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Okay so am I silly to ask, but lets say they had a guy at the docking bridge, being that, that wheel is directly on-top of the steering gear, would that not have helped turn Titanic a lot quicker?
4:18 A really good video and amazing research. Only one comment. You show the limits for swing of the rudder, lock to lock, to be 40 degrees. I was always under the impression this was 80 degrees, lock to lock, so that the helm and rudder in a hard a starboard order, would be 40 degrees off the longitudinal axis.
I think most people tend to look down on things like this because they view it as old fashioned, or low technology since it's 100 years away from where we are now but this video just shows how fascinating, complex, and ingenious these things really were.
The same kind of system are still used on tugs and fishboats to this day. The control system is about the same but hydraulic pumps are used instead if steering engines that is.
People don't realise how technologically advanced the Titanic was for 100 years ago!! It was a floating feat of engineering. Fantastic video as always Mike
I am from India and in 2014 I had watched the titanic film and since then this mighty ship has always fascinated me. Over years I have been searching and exploring the engineering of the titanic but never found such detailed stuff which you have given in your videos. Really amazing work !!!! I believe that there are quite less people around the world who are fascinated by the engineering of titanic or even any any other water machinery but on the other hand I also believe that there are great people like you who make such a detailed content for their audience😃
I thoroughly enjoy doing my research and absorbing such knowledge. It is viewers like you that fill my soul with gratitude. Knowledge is useless unless it’s shared… it is even more useless when shared with the ungrateful.
I'm not really even into maritime or naval history but I stumbled across your Carpathia video and just been binge watching your content since. I love how you explain everything in terms that are understandable, logical, and not at all sensationalized. Your content is also structured so that I can listen to an episode as a podcast or watch the video itself and either way I won't lose out on much context.
Oh such a pleasure to view such an enthusiastic presenter. The details on board are unbelievable, the design,engineering and the excellent construction of such a beautiful ship.
Incidentally that lathe used to machine it is still in use, it was moved away from the shipyard, and even has appeared in a few videos of it being used to repair massive machinery. It is massive, yes still capable of incredible accuracy, and has been modernised with digital readouts, totally dwarfed by the massive machine they are used to measure.
Thank you for covering the technical details! These are ignored by all the “documentaries” which just focus on sensationalism, rumors, pathos, drama, and so on.
@@FWtravels there were a combination of factors that combined doomed the Titanic. There were basic design flaws, material flaws and a flaw in judgement piloting the ship that culminated in the disaster. The radio men pissing off the closest ship to the Titanic didn't help any either. Improper loading of the lifeboats was also a major mistake.
@@FWtravels Buy the Paperback book, The Secret Terrorists, by Bill Hughes. LOOK AT, WHEN and WHERE IT SANK. They lost no money and become the most powerful people in the world.
I love how you shine a very plausible light on the fact that everyone involved in the design of these record-breaking ships was aware of the necessity for safety and redundancies, and implemented the best solutions that were known, including those that had just emerged - in order to present the most impressive and resilient product. I've been fascinated with the Titanic and her story since I was a young boy in the nineties - I had all the books full of schematics, statistics, photos, illustrations, documentation of the relatively recently discovered wreck. And a couple of years ago I stumbled into the rabbit hole again, absorbing many more resources on the topic as I - for the first time really - asked the internet all about it. But never in all of that did someone point out this very plausible diligent character of the designers and builders. All of it is starting to make a lot more sense now! Thanks you so much for your videos - they are most interesting, insightful and pleasant like you!
Dude, Every time I click one of your videos I start out thinking.. this is interesting but I'll bail if it isn't but I never do. You have a way of explaining things that keeps the viewer engaged and despite all I know about this class of ship, I always learn something new. Thanks and keep up the good work.
I’ve been studying Titanic for years and never knew the steering system was this extensive. Another great production, Mike! Hope you see you on Tom’s livestream in April!
"Study" implies a dedicated devotion to examining in detail the predominant mechanical capabilities at the very least, how could you "study" a Ship "for years" and "not know how "extensive" the steering system is, you possibly over-estimate your capacity for "study".
Not to burst your bubble, but the great ship was intentionally sunk. There were men aboard who were against the Fed (banksters) taking over our money system. Watch ‘The Creature From Jekyll Island’. This will wake you up!
While this hasn't ALWAYS been a great wonder of mine, it is still interesting to find out little (while still being a large part of Titanic's design albeit) mechanical details about Titanic that I've never researched. I have been researching Titanic and maritime history in general for the last 33 years and I can't say that I've ever looked into her steering gear, so I can genuinely appreciate this video and all of your efforts that went into making it. I have honestly learned alot about Titanic's mechanical running gear in the last 10 years thanks largely to TH-cam.
So you've been researching Titanic for about 2 seconds a day for the last 33 years? lol Because I don't see how you could've missed the bloody steering if you were doing any actual research.
Simply stellar content, Mike! The steering system is a magnificent work of engineering and fascinating. Your knowledge of these ships is beyond impressive and your presentation very engaging…and entertaining. 🙂
This question has been driving me nuts every time it’s crossed my mind for years. This video was finally like scratching an unreachable itch. Thank you.
Truly another amazing video Mike. I am a marine navigator and my job is steering large vessels. In the 100 plus years since the Titanic sank not much has changed in the way ships are steered. When the order to turn of the ship either to port or starboard is given the helmsman replies with the order back and turns the ship. The signal is sent from the wheel to the steering flat and the steering gear turns the rudder. Its interesting to watch the steering gear turn the ship.
lexus just recently re-invented the steering wheel in their drive-by-wire 2023 lexus rz450e- too bad they forgot to include a phaser holster in the control yoke.
Once again, truly impressive. You took a question I wasn't asking, a concept I believe I thoroughly comprehended, and made me realized my understanding was just the tip of the iceberg (pun intended). Very thorough, very insightful.
