Top 5 Titanic Facts You Probably Didn't Know!

The RMS Titanic is probably one of the most well known ship wrecks and ships of all time. She was built and constructed by the Harland And Wolff Shipping company back in 1912 and commissioned/owned by the White Star Line shipping company, which is now part of Cunard Lines.

The Titanic met her fate on the night of April 14th 1912 when she hit an iceberg and sank in 2 and a half miles of water in the North Atlantic Ocean. On that night she took over 1500 passengers and crew with her when she sunk.

There are many facts known about the Titanic, the remainder of this article aims to highlight some of the most fun and interesting facts which a lot of people aren't aware of.

Fact Number One - Titanic was not a ship on her own

The RMS Titanic was constructed as a set of 3 super Olympic Class Liners, these consisted of the Titanic, the Olympic and the Britannic. The first to be built was the Olympic, the second was the Titanic and the third and final one was the Britannic. Out of the 3 ships the most luxurious and expensive was the RMS Titanic.

Fact Number Two - Titanic was one of the most expensive ships of her time

As liners went she was one of the most expensive ships every built at that time costing around £1.5 million pounds, which is estimated to be around £400 million at today's prices. The high cost was due to Titanic's size and the luxurious fixtures and fittings which were installed into her. However, when you consider that the cost of a first class ticket would have been around £10,000 the overall build cost doesn't really seem that much.

Fact Number Three - The sinking date is often told incorrectly

The Titanic hit an iceberg on April 14th 1912, that is factually correct, however she did not sink on the same day. The period of sinking took around 3 hours and she went down at 02:20am on April 15th 1912.

This is a common misconception which people often don't think about.

Fact Number Four - Survivors Alive Today

There are no known survivors of the disaster left alive today. Although 710 people were rescued from Titanic on the night that she sank, all of those people have since died of natural causes or of old age. The last known survivor of the disaster was Millvina Dean, however Millvina passed away just 3 years ago in 2009 aged 97. Millvina was on board the ship the night that she went down, she was only a few months old however.

Fact Number Five - The Olympic Class Liners weren't without their problems

All of the 3 Olympic Class Liners owned by White Star Line had issues at sea. The Olympic was the first when she hit a smaller ship whilst sailing out at sea, some time later she also hit and sunk and ship. Some said at the time that these Liners were simply too big. The Titanic was the second, she hit an iceberg and sank. The third was the Britannic which hit a mine during World War I and sank off the coast in the Mediterranean sea.

James Preston is an expert in maritime history with a particular interest in Titanic Facts & Titanic History. Visit his website for more details.

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