by Tim Maltin
Mesaba’s ice report is therefore evidence of the miraging conditions at Titanic’s wreck site, only seven hours before Titanic’s fatal collision, which Bisset also confirms, two hours before the collision, and which Titanic’s lookouts confirm, right up to the moment of the collision.
The miraging field ice may also be what Lord described as a brightening along the western horizon in his 1959 Affidavit:
“At 10.15 p.m. I observed a brightening along the western horizon. After watching this carefully for a few minutes I concluded that it was caused by ice. At 10.21 I personally rang the engine-room telegraph to full speed astern and ordered the helm hard a port. As these orders came into effect the lookout men reported ice ahead. Under the influence of the helm and propeller going astern the ship swung round to E.N.E. by compass (N.E. true). The ship was then stopped surrounded by loose ice and from one-quarter to half-a-mile from the edge of a low ice field. As I could not see any clear place to go through I decided to remain stopped until daylight.
STL049. Exactly; but how large an area would it cover the next morning?
- I suppose about 26 miles long and from 1 to 2 miles wide.
Camouflaged iceberg
Captain Lord had been only 1.5 miles from the field ice, when he first noticed it, but the iceberg which sank the Titanic was 2-3 miles ahead of this field ice, as we have seen. Therefore when Titanic’s lookouts spotted the iceberg, when it was only about a mile away, they were therefore still 3-4 miles from the field ice, too early for the glare of it to be seen, as Captain Lord did.
As you can see from the photograph below, a miraging haze can completely camouflage a distant object, such as this cargo ship:
Cargo ship in superior mirage, photograph by Mila Zinkova. What appears to be a haze in front of the ship is in fact the miraged sea surface beyond the horizon.
And when there is a soft horizon, when the sea and the sky are the same colour, because the water is flat calm, as it is in this photograph and as it was on the night the Titanic sank, you can see how distant objects can be completely hidden by an almost invisible superior mirage, as James Islands nearly are, here, in this view from Chesapeake Bay:
Superior mirage of James Islands from Chesapeake Bay © Fritz - A View From The Beach Blog
Interestingly, this mirage also appeared to Fritz as a line of fog or mist:
“An unusual mirage, showing James Island(s) in the distance. I guess this would be categorized as a Fata Morgana type mirage, but this one was new to me, with what looks like a line of fog or mist separating two parts of the image [the upper and the lower part, at the horizon].”
But Titanic’s lookouts did not see the iceberg until it was only about a mile away, when only the horizon beyond the iceberg would be miraging, not the nearby iceberg itself. The miraging horizon was drawn up behind the iceberg, camouflaging the iceberg in front of it and below the false horizon, which would have looked clear:
Miraging horizon over sea ice © Carl Safina, Blue Ocean Institute http://blueocean.org/home
The nearby iceberg was camouflaged in front of and below the false horizon in the way that the nearby island is in the top one of the following two photographs by Pekka Parviainen, showing an abnormally refracting horizon being drawn up beyond a nearby island:
Superior mirage at different heights behind an island, photographs by Pekka Parviainen
Even though the island itself is not miraging, it is hidden below the false horizon, which looked clear to Titanic’s lookouts that night. By the time they recognised the iceberg in front of the miraging band on the horizon, it was too late.
The iceberg which sank the Titanic: At no more than 100 feet high, it was at or below the Lookout’s eye level and therefore remained in the bottom half of the miraging zone at all times
Titanic’s lookouts were placed in the worst possible position to spot icebergs in miraging conditions. They were high up, nearer the base of the inversion, where the light-bending was strongest and therefore the refracting band on the horizon would appear deepest; and their eye level was about the same height as the top of the iceberg. A plane from your eye level is known as your astronomical horizon and the miraging band in a superior mirage is always centered on this. Therefore, however near the iceberg got to the Titanic, her lookouts could never have seen the top of the iceberg above even the middle of the refracting band behind the iceberg, which was removing the contrast the lookouts relied upon to see it.
This is illustrated in the following diagram, where we can see that, had the lookouts been at the level of a lifeboat, they would have noticed the berg towering above the hazy, refracting band as it approached:
Indeed, before dawn, passengers in the lifeboats did see the icebergs, revealed against the stars, above the refracting band, as would normally have been the case for Titanic’s lookouts, had there not been a superior mirage on the real horizon, as First Class passenger Martha Stephenson noted:
“The sea was smooth and the night brilliant with more stars than I had ever seen. We could see the outline of several bergs and scanned the horizon hoping to see the light of some vessel. Occasionally a green light showed which proved to be on the emergency boat and our men all recognised it as such. We all prayed for dawn.”
Captain Smith, seated left, with First Officer Murdoch, standing left, Dr O’Loughlin, seated right and Purser McElroy, standing centre, on board the Olympic. They were all lost on the Titanic.