1:10 just to clarify, the order was not Hard to starboard, but "Hard a-starboard", which ties in with your explanation later, which was basically "right hand DOWN!". A good demonstration of what entails if telemetry function is disabled, or shot away, is shown in the film "The Battle of the River Plate", where the bridge of HMS Exeter is shot up, hydraulic lines are severed, and the only way to steer the ship was via a series of relayed voice commands from the bridge to the rear emergency steering flat.- Agonisingly slow, when you're trying to dodge incoming fall of shot!
Here in the US "The Battle Of The River Plate" was called "Pursuit Of The Graf Spee." Great movie, and one that couldn't be made today, at least not like it was then, with REAL warships. It would be CGI now, which just isn't the same.
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 Too right. CGI itself isn't so bad, but the way it gets used is terrible. "Midway" was ruined by it, like a bloody cartoon. God knows what a remake of Battle of Britain would be like.
@@Phaaschh My big problem with CGI, especially as far as aviation films are concerned, is it looks like a berserk video game! Someone should tell these people that sometimes "Less is more." You're right, I shudder to think of what "BoB" remake would look like. "BoB" wasn't just a great aviation film, it was a time machine!
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 That's spot-on, Wayne. I remember the first time I saw big-scale CGI used was in "Titanic", and it blew me away with its possibilities. Since then, it has been shockingly misused, often like some mad hallucinogenic. Yes, less IS more, but our movie makers are now in the fairground industry, it seems. Coupled to that is the often very heavy-handed contemporary race/ gender sociopolitical aspects, shoe horned into inappropriate period situations, if you know what I mean. Can't mention "Huns" or "Wops" or anything "Slit-eyed" anymore, so authenticity suffers further. Its true we rewrite history as we move on, but perhaps its just as well we still have those period productions from the 40s 50s and 60s to show us what things were really like. Not saying it was better, but rather akin to burning books.
@@Phaaschh I agree with you 100%. And in addition to which have you noticed they don't make movies for mature men anymore? And the race/gender stuff? If it's fantasy I can deal with it, but if they're doing history then damn it they better be right! The last film I saw was "1917." I haven't been since.
I've studied Titanic for 40 years, and still found this video very informative - thanks! One note on the commands Murdoch gave that night - my understanding is that he followed current maritime regs precisely for an object dead ahead: swing the bow and order "full astern", reversing the engines to attempt to slow the ship. But with a ship of Titanic's size, the order "full astern" merely served to remove wash against the rudder, reducing it's effectiveness (Cameron's film demonstrated the agonizingly slow and ineffective impact this latter command had). If he had ordered "hard a-starboard, full AHEAD", followed by his command to port the ship's stern around the berg, we likely wouldn't be having this conversation. In this way maritime tradition hadn't yet accounted for ships of this size. At least that's this layman's understanding.
Well done, Mike. Your narration, graphics and photos made a somewhat complex subject easy to understand and follow. I enjoy your videos and look forward to the next topics.
After watching so many redundant documentaries about the Titanic, it's refreshing to see some intelligent documentation about the workings of the ship. Keep up the good work, this is becoming one of my favorite channels.
I've been learning about the Titanic for y e a r s but it was always hard to learn about the ships steering, until now. Thanks for another great video!
This is AWESOME! More in depth tech analysis of the sub systems, please!! I can't even begin to imagine the time and effort it takes to research this type of thing, given the passage of time. You're awesome man!
Very specific, but could you make video about how orders were given from the bridge to the machine room? The engine telegraph has always interested me!
The engine order telegraph is operated with synchro motors, what ever position it is indicating at the bridge is transmitted to the engine room or other location that has control at the time. That is my experience while serving in the US Navy aboard an Aircraft Carrier.
I am a navy veteran and love everything to do with ships. Although the ships I sailed on were state of the art, I enjoy your topics of old ships and their machinery. Keep up the good work and a Bravo Zulu to you Sir!
Here in Toledo, we have a lake freighter museum ship built in the same era. Has the same rudder set up, and the gear room looks very similar, just not to the scale of Titanic.
@@Klappadler7844 it really is. Have taken the tour several times. We were even there the day they renamed her back to the Schoonmaker from the Bowyer. At the time, we were just visiting, and just happened to luck out and go there that day. Now we live about 5 minutes away from the ship.
Excellent Review ! Thank- you. This clears up several questions I had, regarding steering the Titanic. Amazing, technology for the time. The best review I have seen regarding this subject.
Simply incredible how engineers and designers can dream all this up. I would love the see engineering videos showing how all these components were thought up and tested and then designed to go in certain places within a ship. It's all mind boggling how technology is dreamed up and how it evolves.
As an historian I've become very conscious that too many histories are poorly written by journalists, this is the product of in-depth legitimate research; very well done :) in common with most, I had no idea there was so much heavy machinery that basically had to be invented for these newly invented very large ships. Thank you for making the effort, fantastic/brilliant video...... :) (obviously ticked and I subscribed long ago) :)
Thank you for the explanation of steering to starboard, when the effect was to steer to port. I never knew that and simply assumed that the references to this were muddled. Not muddled, but the opposite of what a non-seafarer would think, not knowing the tradition. Everyday is a day for learning. Thank you and best wishes from George [born 1961 and in ignorance of this all my life so far!].
I had always assumed that the command to steer starboard was a genuine command to steer the ship to the right, with the intention of ramming the iceberg head on in the hope that the damage would be concentrated to the bow and result in less flooding, but that the helmsman disobeyed the command thinking he would be able to steer away from it, resulting in the longer scratches along the side.
I when i still was a younger child (im now 19 becoming 20 in a month) i watched the 97 titanic alot bcs it fascinated me. I now know why it fascinated me. I have recently discovered that my love for classic cars, military vehicles, ships and old steam locomotive's have in common. That i have a love for old engineering of vehicles, machinery and its history. And i discovered it months ago thanks to your channel. Thank you.
The single rudder is mounted in front of the central propeller which was the steam turbine driven shaft that had no reverse gear (or turbine). On the night that titanic struck the ice burg this meant that it was stopped when the order to reverse was given. A stationary (or reversing prop) stops flow over the rudder limiting its effectiveness and would have reduced titanics ability to turn. Im sure you cover this is another video but i thought its worth mentioning since it affected the performance of the steering system.
