What was the Ultimate Fate of Titanic's Captain? (Part 1)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- In this video we take a look at the actions of Titanic's captain Edward John Smith on the night of the sinking to see if we can piece together what ultimately happened to him that night.
(One tiny error, at 3:14 I said the captain smith cabin is on the port side, its actually on starboard).
Watch Part 2 here
• The Ultimate Fate of T...
Support Historic Travels on Patreon
/ historictravels
Check out Historic Travels merch
historic-trave...
Titanic Honor and Glory Channel
/ titanichg
Part Time Explorer Channel
/ parttimeexplorer
Titanic Animations Channel
/ titanicanimations
Titanic SOS Roblox Game
www.roblox.com...
Tales of the Protectors book series!
www.amazon.com...
Historic Travels PO BOX address below
Samuel Pence
P.O Box 75356
Charleston WV
25375
#Titanic #ships #sinkingship #history
Fate is a strange thing. My father was a Locomotive Engineer for 35 years. A month after he retired the engine he ran for all that time crashed with all three Engineers (one was a trainee) being killed. They missed the signal change and bore into a turn going full speed. I can't imagine being Captain Smith on that night. From going from a routine trip to slowly awaiting your demise is just horrific.
I do blame the Captain. He was responsible for the ship and all on it. He knew there was ice in it's path yet maintained a breakneck speed.
Could Smith of kept the engines running and made a run for the closest boat 9 miles away?!
@@charlenelayhew4811it was normal for that time
I wonder how history would have treated Captain Smith if he had survived the sinking - would they have treated him as bad as J Bruce Ismay?
Oh that's easy. Only his death saved him from dishonor; almost akin to the Japanese and Seppuku. Had he survived he would most certainly have been shamed and derided. Society is cruel like that.
@@physetermacrocephalus2209 Despite whether he said he did the absolute best he could? That he was swept overboard in the final plunge and picked up in a passing lifeboat, keeping him warm enough to wait until Carpathia arrived?
Captain William Turner of the LUSITANIA survived the sinking . He testified at the inquest held by the British government . He was never really grilled about any negligence on his or his crew . This was because the hearings were a white wash intended to clear the government and Royal Navy of their inadequate safety measures. Some believe that the British government actually wanted to create international outrage ( the sinking of a passenger liner ) so that the United States would enter the war . The hearings also wanted to keep quiet the fact that the Lusitania was carrying munitions ( highly illegal under international law ) . Captain Turner retired from the Cunard line after the sinking . The sinking was no fault of the captain , as he never received warnings that a U boat was operating in the Irish sea and no RN escort vessels were sent to meet the ship ( very suspicious to me ) . One further item that may point to government collusion is that the wreck of the LUSITANIA ( laying in shallow water ) was used for DEPTH CHARGE practice by the RN , thus rendering the wreck a pile of rubble and unable to provide any evidence of an internal explosion caused by a SINGLE TORPEDO strike .
Interesting. If he survived, it would have been cruel luck. He would have been invaluable in the court of inquiry, the public court would be a little more vicious.
definitely. it was well known that captains go down with the ship.. he was in charge of the ship. he also would have had major survivors guilt considering 1500 went down
When I talk to people about Captain Smith they always think about his 1997 movie portrayal and that he was basically stunned and did nothing. It's unfortunate that his character assassination has become part of the history people remember.
he probably was stunned and on disbelief. it was also his last voyage before retirement. once he got his wits about him he did all he could. I would say a night to remember is a good idea of how he acted. 97 was probably once almost all the boats were gone and 1500 people still on the ship and rescue still a couple hours away
@@Truecrimeresearcher224 Oh I'm sure he was stunned! He was a good captain though and would quickly have gotten over the shock and begun the task of evacuation. The movie however shows him bumbling about the whole sinking and letting the officers take charge.
