How did the Cunard Line's RMS Carpathia come to become the rescue ship of White Star Line's RMS Titanic?
Carpathia's story as a hero rescue ship is a fascinating one, and in this episode we explore how the night of the disaster went down from the decks of the Carpathia.
Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s greatest ocean liners - from Titanic to Queen Mary but not forgetting the likes of Empress of Ireland or Chusan. Join Mike Brady as he uncovers the myths, explains the timelines, logistics and deep dives into the lives of the people and ships that we all know and love.
0:00 Brush with Destiny
1:34 Carpathia - the workhorse
3:00 The fateful voyage
7:40 The plan
11:17 The mad dash
12:34 Titanic is lost
13:35 The rescue
17:15 Epilogue
18:53 Outro
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The Carpathia needs a movie made about her heroic rescue mission.
James Cameron has entered the chat.
Title: “Carpathia: The Atlantic Angel”
@@jamesgroccia644 Splendid title. The hero carpathia deserves to grace the eyes of millions in all her glory. A underappreciated ship manned by underappreciated men.
@@stgeorge5862 But maybe she doesn’t want it. After rescuing the Titanic survivors she went back to work. She got her five minutes’ fame, now it’s business as usual. She may not have been as fast as Lusitania or as big and glamorous as Titanic, but she was comfortable for her small size. And a slower speed would make for better chance to enjoy the journey more than the destination.
Great idea.
One night, 110 years ago, a handful of men made the decision to redline a steamship through the black, icy seas, as fast as the engines could physically push her, because people were in mortal peril, and they could do no less.
I imagine this to be the opening line of movie ' Carpathia' if there is one made in the future
Dammit you got me tearing up over here
ur a gifted wordsmith
@@sha8photome too
@@peterc.marketos They think they are at least, this is weeb level cringe
Another part of the story I find very sweet was the role of the passengers already on the Carpathia. Many of them would offer assistance to the survivors, and would even offer food, blankets, and even their own cabins. These people would have been on vacation, or on a leisurely trip, and they decided comforting the Titanic's survivors was more important. And that makes me happy.
as messed up people say about humanity as a whole, whenever there is sheer crisis, people always come together to help out their fellow man.
@@chrism3784 Men are chaotic. We all seek something to fight against. Disaster is one such thing. In the absence of something, we fight nothing. Ourselves.
People were extremely racist, transphobic, homophobic, islamophobic and antisemitic back then. They weren’t all that nice. Trust me.
@@i_know_youre_right_but lol bot auto deleted
it not that deep
what gets me the most about this story is that Carpathia, who was designed to go at 14/15 knots, managed to do 17 knots on the night it really mattered.
At about a distance of 67 miles and taking roughly 3.5 hours the Carpathia travelled at an average speed of about 19.1 mph or 16.6 Knots. Which is incredible considering that she was at half and then slow ahead navigating the icefield, meaning that she really must have been absolutely chugging along before that, well in excess of her service or maximum speed.
On that night, the Carpathia did the impossible.
What touched me was that the passengers turned off their hot water, so the ship boiler could get that little bit of extra power
@@ahmednur8945 Yup they were reportedly riding the pressure release valves on the boilers (actually pretty risky to do, you could potentially blow up the boilers if you overwhelm the safety valves). As well as shutting off steam to everything that wasn't the engines. So they were putting out about 130% normal steam pressure (the point where the last pressure relief valves open) to just the engines.
It was huffing and puffing to try to help Titanic 😢
Seeing Titanic‘s lifeboats lowered in New York Harbor is still one of the most haunting images. The only part of Titanic that reached its destination.
Shalom
Yes, very sad
Agreed! I would have liked to cover the arrival in New York more but I think that is worthy of its own video! This was more focused on the wild dash through the night. I think a video covering the arrival in New York and subsequent events would be very interesting indeed.
@@ELIGG15 Slalom?
I agree 100% also the pictures of the unclaimed bodies in their coffins in the graveyards in Eastern Canada tear at my heart strings! To know there are the bodies of unclaimed children is almost unthinkable!! May They REST in HONORED PEACE!
I love Rostron’s decision to fire the rockets every 15 minutes. I can’t even imagine the relief of RMS Titanic’s survivors to see the rockets getting closer and closer, to know that help was on the way and chugging along as fast as possible to help you.
The Ile de France did something similar when they rescued the Andrea Doria passengers. I think in their case it was a bright light in the fog.
@@sophiegallinger8004 They turned on all the lights, including the massive illuminated sign saying 'Ile de France'.
I hate that fact. Btw that was intentional and caused unneeded death.naval doctrine stipulations mandate Distress flares are required to be fired in intervals of 1 or 5 minutes each depending on the urgency of the assistance needed. Had they followed the doctrine the Californian would have been able to get there long before the ship was in massive danger and would have been on scene in just over 1 hours 15 minutes and more lives would have been saved possibly every single life . Sadly due to the Jesuits this would not be
@@sophiegallinger8004 Correct. The Capt. turned on all the deck lights so she was lit up like daylight. Andrea Doria passengers couldn't describe their relief!!!
