Pride definitely was a major thing in Belfast. Everyone knew about what was going on at Harland & Wolff, since they employed a large portion of the town. Frances John Parkinson Jr. who's father, Frances John Parkinson Sr. was a woodworker and crafted some of Titanic's elegant doorways, talked about how when his dad heard of the disaster, he ran out the door because he had to buy a copy of this special newspaper and he cried when he read it. Ken Marschall described it very well, saying "Shipbuilding was Belfast at that time".

All this " Titanic steel was too brittle..." is a bunch of horse dung. Yes, they didn't have the steel tests like todays, but Titanic's steel was the best at that time.

Have you noticed WHERE they get the Titanic steel for these tests?

Not from a warehouse, but ---

RIGHT!! The bottom of the ocean!

Now, tell me, after almost a hundred years on the ocean floor, do you think that their steel analysis might be flawed?

Is Titanic's steel brittle NOW? Yes, it is.

Is Titanic's steel brittle THEN (1912)? No, it wasn't.

As for safety, you can blame the (really) outdated regulations for Titanic's lifeboat shortage, ect., and of course, the human factor can be added to the mix.

It's known that the lifeboat drill, which was scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled by Captain Smith, for reasons unkown (at least, me anyway).

Yes, their have always been theories that Titanic's steel was indeed brittle. But I don't think its the case. Harland & Wolff was a top ship building business, one of the most expensive ones of its time. The White Star Line was one of their top customers, and H&W did their best to produce only top quality ships for them. Yard workers actually referred to Titanic's steel as "battleship quality". This was good steel. The steel Titanic used wasn't a new brand or anything, it was tried and tested. Thats why it was used. It was proven to last.