© Mary Evans Picture Library
Titanic’s officers and lookouts were relying that night on spotting icebergs this way, but the false horizon caught them out, compounded by their height above the sea and the lack of contrast between the icebergs and the refracting band below the false horizon. Had Titanic’s officers realised that a superior mirage could have this effect, they would have slowed down, just as if there had been a real haze:
CHL417. From 6 until 10 o'clock was the captain on the bridge at all?
- Yes, sir.
CHL418. When did he arrive?
- Five minutes to 9.
CHL424. When he came to the bridge at five minutes of 9 what did he say to you or what did you say to him? Who spoke first?
- I could not say, sir. Probably one of us said "Good evening."
CHL425. But you do not know who?
- No.
CHL426. Was anything else said?
- Yes. We spoke about the weather; calmness of the sea; the clearness; about the time we should be getting up toward the vicinity of the ice and how we should recognize it if we should see it - freshening up our minds as to the indications that ice gives of its proximity. We just conferred together, generally, for 25 minutes.
CHL427. For 20 or 25 minutes?
- Yes, sir.
CHL428. Was any reference made at that time to the wireless message from the Amerika?
- Capt. Smith made a remark that if it was in a slight degree hazy there would be no doubt we should have to go very slowly.
CHL436. How long did he remain on the bridge after coming there at 5 minutes of 9?
- He remained there until about 20 minutes past 9, or something like that.
CHL438. Then did he leave the bridge?
- He left the bridge.
CHL439. With any special injunction upon you?
- Yes, sir.
CHL440. What did he say?
- "If in the slightest degree doubtful, let me know."
CHL441. What did you say to him?
- "All right, sir."
CHL442. You kept the ship on its course?
- Yes, sir.
CHL443. And at about the same speed?
- Yes, sir; as far as I know.
CHL444. When did you next see the captain?
- When I came out of the quarters, after the impact.
CHL4456. You mean that he did not return to the bridge until your watch expired?
- No, sir.
CHL446. About 10 o'clock?
- Yes, sir.
CHL447
. You left?
- Yes, sir.
CHL448. And Murdoch took command?
- Yes, sir.
CHL449. Do you know where you were at the hour that you turned over the watch to Mr. Murdoch?
- Not now, sir.
CHL450. Did you know at the time?
- Yes, sir.
CHL451. Can you give us any idea?
- When I ended the watch we roughly judged that we should be getting toward the vicinity of the ice, as reported by that Marconigram that I saw, somewhere about 11 o'clock.
CHL455. I say, did you talk with Mr. Murdoch about the iceberg situation when you left the watch?
- No, sir.
CHL456. Did he ask you anything about it?
- No, sir.
CHL457. What was said between you?
- We remarked on the weather, about its being calm, clear. We remarked the distance we could see. We seemed to be able to see a long distance. Everything was very clear. We could see the stars setting down to the horizon.
Part Two
“Her head was facing north”
As well as causing the Titanic to see the fatal iceberg too late, the abnormal refraction at Titanic’s wreck site also led directly to the failure of the nearby Californian to come to Titanic’s aid.
It is well known that Titanic turned to port (left) in an unsuccessful attempt to swing her stem clear of the iceberg, but it is less well-known that immediately after the collision Titanic turned to starboard (right) in a successful attempt to swing her stern clear of the iceberg. The following diagram by Sam Halpern describes the turn Titanic made:
This turn was well documented by George Behe in his excellent book “Safety, Speed and Sacrifice”, where he also gives some pointers as to why Hitchens deliberately avoided mentioning it at the British Enquiry. Hitchens’ incomplete story was unfortunately the one that made it into legend, as he was the man at the wheel at the time.
Boxhall heard Murdoch explaining his maneuver to Captain Smith on the bridge immediately after the accident:
JGB394. What did the captain say?
- Mr. Murdoch also said, "I intended to port around it."
JGB395. "I intended to port around it"?
- "But she hit before I could do any more."
Nevertheless, Murdoch continued the maneuver and Quartermaster Alfred Olliver heard the order “Hard aport” given by Murdoch, immediately after the collision:
ALO008. Where were you when the collision occurred?
- I was stand-by quartermaster on the bridge. I had been relieved from the wheel at 10 o'clock, and I was stand-by after 10 o'clock. I was running messages and doing various other duties. I was not right on the bridge; I was just entering the bridge. I had just performed an errand and was entering the bridge when the collision occurred.
ALO021. Do you know whether the wheel was hard aport then?
- What I know about the wheel - I was stand-by to run messages, but what I knew about the helm is, hard aport.
ALO022. Do you mean hard aport or hard astarboard?
- I know the orders I heard when I was on the bridge [which] was after we had struck the iceberg. I heard hard aport, and there was the man at the wheel and the officer. The officer was seeing it was carried out right.
ALO023. What officer was it?
- Mr. Moody, the sixth officer, was stationed in the wheelhouse.
ALO024. Who was the man at the wheel?
- Hichens, quartermaster.
ALO025. You do not know whether the helm was put hard astarboard first, or not?
- No, sir; I do not know that.
ALO026. But you know it was put hard aport after you got there?
- After I got there; yes, sir.
