The matter of the rate of Titanic's speed is interesting. J. Bruce Ismay, director of the White Star line is often depicted as the villain in the whole affair. Such was the case in James Cameron's film portraying Ismay pressuring for a record.
A view to the contrary suggests that his demonetization came about from William Randolph Hearst.
One way or another, the fact that this was Captain E.J. Smith's "retirement" trip has long intrigued me. What a terrible way to wrap up what had been such a distinguished career.
The last Titanic program I saw was from “Seconds from Disaster” (which I highly recommend) last month.
This show was the 1st 1 I remember to bring up the rivet material quality (mentioned here a few times).
It also went over issues such as the “vain speed” theory. Basically it said what Capt. Smith and Ismay were doing was not unusual at the time even in ice fields. Essentially they exonerated Smith for sure; don’t recall much about Ismay.