Yes its also thanks to the fanatic radio operator that he decided to turn on the radio -like God was telling hime something - if he hadnt raised the alarm and they all had gone to sleep the Carpathis like the other ships nearby would never had receved the message and it would have been too late they would have all frozen to death as it was only a few hours gone by before they were picked up fortuntaely. The radio operator was supposed to be asleep he just got the message in time thats how close it was to 705 people dying it was all hanging on a hairs breadth
Several nearby vessels responded to Titanic's distress call, but just one--Carpathia--ended up rescuing all of the 706 known Titanic survivors. Unlike Titanic that was doomed by a single iceberg encounter, Carpathia had to zigzag through a whole field of icebergs in pitch-black night to reach the sinking ship. Carpathia had actually been coming from New York City--Titanic's destination--but decided to head back to that port so that Titanic survivors could disembark there. Therefore the only parts of Titanic that reached its original destination were her lifeboats that now filled Carpathia's upper deck. It was pouring heavy rain in NYC when Carpathia pulled in to unload Titanic's remnants like coffins coming home. 6 years later, during World War I, Carpathia was sailing as the command ship of a war convoy when it was hit by torpedoes from a German U-boat. The ship sank in less than 2 hours--much faster than Titanic that had taken 3 hours to sink. But the only casualties aboard Carpathia were the 5 crew members killed immediately by the torpoedo impacts. Every single one of the 218 remaining crew and passengers escaped successfully on lifeboats. What an incredible story. Carpathia deserves its own movie.
Wow
The primary reason for Carpathia to turn around and head for New York is that it didn't have enough food to feed 700 extra mouths
I read somewhere that the Carpathia engine room workers had the ship going faster than it’s optimal speed. During WW times, the ship never could recover from its overuse and sailed slower than normal
I agree to that idea ❤ I hope James Cameron make a Movie in title 'The Heroic Ship'
the iceberg was clearly german
Couldn’t back the tears when Carpathia’s captain ordered flares every 15 mins to let Titanic’s passengers know help was on the way. In such dire circumstances hope is everything.
Same here..
ur last sentence made me cry
Couldn’t hold back my tears either. It’s so touching that he gave them hope. Equally that the engineers pushed the engines beyond their capacity to hurry to the Titanic.
what are you a child? that makes you cry?
@@zero_wing_ Other than to be an ass, what were you hoping for out of your comment?
I've never known how dangerous the mad dash to Titanic was. In my mind, I've just imagined the ship sailing full speed towards Titanic in a straight line. Now I know that Carpathia was sailing through a dense ice field too... Your way of storytelling also makes the whole event seem so vivid to me. I almost feel like I'm standing on Carpathia's boat deck, looking at all the officers pacing around the bridge wings and around that little brown wheelhouse while the ship travels past its full speed, with smoke billowing out the funnels, heading towards Titanic..
I very much recommend A night to remember. It has a fantastic chapter told from the Carpathias perspective and it almost transports you
@Christian DiPaola if they missed one they probably would've slowed down.
@Christian DiPaola Also if they'd hit the berg dead ahead, it would have penetrated only 1 watertight bulkhead. By turning, it scrapped down the side opening up 4., 1 more than it could handle.
Yeah Andy they coulda sunk themselves
@Christian DiPaola Titanic was actually following standard procedure for that time, cruising at full speed, believe it or not O.o Lots of things changed after that fateful night, obviously...
Carpathia's crew are not just heroes, they are legends, now forever enshrined in naval history.
Let's be honest here: *Anybody else* would do the same. It's just common decency to try and help somebody in distress. At sea all ships in the vicinity are expected to assist a sinking ship and if possible rescue it's passengers. Carpathia managed to reach the survivors first but other ships heard Titanic's distress call and steamed to assist them as well.
@@wezmarauder2754 I doubt that they would have pushed their ship(s) as hard!!! Especially since RMS Carpathia didn't slow down all that much until she had ENTERED the ice field instead of slowing down at the first sightings....
@@timengineman2nd714 Yes, and the movie "Titanic" (1997) hardly mentions them. The other Titanic movie "A Night to Remember" (1958) gives Carpathia their proper credit. The actor playing the Captain of the Carpathia 1:19 even looks like him.
@@stephaniegormley9982 (and one of the Titanic's Radiomen looks suspiciously like Dr. Mallard! (from NCIS)
@@wezmarauder2754 Perhaps, but the fact remains that The Carpathia was the one who rescued the survivors in the end. Had it been any other ship that did it, Rostron, his crew, and the ship would be little more than a footnote in history. But because of quick thinking, a competent crew, and perhaps a little bit of luck they have cemented their place in history.
Captain Rostron was the epitome of what a captain should be. It didn't matter that Titanic was from a rival shipping line. As soon as he knew Titanic was sinking, nothing was going to stop him from speeding to Titanic as fast as they could. What a man!
I know you were buzzing at the moment of writing, but...can you seriously imagine a scenario where Carpathia would have ghosted Titanic just because they were on the other team?
@@karlmoody4891 Did I say that? No, I didn't. Interesting you tried to take a different meaning to my comment, as it says a lot about your thinking.
@@johnking5174 Wow, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings dude, calm down lol
Rivals during smooth sailing but when things go wrong all are equal at sea.
@@Jack_Russell_Brown HMS Rodney and HMS King George V
My physics teacher sadly passed this yr age 97. His name was Dr rostron his grandfather was this shops captain. What a legend.
AWESOME!
😂@@jaccusefashion
I was at school with your teacher’s niece or daughter
Nice story. However, I'm calling 🐂💩.
@@charlestaylor253 it's super true.. Ross high Tranent eatst lothian physics Dr Arthur rostron. We called him doc roc like back to the future. Google it.
Captain Rostron and Carpathia are known heroes but the crew members of the Titanic that stayed below decks keeping the lights on and the pumps going are somewhat forgotten heroes, they stayed below deck knowing that they would die at their posts----they are also true heroes.
Accounts say that they were allowed to escape at the last minute, which they did. But they did indeed stay at their posts for far longer than required, which is indeed heroic.
@Billy B Really, what's the name of the show?
@Billy B I'll look for it, thanks.....
@@jetsons101 it's an excellent documentary
My paternal grandmother traveled on the Carpathia on its next voyage after the Titanic tragedy. She had come from Croatia and brought her 4 children with her. The ship's manifest stated one of her children had the measles so I'm sure he was in quarantine.
