On April 1912, the British transatlantic ocean liner Titanic set out on its maiden voyage from Southhampton, England, to New York City. 

Four days later the Titanic hit an iceberg on its starboard side, rupturing five of its' "watertight" compartments, and this caused the great ship to sink.

The vessel sank with a loss of about 1500 at a point about 400 miles (640km) south of Newfoundland. The great ship, at that time the largest and most luxurious afloat, was designed and built by William Pirrie's Belfast firm Harland and Wolff to service the highly competitive Atlantic Ferry route.

It had a double bottomed hull that was divided into 16 presumably watertight compartments. Because four of these could be flooded without endangering the liner's buoyancy, it was considered unsinkable.

Shortly before midnight on April 14, the ship collided with an iceberg; five of its watertight compartments were ruptured, causing the ship to sink at 2.20am April 15.

On the Titanic, first-class passengers were surrounded by the most lavish possible appointments, including the magnificent after grand staircase.