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Monday 11 August 2014

Wreck of the Titan or FUTILITY, A book written about Titanic before it sank

There was actually a book written about the sinking of the Titanic, 14 years before it actually sank.

Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan is an 1898 novella written by Morgan Robertson. He was an author with a passion for the sea. In a 1905 review of his work, THE NEW YORK TIMES referred to Mr. Robertson admiringly as the “Kipling of the Sea” .The story features the ocean liner Titan, which sinks in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg. The Titan and its sinking have been noted to be very similar to the real-life passenger ship RMS Titanic, which sank fourteen years later. Following the wreck the novel was reissued with some changes, particularly in the ship's gross tonnage.
In 1912, the publisher hastily repackaged the book and retitled it “FUTILITY, OR THE WRECK OF THE TITAN.” In the wake of the real-life tragedy, the book was a sudden hit, and the biggest success of Mr. Robertson’s career. Mr. Robertson died just a few years later on March 24, 1915.

Although the novel was written before the Olympic-class Titanic was even designed, there are some similarities between both the fictional and real-life versions. Like theTitanic, the fictional ship sank in April in the North Atlantic, and there were not enough lifeboats for the passengers. There are also similarities between the size (800 ft (244 m) long for Titan versus 882 ft 9 in (269 m) long for the Titanic ), speed (25 knots for Titan, 22.5 knots for Titanic and life-saving equipment.

Beyond the name, the similarities between the Titanic and the fictional Titan include:

Both were triple screw (propeller)

Both were described as "unsinkable"
The Titan was the largest craft afloat and the greatest of the works of men (800 feet, displacing 75,000 tons, up from 45,000 in the 1898 edition), and was deemed "practically unsinkable" (as quoted in Robertson's book).

Shortage of lifeboats
The Titanic carried only 16 lifeboats, plus 4 Engelhardt folding lifeboats,less than half the number required for her passenger and crew capacity of 3000.
The Titan carried "as few as the law allowed", 24 lifeboats, less than half needed for her 3000 capacity.

Struck an iceberg
Moving at 22½ knots,the Titanic struck an iceberg on the starboard side on the night of April 14, 1912, in the North Atlantic, 400 nautical miles (740 km; 460 mi) away from Newfoundland.
Moving at 25 knots, The Titan also struck an iceberg on the starboard side on an April night in the North Atlantic, 400 nautical miles (740 km; 460 mi) from Newfoundland (Terranova).

Sinking
The Titanic sank, and more than half of her 2200 passengers and crew died.
The Titan also sank, and more than half of her 2500 passengers drowned.

Source : Wikipedia

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