I can just imagine the engineers asking “How Fast, Captain?”. He tilts his head, looks up and says: “Give me everything you’ve got”
"How fast?" "Yes." Absolutely phenomenal.
The fact that carpathia anticipated around 2,000 survivors and 700 ended up surviving. I mean its amazing all of those people survived but I can't imagine how they must've felt knowing most of them died. It's bone chilling.
I have heard (I don't know if it's true) that in a tragic twist it is lucky there were only 700 survivors as the weight of another 1300 people would have sunk the Carpathia. It was after all a much smaller vessel than Titanic.
@@mayalackman7581 No chance. at worst they dump cargo
@marioxmariox that makes sense! My mom told me that when I was like 15 and she's no ship enthusiast so I definitely believe that you are right.
A question. Didn't the crew used any kind of strong flash light to look for iceberg? May be I am asking a dumb question. I have Titanic was going on full speed to make a record and make it to front page. Cameron film had it.
@gautamdeusa Titanic was not trying to make a record. Sam has a video on this channel which debunks that. Basically Titanic had six boiler rooms but only five were in use when the ice burg was struck. They were going near top speed but not at top speed, which proves they were not trying to set a record.
The captain of the Carpathia told the crew to turn the heat and hot water off so that they could get as much steam for speed as possible. What a great man he was.
better captain than the one i have in mind
He also made very efficient preparations to give the survivors great hospitality. He was a brave, caring, selfless, loving gentleman.
@@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY He was.
Heat and hot water turned off. Shut off any lights that aren't needed. Woke up every stoker and sent them to the boiler room. Anybody not doing anything was watching for ice. He drove his ship as fast as it could go, and then asked for more.
At the time of Carpathia's rescue efforts there were no formal instructions for how to conduct a rescue at sea. Captain Rostron's orders for that fateful night were pretty much copied, word for word, into the written instructions recommended by both (UK & US) Boards of Inquiry for the proper way to conduct a rescue at sea!!!
It just goes to show not just how brave, but competent Rostron was as a captain.
@@Milepost93Productions A position well deserved, as was his knighthood.
I cannot believe I'd never heard the story in this much detail about Carpathia. They definitely need to make a movie about this.
Well, there is the 1958 movie A Night To Remember that features the Carpathia’s role picking up the Titanic’s distress call and springing into action to dash to their rescue, but yes I do think there should be a movie just focusing on the role of the Carpathia and other ships dashing to the Titanic’s rescue.
The crew of the Carpathia are the maddest lads of ocean liner history. They endangered their own ship to save hundreds. That deserves a lot of praise. As do you, ocean liner designs. I've watched almost all of your videos and you allow me to understand these incidents and beautiful liners in detail that would only be second to seeing the liner in person
And there lies the fickle finger of fate in your very statement. Lauded as hero's, many lives saved. However, IF he had hit a berg himself and gone down with all hands and passengers he would have been condemned as a reckless skipper the same as Capt Smith. Make no mistake, i am not arguing that they should not have gone to Titanic's aid, merely pointing out how easily things can turn. Good fortune and a modicum of luck to all . Have to agree that a film, sensitively produced would be a fine adjunct to the Titanic history.
Yeah, damn U-55 and her crew!
@@timgray5231yeah a modern cruise captain doing this, shit maybe even a cargo ships captain, might get fired over it. Granted the risks were much higher in 1912. Life preservers, life boats, and other survival gear wasn't as good. Way fewer passengers would know how to swim. And their heavy woolen clothes would make them much more likely to drown. As well radar and other technology works much better than the eyes of men on a dark night. Point being a captain doing this with so limited tools and hundreds of souls already in his care would be heavily criticized at best and quite possibly fired with modern sentiments. And not without reason, like you said, if it had gone wrong it would double the tragedy. The current rule #1 of most rescue organizations is "don't become another victim" and it's because of the many times a wouldbe rescuer made the situation worse by getting themselves into trouble.
How frightening it is that you hear a call for help and when you finally make it to the site that called for it all you see are a few shreds of what was once there, and so many bodies floating on the water.I’ve been so focused on the disaster from the ship that I forgot what it’s like for those looking back in from a initial rescue but ultimately a recovery mission. Seeing people shook up and partially frozen on the deck of the carpathia. Seeing shreds of horror from those eyes.
Yeah that became apparent to me reading up on Pompei. There was a three day rescue effort after initial eruption, and a mass evacuation. But we think of it as a done and over disaster, instead of an active situation people were responding to.
Great video, so well done!! My great grandfather Albert Horswill was a lookout and able sea hand for the White Star Line. He worked aboard the RMS Oceanic, however he was transferred to the RMS Titanic along with several other crewmen of Oceanic for the maiden voyage. He survived the wreck and was saved by the Carpathia. I’m grateful for the Carpathia’s heroic crew, I would not even be here today if not for their actions.
I have many jumbled thoughts about your post. Truely, our lives are encyclopedias of wonderous adventures. We only sense the " tip of an iceberg " about people as we travel our life's journey. God bless you for posting.
@@meteor2012able God bless you sir, life is an amazing and chaotic congruence of events. We are all fortunate to be going for the ride. I recently talked to Jerry Schemmel, a survivor of United Airlines Flight 232 in July 1989, that was his abstract take on life.
Great. Write a book.
@@TimPerfetto are you a publisher?
@@donnix1192 Yes
As compelling as the Titanic story is, Carpathia's journey to reach Titanic is also fascinating. The Carpathia crew are heroes, including Harold Cottam who made a fateful decision to stay a little longer to hear Titanic's distress call and Arthur Rostron for making the decision to turn to Titanic, doing all he can to get there at all possible speed and prepare the necessary things to pick up the survivors. This could make an interesting movie in of itself.