@@johnbishop5316 That wouldn't have been possible with the Titanic. The center propeller was powered by a low pressure turbine that used the exhaust steam from the two triple-expansion engines. It could only be used above 1/2 ahead and had to be shut down when reversing the two main engines. The steam instead being diverted directly to the condensers.
You've probably answered this a number of times, but I can't help but ask if you're the son of the Australian musician Mike Brady? The interest in oceanliners, the facial resemblance, and heck the name itself makes it far too much of a coincidence for me at this point haha. Always enjoy watching your videos and this one is no exception!
I'd like to know if he's in any way related to the famous architect Mike Brady, was busy raining three boys of his own. They were four men living all together, but they were all alone. 😉
Perfect video! Thank you very much, its mind-blowing to understand the amount of engineering put it Titanic. If you read comments, please, make a video (or TH-cam shorts) about how machine telegraphs on Titanic worked, and why there were 6 of them, if she had only 3 engines
Nice to see an Aussie churning out such well produced content in the maritime history genre, excellent stuff mate. Looking forward to watching more of your takes on famous vessels and events, instant sub. Cheers from Sydney
Mistakes were made and fate was sealed. The Titanic sinking was a litany of errors really. From basic design decisions to material quality issues. She was going down no matter what.
@@MikkoRantalainen It has been said that during the days of coal-fired boilers, it wasn't uncommon to leave port with a coal fire going in the coal bunker(s). However.... To leave any port of call, knowing that there's a raging fire going onboard just seems to be the biggest calamity that is asking for trouble in spades. Yet, this is what was done at that time by most.
Here's why the Titanic's story will never die: (1) she was the largest movable man-made object of her day, (2) she excelled in luxury appointments, (3) it was her maiden voyage (of all voyages), (4) there were many celebrities of the day on board, (5) there was already a lot of talk about all her features before she was ever launched (including her "unsinkability"), and (6) the Titanic was the first ship in living memory to be sunk by an iceberg.
Interesting explanation about how the steering mechanism worked on Titanic. One of the criticisms of the disaster was how small the rudder was in proportion to Titanic's size and could've avoided the iceberg if the design of the rudder was bigger.
Well, sure. They could have made a huge rudder to make her turn on a dime. Also a triple hull and 300 watertight compartments... In the end its a commercial ship and and you have to compromise in the design.
As a kid growing up I always thought they shoulda put rudders towards the bow in sync with the rear rudder. Then when you turn, the whole ship would move left or right while remaining its straight line heading. Yet also hook up the front rudders rudders to their own steering wheel so the front could be turned instead of having to depend on the read rudder to point the bow in the correct direction. Voila, they invented bow thrusters. I had that idea in the early 70's as a 6 year old, except they were little drop down rudders :)
I enjoy the comparisons of Titanic designs and components with those of the Lusitania. I noted that you said the Lusitania's (and Mauritania's) rudders where more like that of a military vessel. Of course, that could be because the design criteria were set by the Admiralty. In return for assisting in the funding of the ships, the Admiralty had rights to confiscate them for use in times of war.
They had deck wells for guns to justify the subsidy. When The Navy took over Mauretan ia and ran her up and down the (English) channel, it emptied the bunkers at Portsmouth! They couldn't afford the coal!
@@johnbishop5316 ww1 started during the Royal Navies transition from coal to oil, so it wouldn't surprise me if a ship this size that was capable of such speed while being reliant on the old fuel type would be a pain in the behind
I really enjoyed that you went into such great detail on the steering system in it's entirety. For me, as a retired diesel/heavy equipment mechanic whom is fascinated from a young age by how things work, I feel I now have a great understanding of Titanic's steering gear. Great video with a clear, and entertaining explanation. I subbed!
Thanks for creating these. I have to watch and/or listen to them several times as my attention jumps between the excellent visuals and compelling audio content.
Worth noting that the faster the hull speed, the more effective the rudder is in maneuvering the ship. I read somewhere that was the reason for the high rate of speed through the ice field that night.
Mike, great video. What can you tell us about those beautiful chevron-like gears on the rudder engines? I thought they were invented by Citroen in France. This would appear to predate him. Imagine the sophistication involved to make those gears!
I really enjoyed that! :D If you're taking requests, I'd love to see a video explaining the engine telegraphs too. My main question is: Why were there were so many of them? I would have assumed (somewhat simplistically) that three engines = three telegraphs, but there seemed to be far more than that on Titanic's bridge.
Two main engine telegraphs (port side and starboard side of bridge)…ran both engines. Emergency engine telegraph was next to the wheel on bridge…the other 2 communicated to the docking bridge at the rear of the ship…contained docking commands. They worked by a cable system that went from bridge to engine room…
@@timothyreed8417 Wow , that's a lot of redundancy! Was there an element of making the bridge look more impressive than it needed to be do we think? I can't imagine they really needed that many telegraphs doing basically the same thing,
@@lukecrowley571 ease of operation. The officers stood their watch on the wings of the bridge. (Contrary to what you see in the movies) a control near each wing would be efficient for operation. The emergency backup is just that. The other two telegraphs communicate with the docking bridge and send signals back and forth, when the ship is being backed into its berth, engine commands, which are relayed to engine room, from the bridge, and rope handling commands which are relayed to the docking crew…
@@Adamu98 we put men on the Moon with blood, sweat and treasure. The scale of the Apollo program is mind boggling. The whole country was on a mission to make it happen.
@@frankmiller95 you can still do things without computers. But computers are powerful tools. So doing things without computers is leaving a lot on the table today.
@@1pcfred No argument with that, but CADCAM in ship design and construction has yet to evolve to the point where it can create designs that embody those ephemeral and subjective concepts of beauty and grace. lt's hard to imagine them creating anything like the Spitfire, or even the F14, much less the Cutty Sark or any of the other clipper ships. Look no further than modern racing sailboats as a perfect example. They go like hell, but also look like hell, as in ugly. As a retired professional mariner, it's impossible to argue that for boats and ships, all other things being equal, the shortest time spent at sea, exposed to the inherent perils, the better, but something of great value is sacrificed as a result.
