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Seventy miles per hour? Titanic wasn't even doing thirty. Her service speed of 21 knots is just over 24 miles per hour, and her top speed of about 24 knots is just under 28 miles per hour; a knot = 1.15 miles per hour.

Absolutely correct on the whiplash, though. Also, as mentioned earlier, people would have been killed, though not as many. It would probably not have sunk, the ship would have made it to the new world, and Captain Smith would have retired an embarassed man. In fact, the White Star Line would have been severely embarassed. But better embarassment than the loss of life that occurred in the sinking.

As for why they turned, the answer is obvious: they hoped to avoid the collision.

Daniel