";s:4:"text";s:26120:"Well, let's look at the image with and without the multi-coloured scribbles: Left: the original wreck image scaled up and rotated to match the 'meme'. This is completely false. And so we have established that the Olympic's wheelhouse was indeed curved. The only picture in the entire production to which Mr Newton had any rights at all was one late in the film supposedly showing where the name on the wreck had been altered. According to Steve Hall and Bruce Beveridge's book "Titanic or Olympic, Which Ship Sank?" Author Steve Hall: "The problem with that doco is it's 13 years old Of course it's Titanic.". Ballard has nothing to gain from keeping it a secret - it would be huge publicity for him. 6. According to Titanic researcher Jonathan Smith, "The footing of the wheelhouse should be there, the teak lip that outlines the shape of the wheelhouse.". 14. 46. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Ismay went on public record at the April 1912 United States Senate Hearings and also it was reported in the official public findings that the value of Titanic was "$7.5million" a figure independently verified by the New York Times and The Spectator ("$8 million") while insured at only "$5 million" (as reported at the Senate Inquiry, The New York Times and Lloyds itself). overlook something as simple as the number of portholes on the outside of the ship? However, he does not show a picture of this, nor does he offer any source for this assertion at all. This image allegedly shows 'hull plating from the wreck showing white and light grey paint showing through the black top coat'. On Olympic the fireplace was at the outer wall between two windows. Without further information or documentation on this "private flat in the Wirral" -even a photograph - Difference in tonnage There were no plates or anything that could be swapped over- the name was literally engraved into the ship, then filled in with paint. The Blue Vein River is broad and deep. So that makes it 3 vessels in the area. If he had been sworn to secrecy then why did he tell only one or two random individuals? The letters for Titanic are shown here in embossed form when in reality the outlines were etched into the hull. instead of a promenade as on Olympic's B deck, two private verandahs and suites were added to Titanic, hence necessitating a change in the B deck window configurations. Difference in tonnage 7. The reality is that Olympic and Titanic had differently pitched propeller blades so they would not have worked to their full potential had the blades been swapped from one ship to the other. Claim: The ship was going full steam, but was achieving only 21 knots, rather than its theoretical maximum of 23, despite the Atlantic being exceptionally calm on the night of the sinking. 19. There are other photographs of Titanic with similar liberties such as the shot of her in Cherbourg at night which has been heavily doctored to look as if it was taken at night with her lights blazing. 1853). Patchwork and braces from Hawke collision in wreck photographs It must be noted that the Official Secrets Act of 1911 was specifically concerned with espionage that would benefit enemy military use. Quite simply Titanic was underinsured, the main reason being that the White Star Line actually insured its own ships. But they were cut short for several good reasons. Only a limited number of changes required for a switch, 8. Harold Sanderson repeatedly referred to, 44. Claim: J. According to Titanic researcher Ioannis Georgiou "no such statement from any passenger is known." Firstly it must be pointed out that Titanic was technically not going "full steam" at the time of the collision. Mark Chirnside writes regarding the bell in his dissertation: "The absence of a name on this bell does not prove that the ship was Difference in port side joint plating, 20. 15. Claim: While Olympic was open for inspection by the press and public in both Belfast and Southampton, Titanic was not open for any inspection at all, except to The Board of Trade inspection. Irish. and loss account for the year to December 31 st 1911 was in surplus by 1,102,756 This is demonstrably false information. Ice on the deck was not from an iceberg, 26. --Mal 21:03, 18 February 2007 . Claim: White Star never had any intention of scuttling the ship. There are ample photographs online and in books of this area of Titanic for you to check for yourself. 