The Carpathia’s passengers were heroes too. Many were awakened by the cold in their rooms due to the heat being turned off so the crew would have more heat to drive the engines in order to make the ship go faster, but once they found out what was going on, they joined the crew in making great hospitality preparations for the Titanic’s survivors. They even selflessly gave up their warm clothes, blankets and cabins for them.
The Carpathia was certainly a magnificent little ship, the epitome of the classic intermediate liner. Her valiant career was met with a fitting end, taking no less than three torpedoes in the line of duty. Rest easy old girl...
not to mention almost everyone survived her sinking
😢
Lived a hero and died a martyr!
I read that she was hit because she couldn't move in time. Her mad dash to rescue the Titanic had damaged her engines beyond full repair.
Had Carpathia not been torpedoed she should have been preserved as a piece of history and turned into a floating museum paying tribute to its 1912 crew as well as those who perished onboard Titanic and those survivors who went out of their way to help others.
One of the more ignominious sinkings in naval history.
I was really moved by the story of Carpathia. I think the captain was so brave. We all know that the Carpathia picked up the survivors of the Titanic but to hear the story in detail from the perspective of the captain of the Carpathia was very touching. I think their story is a massive part of the story of Titanic and is mostly only mentioned in passing. I have heard more about what happened onboard of the California but I have never heard so much about the rescue mission as it were by the Carpathia. They risked their lives to help. We should remember them more. Thank you for making this video.
We should remember them equally as much. Not more, that is undermining the passengers and crew of the titanic, whom were both equally as heroic, just unfortunate.
@@TehDawg They didn't say that the crew of Carpathia should be remembered more than the Titanic specifically,just more remembered than they are now
@@TehDawg🙄
Rostron's nickname in those days was "The Electric Spark" for his tireless energy and tendency to act quickly: he proved it this night. His orders to the crew were later written down and are a textbook example of how to act and prepare in an emergency. His actions this night were remarkable.
I have always considered Captain Rostron a truly courageous man - With the burden of responsibility for the lives aboard his vessel, he demonstrated his exceptional professional abilities and while taking precautions, drove his ship at maximum speed, in the dark towards danger - risking his vessel - in order to save lives that would surely be lost without immediate aid. His officers and crew did him proud, but the Command was his, and his alone.
Were this a US Navy operation, for sure Captain Rostron would have earned a Navy Cross, and his crew a variety of other significant medals. This was the FIRST time I ever heard the details of Carpathia's actions. Truly amazing.
So, I've heard that Carpathia was actually pushed so hard during this event that her engines were permanently damaged reducing her speed for the rest of her life. Also that, when someone pointed out to the chef engineer that one of the gauges was in the red his response was to put his hat over said gauge. Any truth to those?
I’ve heard something like this (I can’t confirm the source off the top of my head), mostly it was in sympathy for the pain of how hard they where pushing the engines and knowing they were putting them under strain beyond their optimal operational range. They essentially cut away any kind of non-essential steam utilities (heating for rooms, hot water, among other things) to achieve nearly 21 knots or so. This was beyond the 18 knots of full steam, they essentially put the engines in to overdrive and she was never her old self afterwards, resulting in a reduced top speed after that valiant sprint to rush to the scene of the disaster. My numbers may be off, but Carpathia gave it all she’s got and then some more.
Quite right but worth it
It may be true that she damaged her engines during the rescue, but it isn't true that she went faster than her max speed, which is impossible because of the laws of physics. The initial distress position was way out, which was normal and acceptable and good enough for ships to start moving towards her, but her corrected position should have been spot on but was actually still 9 miles out, making her 9 miles closer to Carpathia than anyone thought. Because of this, Carpathia covered the distance much more quickly than expected and later said that she had made over 17 knots. The truth was only discovered in 1985, when the Titanic wreck was discovered.
@@garryedwards3652 perhaps faster than her recommended safe top speed hence the damage.
Actually, because of a Refit, to carry more passengers, the Carpathia Top Speed had decreased from 14 knots to about 12 knots. That night she made almost 17.5 knots!!! And YES her ChEng did put his hat over a pressure gauge when he noticed the stokers and tenders were looking at it with worried expressions on their face! There have been more than one reference that the Carpathia's engines did receive damage but never were fully repaired. However since at that point of her life that she was mainly a cruise ship to the northern Med. and a Immigrant transport (along with the above mentioned cruise passengers) back, they didn't need full speed again.... There's an engineering term called "Ride the 130's", this means you bypass the 110% & the 120% Relief/Safety Valves and run the ship's plant at 130% (a 300 psi steam plant would have a Safety/Relief Valve for 330 psi, 360 psi, and 390 psi. I don't know what the Carpathia's Engineering Plant had for normal operating pressure, so my example of "riding the 130s" pressures is just for reference.
What Rostron and Carpathia's crew achieved wasn't so much heroic as it was sheer competency and expertise. A true ship's master who knew exactly what to do in an emergency at sea and did so with awesome efficiency when called upon.
Absolutely true, they were all the very image of competency although I would point out that Rostron confirmed he left the fate of his ship in a higher power that night and took a huge gamble. Hurtling through the ice field must have gone against every part of his captain’s instinct!
A man and his ship that had their s___t together that night.
They knowingly sailed full speed through an ice field to save others. That qualifies as above and beyond the call of duty at the severe risk of life. It's heroic enough for me. Many of you KZheadrs have such high standards.
@@stevek8829 Settle down Captain Happy. I didn't say it wasn't heroic. Any fool can sail full steam into an ice field. A master mariner can do it with skill and knowledge and bring his vessel safely out the other side.
@@throttlegalsmagazineaustra7361 you should read what you wrote before denying your own words.. That captain and crew were the epitome of heroic. What's with the "capt happy?" Does that make you feel better for saying something so stupid?
