100 years ago today (Sunday, 14 April 1912, late at Night)
At 11:40pm the Titanic is continuing her maiden Trans-Atlantic crossing at 21 knots. Two lookouts located in the crow's nest sight an iceberg approximately 500 yards ahead and immediately sound an alarm bell and telephone the bridge with the news.
First Office William Murdoch immediately orders hard-a-starboard and full stop on the engines, followed by full astern. He also activates the watertight doors.
Less than a minute after being seen, the Titanic strikes the iceberg on her starboard bow side and sustains damage to her first five compartments.
The impact is obvious to the crew in the forward area, but is not noticed by many of the passengers.
Within 10 minutes, the water has risen 14 feet above the keel, forward. The first five compartments begin to take on significant water.
Thomas Andrews joins Captain Smith on the bridge for an assessment. Andrews calculations show the Titanic can remain afloat from 1 to 2.5 hours and no longer.
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