21. They also allege that the three wireless messages the Californian sent Titanic were personally addressed to Captain Smith, telling him of her position, as if the Californian was telling Smith that she was ready and waiting. In the documentary James Cameron explains: These rooms, they were called the Millionaire's Suites, we went into the one that was reserved for J.P. Morgan. The claim does not align with Ballard's writing on the matter. that when the crew joined Titanic there was [sic] rumours that the company In discussing the claim that "Olympic was fitted with Titanics starboard propeller shaft" Mark Chirnside summarises: "There is no evidence that Harland & Wolff ever used one of Titanics propellers, or propeller blades, on Olympic; there is every reason to believe that they would have had a spare Olympic propeller in any case.". Further volumes of poetry included Out of Danger (1994), which won the Whitbread Book Award (now the Costa Book Award); Selected Poems (2006), a Penguin anthology of his work; and Yellow Tulips: Poems 19682011 (2012), an even broader survey containing previously uncollected verse. The ships that were launched were not launched in a finished state. Titanic's sea trials were shorter than Olympic's the Hawke collision that would supposedly justify a 'switch' scenario. Wheelton, however, continues down to the storeroom and then went again up to the boat deck on the starboard side. Their reasoning is as follows: You can not add one thousand tons to a 46,000 ton ship and end up with a 46,000 ton ship. Only a limited number of changes required for a switch "Olympic Class" referred to a set of three ships: Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. Now, almost thirty years later, the director has one major regret regarding his depiction of a significant character in the movie. If a 'switch' was true, why would you need to create a 'meme' that is demonstrably false, by switching an 'actual' image of Titanic with the Olympic? Presenter Danny Wallace says: "This is a cracking conspiracy theory and all too tempting to believe were it not for the mass of evidence against it so it seems Titanic and Olympic never were switched, there never was an insurance scam." Importantly, and loss account had risen from $48,585 in 1910 to $821,062 in the year ending In fact footage of this is used in his 1997 blockbuster film "Titanic" and with some creative license he actually places the fictional character of Caledon Hockley in this suite. Deck plans This is where it landed, just on that forewell deck. Paddy said that the guilt of It was written in response to an article Suspicion first arose when the Titanic disaster was claimed to be a conspiracy by James A. Fenton, otherwise known as "Paddy the Pig." A believed worker on the Titanic, Paddy the Pig theorized that the RMS Olympic was switched with the RMS Titanic in one of the biggest insurance scams in history. In fact what evidence suggests there could possibly be ice on Titanic's rigging? 37. He wrote most of them when. According to Bruce Ismay's testimony before the British Wreck Commission they planned to increase It must be pointed out that after the Titanic disaster, Olympic's wheelhouse was changed to a rectangular configuration, one of many improvements made during the 1912/13 refit. He had called Act explaining that if they told of the real reason for the sinking, or the The story goes that after the sinking thirteen lifeboats were recovered, taken to New York, where the name Titanic was sanded off and numbers removed to deter souvenir hunters. The Turkish bath spaces were different. Dr Robert Ballard admitted it was the, 49. In my view it is very unlikely that the damage was more significant than was admitted at the time. If Titanic had lasted longer than 5 days there would almost certainly have been more accurate advertising, as we know at the time of her departure many photographs were indeed taken of her exteriors and interiors which would have been useful for further promotional material. exploded and caused the fatal damage. In fact, White Stars profit (Click image to see full photograph). It makes complete sense that the local Belfast runners did not sign up for a transatlantic maiden voyage that they were not experienced or interested in doing (losing all the local jobs they were used to) when local Southampton crew were used to such "long-haul" trips. Titanic's insurance was increased 5 days before sailing Parisian (50 miles) Allan Line, Liverpool, England, Westbound, Glasgow - Halifax - Boston It is clearly in a different area. Gardiner argues that when on the port side boat No. Did they think they would just stand there and watch? Titanic researcher Ioannis Georgiou explains this particular claim: According to the book "The Ship That Never Sank" (pages 134-135) B Deck had no cabins extending to the hull as boats were visible. Even if that simple fact is not enough, the other alleged details regarding the Californian are being misrepresented. Not content with an insurance scam 'switch' he also proposes that Titanic (really Olympic) hit, not an iceberg, but an IMM rescue ship that was drifting with its lights out. 13. RMS Olympic after the collision with HMS Hawke. 5 on starboard. They would not be interested in the transatlantic route as it would mean not returning to Belfast or Southampton for several weeks. WELL HERE YA GO. was 60 years old at the time of the sinking, and was examined on Day 17 of the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry. Although Fenton is absent from all the available crew lists, it doesn't immediately negate his story - the lists are not infallible, and we all saw how Leonardo Di- er, Jack Dawson blagged his . 