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The Iceberg that Sank Titanic

National Museum of American History

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Object Details

Description (Brief)
Titanic struck a North Atlantic iceberg at 11:40 PM in the evening of 14 April 1912 at a speed of 20.5 knots (23.6 MPH). The berg scraped along the starboard or right side of the hull below the waterline, slicing open the hull between five of the adjacent watertight compartments. If only one or two of the compartments had been opened, Titanic might have stayed afloat, but when so many were sliced open, the watertight integrity of the entire forward section of the hull was fatally breached. Titanic slipped below the waves at 2:20 AM on 15 April. The Cunard Liner RMS Carpathia arrived at the scene around two hours after Titanic sank, finding only a few lifeboats and no survivors in the 28F degree water. Bernice Palmer took this picture of the iceberg identified as the one which sank Titanic, almost certainly identified by the survivors who climbed aboard Carpathia. The large iceberg is surrounded by smaller ice floes, indicating how far north in the Atlantic Ocean the tragedy struck.
Location
Currently not on view
1912
ID Number
1986.0173.33
catalog number
1986.0173.33
accession number
1986.0173
Object Name
photograph
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 6 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in; 16.51 cm x 21.59 cm
See more items in
Work and Industry: Photographic History
Photography
Transportation
Titanic
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_1416178
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-7757-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • Titanic

    American History Museum
  • Titanic:Untitled

    American History Museum
Image of the Iceberg that sunk the Titanic
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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