Page 20 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 19 - 22

the average change of draught on the voyage by the “Olympic” was for several voyages. 20329. (The Commissioner.) Do you mean by the consumption of coal? - I mean by the use of coal and the use of fresh water and stores, my Lord; and also I knew that about two-thirds of the voyage had been completed. I therefore took two-thirds of the normal change in the “Olympic,” of the average change, and applied it to the departure draught of the “Titanic,” and used the line so reached as a basis to start from. That applies to all the calculations which I have made since the accident. This plan of “flooding by compartments,” shows that waterline which I have been referring to which is marked as a black dotted line at the two ends. Mr. Rowlatt: Outside the stem, my Lord; the lowest line outside the stem. The Witness: The first thing was to flood the forepeak tank, that was the foremost compartment of the ship, which is marked in yellow, and which gave the yellow waterline just above the black dot. 20330. That shows the amount the ship was sunk by the head by filling the forepeak? - Quite right. 20331. That is very little indeed? - Yes. Of course the water is restrained from rising in the forepeak by the watertight tank; it cannot go any higher than the top of the tank. I then flooded No. 1 hold, which is tinted green, and I got the green waterline. That is No. 1 hold plus the forepeak. I then, in addition to having the forepeak flooded and No. 1 hold flooded, flooded No. 2 hold, which is marked brown, and I got the brown waterline. Then, having flooded the forepeak and No. 1 and No. 2 holds, I also flooded No. 3 hold, which I then wanted to indicate by the red space which is represented by the red line. 20332. (The Commissioner.) Would this swamp (I daresay it is not the right expression) flood the tunnel? - Yes, between the green line and the brown line; the water comes over the top of the tunnel step, and would flood the tunnel. 20333. That is the narrow tunnel on the starboard side? - No, the firemen’s passage, my Lord, in the centre line in the bottom. 20334. You say that the flooding of No. 2 hold would include the firemen’s passage? - Yes. When No. 2 was flooded it would flood the firemen’s passage, because, as your Lordship will see, the waterline has then got above the step in the bulkhead and can go down the stair. Of course, as you will see, the water is still at that time below the level of the top of the bulkheads which run to the E deck, the black continuous sheered line. I then flooded No. 6 boiler room, in addition to the others, of course, which is shown in the blue tint, and gave the blue waterline. Your Lordship will now see that the water had got up above the top of A bulkhead, and would get down into the rest of the forepeak. Your Lordship will notice that that flooding corresponds to B, shown on the first blueprint that I handed up. That condition corresponds to B on the first blueprint which I handed up. 20335. And that is the end of the ship; that is the foundering of the ship? - It means the eventual foundering of the ship. Mr. Rowlatt: Now the remaining colours, my Lord, show how she did founder. 20336. (The Commissioner.) In order to get it clear as we go along, does this seem to indicate or does this lead you to the conclusion that this ship was holed as far aft as No. 5 bunker? - No. 6 boiler room I have got to at present, to the blue line. 20337. And is it not the fact that the watertight bulkhead between No. 6 boiler room and No. 5 boiler room was injured? - Yes, we have it in Barrett’s evidence. 20338. Yes, so that the holing of this ship extended from the peak to the fifth boiler room? - To No. 5 boiler section, my Lord. 20339. I am reminded that Barrett’s evidence pointed to a hole in the skin of the ship forward of the division between 5 and 6 boiler rooms, and also aft? - Yes, in the forward bunker of No. 5. Mr. Rowlatt: If I may remind your Lordship, it was quite clear that there was a great hole in