Hold on, when Murdoch ordered the helm to be turned to starboard, Hitchens turned it to port according to you, and that turned the ship to port? Isnt it the other way around? Murdoch would order the ship to be turned to starboard, hitchens would turn it to starboard, and the ship would turn to port. This is the story I've heard from other sources and this video contradicts it, it's quite confusing for me.
@@Adamu98 I know, but what ive heard before is that it's the wheel that's reversed, not the officer's commands, and the officer would shout out the orders for the wheel.
Yes. The movie actually got this correct. To turn the ship left, the wheel was turned right in the same way a tiller would be turned right. THis changed when cars became popular and it became more intuitive to turn the wheel left to go left.
Great video Mike, I used to work aboard Waverley the last seagoing paddle steamer which still sails today offering day cruises around the Uk. Waverley uses a Browns patent telemotor and a quadrant steam steering engine to this day.
I have no clue how they did such a massive ship without the assistance of computers to run stress calculations. People from this time really were something else.
A mate has been on a ship that had the rudder stuck during a storm.. The captain was so good that managed to steer the ship to the nearest port by only using the engines. He turned with halts and aheads.
The thing that gets me the most is all the engineering, hard work & millions of man hours that went into Titanic for it to end up at the bottom of the ocean. Such a tremendous loss.
The thing is, that all of this functioned without any errors or big breakdowns is fascinating, having a 101 tonne Rudder being held up my small pivit points and 2 massive engines steering it is just fascinating, in that time it could be even considered revolutionary.
great video - wonderful explaination of the technology of the time. Titanic-documantary is normally always focussed around the sinking, with so many detailes evolved but here it is fascinating to understand at least a little bit of engineering in those days.
Wow, great video. It reminds me of an incident that happened to me when I was 11 years old. My father owned scows and he was friends with a tug boat company. One day one of his scows was out in the bay and my father invited me to go on the tug to pick it up. The tug boat owner was prowd of a new steering system where he could steer the tug from the main helm area for normal steering or from the front of the tug for close in precise work. A lever was pushed for the person to steer from one position to the other. After I had proven I could steer the tug for a while he decided to show us how he could go the bow and take over. He did that and pointed the tug directly at my father's scow, then moved back up to the main helm area upstairs. Just as he entered the cabin door, he realized that he had forgotten to flip the handle at the bow of the tug. By the time he got back down to the bow to flip the switch, back the tug had rammed the scow. The tug listed 45 degrees, but the heavy engine righted it without much trouble, but by the time we picked ourselves off the deck we found the scow, filled with gravel was now upside down.
I wanted to know this for YEARS! I couldn't imagine a cable as that would have too much elastic slack over time; and a stupidly long rod down the centre of the ship seemed stupid. Thank you so much for this information!
![ฮักเทื่อสุดท้าย - บอย ศิริชัย [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-1PoPoQ-B-k/mqdefault.jpg)
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This Ship Should Have Sunk (But Didn't!) SS Malolo: th-cam.com/video/MDHCH2QCFt8/w-d-xo.html
Excellent thanks
Okay so am I silly to ask, but lets say they had a guy at the docking bridge, being that, that wheel is directly on-top of the steering gear, would that not have helped turn Titanic a lot quicker?
4:18 A really good video and amazing research. Only one comment. You show the limits for swing of the rudder, lock to lock, to be 40 degrees. I was always under the impression this was 80 degrees, lock to lock, so that the helm and rudder in a hard a starboard order, would be 40 degrees off the longitudinal axis.
0:13, 892 feet?
One thing I wonder about. How quickly did the servo react to the steering wheel position steering wheel?
I think most people tend to look down on things like this because they view it as old fashioned, or low technology since it's 100 years away from where we are now but this video just shows how fascinating, complex, and ingenious these things really were.
Electronics free technology is very underrated and underappreciated by most people today.
@@3UZFE also rejected by corporations, because it’s often more expensive.
I find this kind of technology more impressive because it's so crude, simple and effective...
The same kind of system are still used on tugs and fishboats to this day. The control system is about the same but hydraulic pumps are used instead if steering engines that is.
Have you ever heard the phrase " first, things are primitive, then they become complicated, at last, they end up simple "
People don't realise how technologically advanced the Titanic was for 100 years ago!! It was a floating feat of engineering. Fantastic video as always Mike
Three ships v similar
Those steering motors and gears are an absolute work of art.
I am from India and in 2014 I had watched the titanic film and since then this mighty ship has always fascinated me. Over years I have been searching and exploring the engineering of the titanic but never found such detailed stuff which you have given in your videos. Really amazing work !!!! I believe that there are quite less people around the world who are fascinated by the engineering of titanic or even any any other water machinery but on the other hand I also believe that there are great people like you who make such a detailed content for their audience😃
I thoroughly enjoy doing my research and absorbing such knowledge. It is viewers like you that fill my soul with gratitude. Knowledge is useless unless it’s shared… it is even more useless when shared with the ungrateful.
I'm not really even into maritime or naval history but I stumbled across your Carpathia video and just been binge watching your content since. I love how you explain everything in terms that are understandable, logical, and not at all sensationalized. Your content is also structured so that I can listen to an episode as a podcast or watch the video itself and either way I won't lose out on much context.
That’s such great feedback, thanks for watching!
He's going to have a fatty liver disease soon.. Jesus also praises this smart youtuber..
echo that
Oh such a pleasure to view such an enthusiastic presenter. The details on board are unbelievable, the design,engineering and the excellent construction of such a beautiful ship.
Your presentations are so good! Its good to see a younger generation pick up the mantle of maritime history . Keep up the great work!
I've never seen such detail about the engineering of the Titanic, and I've been interested in this ship for decades. Well done!
Incidentally that lathe used to machine it is still in use, it was moved away from the shipyard, and even has appeared in a few videos of it being used to repair massive machinery. It is massive, yes still capable of incredible accuracy, and has been modernised with digital readouts, totally dwarfed by the massive machine they are used to measure.
Thank you for covering the technical details! These are ignored by all the “documentaries” which just focus on sensationalism, rumors, pathos, drama, and so on.