@@SAOS451316 true but like I said odds are once the boats were gone he probably became like the movie especially knowing no rescue and 1500 lives still onboard
@@Truecrimeresearcher224
I never took the movie seriously, I am sure he did what he could with the amount of time he had to save enough people. I can believe the guy was struggling with the stress and burden on his mind.
You’re right on the character assassination, if people notice we aren’t 100% with the captain, mostly with Jack and Rose since it is their story. We don’t get to follow the captain around at all, just brief interactions.
It is a tragedy that Captain Smith was assigned to the ill fated vessel, while Captain Haddock would take his place on the unsinkable Olympic.
The titanic was just extremely unlucky
1.They ran into a huge berg.
2. The hole was long enough for the titanic to sink.
3. Her crew members forgot the keys for the binoculars.
4. It was a moonless night.
All of these evidence might be why the titanic is unlucky to sink on her first voyage.
I totally agree with you, I can only add that the situation that night was far worse than you stated, especially on points 1 and 4:
1.They encountered the whole ice field, more than 100 km long in the N-S direction and several kilometers wide, not just one iceberg in the middle of nowhere. It was directly in their path.
4. Weather was unusually calm, the ocean was flat, so there was no surf at the base of the iceberg, caused by the wind, which would make it easier to see. And modern analysis points to false horizon, like mirage in the desert, caused by the temperature inversion, which made the iceberg virtually impossible to see, until it was too late. This phenomenon was actually observed by Frederick Fleet (the lookout in the crow's nest who spotted the iceberg), as some sort of "haze", but he had no idea what he was seeing...
You might even call it "perfect storm", prepared by Mother Nature. In retrospective, they really had no chance against this situation...
I heard a story a unidentified officers body was found and buried in Newfoumdland.
The body was described as "covered in thick coal dust and mangled beyond any recognition except for possibly white hair.
It was believed to be one of the engineers - but not of the engineers had white hair.
And it fits with last sighting - jumping into water with Andrews and crushed by first funnel
Captain Smith also had a white beard that would’ve made recognition easy. Plus, his uniform, with four stripes of rank, would’ve been noted.
@@TorontoJediMaster True, but the body had only a shirt and briefs. No uniform and when I say mangled- I mean mangled. Like that scene from Elysium- with the dude messed up before revival
@@ranosian1135 Wouldn't the beard still be attached to his face?
@@iamhungey12345 Depends on how mangled the body was.
@@ranosian1135 If the guy is in his undergarments then how can they know that was an officer? That's another issue I have in mind there.
Quite a mystery how Captain Smith died but its been respected that he went down with the ship.
I don't know much about the presenter of this channel but I like his energy and the serious approach he takes to the subject matter. After 110 years the story of RMS Titanic has gotten a little familiar, and anyone who can (pardon the pun) breathe new life into it is very welcome.
Love the videos Sam. The way you explain events and details is second to none. I could listen to you talk all day about titanic. I’ve had a fascination with the ship since I was young. I used to ask my mom for toy ships that could sink for Christmas when I was young, just to resemble something like titanic, lol. Keep it up man!
What a great first part, Sam; there are a lot more missing details of Captain Smith's story but it is often overlooked. However, it's thanks to more information that his true story is revealed and that's the one we need to hear. Cannot wait for part 2 very soon 🙂
The Actor they got in the movie was a perfect match for the real Capt Smith
Hey Sam, I want to ask you, if you could do some research on two Titanic questions
Number one: Did the Titanic have colored rockets on board, and if yes, why weren't they used?
And number two: How many portholes have been reported to be left open, the Night the Titanic sank?
Keep up your good work, you are awesome :)
best guess on portholes nott many. it was really cold that night. odds are only a few if any
the rockets I think it was proven they had colored ones and some were unused. I don't think they had the color needed for distress which I think was red
Several portholes were opened by passengers in 3rd class trying to spot the iceberg or find out what the collision was. In some cases these weren't closed again.
I read that entrance hatch on D-deck has been opened during the sinking in order to observe the evacuation process. however, it was left open, this can be seen on the wreck.
