The Bridge was the area from which the RMS Titanic was commanded, housing some of the ship's steering gear, engine-order telegraphs and other essential mechanics to maintain the ships speed and heading. The bridge was located on the forward-most part of the Boat Deck. The wheelhouse, Officer's Quarters, Captain's suites, Navigation Room and Chart Room were located directly aft of the bridge.
The bridge had a lot of casts and cupboards with drawers to store items. Among those, was a pair of binoculars, which were for officer use only. Behind the large steering wheel was a set of 4 telephones, which connected to vital parts of the ship, such as the Engine Rooms and the crow's nest.
Sinking[]
When the iceberg was sighted by the lookouts, they rang the warning bell three times, signaling to the bridge that there was danger ahead. Immediately following the ringing of the bell, lookout Frederick Fleet picked up the Crow's Nest telephone and called the bridge. In the wheelhouse, Sixth Officer Moody picked up the phone asking "What did you see?" Fleet responded "Iceberg, right ahead!" Moody replied "Thank you" and hung up, passing the information on to First Officer Murdoch, who commanded 'hard-a-starboard', planning to eventually port around the berg, but it was too close. Murdoch went to the wheelhouse to close the watertight doors. Boxhall arrived on the bridge from the Boat Deck, while Captain Smith came from his quarters. "What did we strike", he asked. Murdoch replied. "An iceberg, sir."
Bruce Ismay also arrived on the bridge and asked Smith what happened. "We have struck ice", the old man explained. "Do you think the ship is seriously damaged?" "I'm afraid she is."
Once the order was given to abandon ship, the bridge remained almost completely empty. Until approximately 2:05 A.M, when Steward Edward Brown saw Captain Smith walk onto the bridge, alone at this time. Thomas Andrews went to look for him there and they had a little conversation. Cecil Fitzpatrick, an engineers' steward who believed in the safety of the ship, saw Smith and Andrews talking on the port side of the bridge entrance, but didn't eavesdrop on them and so we don't know exactly what they said, as they both died in the sinking, but he heard the tail end of the conversation "we can't stay any longer, she is going". Cecil was so shocked at the news that he fainted, and didn't wake up until the water was around him. Andrews went to take a look at the lowering of Collapsible A, before he went to the port side with Captain Smith. Water was pouring over the wooden gunwale of the bridgewing now. As the water gushed over it, Smith and Andrews climbed atop it and jumped overboard. Some survivors said they saw Smith enter the wheelhouse on the bridge to wait there to drown when it was engulfed by the rapidly oncoming water. It's most suitable as the man was painted as a hero by the press afterwards and a captain leaving his ship, by jumping off, is of course a criminal offence of neglectance, as the captain should always go last after making sure everyone was evacuated safely.
Wreck[]
Titanic's bridge was wrecked entirely, with no walls left.
The bridge was destroyed when the forward mast smashed over on it, not longer after the front part was out of sight and made a sailing motion downwards. The prominent feature that remains is the bronze telemotor for the ship's wheel and the base mountings for the walls of the wheelhouse. The bridge wing cabs on both sides broke up and collapsed. This area was entirely made of wood to reduce influences on the compass and was heavily damaged in the sinking.
The telegraphs and other equipment have been identified below the bridge in the wreck or in the debris field. The bronze telemotor is the only surviving piece of equipment from the wheelhouse. There might have been artifacts brought up to the surface that stemmed from the bridge itself. Of course it's impossible to tell how far Titanic had decayed between her landing on the seabed and the day that a submarine had a first look at this section. Wether the walls were entirely splintered while making her way to her resting place, we could never tell.
Popular culture[]
The bridge is seen in about every movie, (drama)series and various documentaries about the Titanic disaster, as it plays a pivotal part in the one occurance that led to the sinking, the iceberg collision. Also, Captain Smith is of course, as the master on the bridge, a very important character as well, with the bridge often depicted as the last place for him to be alive, as he awaited her end when the last two boats were readied.
Gallery[]
.png "The bridge in You Are There -The Sinking Of The Titanic- (1955).png (650 KB)")
.png "The bridge in Kraft Televisión Theatre -A Night To Remember- (1956).png (665 KB)")
.png "The bridge in One Step Beyond -Night of April 14th- (1959).png (525 KB)")
.png "The bridge in S.O.S. Titanic (1979).png (1.61 MB)")
.png "The bridge in Voyagers -Voyagers of the Titanic- (1983).png (1.07 MB)")
.png "The bridge in Danielle Steel's No Greater Love (1995).png (637 KB)")
.png "The bridge in The Legenf of the Titanic (1999).png (880 KB)")
.png "The bridge in Titanic The Legend Goes On (2000).png (1.11 MB)")
