In this connection the attention of the committee is especially invited to the report made by the master of the steamship Mesaba, wherein he reports on April 14, at 2 p.m. in latitude 42-degrees N., longitude 50-degrees W., that he "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. we were able to again steer to the westward."
The ice so reported by the master of the steamship Mesaba was directly in the track on which the Titanic is reported to have been steaming when she met with the accident.
Chart No. 2, submitted to the committee, shows the ice barrier as it was on April 14, judging from the various reports made to the office, and from the testimony as given before your committee by the master of the steamship Mount Temple, Capt. Moore.
The attention of the committee is further invited to the report made by the steamship Athinai. This is the same steamer whose report by radio of icebergs and field ice was received by the steamship Baltic, as testified to before your committee by wireless operator Balfour, and which was transmitted to him to the steamship Titanic on April 14, 1912 at about 11:50 a.m., receipt of which was acknowledged at 12:05 p.m. on the 14th of April by Capt. Smith of the Titanic. This ice, as shown on our chart, was on or near the track of the Titanic.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you any means from the description of the ice to which you have just referred and the speed of the Titanic, which was at that time making about 75 revolutions of her propeller per minute, of knowing the force of the impact?
CAPT. KNAPP: It is impossible, under the testimony as given, to state just how direct a blow the Titanic struck the ice, but an idea may be formed as to the possible blow by using the accepted formula, the weight multiplied by the square of the velocity divided by twice the gravity will give the blow that would have been struck if she had kept straight on her course against this apparently solid mass of ice, which, at a speed of 21 knots, would have been equal to 1,173,200 foot tons, or energy enough to lift 14 monuments the size of the Washington Monument in one second of time. I think from the evidence before your committee it is shown that the ship struck the berg before she had appreciably lost any headway, due either to change of helm or stoppage or reversal of engines, in which event her striking energy would be practically that given above.
SENATOR SMITH: Captain, in view of the strength of this blow, can you account for the apparent absence of shock, the shock seeming to have been scarcely noticeable by the passengers and crew?
CAPT. KNAPP: A comparison might be made to striking a sharp instrument a glancing blow with the hand. There would be no apparent resistant shock. That part of the ice which cut into its outer skin was struck by the ship very much like the edge of a knife would be so struck by the hand. If the ship had struck end on solidly against the mass of ice, then there would have been the shock that takes place when a moving body meets an immovable body.
I submit also another chart (chart No.3) and the following memorandum:
HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 14, 1912.
MEMORANDUM ON SHIPS' POSITION AS SHOWN ON CHART.
"BALTIC."
Page of hearing.
Speed, 17 knots (Lloyd's, 15 1/2 knots at the time of hearing CQD (calculated from
Marine Data Report).
Bound east for Liverpool.
Positions plotted from Marine Data Report.
April 14, noon (N.Y., 9.50 a. m.), 40-degrees 55-minutes N., 49-degrees 20-minutes W.
April 15, 1.45 a. m. (N.Y., 11.05 p. m.), 42-degrees 02-minutes N., 45-degrees 02-minutes W.; changed course to go to
Titanic.
April 15, noon (N.Y., 9.20 a. m.), 42-degrees 00-minutes N., 46-degrees 56-minutes W.
This last position is probably after the Baltic had turned back to the east and resumed
her course toward Fastnet.
BIRMA.
Speed, 13 knots (Lloyd's).
Bound east to Rotterdam and Libau.
744 Birma reported as 70 miles from Titanic's position April 14.
In plotting her position preference is given to the western of the two possible positions
on the course from New York to the turning point, because she was sighted by the
684 9.40 a. m., 42-degrees N., 47-degrees W., April 14.
684 10.30 p. m. (N.Y., 8.40), 42-degrees 5-minutes N., 50-degrees 7-minutes W.
684 6.30 p. m. (N.Y., 4.40), 42-degrees 5-minutes N., 49-degrees 10-minutes W.