About the myth of Titanic's rudder being too small, if that was the case, they would have changed it on Olympic and Britannic.
They used completely different rudder systems on those ships.
Also both Titanic and Olympic passed their sea trials wich included maneovrability and steering tests
Ship sank due to bad luck and shit crew
@@FWtravels there were a combination of factors that combined doomed the Titanic. There were basic design flaws, material flaws and a flaw in judgement piloting the ship that culminated in the disaster. The radio men pissing off the closest ship to the Titanic didn't help any either. Improper loading of the lifeboats was also a major mistake.
@@FWtravels Buy the Paperback book, The Secret Terrorists, by Bill Hughes.
LOOK AT, WHEN and WHERE IT SANK. They lost no money and become the most powerful people in the world.
I love how you shine a very plausible light on the fact that everyone involved in the design of these record-breaking ships was aware of the necessity for safety and redundancies, and implemented the best solutions that were known, including those that had just emerged - in order to present the most impressive and resilient product.
I've been fascinated with the Titanic and her story since I was a young boy in the nineties - I had all the books full of schematics, statistics, photos, illustrations, documentation of the relatively recently discovered wreck. And a couple of years ago I stumbled into the rabbit hole again, absorbing many more resources on the topic as I - for the first time really - asked the internet all about it.
But never in all of that did someone point out this very plausible diligent character of the designers and builders. All of it is starting to make a lot more sense now! Thanks you so much for your videos - they are most interesting, insightful and pleasant like you!
Dude, Every time I click one of your videos I start out thinking.. this is interesting but I'll bail if it isn't but I never do. You have a way of explaining things that keeps the viewer engaged and despite all I know about this class of ship, I always learn something new. Thanks and keep up the good work.
What a technical marvel. I have always wondered how that works. Thanks for using such high quality photos and 3D models!
I’ve been studying Titanic for years and never knew the steering system was this extensive. Another great production, Mike! Hope you see you on Tom’s livestream in April!
No one ever talks about the rudders really, that's why
I always thought the steering would have been more electrical orientated. I guess you learn something new all the time.
I like the picture at the end showing parts still in place on the ship looking really good condition
"Study" implies a dedicated devotion to examining in detail the predominant mechanical capabilities at the very least, how could you "study" a Ship "for years" and "not know how "extensive" the steering system is, you possibly over-estimate your capacity for "study".
Not to burst your bubble, but the great ship was intentionally sunk. There were men aboard who were against the Fed (banksters) taking over our money system. Watch ‘The Creature From Jekyll Island’. This will wake you up!
While this hasn't ALWAYS been a great wonder of mine, it is still interesting to find out little (while still being a large part of Titanic's design albeit) mechanical details about Titanic that I've never researched. I have been researching Titanic and maritime history in general for the last 33 years and I can't say that I've ever looked into her steering gear, so I can genuinely appreciate this video and all of your efforts that went into making it. I have honestly learned alot about Titanic's mechanical running gear in the last 10 years thanks largely to TH-cam.
So you've been researching Titanic for about 2 seconds a day for the last 33 years? lol
Because I don't see how you could've missed the bloody steering if you were doing any actual research.
Simply stellar content, Mike! The steering system is a magnificent work of engineering and fascinating. Your knowledge of these ships is beyond impressive and your presentation very engaging…and entertaining. 🙂
Thanks so much for the kind words James!
So we'll put
No one but Mike can give us such a detailed analysis of Titanic’s steering! You did an amazing job🙌
💯 Agree!
@@josephgaviotahe's amazing
Once again you never cease to amaze when you are covering lesser-known topics. Really enjoyed this one Mike, good effort mate.
A massive ship, massive rudder, all controlled by a small helm. Wow.
This question has been driving me nuts every time it’s crossed my mind for years. This video was finally like scratching an unreachable itch. Thank you.
Truly another amazing video Mike. I am a marine navigator and my job is steering large vessels. In the 100 plus years since the Titanic sank not much has changed in the way ships are steered. When the order to turn of the ship either to port or starboard is given the helmsman replies with the order back and turns the ship. The signal is sent from the wheel to the steering flat and the steering gear turns the rudder. Its interesting to watch the steering gear turn the ship.
Interesting, for sure. My problem is still, wrong Info gets and the decisions need info for correct decisions
lexus just recently re-invented the steering wheel in their drive-by-wire 2023 lexus rz450e- too bad they forgot to include a phaser holster in the control yoke.
i literally learn history and fashion sense from you.
Love all the great videos you've been pumping out lately 🙂
Hey thanks legend, and you! I just watched your Falcon video yesterday haha, such a classic!
Yooo
Once again, truly impressive. You took a question I wasn't asking, a concept I believe I thoroughly comprehended, and made me realized my understanding was just the tip of the iceberg (pun intended). Very thorough, very insightful.
1:10 just to clarify, the order was not Hard to starboard, but "Hard a-starboard", which ties in with your explanation later, which was basically "right hand DOWN!".
A good demonstration of what entails if telemetry function is disabled, or shot away, is shown in the film "The Battle of the River Plate", where the bridge of HMS Exeter is shot up, hydraulic lines are severed, and the only way to steer the ship was via a series of relayed voice commands from the bridge to the rear emergency steering flat.- Agonisingly slow, when you're trying to dodge incoming fall of shot!
Here in the US "The Battle Of The River Plate" was called "Pursuit Of The Graf Spee." Great movie, and one that couldn't be made today, at least not like it was then, with REAL warships.
It would be CGI now, which just isn't the same.
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 Too right. CGI itself isn't so bad, but the way it gets used is terrible. "Midway" was ruined by it, like a bloody cartoon.
God knows what a remake of Battle of Britain would be like.
@@Phaaschh My big problem with CGI, especially as far as aviation films are concerned, is it looks like a berserk video game! Someone should tell these people that sometimes "Less is more."
You're right, I shudder to think of what "BoB" remake would look like. "BoB" wasn't just a great aviation film, it was a time machine!
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 That's spot-on, Wayne. I remember the first time I saw big-scale CGI used was in "Titanic", and it blew me away with its possibilities.