I knew Carpathia's rescue operation was possibly the most legendary ever executed in maritime history, but I never realized the balls it took for her captain to knowingly point his ship at an icepack and order "full steam ahead". A true Chad indeed.
It is heartwarming how everyone on the Carpathia pooled together to race to the Titanic's aid. True heroes.
I’ve twice crossed the Atlantic via the northern route under the same conditions as the Titanic experienced that night. Those millpond seas and crystal clear skies make for a beautiful, but also unnerving crossing given Titanic’s history.
Possible to travel in small convoy fairly close and with hourly exchange over radio? Sinking ocurrs within minutes ? Convoy travel is very close, increasing normal rescue if need.
How dark is it at night ?
@@Rusty_Gold85 The stars provide more light than you would expect. Still, it’s dark.
@@Rusty_Gold85 Wait until the sun goes down. Close all of the curtains in your house. Shut off the power at the main breaker. Try walking.
This is why Carpathia is my favorite ship because this rescue was just remarkable I still can't get over to this very day at what one funnel foremast ship was able to get through an entire ice field just to save Titanic's passengers what a chad
And how it also made very efficient preparations to give the survivors great hospitality.
that to
During my US Navy service, Captain Roston's example was always in my mind every time I stood watch as Officer of the Deck.
I love this boat, its something about her mad dash and truly heroic attempt to save as many lives as her and her crew. It's sad to finally now know her finally fate but trust it to be an honourable one, this ship seems to just have the spirit of a hero. Who knows a boat could have so much personality, god bless carpathia.
Boats and ships are often like that- they have spirits of their own.
You tell a great story. I love the bit where Captain Rostron is weighing up the task ahead. So leaders can be heroes too! What brings a lump to my throat is Carpathia firing off flares every 15 minutes to give the survivors hope.
I wonder if any of the survivors reported they saw those flares...
Carpathia made a huge effort to get to Titanic. The crew pushed its engines as hard as they could. The ship wasn’t fast enough to reach Titanic, but it was fast enough to reach survivors.
They pushed her so hard that as has already been mentioned she would never be as fast again
Yeah, it was sad that it couldn’t reach the Titanic in time to save everyone, but it was still well worth the great efforts it made, especially considering the fact that it had arrived at the sinking location hours before any other ship.
The RMS OLYMPIC at the time of her sister's tragic death by the iceberg, she heard reports of survivors strangling at sea and as RMS Carpathia was on the rescue mission, Olympic's Captain was planning to rescue the Titanic survivors and the dead as well. But Carpathia's Captain gave an urgent message to Olympic's Captain not to come and appear in sight of the Titanic survivors due to the traumatize situation as the Olympic ship is identical to the Titanic ship. It's a strange fact that RMS OLYMPIC would appear in sight as a ghost ship of RMS TITANIC!
That’s very interesting!
@danfmed I read that Rostron turned down the requests on order of Ismay, who argued that Olympic being Titanic’s mirror image would cause distress.
This cannot be true, the Olympic was 500 sea miles away, and would have taken 23 hours to reach her at the max speed of 22 knots, a pointless excercise
Maybe not traumatic, but I think Carpathia was trying to avoid some form of misunderstanding should Olympic somehow miraculously appeared near Titanic's location. Maybe the captain of Carpathia was hoping to encounter more survivors or wreckage in the days ahead of Titanic's sinking and didn't want other ships to mistaken the Olympic for her tragic twin.
@@khfan4life365 That is a myth. The Olympic was nowhere near.
My god Mike, you can tell a riveting story. I was right there experiencing everything as you were speaking. My heart goes out to Captain Rostron as The Carpathia arrived on the scene to find only The Titanic lifeboats and no Titanic at the scene. You saying it was already at the bottom of the ocean was just heartbreaking. I've always wanted to be inside of Captain Rostron's shoes when he was making all those crucial decisions after receiving the CQD/SOS from Titanic. And that shot you showed of Carpathia taking her death dive after being torpedoed just socks me in the gut. To think of all the old girl did to get to Titanic, only to meet this ending..... Thank you again for such an amazing video. One can feel your passion for what you do. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.🙏☺
In a bit of irony, the Californian, the ship that was closest to Titanic, also fell prey to Uboats during WWI. Unlike Carpathia, however, her wreck has yet to be found.
Such a lovely note, Dianne. Rostron and all other captains and seamen must have been deeply affected by the disaster in that even thought they worked for rival companies, they all understood and knew the risks well and must have been disturbed by the loss of Titanic in the same way all pilots must feel saddened by a commercial jet liner crash. Thanks so much for watching :)
@@OceanlinerDesigns It was my pleasure Mike. And thank you again for all you do. Sending love. ❤️
I didn't know that the Carpathia was sunk!!! In WW 1 I assume...the Californian needed a better 🧠🧠 in 1912😠😡🤔🤯💖🌹
Also in the 🎥 when he got the message and did calculations he KNEW RITE THEN they wouldn't b there in time😭😭😭😠😡💖🌹🇬🇧🇺🇸
Carpathia was the third near sister of a class of ships built for Cunard between 1900, and 1903. The first two to be built were Saxonia, followed a year later by Ivernia. Carpathia was last and smallest of the class to be built, arriving in 1903. All of them were of the combination cargo-passenger liner design. Ivernia, and Carpathia would be lost in WW1, and the Saxonia would serve on with Cunard until 1925. All three of these ships, by virtue of their very size and design, actually came into the world through very humble origins; they were never expected to be remembered alongside ships like Mauretania, or Aquitania. That even one of these little Cunard Liners is still being discussed in anyway today is almost a miracle, as her two sisters are virtually forgotten to history. Very few ships achieve anything close to immortality, but the heroic Carpathia, because of her actions on one night in her life, appears to have done just that.