684 Course, S. 16-degrees W., 19 1/2 or 19 3/4 miles to position of Titanic. (Californian appears to
have made complete circle while engines were stopped in 42-degrees 5-minutes N., 50-degrees 7-minutes W.)
Position from marine data report April 15, 2.30 p. m. (N.Y., 12.55 p. m.), 41-degrees 33-minutes N., 50-degrees 42-minutes
W.
"CARPATHIA."
Speed, 15 knots (Lloyd's).
21 16 1/2 knots to Titanic; 58 miles in 3 1/2 hours.
19 Bound east for Gibraltar, etc.
19 Heard CQD of Titanic at 12.35 p. m. April 14 (10.45 p. m. N.Y. time).
20 Position obtained by reversing course N. 52-degrees W., true 58 miles.
20 Distance from Titanic, 58 miles at time of CQD.
"FRANKFURT."
Speed, 12 1/2 knots (Lloyd's).
827 13 knots to Titanic (calculated from current report).
Bound east for Bremerhaven from Galveston.
740 Position, 39-degrees 47-minutes N., 52-degrees 10-minutes W., April 14, 10.25 p. m. N.Y. time.
Position, 41-degrees 44-minutes N., 50-degrees 24-minutes W., April 15, 10.50 a. m. (9.40 a. m. N.Y.)
(from current report).
Position, 41-degrees 35-minutes N., 50-degrees 15-minutes W., taken from current report.
698 Seen by Californian near this position.
Position, 41-degrees 26-minutes N., 49-degrees 30-minutes W., April 15, 2.30 p. m. (12.55 N.Y.)
(from current report).
Distance from Titanic, 150 miles at time of CQD.
Heard CQD at 10.40, N.Y. time.
"MOUNT TEMPLE."
Speed, 12 1/2 knots (Lloyd's).
728 11 1/2 knots to Titanic.
Bound west to St. John, N.B.
727 Position at CQD of Titanic 50 miles away, 41-degrees 25-minutes N., 51-degrees 14-minutes W.
728 Steered N. 64 E., true, at 11 1/2 knots. Stopped at 3.25 a. m. (12.55 a. m. N.Y.).
729 Schooner seen 2 miles on port bow of Mount Temple, plots 18 miles from Titanic's
position by time, course, and speed instead of 13, as per testimony.
731 Tramp steamer plotted approximately in position where first seen.
727 Distance from Titanic, 50 miles at time of CQD.
"OLYMPIC."
Speed, over 20 knots (Lloyd's).
Bound east for Fastnet.
175 Position at 4.24 a. m., G. M. T., April 15, latitude 40-degrees 12-minutes N., 61-degrees 18 W., 11.24 p. m., N.Y.
time.
"VIRGINIAN."
Speed, 18 knots (Lloyd's).
175 170 knots to Titanic.
Bound east for Southampton from Halifax.
175 This position, 170 miles from Titanic at midnight, is plotted on the probable track from
Halifax to turning point, 41-degrees N., 47-degrees W.
The Virginian is plotted west of Titanic position because she was communicating with
Cape Race just after the time of the accident.
"PARISIAN."
Speed 14 knots (Lloyd's).
Speed on April 14, 12 knots (calculated from marine data blank).
Bound toward Boston via Halifax from Glasgow.
Positions plotted from marine data blank:
April 14, 4.30 p. m. (2.42 N.Y.), 41-degrees 55-minutes N., 49-degrees 02-minutes W.
April 15, 8 p. m. (6.12 N.Y.), 41-degrees 42-minutes N., 49-degrees 55-minutes W.
Position from wireless report to Titanic from Califronian: April 14 (no time), 41-degrees 55-minutes N., 49-degrees
14' W.
Position at 10.25 p. m., New York time, an arc of circle radius being 51 miles, for 4 1/2
hours, at 12 knots per hour.
Note. ­ In the above wherever "marine data report" is used the original of such report
from the ship in question is on file in the Hydrographic Office.
