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But in 1912, the idea of an ocean-going submarine was only found in Jules Verne novels. I think so, as well. But it's fun to join a new conspiracy theory for a little while. |
Posted on 08/21/2002 10:12:24 PM PDT by vikingchick
Shocking New Theory!
The Titanic was sunk by a German submarine, not an iceberg, stunning new evidence reveals.
"The one thing people think they know about the Titanic is that she struck an iceberg," says David Roberts, an historian with the Merseyside Maritime Museum in England.
"However, based on survivor testimony, we can't necessarily make that assumption. In fact, when we look at the evidence, the only thing we can take for granted is that the Titanic skimmed past the iceberg, barely making contact with it.
"Subprofiler images of the Titanic's hull have now proven that the damage she sustained wasn't as bad as we first thought. So something else must have been responsible for her loss that night.
"By 1912, the German navy had perfected the U-boat design. At the time of the Titanic's disaster, the political turmoil that would lead to World War I was already brewing. And the Germans had sent U-boats out on patrol in the North Atlantic."
The luxury liner sailed out of Southampton, England on Wednesday, April 10, 1912. Just four days later, she bagan her death plunge to the bottom of the icy North Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, taking more than 1,500 passengers and crew to a watery grave and leaving only about 700 survivors.
"When questioned by a U.S. Senate inquiry panel, several Titanic crew members and passengers testified that they heard explosions deep in the bowels of the ship AFTER it had hit the iceberg," says noted Titanic historian Daniel Cherry.
"One officer said he heard four explosions, like the sounds of a big gun in the distance."
Roberts also said some survivors in lifeboats spotted a mysterious craft in the area, possibly a submarine that had surfaced.
"Many of the survivors huddled in lifeboats that night reported seeing a strange light from a nearby ship, almost like a beam from a searchlight," he explains. "They were encouraged because they hoped the other ship would come to their aid, but it never did.
"The most widely accepted theory is that the ship was the Californian. But to his dying day, her captain Stanley Lord insisted that there was another ship between his and the Titanic.
"The Californian was surrounded by a huge ice field and Lord had ordered that she stay put until daylight. During the night, the sailors on watch, including 3rd Officer Charles Groves, said they saw an unidentified vessel five to six miles from their location. The vessel was there until about 2 a.m., when she moved away from the Californian.
"She was the mystery ship that failed to go to the Titanic's aid. And the reason she didn't was that she had either just collided with the Titanic or used her torpodoes to sink her."
Free to Freep! Free to Freep! Thank G-d, Allmighty, I'm Free to Freep.
(at least until the customer release is done. Now, what is this crap about torpedos...)
In April 1912, when the Titanic sank, the best of the pre-WWI German U-boats were the U-13 type. They had a maximum operating range of about 4,000 miles. Although the first three U-13 type boats had been launched, the first two, U-14 and U-13, were not commissioned until April 24th and 25th, 1913 (respectively). Since their commissioning ceremonies were well attended, they could not have deployed to the north Atlanctic and returned in time.
That means that the U-9 type boats (U-9 through U-12) would have been the best available. The problem is, these small boats (170 feet in length and 23 feet high when surfaced) only had a 3,300 mile maximum operating radius.
The distance from Germany to Newfoundland, via the English Channel is about 3,000 miles. This means, unless the U-boat was on a one-way mission, or was otherwise logistically supported, no German U-boats of that vintage could have possibly carried out the mission. Furthermore, because of the U-boats low top surface speed (8 knots), and even lower submerged speed (1-2 knots), it would have nearly impossible for the submarine to know where the very fast Titanic would have been at any time in its voyage.
Since the German report no U-boats lost at that time, the one way mission is not plausible. I suppose the author of the article could imagine a secret German Arctic submarine base, or claim they had developed at sea refueling from a German tanker assigned to accompany the mission. These are just as plausible as the orignal post.
I think you meant 1912 instead of 1913, but, yes, that would be after the sinking. Maybe the subs were refuled at sea, as you mentioned, if that was done in those days.
OK, I'll catch you up. The Germans probably scuttled the Titanic and got away with it for all these years. Why don't they just 'fess up and stop the charade? ;)
Sorry, torpedoes blow big holes in ships, the lack of damage is indicative of sprung plates leaking, exactly the kind of damage that collisions do and explosives don't do. The evidence they cite disproves their own theory.
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But in 1912, the idea of an ocean-going submarine was only found in Jules Verne novels. I think so, as well. But it's fun to join a new conspiracy theory for a little while. |
Hilarious!
Cheers, CC :-p
It is fun. It's down right hilarious when some people start to believe it. I loved it when the two old guys finally admitted making the crop circles. That was great.
The Trilateral Commission and the Illuminati made sure the survivors never told the real story.
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