RMS Titanic even head-on collisions had not been disastrous. In 1907 , a German liner, had rammed an iceberg but still had been able to complete her voyage, and Captain Smith himself had declared in 1907 that he "could not imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that." At 11:40 p.m. (ship's time) on 14 April, lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg immediately ahead of "Titanic" and alerted the bridge. First Officer William Murdoch ordered the ship to be steered around the obstacle and the engines to be stopped, but it was too late;
Grand Staircase of the RMS Titanic Grand Staircase of the RMS Titanic The Grand Staircase is the name sometimes given to the large ornate staircases in the first-class section of the White Star Line liner RMS "Titanic", which sank following a collision with an iceberg in 1912. The staircase has been prominently featured in "Titanic" media and often recreated in film, making it one of the most recognizable features of the lost liner. Sited in the forward part of the ship, the Grand Staircase was the main communication between decks for First-Class passengers and the point of entry to numerous public rooms. It descended in seven