Also, Lightoller told one of the ship’s pursers to open the gangway door.
People can blame Captain Smith for the sinking of the Titanic but one thing tho at least feel bad for the man because imagine what that man was going through doing the sinking imagine you sleeping in your room and you hear noises and the designer of the ship basically telling you only got an hour to live and you going to be there before daylight
Thanks again for a brilliant video. It’s like I can never learn enough about Titanic. If I’m right Think Captain Smith was from one of the major Industrialised Towns in the UK that made up what we still call ‘The Black Country’. Named because of all the soot and coal literally turning the air black and then blackening the buildings.
I know you would know this but I suspect Captain Smith was from a Town called Wolverhampton originally. If not it would have been nearby Walsall. I was a Van driver in my early twenties and used to deliver to these locations and all over the Black Country.
Something that’s always irked me about the sinking is that William Murdoch, who gave the order of “Women and Children first” and allowed men on the lifeboats afterwards, died.
But Charles Lightoller, who stuck to “women and children only”, had lifeboats leave the ship with empty spots because there were only men around, and considered telling two men who jumped off the ship and climbed into one of the last lifeboats to get out of it, survived the sinking.
I think officer lightoller wasn't doing a good job. however, regarding the situation, I understand why.
Unfortunately life sucks that way. People who did the right things, die before their time. While the screw ups get to live a full life.
Not that it makes up for Lightoller's mistakes, but he captained one of the little boats during Dunkirk, saving tens of Allied soldiers & allowing them to get across the Channel (he's based off the father in the film 'Dunkirk'). He was one of the few who were allowed to captain their own boats, most were commandeered by HMRN sailors.
Wouldn't sending the lifeboats away full help lighten the ship a little?
Lightoller is a very shady character!
and for some reason no one cares of looking it up!
" I believe you may get your headlines Mr. Ismay."
I have a lifetime fascination with Titanic - thank you for this video. Too many times (as with all tragedies, some things get brushed aside and not considered until much later on). May all of those who perished rest in peace. 😞🙏🏼💔
As far as I know, Captain Smith didn't die in the shipwreck. One of his former shipmates on the Majestic, Peter Pryal, claimed to have seen him twice and exchanged a few words with him in Baltimore three months after the disaster.
Indeed! I've heard that story, too.
He did die in the disaster. He never made it into a lifeboat and that water was too cold to hold up in for long.
I think it was common but unwritten that captains would carry a weapon in case of mutiny or piracy on these old liners.. he may have taken his life in a personal space somewhere
He didn’t listen to warnings about icebergs. Those people were relying on him to be a wise captain, not someone who simply ignored warnings and plowed forward at unsafe speeds because he put safety second. Heck, the Californian stopped and took precautions (wait until morning when they could see). I get upset when I think about Capt. Smith.
Love the content as always. Thoroughly detailed, well edited and with a bit of humour sprinkled on for good measure.
I've heard of a couple versions of the captains passing. I used to have a very old book about the Titanic. In the book , I read that the Captain actually made it to an upturned Life boat but insisted upon going down with the ship and slipped down off of the boat. He was pulled back up on the Life boat a couple times only to once again insist upon going down with the ship. That's one version of a few others that I've heard of.
Always wondered about him. Glad to see this. Can't wait until the next video.
For me IMO. My favorite 1 was "Captain Smith died heroically saving a baby." I think theres even drawings or paintings of it.
I was surprised when you showed that giant titanic model, I thought you were gonna pull out the smaller one! Thanks for posting this video and sharing information.
Sam “GREAT JOB on PART 1 and we are all standing by for PART 2 🫡
I really enjoy all of your ship videos Sam. Keep up the great work bud.
Any Captian that goes down with his ship is a warrior.
I know how he died, he drowned in the ocean I think he was careless, reckless and just plain overwhelmed with retirement.
