33 N., longitude 50.42 W., almost continuously in field ice. At the last position sighted two bergs and cleared the field ice.
[Copy. File No. 63051­2995. From Greek S. S. Athinai. Master, John Couloulound. Received in branch hydrographic office, New York, April 25. Forwarded and received in Hydrographic Office April 26.]
April 14, 11:45 a.m., 41-degrees 50-minutes 48-seconds N., 49-degrees 34-minutes 15-seconds W., passed several (about 6) icebergs about 50­60 feet high and large quantity of field ice.
[Copy. File No. 63050­2995. From Parisian, British S.S. Master, William Hains. Received in branch hydrographic office, Boston, Mass. April 24 and forwarded to Hydrographic Office. Received April 25.]
April 14, 4:30 p.m., latitude 41-degrees 55-minutes N., longitude 49-degrees 02-minutes W., passed first iceberg. 8 p.m., latitude 41-degrees 42-minutes N, longitude 49-degrees 55-minutes W., passed last iceberg. Between positions passed 14 medium and large icebergs and numerous growlers.
[Copy. H. O. File 62859­2995. From German S. S. Paula. Master, H. Rieke. Received in branch hydrographic office, Norfolk, Va., April 20, and forwarded to Hydrographic Office April 22.]
April 14, 11:40 a.m., latitude 41-degrees 54-minutes N., longitude 49-degrees 32-minutes W., one large iceberg. 32' W., one large iceberg. April 14, 11:40 a.m., latitude 41-degrees 50-minutes N., longitude 49-degrees 33-minutes W., one large iceberg. April 14, noon., latitude 41-degrees 53-minutes N., longitude 49-degrees 36-minutes W., one large iceberg. April 14, forenoon, from latitude 41-degrees 58-minutes N., longitude 49-degrees 36-minutes W., till 41-degrees 56-minutes N., 49-degrees 52-minutes W., heavy pack ice (one field). April 14, 5:30 p.m., from latitude 41-degrees 55-minutes N., longitude 50-degrees 13-minutes W., till latitude 41-degrees 40-minutes N., longitude 50-degrees 30-minutes W., heavy pack ice and 30 large icebergs in one field.
[Copy. H. O. File 62727­2995. From German S. S. Trautenfels. Master, Hupers. Received in branch hydrographic office, Boston, Mass., April 18 and forwarded to Hydrographic Office. Received in Hydrographic Office April 19.]
April 14, 5:05 a.m., latitude 42-degrees 01-minutes N., longitude 49-degrees 53-minutes W., passed two large icebergs about 200 feet long and 40 feet high.
April 14, 5:40 a.m., latitude 42-degrees 01-minutes N., longitude 50-degrees 06-minutes W., to 8 a.m., latitude 41-degrees 40-minutes N., longitude 50-degrees 22-minutes W., passing along a field of heavy, closely packed ice, with no openings in the field. The ice field could be seen extending far to the northward. During this time sighted about 30 large bergs.
[Copy. H. O. File 62614­2995. Copy of telegram received from the Branch hydrographic office, New York,. April 17.].
Steamer La Bretagne from Havre reports, April 14, latitude 41-degrees 39-minutes N., longitude 49-degrees 21-minutes W., and 50-degrees 21-minutes N., steamed through an ice field with numerous icebergs for four hours ­ 7:30 to 11:38 a.m.
Steamer Hellig Olav from Copenhagen reports April 13, latitude 41-degrees 43-minutes N., longitude 49-degrees 51-minutes, passed three large icebergs; same date, latitude 41-degrees 39-minutes N., longitude 50-degrees 81-minutes W., medium­size berg and field ice.
[Copy. H. O. File 62728­2995. From S. S. Mesaba. Master, O. P. Clarke. Received in Hydrographic Office, April 19, 1912. From Branch Hydrographic Office, New York, N.Y.]
April 14, 11 a.m., latitude 41-degrees 50-minutes N., longitude 49-degrees 15-minutes W., passed a quantity of bergs, some very large; also a field of pack ice about 5 miles long. April 14, 2 p.m., 42-degrees N., longitude 50-degrees W., passed another field of pack ice with numerous bergs intermixed, and extended from 4 points on the starboard bow to abeam on the port side. Had to steer about 20 miles south to clear it. Ice seemed to be one solid wall of ice, at least 16 feet high, as far as could be seen. In latitude 41-degrees 35-minutes N., longitude 50-degrees 30-minutes W., we came to the end of it, and at 4 p.m. ­ April 14 ­ we were able to again steer to the westward." Saw no more ice after this. Weather clear and bright.
[Copy. File No. 62496­2995. Telegram received by Hydrographic Office Apr. 15 from S. S. Amerika, via S.S. Titanic and Cape Race, Newfoundland, Apr. 14.]
Amerika passed two large icebergs in 41-degrees 27-minutes N., 50-degrees 8-minutes S., on the 14th of April. Knuth. 10:51 p.m.
[Copy. File No. 62497­2995. Copy of telegram received in Hydrographic Office Apr. 15 from S. S. Paula via Halifax.]
In latitude 42-degrees 6-minutes north and longitude 49-degrees 43-minutes west met with extensive field ice, and sighted seven bergs of considerable sizes on both sides of track.