Since then, it has been shockingly misused, often like some mad hallucinogenic. Yes, less IS more, but our movie makers are now in the fairground industry, it seems. Coupled to that is the often very heavy-handed contemporary race/ gender sociopolitical aspects, shoe horned into inappropriate period situations, if you know what I mean. Can't mention "Huns" or "Wops" or anything "Slit-eyed" anymore, so authenticity suffers further. Its true we rewrite history as we move on, but perhaps its just as well we still have those period productions from the 40s 50s and 60s to show us what things were really like. Not saying it was better, but rather akin to burning books.
@@Phaaschh I agree with you 100%. And in addition to which have you noticed they don't make movies for mature men anymore? And the race/gender stuff? If it's fantasy I can deal with it, but if they're doing history then damn it they better be right!
The last film I saw was "1917." I haven't been since.
The engineering ingenuity is truly mind boggling! Brilliant video Mike!
I've studied Titanic for 40 years, and still found this video very informative - thanks! One note on the commands Murdoch gave that night - my understanding is that he followed current maritime regs precisely for an object dead ahead: swing the bow and order "full astern", reversing the engines to attempt to slow the ship. But with a ship of Titanic's size, the order "full astern" merely served to remove wash against the rudder, reducing it's effectiveness (Cameron's film demonstrated the agonizingly slow and ineffective impact this latter command had). If he had ordered "hard a-starboard, full AHEAD", followed by his command to port the ship's stern around the berg, we likely wouldn't be having this conversation. In this way maritime tradition hadn't yet accounted for ships of this size. At least that's this layman's understanding.
Amazed at the level and scale of 100+ years ago engineering every time I learn anything new about the ocean liners
What i love about this channel is that mike will let you know if the photo is of the Titanic or a sister ship. Some other ppl do not let you know.
Mike your in depth look is incredible and very appreciated keep up the GREAT Work!
Well done, Mike. Your narration, graphics and photos made a somewhat complex subject easy to understand and follow. I enjoy your videos and look forward to the next topics.
After watching so many redundant documentaries about the Titanic, it's refreshing to see some intelligent documentation about the workings of the ship. Keep up the good work, this is becoming one of my favorite channels.
I've been learning about the Titanic for y e a r s but it was always hard to learn about the ships steering, until now. Thanks for another great video!
The wheel on the docking bridge was not used for docking: mind blown!
Thank you Mike!
Maybe it would have been if they had come in to dock?
This is AWESOME! More in depth tech analysis of the sub systems, please!!
I can't even begin to imagine the time and effort it takes to research this type of thing, given the passage of time. You're awesome man!
Very specific, but could you make video about how orders were given from the bridge to the machine room? The engine telegraph has always interested me!
That would make a really good video
The engine order telegraph is operated with synchro motors, what ever position it is indicating at the bridge is transmitted to the engine room or other location that has control at the time. That is my experience while serving in the US Navy aboard an Aircraft Carrier.
And then call it a click bait title like "hOw DiD tHe TiTaNiC uSe InTeRnAl RaDiO's"
Thank you! I knew a little about the steering room and not much else, this was very informative! Always well presented
I'm always amased by how technologically advanced the Titanic was for a ship from the 1910s. Truely remarkable.
I am a navy veteran and love everything to do with ships. Although the ships I sailed on were state of the art, I enjoy your topics of old ships and their machinery. Keep up the good work and a Bravo Zulu to you Sir!
Here in Toledo, we have a lake freighter museum ship built in the same era. Has the same rudder set up, and the gear room looks very similar, just not to the scale of Titanic.
The Schoonmaker is a great place to visit!
@@Klappadler7844 it really is. Have taken the tour several times. We were even there the day they renamed her back to the Schoonmaker from the Bowyer. At the time, we were just visiting, and just happened to luck out and go there that day. Now we live about 5 minutes away from the ship.
Yeah I've actually been on that ship before! very interesting peice of history.
I love historical marine engineering videos. Thank you!
These are all wonderful videos, but had anyone noticed how charming Mike is? His smile, his expertise and passion, his voice...
Excellent Review ! Thank- you. This clears up several questions I had, regarding steering the Titanic. Amazing, technology for the time. The best review I have seen regarding this subject.
enjoyed the explanation of different rudder types, i was always a bit curious why cunard's 4 stackers had a completely different rudder
Simply incredible how engineers and designers can dream all this up. I would love the see engineering videos showing how all these components were thought up and tested and then designed to go in certain places within a ship. It's all mind boggling how technology is dreamed up and how it evolves.
As an historian I've become very conscious that too many histories are poorly written by journalists, this is the product of in-depth legitimate research; very well done :) in common with most, I had no idea there was so much heavy machinery that basically had to be invented for these newly invented very large ships. Thank you for making the effort, fantastic/brilliant video...... :) (obviously ticked and I subscribed long ago) :)
Thank you for the explanation of steering to starboard, when the effect was to steer to port. I never knew that and simply assumed that the references to this were muddled. Not muddled, but the opposite of what a non-seafarer would think, not knowing the tradition. Everyday is a day for learning.
Thank you and best wishes from George [born 1961 and in ignorance of this all my life so far!].
I had always assumed that the command to steer starboard was a genuine command to steer the ship to the right, with the intention of ramming the iceberg head on in the hope that the damage would be concentrated to the bow and result in less flooding, but that the helmsman disobeyed the command thinking he would be able to steer away from it, resulting in the longer scratches along the side.
Mike is more better than my history teacher
Most gooder*
History? What's that?
Better than your english teacher too it seems
And betterer than your English teecher.
@@Phaaschh Yours too, evidently. “Teecher” lmao.
I when i still was a younger child (im now 19 becoming 20 in a month) i watched the 97 titanic alot bcs it fascinated me. I now know why it fascinated me. I have recently discovered that my love for classic cars, military vehicles, ships and old steam locomotive's have in common. That i have a love for old engineering of vehicles, machinery and its history. And i discovered it months ago thanks to your channel. Thank you.
