More than a century ago, on April 10, 1912, the Titanic set off on her maiden voyage from Southampton, taking 2,224 people on a journey to New York. But on April 14, disaster struck, and what was then the world’s largest ocean liner hit an iceberg. By 2am the following morning, she plunged into the ocean and began to sink, drowning 1,500 people with her. It was not until 1985 that the wreckage was discovered some 400 nautical miles off the coast of Canada.
Oceanographer Dr Robert Ballard was part of the then-secret military mission that found the famous vessel.
The Navy granted the former commander in the US Navy, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute scientist the funding to search for the Titanic on the basis he explored two American nuclear submarines, USS Thresher and the USS Scorpion, that sank in the Sixties.
The search for the Titanic served as the perfect cover story, meaning the press was “totally oblivious” to the fact that they were trying to understand which nuclear weapons were on the Scorpion and what they were doing to the environment, he explained the CNN.
Initially, they discovered a series of anomalies on the ocean floor before finding debris, a boiler, and then the Titanic’s hull.
What Dr Ballard and his team discovered was vital in piecing together a picture of what had happened to the Titanic on that fateful night.
The discovery showed how the vessel had split in half following the collision, with the front and back of the ship found nearly 2,000 feet apart.
Initially, the team was glad to have succeeded in finding the famous ship, according to the History Channel. When its boiler was recovered, the team burst into a rupture of applause.
But their joy did not last as the remnants they discovered painted the picture of a tragedy and countless lives lost.
READ MORE: Titanic survivor struggled to watch James Cameron’s 1997 film
Dr Ballard told 60 Minutes: “We were embarrassed we were celebrating… All of a sudden we realized that we should not be dancing on someone’s grave.”
Once the thrill wore off, Dr Ballard said the discovery was eerie, as he was able to envision the struggling, freezing passengers as the ship sank in less than three hours.
He later wrote: “It was one thing to have won — to have found the ship. It was another thing to be there. That was the spooky part. I could see the Titanic as she slipped nose-first into the glassy water.
“Around me were the ghostly shapes of the lifeboats and the piercing shouts and screams of people freezing to death in the water.”
When the Titanic set off, it was said to be “unsinkable”. But while travelling at high speeds through the North Atlantic it met its match in the form of a 400ft iceberg.
Dr Ballard believes that it is now important that the wreckage is left alone, as he explained: “The Titanic lies now in 13,000 feet of water on a gently sloping alpine-like countryside overlooking a small canyon below.
“There is no light at this great depth and little life can be found. It is a quiet and peaceful place — and a fitting place for the remains of this greatest of sea tragedies to rest. Forever may it remain that way.”
The fascination with the Titanic continues to this day. In February, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution released 80 minutes of never before seen footage of the ship’s discovery, and its namesake hit film recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
