Page 18 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 19 - 22

decks, and cabin bulkheads and partitions. That is the first general deduction. It was assumed in making those calculations that the double bottomed tanks were flooded as well as the ship’s hold. It was further assumed that in the cargo spaces about one-quarter of the volume of the space would be occupied by water-excluding materials. 20300. About one-fourth? - About one-fourth. 20301. Can you tell me why you assume about one-fourth? It may be altogether wrong? - It was from a variety of considerations. We have never fully calculated it, but taking ordinary cargoes that are carried in ships of this type, it was the best estimate that we could make. 20302. At all events, you thought it a fair estimate to make for the purpose of testing the arrangements which you were making? - Yes, my Lord. I may say I believe it is rather more. It is usually assumed cargo will exclude rather more than that, but taking the very light cargoes - light in character in relation to their bulk - which are carried by these express steamers, it seemed wiser to take one-fourth, to be on the safe side. 20303. Are those the assumptions that you proceeded upon? - Those are the assumptions. If you go into the bunkers of course you must then assume something else for the coal. In the case of bunkers, it was assumed that about one-half of the space occupied by coal would be available for water coming in; that is that the bunker probably is not quite full. Of course water gets in between the lumps of coal. 20304. The cubic quantity of water would be half the cubic contents of the bunker? - Quite, my Lord. 20305. What waterline did you start at? - The intended load waterline of the ship, 34 feet 6 inches moulded draught. We eventually got a waterline not quite so deep as that by a couple of inches about. 20306. (Mr. Rowlatt.) That assumed something in the cargo space, I suppose, to get that waterline? - Of course she had to be fairly full of cargo and of coal. 20307. And then, when you came to calculate the effect of water coming in, you allowed for that again, one-fourth? - That is right. There are some spaces to which water could find entry which are neither cargo nor coal spaces, such as stores and mails and baggage room, and in those cases I believe one-sixth was allowed. I am quoting that from memory, I am not quite sure whether that applied to stores or whether stores were taken at one-fourth. I have not a note of that particular point. 20308. Supposing you took this ship quite empty, so that every bit of the watertight compartments could be filled with nothing but water, would she then float if any two adjacent ones were full of water? - Yes, because, you see, when there is no coal and no water in the ship she is floating with the top of her bulkheads much higher out of the water, and you gain that increased height over the whole length of the ship, and you only lose on the exclusion of the water in the flooded space. 20309. The sort of case that you did not contemplate was if the whole of the rest of the ship was loaded but only the two compartments which happened to be punctured or holed were empty; you did not assume that? - It is hardly a conceivable case; but even if they were, the ship would probably not be at her loaded draught, and so would have that buoyancy. We took what we judged to be the most severe case. 20310. Now, have you also considered how this gradual sinking was caused and did progress in this ship, having regard to the wounds in the ship’s side which have been disclosed by the evidence? - I have had some calculations made and plans prepared. 20311. Is the result pictorial? We cannot understand calculations. - No; I will put in the plans. I have copies of them. (The same were handed in.) 20312. Now before we explain these plans, Mr. Wilding, will you just tell us this - you have followed all the evidence that has been given? - Yes, I have followed it, but this first plan was