Sinking of the RMS Titanic the hull plates. This suggests that the iron rivets along the plate seams snapped off or popped open to create narrow gaps through which water flooded. An engineer from "Titanic"s builders, Harland and Wolff, suggested this scenario at the British Wreck Commissioner's inquiry following the disaster but his view was discounted. "Titanic"s discoverer Robert Ballard has commented that the assumption that the ship had suffered a major breach was "a by-product of the mystique of the "Titanic". No one could believe that the great ship was sunk by a little sliver." Faults in the ship's hull may have been a
Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic Third Class. Among the occupants was stewardess Violet Jessop who survived the accidents that befell all of the "Olympic"-class liners: the collision of "Olympic" with HMS Hawke in 1911, the sinking of "Titanic" in 1912, and that of "Britannic" in 1916. About 58 people were aboard Boat 14, with Wilde, Lightoller and Lowe supervising its launch. By the time it was launched at about 1:30 a.m., "Titanic" was well down in the water and some passengers still aboard were beginning to panic. Lowe fired three shots from his revolver to warn off a crowd of passengers pressing up against the