You know what they say "Every Good Captain goes down with his ship." Would've been very interesting to hear his side of the story
I always love your videos ! You do such a great job at telling the information doing all your research. I enjoy watching these videos and learning even more information 😊 thanks so much !
can I just say I love the new intro that was created for this channel
300 tons of coal moved from starboard to port is actually a 600 ton difference in a ship's trim!!!
Great video Sam! One of your best! Brilliant format & content!
There is a beautiful musical work dedicated to the Titanic (Requiem), composed by Robin Gibb (Bee Gees) and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Robin Gibb was a great student of that ship and its tragedy. A real curiosity!
These videos are great.
More than a century later and we're still fascinated by this event. I really appreciate your presentations on the Titanic, I always learn something new.
Keep up the awesome work
S
I see that he finally got enough money to afford a intro
Phenomenal breakdown
And at the end of the video, that mystery ship that Sam didn’t mention was the Californian and they didn’t aid in helping with the evacuation of Titanic because Harold Bride said something that annoyed the wireless operator on the Californian because of the ice warnings they were getting and their machine to receive messages was turned off for the night and once it was turned back on in the morning of April 15 after sunrise, that’s when they got the distress calls.
The Californian’s wireless operator had finished his shift and gone to bed, that is why his equipment was turned off for the night. He also did not feel offended by Phillips’ reply to his message, he said so when he testified at the inquiries.
@@Sarah0583 i guess i didn't know that until now.
Got a new intro now? Nice
That is an interesting topic Sam looking forward to pt 2!
3:14 Starboard side.
I am aware, had a mind blank moment. XD
My favorite Captain, I love your videos Sam, I saw your new piece of the Olympic that your fans sent you, incredible.
No one knows. But i am pretty surre that he didn’t die in the wheelhouse as portrayed in the movie.
Well... that's the most amount of times I've head the word titanic in such a short space of time.
Hello Sam Jason Jr loves your channel he loves you and your videos I never thought my son would be into Titanic as much as I am so I have you to thank for that sending love from Chicago IL
I think that Smith is better than Schettino…
It'd be hard to find anybody worse than Schettino. Avranas, maybe.
captain: can I have seat in boat?
dude: no, we're fully occupied!
captain: very well. good bye it is.
This is an excellent video Sam! I enjoyed the accuracy of your informations. ;)
Captain Smith is a sort of idol for me , i want to be like him , a respected man , a captain everyone wants to work with and be around with and very experienced, well except the dying part
Gotta commend you on your video. You continue 5o do an excellent job on research and reporting on an incident that others have done and yet still bring to the front information that seemingly is new and interesting.
Ohhhhh I love the intro! :) sorry it’s been a while I’ve been back on your channel :/
Love the new opening introduction
Hey Sam have you ever thought about becoming a history professor? I think you would be a great professor.
Imagine if Captain Smith had ordered the ship just one degree to the left at his briefing after dinner.
Thank you for these videos. 💚💚💚
Fantastic work, Sam!
Great video. Thanks for your work and attention to detail.
Great job explaining this. Thanks for all your hard work!
المزيد من النتائج
Two of my favorite Captains in history, Edward Smith and Ernst Lindemann
Hope you learn to love Arthur Henry Rostron too!
He had a perfect service record and was set to retire after Titanic. Without the sinking, he would have been an unknown today.
He served 41 years at sea and is a legend from starting at a young age from boat boy to sea captain that’s pretty iconic so ya if he never died with the titanic he would still be in the history books as an amazing captain.
back when captains had backbones and were men of their words.
the best ever would be sir Arthur Henry Rostron
He was partying with passengers that night likely getting drunk. Great strong captain.
Poor guy had his entire retirement ahead of him. I would have found me a life boat 😅
I love your channel keep up the great stuff!
The captain of the USS Indianapolis survived the WW2 sinking of his vessel. He was the only captain during that period to be court martialed for the sinking of his ship. Tragic story.
Loving the new intro Sam!
Good work! You really know this stuff inside & out!
