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Discussion » Questions » History » Did you know that there was a ship in sight of the "Titanic" as the "Titanic" foundered and sank - - and the ship did nothing to help?
WelbyQuentin

Did you know that there was a ship in sight of the "Titanic" as the "Titanic" foundered and sank - - and the ship did nothing to help?


"The Californian" was about ten miles away from the "Titanic" as the "Titanic" foundered and saw her distress flares, saw her disappear and the "Californian" did nothing to immediately help. It's all documented both in the UK's and the USA's official inquiries of the tragedy.

I never knew this until about five years ago.

"The Other Side of the Night: The 'Carpathia,' the 'Californian,' and the Night the 'Titanic' Was Lost" by Daniel Allen Butler -  - fascinating book.



 Image result for the other side of the night book

Posted - March 29, 2018
Tag : Titanic The Californian

Responses


  • 1633
    No, I didn't... isn't that something?!?!?






      March 29, 2018 2:41 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    Exactly. That's pretty much what it boiled down to, as much as I don't like saying that.

    I plan on reading other books about this ,too.
    I'm rereading the book now. I first read it about five years ago.
      March 29, 2018 2:45 PM MDT
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  • 3375
    When the movie Titanic came out in 1997, there was a huge resurgence of interest in the event.  I have read many books on it myself and probably caught every documentary I could on it.  It IS such a haunting story with so many human stories playing out at once.  I cannot imagine living through such a thing.  
      March 29, 2018 2:52 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    Funny- - I entirely missed any mention of this when the huge 1997 "Titanic" movie came out. Indeed, it's haunting and multi-faceted as far as the people involved, from what I can tell at this point.
    :)
      March 29, 2018 3:00 PM MDT
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  • 3375
    I went to see the artifacts pulled from the wreck when it came to my city.  To see personal items of those that lost their lives was humbling to say the least.  
      March 29, 2018 3:02 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    Yes, I went to a similar exhibit when it came near my area. My response was the same.
      March 29, 2018 3:08 PM MDT
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  • 14795
    Watch the Documentary on Sky...called , Titanic .The New Evidence.   The ships coal bunkers were on fire three weeks before it set sail on its maiden voyage...
      March 29, 2018 7:22 PM MDT
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  • 3375
    I saw a great documentary that explored that piece of the story.  The documentary explored the weather conditions, the color of flares that the Titanic sent up before it sank, and so forth.  The conclusion was that the Californian could not have arrived in time, even if they acted immediately.  I know there was and still is, a lot of controversy around this.  Very tragic and sad event.
      March 29, 2018 2:44 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    Yes, even this author acknowledges that even if the ship immediately helped, there would have still been immense loss of life. According to this book, the only color was white for the flares but the Californian's crew and captain seemed to have less-than-successful communication between them. I'd have liked to have seen that documentary. The author addresses everything you've mentioned, too.
    Interesting reply, Thanks, PeaPod! I'm sort of surprised a big budget movie has not been made yet on this aspect of the Titanic tragedy -- as in, the Titanic is off foundering yet the action stays on the Californian.' That would be fascinating to me.
    :)

    This author admits to much controversy, though he seems pretty settled in his view; yet, I admire his acknowledging so many aspects of the whole event. I plan on reading more books on this. This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at March 29, 2018 2:53 PM MDT
      March 29, 2018 2:50 PM MDT
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  • 3375
    You are right.  The story of the Californian in relation to the Titanic would be quite a riveting story.  There are some old B&W movies that certainly give the Californian a mention, but nothing has been done on the scale of the movie that was done in the 90s.
      March 29, 2018 2:55 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    I agree!
    :)
      March 29, 2018 2:58 PM MDT
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  • Isn't it something how details like that get omitted from history.  When I was in grade 7 my history teacher was a direct decendent of one of the defenders of The Alamo and according to him the mission was surrendered and those remaining were executed/shot.  I wish I would have stayed after class and questioned him about it.
      March 29, 2018 3:02 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    That's fascinating!

