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Titanic was travelling at just over 20 knots (about 23 miles per hour) when she struck the iceberg. In less than 10 seconds her hull was ripped opened below the waterline on the starboard (right hand) side for a length of 300 feet (91 metres). Within 10 minutes the ship's five forward compartments were flooded to a height of 14 feet (4.25 metres) above the keel.

Titanic's collision with the iceberg was a freak accident in which six compartments were immediately open to the sea. The massive inrush of water, with which the pumps and system of hull subdivision could not cope, doomed the ship.

The sea conditions were calm, no moon and very little reflected light. There had been messages to the vessel about Icebergs in the area. However, when the sea is flat and calm water hitting the iceberg would not have been disrupted enough to cause forming or waves. The lookout sighted the berg too late to allow the momentum of the vessel to be changed to any great degree, meaning she hit the berg.

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8y ago

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