Page 47 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 19 - 22

20677. Therefore it will be double the height of the water? - Quite unnecessary, because, if I may point out, as long as the connection at the frame at this level, just above the door, is watertight, there is no need for this part to be watertight. That can be common to the bunker, and is common of the bunker. 20678. Assume for a moment that Section 5 has got filled and that the area covered by the watertight door gives way? - That means the watertight door itself gives way? All right. 20679. Certainly. Can you calculate what would be the pace at which the volume of water represented by the area would come out of the whole sectionful? - It would be quite calculable of course. I must point out to you that in the event of the door giving way, it is very unlikely that it would give way in such a fashion as to leave a clear opening the full size of the door. That is the first thing. 20680. The smaller the opening, the greater the hinder pressure and the further the water will shoot, is not that so? - No; the pressure behind it is the same and the water would shoot the same distance. I have had to point that out earlier. The pressure was independent of the distance behind. 20681. So that in your view, at all events, you think that there would not be a sufficient volume of water, or a sufficient top pressure of water I will put it, on the boiler room floor to cause serious mischief in Sections 3, 2 and 1 before the automatic float would have operated the door between sections 3 and 4, if the water had burst through? - Quite right. 20682. Now I understood you to say that each section was operated by separate and distinct pumping arrangements? - There are separate and distinct pumps into all the boiler rooms except No. 1. 20683. Now, if Dillon’s evidence is correct, can you account for the engineers requiring to put that extra pipe into Section 4? - Yes, very well. 20684. Will you do so? - There is only one pump of a capacity, I think, of 150 tons an hour in Section 4 room. I think that is it. In Section 3 there are two pumps, one of 250 and one of 150 tons. They could put on by the permanent pipes, which are provided in the bottom of the ship, one of those pumps, I think the 250-ton one, to the pumping out of No. 4. But what I believe happened is they found the small pump in No. 4 and the 250-ton pump in No. 3 insufficient. The water was very slowly rising against them, and in order to try to get it down they brought forward these temporary connections to try and couple up the other pump in No. 3, which they could only do through these portable connections. 20685. How long ought that operation to have taken, do you think? - Well, you have got to carry a heavy pipe for about 500 feet through somewhat confined spaces, and you have then got to make the connection to the ash-ejector pump, the small pump in No. 3; and I should think if from the time the decision was reached to the time the pump was started they did it in half an hour, they would be doing very well. 20686. Assume that that was so, can you account, if Dillon’s evidence is correct, for those watertight doors being left open for an hour and 40 minutes? - Provided there was no sign of any distress on the part of the watertight door - they would have to keep the door between 3 and 4 open in order to make the temporary connection - then it would be quite a reasonable and proper thing to leave those doors open, because they can all be closed very rapidly from alongside the door just as quickly as from the bridge. 20687. If I understand you correctly in your calculations as to the time taken to sink the ship at certain angles, the forward compartments must have been pretty nearly full of water before an hour and 40 minutes from the time of the striking of the ice had elapsed? - I agree. About 40 minutes, I think, according to the evidence. 20688. Then, if that is so - 40 minutes to get those compartments practically filled - could you account for those watertight doors being kept open for a further hour? - I see no reason why they