The single rudder is mounted in front of the central propeller which was the steam turbine driven shaft that had no reverse gear (or turbine). On the night that titanic struck the ice burg this meant that it was stopped when the order to reverse was given. A stationary (or reversing prop) stops flow over the rudder limiting its effectiveness and would have reduced titanics ability to turn. Im sure you cover this is another video but i thought its worth mentioning since it affected the performance of the steering system.
Yes, paradoxically it might have turned faster with middle propeller on full speed?
@@johnbishop5316 That wouldn't have been possible with the Titanic. The center propeller was powered by a low pressure turbine that used the exhaust steam from the two triple-expansion engines. It could only be used above 1/2 ahead and had to be shut down when reversing the two main engines. The steam instead being diverted directly to the condensers.
@@Crosshair84 Of course. Obvious really. Hadn't quite occured to me!
It would’ve made no difference Titanic still would’ve hit the iceberg and they did not reverse the engines they stopped them!
You've probably answered this a number of times, but I can't help but ask if you're the son of the Australian musician Mike Brady? The interest in oceanliners, the facial resemblance, and heck the name itself makes it far too much of a coincidence for me at this point haha. Always enjoy watching your videos and this one is no exception!
Haha good detective work - yes that’s my Dad. He came out to Aus in ‘59 on Strathnaver! We have the love of ships and liners in common :)
I'd like to know if he's in any way related to the famous architect Mike Brady, was busy raining three boys of his own. They were four men living all together, but they were all alone. 😉
Perfect video! Thank you very much, its mind-blowing to understand the amount of engineering put it Titanic.
If you read comments, please, make a video (or TH-cam shorts) about how machine telegraphs on Titanic worked, and why there were 6 of them, if she had only 3 engines
Done a mega titanic binge this week mostly thanks to your channel. Learnt so many things I didn’t know about the disaster!
Nice to see an Aussie churning out such well produced content in the maritime history genre, excellent stuff mate.
Looking forward to watching more of your takes on famous vessels and events, instant sub. Cheers from Sydney
Cheers from Melbourne!
I've read that ordering the engines full astern may have been a mistake because the rudder forces would have been stronger if that had not been done.
Mistakes were made and fate was sealed. The Titanic sinking was a litany of errors really. From basic design decisions to material quality issues. She was going down no matter what.
The engines took longer to fully stop than the time time it took for the contact so dont think it mattered much
The biggest mistake was to go fast in darkness before inventing a radar.
@@MikkoRantalainen
It has been said that during the days of coal-fired boilers, it wasn't uncommon to leave port with a coal fire going in the coal bunker(s). However....
To leave any port of call, knowing that there's a raging fire going onboard just seems to be the biggest calamity that is asking for trouble in spades.
Yet, this is what was done at that time by most.
@@MikkoRantalainen The Titanic was going at a speed needed to arrive in port as per the schedule. The Captain was following SOP for the time period…
Here's why the Titanic's story will never die: (1) she was the largest movable man-made object of her day, (2) she excelled in luxury appointments, (3) it was her maiden voyage (of all voyages), (4) there were many celebrities of the day on board, (5) there was already a lot of talk about all her features before she was ever launched (including her "unsinkability"), and (6) the Titanic was the first ship in living memory to be sunk by an iceberg.
I had often wondered how the Titanic was steered. You are very thorough and knowledgeable! I love you!
Interesting explanation about how the steering mechanism worked on Titanic. One of the criticisms of the disaster was how small the rudder was in proportion to Titanic's size and could've avoided the iceberg if the design of the rudder was bigger.
Guess you didn't make it to the end?
Well, sure. They could have made a huge rudder to make her turn on a dime. Also a triple hull and 300 watertight compartments... In the end its a commercial ship and and you have to compromise in the design.
As a kid growing up I always thought they shoulda put rudders towards the bow in sync with the rear rudder. Then when you turn, the whole ship would move left or right while remaining its straight line heading.
Yet also hook up the front rudders rudders to their own steering wheel so the front could be turned instead of having to depend on the read rudder to point the bow in the correct direction.
Voila, they invented bow thrusters. I had that idea in the early 70's as a 6 year old, except they were little drop down rudders :)
Hate to bust your bubble, but many car ferries have had bow rudders and propellers since the 1940’s.
@@boataxe4605 hate to burst your bubble, but as a kid growing up in the sticks in the 70's we didn't know that.
I’m obsessed with titanic and your channel is so helpful thank you so much
Fabulous videos, my son is obsessed with all things Titanic and he loves watching these with me.
I enjoy the comparisons of Titanic designs and components with those of the Lusitania. I noted that you said the Lusitania's (and Mauritania's) rudders where more like that of a military vessel. Of course, that could be because the design criteria were set by the Admiralty. In return for assisting in the funding of the ships, the Admiralty had rights to confiscate them for use in times of war.
They had deck wells for guns to justify the subsidy. When The Navy took over Mauretan
ia and ran her up and down the (English) channel, it emptied the bunkers at Portsmouth! They couldn't afford the coal!
@@johnbishop5316 ww1 started during the Royal Navies transition from coal to oil, so it wouldn't surprise me if a ship this size that was capable of such speed while being reliant on the old fuel type would be a pain in the behind
I really enjoyed that you went into such great detail on the steering system in it's entirety. For me, as a retired diesel/heavy equipment mechanic whom is fascinated from a young age by how things work, I feel I now have a great understanding of Titanic's steering gear. Great video with a clear, and entertaining explanation. I subbed!
When you worked, did you understand anything?
Not needing a school?
@@lucasrem What are you even talking about?!
i've got you beat- my first technical drawings were done on my mom's uterine wall
Thanks for creating these. I have to watch and/or listen to them several times as my attention jumps between the excellent visuals and compelling audio content.
Worth noting that the faster the hull speed, the more effective the rudder is in maneuvering the ship. I read somewhere that was the reason for the high rate of speed through the ice field that night.
Mike, great video. What can you tell us about those beautiful chevron-like gears on the rudder engines? I thought they were invented by Citroen in France. This would appear to predate him. Imagine the sophistication involved to make those gears!
Very well done. The ship I was on in 1969 in the US Navy. You did the same thing when turning.