4. Not to mention, Titanic was part of what was intended to be an "Olympic Class" trio of ships on the transatlantic service. B. Ismay had all the linoleum flooring on the new "RMS Titanic" covered up with new carpet. However Southampton, (which had replaced Liverpool as a major international hub) was where transatlantic liners such as what White Star and Cunard operated were based, and hence the crew based in Southampton were experienced, international crew. (Click image to enlarge). Most died of exposure in the freezing water of the North Atlantic because there were not enough lifeboats. Titanic's bulkheads were intentionally deficient Lack of publicity for Titanic Claim: The stern section of the wreck has a longitudinal bulkhead, that looks like a temporary repair had been made to strengthen the keel, exactly what had happened to RMS Olympic. Does it reveal evidence of suspicious or unusual damage? The long list of differences is discussed on the previous page here. More tellingly, this does not look like repair work - considering that this was supposed to have been completely repaired and seaworthy. Toggle navigation. Secondly, there are many eyewitness accounts and descriptions of an iceberg. 11. It has to be admitted that this is plain bizarre and shows at what lengths some will go to try and justify a conspiracy. This claim is of course connected to the previous claim that the ship hit, instead of an iceberg, an IMM rescue ship that was drifting with its lights out. 25. Although the ship had 14, then later 16, portholes on the port side, she had 15 on her starboard side, and this number remained consistent throughout. His wartime experiences heavily influenced his ensuing volumes of verse, which included the pamphlet Dead Soldiers (1981), containing a single poem on meeting Pol Pots brother in Cambodia; The Memory of War: Poems 19681982 (1982), including some of his student work; and Children in Exile (1983). During her construction and in this particular photograph the name was not very clear so the photographer took the liberty of sketching it in, which was not an unusual practice of the day. Alleged footage of Olympic's name on the wreck - it is obviously fake. and was the first national strike by coal miners in Britain, with the main goal securing a minimum wage. However, this was not unique to Titanic. Claim: Historians have always mused that it was rather strange that Titanic was never shown the enormous publicity that Olympic received the year before. 26. (Click image to enlarge). But this should not misconstrued as anything unusual, but common practice for a company which suddenly comes under media scrutiny and wants to maintain If not, it is a moot point. Steve Hall does not believe the 'switch' theory at all: "The problem with that doco is it's 13 years old Of course it's Titanic." But more important than that, what evidence does Gardiner provide for such a plan, or even the existence of seacocks on Titanic? to Gallatin TN (Pop. However, this is not unusual, even for modern ships, and can be due to several factors. 2. Local "runners". There is nothing here that reveals a 'switch'. 44. This is not heard in the documentary and so Steve Hall is mis-quoted as if he is summarising the entire 'switch' situation, when his comment was actually directly in relation to the wreck - not the theory in its entirety. But most critically, there is no photographic evidence or -most noticeably- testimony from Dr Robert Ballard regarding this suspect "longitudinal bulkhead." recovered from the wreck but, although in excellent condition, there was no 30. As in the previous points, we know that damage to the Olympic did not include a 'warped keel'. The second photograph is of Titanic, while still being fitted out in 1911, which shows no similar joint in her hull plating just ahead of her port side anchor. The story come from Frank Finch, a retired seaman living in New South Wales, Australia, who wrote a letter to What they seem to miss is that this is clearly a fake, computer generated image, as it doesn't match any other footage ever shot of the wreck let alone the bow section. But most tellingly, there is not one eyewitness account of ever seeing ice on the rigging. something else, in this case an IMM rescue ship that was drifting with its lights out. By the time Titanic's maiden voyage came along Olympic had been operating for a year. Bulkhead put on Olympic found in stern wreck Even sailing at top speed through dangerous waters it arrived several hours after the sinking. But unsurprisingly in 2019 a new 'meme' appeared on the internet claiming to show evidence from the wreck site that repair work done to Olympic caused by the Hawke collision can be seen in wreck photographs, captioned with "YOU NEED PROOF? Where is the photograph? James Fenton (b. Also a sealed design would have restricted access to certain parts of the ship Claim: As welding had not yet been invented, it was customary for White Star Line to etch or cut the names of their liners into the steel and not rivet them to the outside. Ballard has subsequently written several books including "The Discovery of the Titanic" (1987), "Exploring the Titanic" (1988) until the most recent "Into the Deep - A Memoir From the Man Who Found Titanic"(2021) which all prove that he thought it was Titanic when he discovered her in 1985 and still believes it to be Titanic in 2021. Secondly, there was a rush to get the ship to Southampton to begin provisioning for the maiden voyage. 