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Hello,

In many ways, it could be said that this was a criticism that only came to prominence in hindsight. Certainly it's undeniable that the watertight subdivision could have been improved, yet there are some aspects of the design that are often overlooked. For instance, the watertight bulkhead stiffeners were placed slightly closer together than Lloyd's requirements, while the plating of the various watertight bulkheads was from 10 to 20 percent thicker than requirements; Edward Wilding belived that the strength of the stiffening of the watertight bulkheads was 50 percent in excess of Lloyd's requirements.

Meanwhile, with regard to the number of main transverse bulkheads required, it was believed that had the Lloyd's requirements been updated for a ship as large as Titanic, then they would have required only thirteen bulkheads instead of the fifteen Titanic had. If we look at the 900-foot Imperator, completed in 1913, she only had twelve main transverse bulkheads -- although her arrangements were more favourable in other respects.

Best wishes,

Mark.