Originally a second and third class only ship designed for the tourist trade, Carpathia's accommodation was upgraded in 1905 to allow her to carry first class and additional third class passengers on the Eastern European run. With an upgraded capacity of 2450, Carpathia could have easily accommodated all of Titanic's passengers and crew with room to spare, despite being less than a quarter of Titanic's size. (Although with passengers already on board, it would have been a bit of a squeeze and she would have likely been forced to offload at least some of them to another vessel)
@@paulheenan9098 Can you imagine 2450 people on a 558 foot long ship that barely cleared 13,500 tons. Carpathia and her sisters were 3 of Cunard's workhorses. They were strictly intended to take advantage of the massive numbers of immigrants heading to New York at the turn of the century.
@@cunard61 Speaking for grandparents born in Hebr. Town in Russia, you can count on wee descendants to help build ( just bought and starting to weld again with an Invertor welding machine ) coastal boat of Phoenician, SubChaser ww1, or auxiliary electric/solar traditional fun rowboat. Most attachment can be done with drill, screw bolt & nut or ( rivet )?
Well stated. Carpathia and Titanic will forever be connected and their legacies are timeless. That’s crazy. One fateful night made them immortal.
In fact in school our houses were named after great ships. Mine was the Carpathia , another one was the Mauretania!
I've seen this before, but I didn't appreciate just how amazing your storytelling is here. You capture the desperate rush Carpathia and her crew made, combined with the somber ending. Fading to a silent black with splash text to tell us what happened was a perfect choice as the adrenaline and sense of heroism that had sent us in a massive rush up to that point would naturally give way to the horror as the Carpathia would realize the true scale of tragedy. The final picture of Titanic's lifeboats is haunting, like seeing a ghost. Absolutely excellent work.
So kind, thanks so much! I like this kind of narrative-heavy video because I can get more creative with it :)
going approximately 65 miles (not nautical miles, miles) in about 3.5 hours that means she averaged about 18.5 mph, or 16 Knots. She *averaged* 2 knots higher than her rated maximum speed, despite slowing down towards the end to half and then slow ahead. That in of itself is incredible! The engineers pushed her *hard* and the old girl came through.
This movie NEEDS to be made!! A true story of absolute hardcore sailors and a single slightly obsessed Marconi operator is better than anything Hollywood can come up with these days!!!
A nice follow up to this would be a video about the other ships that tried to come to Titanic's aid that night. Examples include Mount Temple, whose equally valiant attempt to reach Titanic was cut short by both ice and the realization that Titanic was broadcasting the wrong co-ordinates to her rescuers (a fact that the inquiries largely ignored) and Frankfurt, which suffered a communications breakdown with Titanic and was unable to provide assistance.
IIRC, the wrong coordinates were a result of incorrect information given to Titanic's captain - his calculations were correct with the information he had. The "miracle" is that Carpathia's position at the time of receiving the SOS meant the actual sinking site was on the way to the given position.
My grand uncle survived. Third class passenger. Daniel Buckley Jr. he spoke before the senate explaining how awful the 3rd class passengers were treated. He joined the American Army and died by sniper shortly before WW1 ended. He’s my hero.
Buddy just couldn't catch a break.
👀 Who else discovered this absolute legend of a captain and crew after the recent Titan sub loss? So glad I found this!
Don’t forget the Carpathia’s passengers too!
@@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY Yes! ❤🦋
Just learned about this today and here I am binge watching documentaries about it. So touching, goosebumps, many more other feelings.
I am a residential surveyor in Bath, England. In the 1990’s I was in a house and in a frame was the original telegram from the Carpathia, basically saying Titanic sank 2.20am, have picked up survivors am heading New York. Still gives me goose bumps to this day. It was a probate job, I have no idea as to what happened to it.
How incredible would so luv that I'm a London girl but apparently there's a titanic museum coming next month can't waite x
Wow, just wow. History you literally could have touched.
I knew how the story would end, but I was still on the edge of my seat the whole time! Damn, that's good storytelling!
I feel like Carpathia's story deserves every bit as much glory and fame as Titanic. God I love this channel.
Why did it make me cry so hard to hear that six years later Carpathia was torpedoed
Yeah, but at least its sinking wasn’t too tragic. It got hit by 3 torpedoes and took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to sink in which only 5 crew members died in an explosion.
Because she was a LEGEND as was her crew. She was special.
A terrible end for her, such a shame
I've been deeply studying and colle c ting materials connected to the subject since 1955. I was 9 yrs old. I commended the authors,creators,producers of this site with much gratitude and appreciation. Each bit of material is produced with love,respect,and faithful attention to detail that the subject so richly deserves.
Looking back in hindsight, I sometimes find it easy to dismiss Titanic as a weak ship that sank on its maiden voyage and didn't live up to its name. When I listen to the story of Carpathia crew however braving their way through the same icefield, I realize that they put themselves in the same danger to rescue Titanic's survivors. I also realize that Titanic's disaster could've easily happened to any other ship.
Titanic was estimated to sink in an hour from the initial iceberg strike, but she stayed afloat for almost three. Given the catastrophic damage done to her, she was a damn good ship to hold on that long.
It was an avoidable tragedy. There was so much mishandling and reckless behavior on board the Titanic that it could’ve been considered criminal behavior. From the weak built so it could go faster, to the disregard of warnings, to the awful evacuation logistics. They even reduced the amount of lifeboats because that way the ship would look “prettier”. The whole thing was a mess.
@@chikenarch Yes. It was hubris that sank the Titanic.
The truth is, the Titanic's safety equipment and design wasn't actually all that bad even by modern standards (with the exception of the lack of lifeboats). It was just so unbelievably badly damaged that it had no hope of survival.