'Faux' as in false or imitation. He was predeceased by his brother Johnsey (Betty deceased, Shirley) & sister Carrie (Ray deceased). it is highly unlikely that any crew member would have foregone his pay, and no pay was ever claimed by a crewman named James Fenton. Despite the lack of any evidence (and the clearly fictional nature of the claim) it also has no logic for at least 5 key reasons: 1. Has Cameron in fact admitted that Titanic is actually Olympic? (This is something I have noticed. Olympic's wheelhouse was not curved Some drowned, some were probably killed below decks and there is speculation that an officer may have committed suicide. The source of this erroneous claim is here. THIS IS PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE AND IT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. 3. Compare the two videos below -one is the real footage of the Titanic name on the wreck, one is fake. Titanic split at the same point where the Hawke hit. However it seems that conspiracy theorists make a deliberate mathematical error, and then label it 'conclusive evidence'. Some have analysed the footage concluding for example that the X-shaped viewing field seen in the video is caused by the camera rig's lighting. Check out our james fenton selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our collectible glass shops. Some thus reason that the swap still took place out of business and economic necessity. The hearings following the Olympic/Hawke collision included a damage assessment of the Olympic which was agreed upon by both White Star and the Royal Navy, and stated that the Hawkes bow had penetrated eight feet into Olympics hull. It was also carrying no passengers, at a time when due to the coal strike and so many ships confined to port there would be plenty of people eager to pay above the cost in cash to get to Boston. Survivors on B Deck saw lifeboats lowered from above Frank Finch's letter paraphrases what his son Dennis recalled from a conversation he had in the early 1970s with an old sailor named James Fenton, also known as Paddy Fenton or "Paddy the Pig": Dennis Fench, who relayed the story told to him by "Paddy the Pig". Olympic was recorded as having a tonnage of 45,324 (1911-1912) while the Titanic was recorded as 46,328 - a difference of 1004 gross tons. On the Olympic I am speaking of? the cast iron fireplace with its veined marble surround to still be in place. by Burgess alone, with no collaboration from other eyewitnesses. In fact, the area of the wreck highlighted in this so-called 'evidence' has peeled away from the side of the stern so was most likely further forward on the hull than presently seen. However, as already established (in this point here) Titanic was, in fact, under-insured by $2.5 million. 45,000) in the last eight years. Claim: Survivors on B Deck described seeing lifeboats being lowered from above, theres no way they would have seen that on Titanic only on the ship Olympic. 'The Olympic Room' And if these researchers and historians are supposedly "in" on the conspiracy then why would they release this image at all and risk the 'truth' being known? There is not one occasion in which he In fact, according to American researcher Jon Hollis, the bell recovered then they absolutely need more than this very doubtful photograph to prove that Olympic's "doubler" is not overlapping and hence it is actually Titanic. These above images are used by conspiracy theorists alleging a difference in the windows on B-deck -which should not be surprising as two private verandahs and suites were added to this section of the ship after its launch. of the surviving crew. When the Two major watertight compartments were flooded, her hull plating was gashed, the starboard propeller shafting damaged. from the wreck was actually the crows nest (or lookout) bell, and he states: on Olympic's wheelhouse in 1912 was curved at the front (left diagram) while Titanic's was straight. Claim: Photographs taken of Titanic at Southampton shortly before her maiden voyage show a large area of discoloured plating, as if it had been newly painted with paint that did not quite match the original, in the same location as Olympic's hull was damaged by HMS Hawke. from a Sky TV show entitled "Conspiracies", presented byDanny Wallace. old ordinary seaman aboard Titanic. There is no reason to doubt that passengers cancelled their voyage aboard Titanic. by passengers and crew familiar with the Olympic? ', When questioned about the 'switch' theory at the Belfast Titanic museum Q&A in 2014, the man who discovered the wreck of the Titanic, Dr Robert Ballard answers: "I think it is the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean. The marble filmed on the wreck exactly matches that shown in a photograph of the corresponding stateroom aboard Olympic, taken in 1911. Ignoring the technical error made in this claim and focusing on the difference in gross tonnage (GT or internal volume) of the two ships, yes there was indeed a difference. Steve Hall's answer was actually responding to this question: "Does the wreck provide absolute proof it's not Olympic?" Ballard