      March 29, 2018 3:07 PM MDT
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  • It is my opinion that a lot of recorded history is the polished version.
      March 29, 2018 3:16 PM MDT
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  • 3375
    Especially in a time where you didn't have video or sound recordings.
      March 29, 2018 3:20 PM MDT
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  • 14795
    Did you know that the ships coal storage bunkers was on fire for three weeks before it was even launched for its  maiden voyage.....Once launched teams of stokers shovelled burning coal into the boilers endlessly to get rid of the burning coal.....
    Even before it was launched ,photos found in a loft decades later showed damage to the hull where the ship hit the ice berg...
    The water tight bulkheads were damaged /split in  the bunker that had been on fire...plus the fire had spread into the second bunker...
    If the ship slowed down due to icebergs in the area ,it wouldn't have had enough fuel to reach port.....

    Another thing was that the ships hull was made from substandard steel to save cost.....

    Courrpt English hearing judges paid off by the ships makers refused the evidence from the ships stokers that survived .
    They gave evidence saying that the huge splits in the bulkheads were smeared with grease and old oil to cover up the damage.....
    The ship sunk so quickly because of this damage to the ships water tight bulkheads....

    There is a new Documentary on Sky called,  Titanic.The New Evidence.....It's pretty horrid to watch and it goes to show how corrupt the English Governments court of Enquires are..... 
      March 29, 2018 7:05 PM MDT
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  • 46117
    Thank you for that very interesting piece of work, NJ.  It is horrifying.  What is equally horrific is how many times this has likely to have gone on in many different areas of the world where industry inspection is just trusted and taken for granted.   I think of how many times I went to work half-dragging and wonder if I were to have something of major importance come up when my brain is at half-mast, what damage I could cause.

    And people go through those ups and downs all day.  In hospitals operating, on the road driving and in England building a Pleasure Cruiser that was not pleasant at all.  I am sure the damages that were just overlooked on the Titanic were more than  just tired people not caring.  They just wanted to save bucks. 

    There but for the grace of God go we all.  There is no other way to explain how we make it trough the day. This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at March 29, 2018 10:25 PM MDT
      March 29, 2018 7:10 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    Thanks for coming in, Sharonna!
    :) Interesting input, thanks!
    :)
      March 29, 2018 7:22 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    Hadn't heard any of that. Thanks, Nice Jugs.
    :)
      March 29, 2018 7:21 PM MDT
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  • 14795
    I watched the program a few weeks ago,  I was just so filled with anger all the way through it ...There was so much more it said about the whole thing,....Tittanics owners were desperate not to loose face to the other huge ship builders .

    Its happening in every industry.....So many vechicle manufactures won't recall dangerous vechiles with design defects because of the costs and damaging their name... This post was edited by Nice Jugs at March 29, 2018 10:25 PM MDT
      March 29, 2018 7:35 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    I don't get or have access to Sky, I believe. But I'll keep my eye out for it!
      March 29, 2018 7:42 PM MDT
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  • 14795
    I saved the prog on our sky box..but don't know if I can copy it off of there....
    Just looked on Google ...type in Titanic,The New Evidenve ....it's on DVDs plus I think you can view it all and more documentaries about titanic on y.tube    
      March 29, 2018 7:57 PM MDT
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  • 22907
    Hey, thanks, Nice Jugs!
    :)
      March 29, 2018 8:05 PM MDT
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  • "No" ... but I suppose the real question is "What was done about it?"

    Legacy
    Ironically, the Californian's inaction would prompt changes in international maritime law. In 1912, International radio treaties were adopted mandated 24-hour radio duty and later treaties saw the standardization of distress flares and rockets.

    The conclusions of both Inquiries officially placed blame on Captain Stanley Lord of the SS Californian for his inaction of the disaster, a verdict that ruined both his career and his life. No criminal charges were ever filed against him in either the United States or Britain. The social disgrace however marked Captain Lord in the public's eye as a coward.
      March 29, 2018 7:31 PM MDT
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