Nice opening. I wish I can do it for my channel but I do so much different stuff I can't
Conditions obviously weren't perfect. There was no moon and the unusually calm seas made it very difficult to see icebergs.
Awesome as always!!!
Hi Sam
I have enjoyed your recounting of what happened on that awful night. Something has bothered me for a long time and I think this might be a good place to pose the question: Once it became clear to the crew that there was damage along the starboard side, should Captain Smith have ordered the starboard engine full astern with full starboard rudder? This would have resulted in the Titanic describing anti-clockwise circles ( as seen from above) and It's possible that the resulting suction experienced at the starboard side and starboard bow of the ship might have created enough local suction to at least slow the ingress of sea water and given more precious time for help to arrive. I think this would be an interesting experiment on a simulator that has an ability to take the sea water physics into account.
glad you done this video been wording about what happen to him
If I were the captain of the Titanic, the last thing I would want is to survive.
I just cant figure out why the titanic was even allowed to go into water with just 16 life boats. Thats insane. Did they really believe that it couldnt sink. Becouse of its size at that time it was so big and long. The picture at 13.34 of her just shows she was huge and the size of her length in all its glory when its dark and lit up at night. But it was pure human greed and complacency that sank her. They left with just 16 life boats, they ignored iceberg warnings for days, they wouldnt slow down her speed, then when sinking they expected ships to go and help after days of warning them. Seemingly when one ships captain was woken up and told about a ship sending up sos rockets he just went back to bed? I cant remember what he said. I cant understand why the california could see the titanics rockets and wouldnt help them either. And it wasnt that far away. At the court inquiry a believe the california when asked why didnt you go and help titanic and the captain said we thought they were having a party becouse it was its maiden voyage. Now that is a pathetic excuse. Those rockets are only used when your in quick need of help as your taking on water.
Just a thought. Why did the Titanic decide its maiden voyage in April and not the summer. April is pretty cold, and I'm sure the people found it unpleasant out on deck in the cold and could have avoided any icebergs. The Titanic was the Rolls Royce of the Seas and costing so much money to build and untested, why didn't it go out on its maiden voyage with a few other ships accompanying it just in case something may happen. And I think the captains eyes are too close together.
He caused the sinking. He's no hero. He was reckless and negligent.
great vid! very detailed!
I worked for an old lady who was his granddaughter and showed me many historical artifacts and family photos
I really doubt “most people” would know who he is if showed them his picture probably 10% would know
Very intresting can't wait for part 2
the captain goes down with the ship.
The exact position of theTitanic wreck should never have been revealed .
Great video!
love this channel!
i love him
NICE INTRO SAM!!!
Thank you Sam for doing this video. I hope you do additional videos of other officers. So tragic yet fascinating. Thanks for all the work you put into your videos
You mentioned that he gave his position as 20 mi off.
One of the stories I heard says that there were heavy optical illusions and the atmosphere that night and that that's why they didn't see the iceberg.
I wonder if it also threw off his reading of the Stars to know his position.
Atmospheric refraction could cause the Stars to appear in a slightly different place.
Can't wait for part 2!
Did you not proofread your caption? “Wouldn’t OF?” Great content but this common mistake hurts my eyes 😂
Property for the White Star Liner
I love the sinking animation and how the black silhouettes of people dont move as the water goes over their heads.
I bet he had Big Ship Energy.
The new intro is quite nice
Captain Smith did not die where he is in that picture as the water came in on him. Pretty sure he and Andrews went to the bottom of the sea. I think so and maybe together when the cold got them.
In A Night to Remember Captain Smith told all the officers that the Titanic was going to founder.
Intro is lit.
I love the intro animation!
He never would've had any job on any ship ever again. He would've been forced to retire somewhere far away as he would've been a pariah at home.
He should have blown a hole at the other end of the ship in the hull causing the water to counterbalance filling up one or two bulkheads on the opposite side leveling the ship.. stopping the water from going over the bulkheads on the iceberg damage side?.. it might have still sunk but maybe not