SENATOR SMITH: Captain, can you think of anything else that you desire to say that will tend to throw any light upon the inquiry being made by the committee into the causes leading up to this wreck, and subsequent events, including any memorandum or data bearing upon the position of the steamship Californian on the night of this accident?
CAPT. KNAPP: I desire to submit the following "Memorandum on Chart," marked "Titanic ­ Ice Barrier ­ Near­by ships," which is explanatory of chart No. 2, which I have introduced in evidence.
The memorandum referred to is as follows:
HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE, Washington, D.C., May 14, 1912.
MEMORANDUM OF CHART.
"TITANIC" ­ ICE BARRIER ­ NEAR­BY SHIPS
6­­­­
The chart bearing the above heading shows the ice barrier into which the Titanic undoubtedly steamed. The ice as shown on this chart, it will be noted, is grouped in one barrier, and not shown scattered as on the chart headed ":Ice as reported near Titanic." From all the evidence before the Hydrographic Officethat is, the hearings before the Senate committee and the various reports made by steamers of ice in the locality in questionthe Hydrographic Office deems that the ice barrier was, to all intents and purposes, as shown on this chart. Copies of the above­mentioned ice reports are forwarded herewith. There may have been, and probably were, other ice fields or bergs in this general locality, but they are not shown on the chart, as it is desired to bring out clearly, without other confusing details, the barrier into which the Titanic steamed.
An inspection of this chart will show that the Mount Temple ran into the southwestern end of this ice field at 12:55 a.m. (New York time), April 15. Thereafter, to have reached the Titanic it would have been necessary for the Mount Temple to have steamed around the southern end of this ice barrier, and around it to the northward and eastward over 30 miles. As her highest speed does not exceed 13 knots (Lloyds Register) she could not have reached the scene of the Titanic disaster earlier than 3:15 a.m. (New York time) of that morning, or about 2 hours and 18 minutes after the Titanic sank (12:57 a.m., New York time).
A further inspection of this chart shows the Californian as located by the master thereof.
A further inspection of the chart will show certain arcs of circles, shown in dotted lines drawn from the following centers: The position of the Californian, the position of the Titanic, the "hypothetical" position of the Californian. These arcs are drawn to represent the following: the radii of the arcs drawn about the Titanic as the center and the Californian as a center are identical, the larger radius being 16 miles and the smaller radius being 7 miles. Sixteen miles represents the distance at which the side lights of the Titanic could be seen from one standing on the Californian at the height of the latter ship's side lights, or the reverse, the 7 miles radius being the distance at which the side lights of the Californian would cease to be seen by a person from a boat in the water. A further reference to the chart will show midway between the plotted positions of the Californian and Titanic, a plotted "hypothetical position of the Californian." With the hypothesis that the Californian was in this plotted position, a dotted line is drawn on a bearing SSE, given by the master of the Californian as the bearing in which he sighed a large steamer. This dotted line is drawn to intersect the track of the Titanic at a point at which the Titanic appears to have been at 10:06 p.m., New York time, April 14at 11:56 p.m. of that date by the Californian's timeat which time the large steamer is testified to have been seen by Ernest Gill, of the Californian. It thus appears that the bearings of the steamer given by the master of the Californian and the testimony of Ernest Gill of that ship will fix the Californian's position near or about the hypothetical position shown on the chart, if the lights seen on that ship were those of the Titanic.
A still further inspection of the chart will show that the Californian, if located in the position given by the master thereof, could have reached the scene of the disaster in about two hours, and, if located in the hypothetical position shown on the chart, the Californian certainly could have reached the Titanic in a little over an hour after she struck. The evidence taken in the hearings shows that the Titanic floated for two and a half hours after she struck the barrier. JOHN J. KNAPP.
I invited special attention to that part of the memorandum referring to the hypothetical position of the Californian, as shown on that chart, and, in connection therewith, it is desirable to explain that the arcs of circles drawn about the position of the steamship Titanic and about the position of the steamship Californian were drawn to graphically illustrate the testimony of certain witnesses before your committee.
