2023-06-22 19:25:11
You’ve definitely heard about the Titanic. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, the transatlantic became the largest passenger ship in the world, but it became famous even on a fateful night in April 1912. This historic fatality became one of the great fields of research and exploration, so much so that today there are companies who make tourist trips to the wreckage of the ship.
What happened to the Titanic?
Enter in night of April 14 and dawn of April 15, 1912the transatlantic Titanic collided with an iceberg and ended up sinking in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, where more than 1,500 people died. For a long time, no one could say exactly where the majestic ship had sunk.
The Titanic was once the largest ship to transport humans (Photo. Getty Images/Reproduction)
Where did the Titanic sink?
The Titanic sank about 600 kilometers from the coast of Newfoundland, In Canada. The depth of the site reaches impressive 3.800 metros, making access extremely challenging. There, the vessel is divided into two parts, with the bow and stern separated by a distance of about 800 meters. Around these parts we find a veritable field of debris.
The Titanic left Southampton towards New York, but sank 600 km off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada (Photo: stepmap.de/Reproduction)
Following a suggestion given by marine geologist Alan Ruffmann in 1991, today the site is also called Titanic Canyon.
When and how was the wreckage of the Titanic discovered?
Despite being fascinating, Ballard explains that it is shameful to have gone to find the wreckage of the ship in 1985. (Photo: Getty Images/Reproduction)
Despite the challenging scenario, with the use of innovative technology, Robert Ballard, a former intelligence officer with experience in covert US Navy missions, was determined to find the remains of the legendary ship. However, he had to face an additional challenge: the Navy agreed to provide resources for his expedition, provided he also located two US nuclear submarines sunk decades earlier.
In August 1985, aboard the research vessel Knorr, a covert Franco-American mission served as a cover to avoid suspicion, both from the Russians and the press. The first part of the mission was successful, with Ballard encountering the submarines USS Thresher and USS Scorpion. However, time was running out, as he only had 12 days to find the Titanic before the research ship was returned to other renters.
The Titanic was 269 meters long. (Photo: Getty Images/Reproduction)
Fortunately, Ballard and his team found the Titanic in just 8 days, in September 1, 1985. They used the submersible Argo, equipped with cameras capable of transmitting images to the surface. The mission was over, but the emotion of seeing the wreckage of the ship was quickly replaced by a feeling of regret. Ballard remembers in an interview with the BBC in 2021 that the feeling there was “dancing on someone’s grave” and therefore they felt ashamed, although it was considered an incredible discovery.
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