ALO027. Where was the iceberg, do you think, when the helm was shifted?
- The iceberg was away up stern.
ALO028. That is when the order "hard aport" was given?
- That is when the order "hard aport" was given; yes, sir.
ALO029. Who gave the order?
- The first officer.
ALO030. And that order was immediately executed, was it?
- Immediately executed, and the sixth officer saw that it was carried out.
ALO031. How long did this sound continue; can you tell that?
- I can not say exactly, but I should say it was not many seconds.
ALO032. Could you tell how far aft the sound continued?
- I could not say how far aft, sir, because I do not know where it started and where it finished. I do not know.
ALO033. You could not tell about that?
- No, sir.
ALO034. Was it 100 feet? Did it rub against the boat behind where you were?
- Not behind where I was. It did not, to my knowledge, rub behind where I was; it was before.
ALO035. You can not tell, then, for how many feet it rubbed against the boat?
- No, sir.
ALO036. But you think it got away from the boat before the place where you were?
- Yes, sir.
ALO037. Did you see the iceberg?
- I tell you, sir. I saw the tip top of it.
ALO038. What color was it?
- It was not white, as I expected to see an iceberg. It was a kind of a dark-blue. It was not white.
This explains why Fredrick Fleet in the lookout testified:
FRF386. And did she continue to bear to port?
- Until the iceberg was alongside of her.
But it appeared all white in the light from Titanic to Quartermaster Rowe, who was stationed at the stern at the time of the collision, and who confirmed:
GTR083. Do you think the propeller hit the ice? Did you feel any jolt like the propeller hitting the ice?
- No, sir.
GTR084. Do you not think the propeller would have hit the ice if the helm had been turned hard a starboard?
- Yes, sir.
This is why Captain Smith, 1st Officer Murdoch and 4th Officer Boxhall all walked to the Starboard side of Titanic’s bridge, and not the Port side, in order to look back at the iceberg immediately after the collision:
JGB406. What else did he say?
- We all walked out to the corner of the bridge then to look at the iceberg.
JGB407. The captain?
- The captain, first officer, and myself.
JGB408. Did you see it?
- I was not very sure of seeing it. It seemed to me to be just a small black mass not rising very high out of the water, just a little on the starboard quarter.
And this is why Able Seaman, Joseph Scarrott, came on deck immediately after the collision to find Titanic’s starboard quarter slewing off the iceberg, which is only possible with Titanic acting under a port helm:
350. When you got on deck did you see anything; did you see any ice or iceberg?
- Oh, yes, when we first came up.
351. Tell me what you saw. - When we came up, that was before the boatswain's call, we saw a large quantity of ice on the starboard side on the fore-well deck, and I went and looked over the rail there and I saw an iceberg that I took it we had struck. It would be abaft the beam then - abaft the starboard beam.
352. Was it close to?
- No, it seemed the ship was acting on her helm and we had swung clear of the iceberg.
353. But how far away from your beam was the iceberg, a ship's length or two ships' length?
- Not a ship's length.
354. You speak of this ship as if answering her helm - as if answering under which helm?
- Under the starboard helm - under the port helm.
355. Get it right?
- Under port helm. Her stern was slewing off the iceberg. Her starboard quarter was going off the icebergs, and the starboard bow was going as if to make a circle round it.
The Commissioner:
You must be a little more particular about this, and make me understand it.
I think what he means is that she was acting - correct me if I am wrong.
The Witness:
Yes.
356. She was acting as if under port helm, her head going to starboard?
- That is correct.
The Commissioner:
The ship's head was going to starboard?
357. Yes.
Fireman Alfred Shiers also saw the berg off Titanic’s starboard quarter immediately after the collision:
Shiers: 4531. Did you see anything?
- I saw the berg that was going away.
4532. Where was the berg away from you - on the port side or the starboard side, or ahead, or where?
- On the starboard quarter, off the stern.
4533. It was off your quarter, was it?
- Yes.
4534. How soon after you felt the striking of the iceberg did you see it away on your quarter?
- About four or five minutes.
4543. And then the berg was away on the starboard quarter?
- Yes.
4544. About how far off?
- I could not say; it was very dim then; I could just see it.
4545. It was a dark night?
- Yes, a starry night.
4546. Starry, but dark. When you saw the berg could you judge whether your ship was stopped or going ahead?
- When I looked over the side there was a slight way on her; she was moving, but not much.
4547. You were moving through the water?
- Yes, but not much.
4700. Was there a haze at the time; was the air clear, or was there a haze?
- It was hazy. When I saw that berg it was hazy. The berg was in a haze. [This haze was caused by the steam from the Titanic, as she passed the iceberg and came to a stop nearby.]
The important thing about Titanic’s turn to starboard from her westward course is that it left her head facing north and this was confirmed by Quartermaster Rowe, who noticed that when Titanic came to a stop her stern was swinging about dead south, magnetic:
Titanic Quartermaster Rowe 17667: When you saw this light did you notice whether the head of the "Titanic" was altering either to port or starboard?