@@chikenarch It wasn't built weak, it was built very well. The warnings were not disregarded by the captain, he changed route trying to avoid the ice field and believed he passed it so kept steaming full speed which was normal for the time. They didn't have a small amount of life boats compared to any other ship of the time either, even today life boats are not required for 100% of passengers. The Titanic was just extremely unfortunate to hit an iceberg in a manner that damaged 6 of her water tight compartments when she could only handle 4. No one ever imagined she would sink so fast rescue wouldn't have time to arrive.
Considering how many times I've seen videos or documentaries on Titanic, I've never once thought about how dangerous it was for the Carpethia to race to the rescue, and that they risked putting themselves in exactly the same position as Titanic!! Great video, loving your channel👍
Man, our friend Mike Brady NEVER EVER fails to make me cry when talking about ships sailing to the rescue of their fellows (or at least the crews of such). Humans caring for each other and ships being a worthy vessel (excuse the pun) to channel their heroism! Brilliant as always!
My great grandmother was on the Carpathia. My father remembered her telling him stories about the survivors having all of their clothes and jewelry on when they were picked up.
The actor (Anthony Bushell 1904-1997)) portraying Captain Rostron in the 1958 Film "A Night to Remember" bears a decent resemblance to the actual gentleman. His clarity of presence and purpose along with those ice colored eyes made that performance memorable.
I never knew I was interested in maritime history but this is an excellent channel. I’m hooked.
Okay. I couldn’t give two hoots about boats…until yesterday when I stumbled across this channel. I’ve watched like a dozen of your videos. They have drawn me in. I’ve never known this much about ships my entire life. I’ve got to give you massive kudos. What you do, you do so incredibly well. The fact that a millennial with zero interest or background in ships/boats/water/military is such an eager audience, truly speaks to your skill and expertise. I can’t help but to think that if my history teacher had these videos when I was in high school, I would likely have retained a bit more of my American history class 😂😂
Incredibly chilling and mind-blowing. Can you please make a part 2 video detailing how was the rescuing of each of the lifeboats, how people were brought up to her and how they were taken care of?
Excellent video! The only thing I really knew about the Carpathia was that it picked up the Titanic's survivors. Love that you provide so much more background. 👍
Thanks so much! Yes it always struck me that in re-tellings of the disaster she just seems to 'show up' on-site.
@@OceanlinerDesigns Not in A Night to Remember!
Excellent video..... Absolutely loved the visuals, the narration..., the music... Really captured the scene very well! Great Job!!
Thanks so much Amey!
And they say machines don't have souls. I'd bet on that fateful night Carpathia herself was pushing as hard as she could to rescue those survivors. A mark of a true hero ship, and man do I love tales of hero ships.
It's amazing how clever and competent captain Rostron was. He took a lot of risk but made many clever decisions to make sure his ship will avoid Titanic fate and was able to provide rescue for Titanic survivors.
My homeland is in the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. I'm proud that a ship with my homeland's mountain name saved so many people. There was also on Carpathia 's board a Hungarian doctor , Dr. Lengyel Árpád ,who played a key role in the salvage operation of the Titanic's survivals . I'm proud of this too as I'm also hungarian!
An absolutely brilliant telling of the story, bloody well done as always. I do like how you mentioned reasons ships like the Californian and Mount Temple couldn’t get there in time, it isn’t often you hear it talked about.
Each is worthy of its own video I think, especially Californian as she and her crew have been so badly vilified through the years.
Oh my, that picture of the last little bit of Carpathia, before she sank, is so sad.
Carpathia was very much giving "my friend called for help in the middle of the night so I'm in pajamas and unmatched shoes with my shirt on backwards and I broke 14 traffic laws to get here but I'M HERE BABE" vibes and the captain, crew, and the ship herself all deserve goddamn sainthoods for that hustle.
Mike, the quality of your videos never fails to impress. I had no intention of investing emotionally in anything today, then I absentmindedly opened this video and *genuinely* had chills within 45 seconds. No hyperbole.
Such a kind message Dedan, thanks! Sorry for hijacking your day :)
This video is so well done. Your ability to retell the final moments of the Titanic and the Carpathia's race to save them gave me chills. Well done good sir!
Thanks Aaron! It must have been a tense, tense night.
What I remember from “A Night to Remember” is the radio operator told the Captain that the Titanic was sinking, the Captain radioed the bridge to turn the Carpathia around, then asked the radio operator if he was sure about what he heard. That told me all I needed to know about the character of Captain Rolstron. Fair winds and following seas, sir.
Some people have asked how could Carpathia accommodate the survivors from the Titanic? Did they have enough food and drink for example to ensure everyone ate and drank on the voyage to New York? From Titanic historian Don Lynch his answer was that every ship back then always overstocked on food, drink and fuel. There was always more than enough, just in case a ship was needed to rescue another. Titanic would have had so much extra food and drink on board, if it was the other way round, and Carpathia was sinking. So yes, ships back then usually had plenty provisions for such an emergency.
Per Carpathia's own crew, their ship had been able to work up to as much as 17 knots in their pursuit of Titanic's survivors. Captain Arthur Henry Rostron had told his engineers to "cut the heating and hot water" in an attempt to direct every ounce of steam into the reciprocating steam engines of Carpathia. He ducked and dived icebergs and put his ship and his own passengers in harms way to give it his absolute all to save as many people as possible.
Carpathia's captain was amazing. Organized, efficient. I agree with Alex a movie needs to be made about the Carpathia.
All I can say about Captain Rostron is what a MAN. He was widely known as a captain able to think clearly and rapidly on his feet adjusting to whatever situation. A pious, God-fearing man that I highly admire. His personal account was recorded and for me indicates a very proper, old school gentleman whose prose and clear speaking is a delight to the ears. He was a demanding captain but his crews were fiercely loyal to him.
And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you. "Oh m'lady Carpathia.. youre a hero, girl"
❤
Very well told! I've heard somewhere after that night Carpathia could never match her old top speed, because of how hard the engines were pushed
This is the first time I’ve heard of this account from Carpathia’s perspective. Well done! Thank you.
