Recent reports and scientific discoveries state that it was not one huge hole but a series of things that are to blame for the demise of the titanic. First there were a series of holes on the bottom side of the ship were the ice was to believed to have scraped the ship. And as I am sure you may have allready learned in your reaserch of the titanic, and with further reaserch I have learned what most allready know. There was a fire down below and that the crew were fighting to put out since the ship left port. Add that to the fact that the metal that was used at that time had (if my memory serves me correct) a great deal of sulfur in it which made it brittle from the heat of the impending fire. So needles to say mix that with cold water and a huge hunk of ice and a captain following basic seamens procedures made for an accident waiting to happen. The question that I have is not, why would such a huge ice-berg leave only a few holes spanning 12 feet on it's side?, But why when the survivours of the titanic where questioned no one investaged the parcular eye witnessed account of the light of another vessle? It has been suggested as part of an ongoing theory (conperacy that is) that it was a Russian sub and that was believed to have been what conspired to the sinking of the titanic as an act of war prior to ww1. The holes on the bottom of the ship where the ice berg had struck were acctually that of weapon ie; torpedoes of some sort, and the titanic did hit the ice berg but mearly scraped it's upper decks were passengers and crewmen saw ice on deck. Now I know what I am putting down here is ludicrous to some and not to others, but I am just curious if anyone else out there heard or read something simalar?.. excuse the bad spelink..i don't prof read my letters.

That sounds a bit far-fetched to me... I mean, at that time, few were even considering the prospect of war. Are you referring to the lights of a "mystery ship" that some passengers and crew later reported seeing on the horizon?

It is impossible that a submarine sunk the R.M.S. Titanic.. many survivors would have remembered hearing more than a low shuddering noise. A torpedo would have been been felt all over the ship most likely. Your first theory is a possibility but I have also read the "attacked by a sub" theory before and I think its totally rediculus. Its a good story for somebody wanting to stir something up but I honestly think it is a impossible one.

Hello huntress. Regarding the fire in the coal bunker, I have also heard theories of that fire playing a role in weakening the ships metal but no one knows for sure if it did actually weaken the metal. About the lights see by quite a few people on Titanic the night of the sinking...that subject was investigated in both the US and British investigations. Both committees found Captain Lord of the [i:b761d28686]Californian[/i:b761d28686] to have been negligent in his duties and at fault for not going to aid the Titanic.
The iceberg that Titanic hit left damage that spanned 300 or more feet along the ship's starboard side. The length of the damage, if each tear were to be lined up next to each other to make one large cut, would have been only a small number of feet but because it spanned along so much of Titanic, the small cuts penetrated multiple compartments, causing water to enter into each of them. The iceberg didn't act as a can opener, tearing a gash into the side. It left something like a bunch of paper cuts (or in this case, ice cuts) along the side.

sorry, but not sure the russian have in 1912 the technologie for submarine or other!!!and at the first war any submarine can make long travel in the ocean!!!the titanic is not far of new foundland(400 miles )of canada coast !!!

I agree. I also think it is rather far-fetched. But i can understand why some people tend to get carried away. The little things that happened, for example the fire , can become suspicious but i really don't think this was a conspiracy and certainly not a Russian sub.

I do believe that the fire weakened the steel and thought I read somewhere that the iceberg not only scraped along the sides but the bottom also? Because most of the berg was below the water.

Yes, I find the Russian sub theory a little far fetched.

No it was the ice that sank it fully see the stern wasnt strong enough and the ice just ripped the siding off which the water filled up the boat until it started to tip and then once the water kept filling up on the one side that it just gave up and the pressure just snaped it right in half and then pulled back up and sank to the bottom the bottom just stud there a minute after and went under at 2:20 am as so i heard....but yeah sumtimes i wish i could go back and rearange it cuz those ppl back then couldnt do anything more to wait and wait for an absolution that would never come.

I did hear about the fire making the steel weaker. And if you really think about it, it makes perfect sence. Fire makes just about any substance weaker now a days, and back then steel was not as it is today. I also heard that the iceberg made a series of holes in the various departments of Titanic, thus causing water to flood more compartments than she was willing to have and ultimately causing her to sink. I saw the documentary where they used sonar and other equipment on her to prove it. Granted of course, that the "holes" were all different sizes.
Now, about the Russian torpeo. Have you guys ever seen the history Channel?? You should watch it. If a torpedo hits something, what happens? It ALL either blows up, or makes a HUGE hole in it causing it to sink. Now, the Titanic neither blew up, nor did it have a huge hole in it. A torpeo wouldn't make a series of small holes, it would make one large one in the area it hit.
The lights seen by passengers were, as Frietas said, the Californian. But not many people know that there were litterally hundreds of other ships near by. They only know of the one because it was closest and could have made a major inpact on history had it aided the Titanic in it's needed hours.

this is not exactly on the topic but i think that if they hit the iceberg with the nose of the ship then they wouldnt have sank. but thats my opinion.