has written several books between 1987 - 2021 and all state in no uncertain terms that he discovered the Titanic - not the Olympic. If not insurance, a switch would keep the company operational, 12. Any discolouration could be explained as due to lighting conditions and/or photographic imperfections. Olympic had 16 bow portholes. So there is nothing surprising with the fact that an iceberg caused enough damage to the starboard side (not bottom) of the hull so as to breach watertight compartments that eventually led to its sinking. Titanic researcher Ioannis Georgiou explains further: "Ismay's sitting room was explored by James Cameron during his 2001 dives. Hence post-Titanic-sinking images of Olympic also have this 16 porthole configuration. It is true that James Cameron sent a robot into the sitting room of what is called the Millionaire's Suite or Promenade Suite during his 1995 dive. Under the circumstances it is perfectly logical. Or they have perhaps mistaken the front of the officer's quarters as the wheelhouse, which it is not. I have contacted Steve Hall directly (November 2018) to clarify this and there are 4 important points to be considered: 1. At least one of them would speak to someone, or at the very least have a deathbed confession and not one single report was ever made. Let's examine an 'actual' documented photograph of Titanic's starboard forward B-deck: Titanic's starboard side, taken around noon on April 11th, 1912, as she is anchored outside Queenstown, Ireland, to take on passengers. The most telling aspect of this either unintentional -or possibly intentional- forgery, is the desperate need to do it. Fenton was also active in the theatre scene. 27. Additionally, especially as the ship was being labelled "practically unsinkable" how would they explain this 'mysterious' flooding to the inquiries that would no doubt take place afterward? 33. saw a lot of iceon the deck In fact all ships of the Olympic Class (i.e. Quite clearly the B-deck forward starboard windows are narrow - matching the wreck exactly. rumours of an insurance scam, they would serve a minimum of 20 years in jail 1,496 people are believed to have died when the Titanic went down. But this is not due to it being the Olympic. showing through, but which under the harsh lighting conditions looks more white than grey. seemingly confuses the two in name. Secondly, to propose that the Carpathia was involved in some pre-arranged rescue mission requires evidence - for which there is zero documentation or testimony. Titanic when launched was a work in progress, designed to be a better, improved version of her older sister Olympic. So by April 1912 both ships had 16 portholes. Titanic 's insurance was increased 5 days before sailing 2. It is a wild claim based purely on imagination. Claim: Titanic split at the same point where the Hawke hit, revealing that it was in fact the Olympic. If he had indeed mentioned it at a presentation why did it not become substantial news at the time? Numerous ships were stationed nearby despite a coal strike, 27. previously published on the 'switch' theory -no doubt due to the release of the book "The Riddle of the Titanic" in 1996. However, it is definitely not logical. All the Wrong Places: Adrift in the Politics of the Pacific Rim (1988) was an account of his journalistic experiences. Specifically, her passenger (excluding crew) capacity was listed as 2,550: 1st-class: 100 7. In this photograph we see Captain Smith and First officer Murdoch on Olympic's bridge and clearly see a curved wheelhouse behind them. Survivor Lawrence Beesley wrote about men in the smoking room sighting the iceberg in his book, "The Loss of the SS Titanic": "One of them had seen through the windows an iceberg go by towering above the decks. - Yes. and would never get a job when they got out. This claim is often mentioned alongside the above claim about the apparent discrepancy in the number of portholes on Titanic's port side bow. anything like this. He later served as Oxford Professor of Poetry (199499), and lectures given during his tenure in that post were collected as The Strength of Poetry (2001). Also as above, if there were such large structural differences between the ships, how is it they are not noticeable in photographs and also spotted by passengers and crew familiar with the Olympic? Since they both essentially had the same dimensions, the difference is simply due to revised interior configurations Was this to hide 12 months worth of scratches and marks on the linoleum's surface? 19343. They were metal plates which were screwed on. Thirdly, the characteristics of the Olympic were already known so there was less of a learning curve to deal with. About James Fenton. Visit Fenton's special Poetry Archive webpage and listen to recordings of him reading the poems 'Wind', 'Blood and Lead', 'Jerusalem', and 'In Paris with You'. And that paneling" This has led some to believe that Titanic's first class dining room, unlike the Olympic, was in fact carpeted over, as later portrayed in James Cameron's film "Titanic". ";s:7:"keyword";s:20:"james fenton titanic";s:5:"links";s:207:"Greg Kerfoot Net Worth,
Articles J
";s:7:"expired";i:-1;}