I enjoyed learning and fascinated by how ingeniously built the Titanic was.
I really enjoyed that! :D If you're taking requests, I'd love to see a video explaining the engine telegraphs too. My main question is: Why were there were so many of them? I would have assumed (somewhat simplistically) that three engines = three telegraphs, but there seemed to be far more than that on Titanic's bridge.
Two main engine telegraphs (port side and starboard side of bridge)…ran both engines. Emergency engine telegraph was next to the wheel on bridge…the other 2 communicated to the docking bridge at the rear of the ship…contained docking commands. They worked by a cable system that went from bridge to engine room…
@@timothyreed8417 Wow , that's a lot of redundancy! Was there an element of making the bridge look more impressive than it needed to be do we think? I can't imagine they really needed that many telegraphs doing basically the same thing,
@@lukecrowley571 ease of operation. The officers stood their watch on the wings of the bridge. (Contrary to what you see in the movies) a control near each wing would be efficient for operation. The emergency backup is just that. The other two telegraphs communicate with the docking bridge and send signals back and forth, when the ship is being backed into its berth, engine commands, which are relayed to engine room, from the bridge, and rope handling commands which are relayed to the docking crew…
The notion that humanity oculd build something as complex as this without computers or AI is mind boggling
We put a man on the moon with slide rulurs.
@@Adamu98 we put men on the Moon with blood, sweat and treasure. The scale of the Apollo program is mind boggling. The whole country was on a mission to make it happen.
To those of us who grew up before the current computer age, what's more amazing is that how little can now be accomplished without them.
@@frankmiller95 you can still do things without computers. But computers are powerful tools. So doing things without computers is leaving a lot on the table today.
@@1pcfred No argument with that, but CADCAM in ship design and construction has yet to evolve to the point where it can create designs that embody those ephemeral and subjective concepts of beauty and grace. lt's hard to imagine them creating anything like the Spitfire, or even the F14, much less the Cutty Sark or any of the other clipper ships. Look no further than modern racing sailboats as a perfect example. They go like hell, but also look like hell, as in ugly.
As a retired professional mariner, it's impossible to argue that for boats and ships, all other things being equal, the shortest time spent at sea, exposed to the inherent perils, the better, but something of great value is sacrificed as a result.
awesome well delivered content about stuff ive always wanted to know ! thank you
Well-presented, detailed and very informative. Thank you for explaining the steering system. I've always wondered how it worked on such a huge ship.
How did they steer the Titanic? Not well enough.
C,mon it was hard-over
Hold on, when Murdoch ordered the helm to be turned to starboard, Hitchens turned it to port according to you, and that turned the ship to port? Isnt it the other way around? Murdoch would order the ship to be turned to starboard, hitchens would turn it to starboard, and the ship would turn to port. This is the story I've heard from other sources and this video contradicts it, it's quite confusing for me.
Its called tiller commands. You say the direction you want the tiller to go. Which is actually opposite of what you to go.
@@Adamu98 I know, but what ive heard before is that it's the wheel that's reversed, not the officer's commands, and the officer would shout out the orders for the wheel.
@@AndyHappyGuy I have heard it like this as well. Would be more intuitive for the helmsman as well.
Yes. The movie actually got this correct. To turn the ship left, the wheel was turned right in the same way a tiller would be turned right. THis changed when cars became popular and it became more intuitive to turn the wheel left to go left.
@@RayThackeray in the movie the wheel went left. The quartermasters were trained to do the opposite of what the conning officer comands.
Great video Mike, I used to work aboard Waverley the last seagoing paddle steamer which still sails today offering day cruises around the Uk. Waverley uses a Browns patent telemotor and a quadrant steam steering engine to this day.
Masterfully done! You made it clear even to this amateur enthusiast.
I have no clue how they did such a massive ship without the assistance of computers to run stress calculations. People from this time really were something else.
Always so dapper looking for your videos. This is an extra classy TH-cam channel.
Good job with this insight on how the systems work. Thank you!
Recalling that this was only shortly after the Industrial Revolution all of this seems almost miraculous...
A mate has been on a ship that had the rudder stuck during a storm.. The captain was so good that managed to steer the ship to the nearest port by only using the engines. He turned with halts and aheads.
The thing that gets me the most is all the engineering, hard work & millions of man hours that went into Titanic for it to end up at the bottom of the ocean. Such a tremendous loss.
A fascinating and erudite description in terms that even a thickie like me can understand. Well done!
Another great video, Mr. Brady. Thank you for all you do!
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
I'd love to see you explain how Olympic was repaired after the Hawke collision. Love the content.
That guy standing next to that Rudder looks like he's carrying it LOL
The thing is, that all of this functioned without any errors or big breakdowns is fascinating, having a 101 tonne Rudder being held up my small pivit points and 2 massive engines steering it is just fascinating, in that time it could be even considered revolutionary.
Mate your work is exceptional.
great video - wonderful explaination of the technology of the time. Titanic-documantary is normally always focussed around the sinking, with so many detailes evolved but here it is fascinating to understand at least a little bit of engineering in those days.
Wow, great video. It reminds me of an incident that happened to me when I was 11 years old. My father owned scows and he was friends with a tug boat company. One day one of his scows was out in the bay and my father invited me to go on the tug to pick it up. The tug boat owner was prowd of a new steering system where he could steer the tug from the main helm area for normal steering or from the front of the tug for close in precise work. A lever was pushed for the person to steer from one position to the other. After I had proven I could steer the tug for a while he decided to show us how he could go the bow and take over. He did that and pointed the tug directly at my father's scow, then moved back up to the main helm area upstairs. Just as he entered the cabin door, he realized that he had forgotten to flip the handle at the bow of the tug. By the time he got back down to the bow to flip the switch, back the tug had rammed the scow. The tug listed 45 degrees, but the heavy engine righted it without much trouble, but by the time we picked ourselves off the deck we found the scow, filled with gravel was now upside down.
The 3 Olympic class liners are in my opinion the most amazing ships ever built. They were so beautiful!!
Another great video explaining how a key system worked. