Rare Photos Show What Researchers Discovered In The Remains Of The Titanic
Although the Titanic disaster has been the subject of public mourning and fascination for over a century, there’s a reason that James Cameron made his world-famous blockbuster about it when he did. He’s always been fascinated by the ocean and his film was hot on the heels of the expedition had unlocked the doomed ship’s buried treasures.
The discovery of the Titanic prompted over a decade of ambitious recovery missions using state-of-the-art equipment. And since there were still Titanic survivors living during the fever pitch of this research, the scientific fascination chronicled in these rarely seen photos had an unusually strong undercurrent of emotional resonance.
A Dream And The Resources To Power It
Although these may look like random scribbles, the rough sketch marks the beginning of a plan that would reveal the lost and infamous Titanic to the world for the first time in over 70 years.
On the left is Texas oil magnate Jack Grimm, who financed the mission that expedition leader Mike Harris explained to reporters during this press conference. Specifically, he was mapping out the areas his team was planning to search.
The Face Of Discovery
Despite Harris’s enthusiasm, the person credited for discovering the lost ship is visionary oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard. Thanks to his ambitious plan to use unmanned submersibles to get his team’s eyes up close and personal to the wreckage, that landmark discovery was made possible.
Ballard retired from the United States Navy as a commander in 1995 but even as far back as the early ’70s, he had an inkling that the submersibles he was already working with were the key to unlocking the Titanic’s location.
The Home Base For The Scientists
This photo captures the research vessel Knorr as it made its triumphant return back to its home port in Wood Hole, Massachusetts on September 9, 1985.
Although this was the first of many voyages that would unlock what the wreck of the Titanic had to offer, it confirmed once and for all that the lost ship’s final resting place was off the coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland.
All New Equipment To Make This Feasible
As important as it was to finally get a location on the Titanic after over 70 years, however, that was only the beginning. Even back in 1986, the real goal was to explore the wreckage.
To do that, this revolutionary submersible camera (nicknamed “Jason Junior”) was deployed as a means to push through undersea pressure that would crush normal camera equipment with high manoeuvrability. Naturally, this device’s existence was big news for attending reporters.
A Similar Device Came In Handy The Year Prior
Although it’s smaller than the high-tech submersibles that would reveal so many more of the Titanic’s secrets a decade later, a similar remote-controlled submersible played a big role in discovering the ship in the first place.
This submersible was called Argo and once it was deployed, researchers discovered that the Titanic’s resting place near Newfoundland was two-and-a-half miles underwater.
The Earlier Expedition Had Its Own Equipment
Although the team Grimm financed didn’t turn out to be quite as successful as Ballard’s, it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
In the company of Dr. William B. F. Ryan from Columbia University, Grimm examined a magnetometer aboard the 165-foot research vessel Gyre. This device was intended to sense any irregularities on the ocean floor.
Some Modest Early Artifacts
Although researchers would eventually recover a staggering amount of material from the Titanic, the first few expeditions to its wreckage didn’t quite have the resources for that.
For that reason, the artifacts brought up to the surface in the late ’80s were more like these sets of breakfast crockery recovered in 1987.
Time Brought Bulkier, Sturdier Submersibles
While Ballard’s work during the late ’80s was foundational for further efforts to explore the Titanic’s wreckage and extract artifacts from it, it wasn’t until 1996 that this could be done on a larger scale.
As we can see, that’s partially because in the decade between these expeditions, the technology behind the submersibles had improved enough that both manned and unmanned submarines could be used.
One Pioneer Extends His Respect To Another
One of the submersibles involved in the 1996 expedition was the submarine Nautile, which allowed for a more up-close and personal experience of exploring the Titanic than previous submersibles did.
This more advanced submarine was the subject of some curiosity and admiration in scientific circles, which is why Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin can be seen here examining it.
A World Of Difference
Once the context of the explorations during the late ’80s is established, it’s easy to appreciate how much this photo from 1996 seems like the difference between night and day by comparison.
Not only are the photos from the Titanic clearer but they also demonstrate how much further into the wreckage these submersibles were able to explore. That’s evident from this shot of one of the ship’s boilers.
A Bow That Seems So Much More Haunting Today
Although the bow of the Titantic is particularly identifiable and fascinating in the 1996 research team’s photos, it’s likely hard for so many more people not to see it in a different, bittersweet light after seeing the 1997 movie.
After all, James Cameron recreated this bow for the iconic moment where Jack and Rose held each other and the young man declared himself king of the world. Their story didn’t really happen, but this photo is still an emotional reflection of the solemn ghost of the joy passengers like them felt before it all went wrong.
A Sign Of How Large This Ship Once Was
Although it’s unclear where exactly this large metal panel was supposed to fit on the Titanic, it’s likely that it was once a part of one of the ship’s double-hull. What is clear is that this component weighs about 18 tons.
Considering how solid a relatively small piece of the ship was, it’s a little easier to see why this ship seemed unsinkable without the benefit of over 100 years of hindsight.
An Artifact That Needs Some Preservation
Considering how many undersea elements had the time to accumulate while the Titanic laid underwater for what was then 84 years, it’s not exactly a surprise that both the ship and the artifacts inside would be covered in debris.
In this case, so much of it has accumulated that it’s hard to tell what this artifact even is. However, the answer is that we’re looking at a candlestick.
A Humbling Look For The Luxury Liner
Although the Titanic was the largest and most opulent vessel the world had seen when it was launched in 1911, decades of time has reduced its grand design into greying, debris-covered wreckage.
Without the expertise of the researchers, it would likely be hard to tell that this pulley was installed on the bridge.
The Damage Was Clearly Evident
Accounts and depictions of the Titanic over the last century have made it clear that before the doomed ship finally sunk, it broke in half. Indeed, we can see some of the evidence of that breakage in this photo.
Before this structure was ripped apart, it was one of the ship’s cabins, which can be seen from the bathtub that’s remained here since the ship settled onto the ocean floor.
A Fascinating Design
In addition to being loaded with advanced recording equipment and a sturdier, more accommodating design, submarines like the Nautile also featured a more sophisticated bubble design for its pilot.
Its 360 design allows for greater visibility, which has practical purposes while also allowing for an unrestricted, panoramic view of the wonders of the deep sea.
A Closer Look At The Bow
While some shipbuilders like to get particularly creative with their vessel’s figurehead, the Titanic appeared to have a fairly simple design for this part of the bow.
It’s distinct in shape but doesn’t bear any mermaids or other depictions that are commonly present on more flamboyant ships. White Star Line had different standards than that, it seems.
The Figurehead Put Function Over Fashion
With a closer look at the figurehead from a different angle, it’s easier to see how the shipbuilders landed on the design they did.
Although some figureheads are more decorative than not, this one has a clear function. That’s because that wheel at the tip of the bow is actually a pulley.
A Remnant Of The System That Ran The Ship
In the interest of full disclosure, this photo wasn’t taken of the Titanic but rather its sister ship, the HMHS Britannic, which was also explored in 1996.
However, the fact that the other ship was also owned by White Star Line and featured a nearly identical design means that this photo of a severed propeller shows what the Titanic’s propellers looked like under similar conditions.
A Digital System That Wouldn’t Have Been Possible Before
Although it’s fair to say that the technology of the ’90s wasn’t anywhere near as advanced as it is today, it’s nonetheless close enough to see the progenitor of modern navigation systems in this photo.
Thanks to its game-like joystick design and multiple, crisp live feeds, it was easier for researchers like this man to safely and effectively explore the Titanic than it would have been even a decade prior.
This Was Unthinkable To See When It Happened
Here we see another 18-ton component of the Titanic’s hull but this one is in significantly rougher shape than the other one.
It’s unclear whether this is because it was at the middle section of the ship — and thus, crumbled and tore when the Titanic split in half — or whether this is simply the result of prolonged exposure to the elements. In either case, few who boarded the ship would have imagined it.
The Biggest Extraction Yet
Although it’s true that the research teams of the ’90s were just as apt as Ballard’s team to return with some small artifacts, it’s also true that they had heavier-duty equipment to work with than their predecessors.
For instance, there were enough resources behind this expedition to allow for a crane to extract larger parts of the Titanic from the wreckage and preserve them elsewhere.
Preserving And Displaying Entire Sections Of The Hull
Although that crane extraction occurred in 2001, similar heavy-duty operations were going on as far back as 1998. In both cases, the mission to carefully take parts of the Titanic’s hull out of the water.
Indeed, this photo captures the results of one of the successful operations. Specifically, a worker is examining a 20ton section to prepare it for a conservation treatment designed to remove the salts from its metal.
Logging And Carefully Handling Artifacts
Here we can see a woman — likely either a researcher or a museum employee — filling out the relevant paperwork for one of the smaller artifacts extracted from the Titanic in 1996.
In this case, it’s a silver tureen, which was typically used to serve soups and stews. Those who have seen the menus available on the Titanic found that even the third-class passengers ate fairly decently on the liner.
An Analysis Of Their Samples
Unfortunately, it’s not entirely clear what exactly this researcher has in his test tube or what he’s hoping his chemical manipulation of this sample will tell him.
However, it’s standard procedure for discoveries like that of the Titanic to be followed by laboratory testing of small samples of its components. That’s often used to help identify mysterious ships, but the goal here is understand the Titanic from an elemental perspective.
A Thorough Examination
Although the 1996 research team made some great strides in understanding, exploring, and extracting materials from the Titanic’s wreckage, it would be misleading to suggest they were the last researchers to visit the wreck.
Indeed, further efforts to film the doomed ship and conduct microbiological research on its parts and items characterized most of the visits that transpired throughout the 2000s.
Art Imitated Life In A Special Way
Although Rose DeWitt Bukater was not a real person and her source of inspiration wasn’t as directly involved in the Titanic’s research efforts as she was decades later, it is nonetheless easy to see what influenced James Cameron as he depicted the 1996 research team.
The woman smiling next to the researcher here is Millvina Dean, who would eventually become the last living survivor of the disaster until she passed away on May 31, 2009. She was less than a year old when the tragedy occurred and thus, had no memory of it.
Dean Wasn’t The Only Survivor By 1996
Considering Dean had no memory of the Titanic’s horrors, it was easier for her to be excited and fascinated as she met with the 1996 research team.
However, this emotional photo makes it clear that survivors who were older than her at the time have much more complicated feelings about the ship’s unearthed ruins. As a younger relative embraces her, this woman was clearly brought to tears by the reminders of what she experienced.
The Next Generation Pays Their Respects
This photo was taken at a public event in southern Newfoundland where excitement over the 1996 research team’s great discoveries blended with sombre reverence shown to those who did not survive the disaster.
Here, we can see a young boy tossing flowers into the sea as a respectful, emotional tribute while his father gives him a boost.
The Fascination Continues
Those who grew up in the ’90s can likely remember the fascination they and their classmates were encouraged to explore about the history of the Titanic as the successes of the 1996 research team hit the news and the hype for the movie turned white-hot.
Indeed, here we see one young fan dressed as a classic sailor as one of the research team members gives him his autograph at an event celebrating their return at the Boston Harbor.
