The Titanic departed from Southampton, England on her first and only voyage Wednesday, April 10, 1912. She was the largest ship ever built at the time, reaching almost three football fields in length and twelve stories high. After making stops at Cherbourg, France and then Queenstown, Ireland she headed for New York City.
Despite reports from other ships warning of ice ahead, the Titanic continued to increase her speed. Late Sunday night, an iceberg was sighted by the lookouts in the crow's nest. But it was too late. The Titanic could not turn out of its way in time and the iceberg scraped along the starboard side of the ship, creating a series of punctures and buckled plates 300 feet long. Two hours and forty minutes later the brand new Titanic - the largest in the world - sank to the bottom of the ocean.
There were not enough lifeboats on the Titanic for all the passengers. The prevailing wisdom at the time was that a ship the size of the Titanic, which was "practically unsinkable," would never have a need for that many lifeboats.
2,223 people were on board this ill-fated voyage. Only 706 survived.