What an epic story in itself, I'm surprised James Cameron didn't include this bit in his film, even if it was just the Carpathia's radio operator receiving Titanics SOS and his captain's reaction and call to arms.
He just wanted to romanticize Titanic and the fake love story. I think of the movie as a separate thing than this tragedy.
He wouldn't have had time to film his fictitious sex scene in the boiler room.
One out of 5 life jackets that exist worldwide is saved in the museum in Rijeka (Fiume). It was brought by the local sailor who worked on Carpathia.
Also let us not forget the passengers of the Carpathia who, upon realizing what situation they had found themselves apart of, began giving up berths, staterooms, clothing, and blankets to the Titanic survivors. They assisted in helping the Carpathia crew in caring for survivors, both by helping transport the injured about the ship, and by sitting with traumatized survivors as they began to process their grief in the wake of the tragedy. The Carpathia’s crew went above and beyond galloping to the scene of the wreck at the risk of their own ship, and the Carpathia’s passengers matched their vessel’s spirit by readily stepping up to care for those left in the wake of the sinking.
There was a collection among Carpatha’s first class passengers for third class who lost everything
Although it is not credited in the video, the pictures of the lifeboats approaching RMS Carpathia were taken by Mabel Fenwick, a First Class passenger on the rescue ship.
An amazing documentary about the Carpathia. Well done Mike, you created a true masterpiece👏👏👏
I was in the US Navy (in the closing years of the 1900s 😂) and I took drills and watch standing seriously. Your introduction to this video gave me goosebumps. 😮 I love your narration and appreciate how genuine your passion is conveyed in your work. 🥰 Thank you
Carpathia tried her best to come to the rescue of the Titanic! She managed to rescue most of the 700 odd survivors. From the Titanic. She was certainly one of the nearest to the course of the Titanic.. I think that she got up to almost 17 knots. Once she received the distress signal.
This was so well done, that despite knowing the ending, I had hope that the Carpathia would make it there safely, and on time, to save everyone. I felt like I was racing along with the ship. What a terrific job telling the story. Thanks!
Everyone knows about the Titanic but few know of the Carpathia. I didn't know the rescue was such a valiant effort put on by her crew, risking their own safety to get to the Titanic, they are heroes indeed.
I think this would be a good ending to the Carpathia's story, although sadly it didn't happen Carpathia begins to request assistance from nearby vessels. The message goes unheard by most but soon a single ship arrives. The ship is tall and long, with four towering funnels standing above all else around. The shape of the hull is familiar to many people witnessing this event, and from the stern a flag flies defiantly against the German Navy. Its Olympic, and she's here to repay a six year old debt
Her actual final moments were just as heroic and amazing. By the time the ship sunk below the surface, not one living person was trapped on the ship. She sank slow enough for all lifeboats to safley be deployed with 0 issues. The only people who died were the unfortunate people who were killed when the torpedo hit. So beautiful that the ship died the same as it lived, saving people
@@luckymuddypaw that is actually quite amazing. I never really learned much about Carpathia and it's so unfortunate that she's not still afloat today but that is very nice to hear. Seemed to be a very well designed ship
The Olympic didn’t save the Carpathia’s people, the HMS Snowdrop did.
Not many have ever covered the rescue of Carpathia. I have steamed the North Atlantic with the US Navy in the mid-70s. It's a place not many ever get to see at night when it's cold and clear. Whenever we all thought about Titanic and what they had to endure, there were many discussions on the helo-deck. Brings back memories. It's a great video; thanks.
I had no idea that the Titanic went into to a full-on ice field at full speed. I'd always assumed that it was something more along the lines of a lone ice burg. Now that I know how carefully the Carpathia had to navigate the field, it makes me wonder what on earth the Titanic was thinking. Having made the decision to go through it at full speed, is there any plausible scenario in which this plays out any other way than it did?
If the haze was perceived a bit earlier, they would've slowed down. Smith, before turning in, specifically ordered the bridge crew to slow down in the event of a haze popping up, but the nature of the haze that did end up emerging didn't allow for it to be perceived by the bridge crew until it was too late.
I was just given an old clothing chest that came off of the Carpathia yesterday while helping family move and it is in good condition considering its age! It is interesting to see photos from the Carpathia now that I own a piece of her history!
There should be a movie about the Carpathia and it's mad dash to rescue the Titanic survivors. This story had me wound up even though I knew the ending. You, sir, are a master storyteller.
The place where Captain Rostren was born is a few miles away from where I live in Bolton in the UK, there is a plaque over the door.
A Night to Remember was a book first then a movie. Great movie!
Thank you for so vividly sharing the captivating, riveting story of the RMS Carpathia and her daring rescue of the RMS Titanic's passengers that fateful night. What was shared in this outstanding mini-documentary has never been so concisely told. The danger that Captain Arthur Rostron put his vessel in has never been truly appreciated, nor the extent of the danger and near misses he encountered while he and his heroic crew navigated their way to the Titanic's last reported position. Walter Lord highlighted how Captain Rostron was known as "The Electric Spark," illustrated best by the cavalcade of orders he shouted off to his crew in preparation for one of the greatest maritime rescues in recorded history. Your narration, photos and choice of background music made this on par with the finest documentaries. Greetings from Southampton, and we hope to welcome you here again someday.
The Carpathia risked everything just to save Titanic’s survivors, the best hero ever.
There should be a movie about the Carpathia. Don't know why there hasn't been yet
This was so well done. Beautifully produced, heartfelt but not exploitative.
Carpathia needs as much recognition as Titanic.
This is the first story/video I have watched regarding the Carpathia. Very interesting, but I was stunned to see that she was torpedoed. Damn.