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| TITANIC (l) and OLYMPIC (r) |
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| TITANIC after launching |
1911
May 31: Titanic hull successfully launched, witnessed by more than 100,000 people. At the time, (together with Olympic) she is the largest man-made object ever moved. Twenty-two tons of tallow, soap, and train oil are used to grease the slipway bed to coat and protect against the enormous three-tons-per-square-inch pressure of the freshly painted hull. Titanic towed by tugs to fitting-out basin. Outfitting begins.
May 31: Titanic hull successfully launched, witnessed by more than 100,000 people. At the time, (together with Olympic) she is the largest man-made object ever moved. Twenty-two tons of tallow, soap, and train oil are used to grease the slipway bed to coat and protect against the enormous three-tons-per-square-inch pressure of the freshly painted hull. Titanic towed by tugs to fitting-out basin. Outfitting begins.
June: Olympic leaves on her maiden voyage.
July: First projected date agreed on by White Star and Harland & Wolff for Titanic's maiden voyage - March 20, 1912.
September 20: Olympic (with Captain Edward J. Smith who would later captain Titanic) has her hull badly damaged in collision with Royal Navy cruiser Hawke. Titanic's maiden voyage delayed due to necessary diversion of workers and materials to repair Olympic.
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| TITANIC in dry dock |
1912
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| Work crews at Harland & Wolff |
January: Sixteen wooden lifeboats are installed on Titanic under Welin davits (designed to handle two or three boats). The original designer, Alexander Carlisle (who was no longer in the employ of Harland & Wolff) had suggested davits capable of carrying more boats, but presented it as an economy measure, and not in the interests of increased safety. Outdated British Board of Trade regulations mean that Titanic's 20 lifeboats (including four "collapsible" canvas-sided lifeboats) actually exceed requirements by ten percent capacity.
February 3: Titanic successfully dry-docked at Belfast's Thompson Graving Dock.
March: Engineering crew begins to assemble in Belfast, some actually living on board ship.
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| OLYPMIC & TITANIC in dock |
March 25: Lifeboats are tested; swung out, lowered, and hoisted back into position under davits.
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| TITANIC's sea trials begin |
March 31: Except for a few minor details in some passenger staterooms, the outfitting of Titanic is complete. Her capacity includes a size of 46,328 gross tons, with approximately 52,250 tons of displacement, 46,000 horsepower with 29 boilers, 159 furnaces, and funnels 73 feet above Boat Deck. She has three propellers and is estimated to be able to make some 24 knots full speed (although this is never put to the test). Although Titanic and her sister ship Olympic are identical in dimensions, more staterooms and suites were added to Titanic (plus structural additions) making her the heavier of the two. Titanic is now the largest ship in the world.
April 1: Sea trials delayed due to high winds.
April 2 - 6:00 AM: Sea trials begin. Titanic assisted by two tugs through Victoria Channel to Belfast Lough. All equipment tested, including wireless. Speed and handling trials undertaken, including various turning and stop-start maneuvers. Major stopping test conducted: runs full ahead at 20 knots and then stops full astern.
April 2 - 2:00 PM: Running test conducted. She travels for about two hours (about 40 miles) out into the open Irish Sea at an average speed of 18 knots, and then returns in two hours to Belfast. All tests meet Board of Trade standards. Trials have lasted less than a day.
Next: TITANIC's Maiden Voyage: arrival in Southampton to departure from Queenstown, Ireland
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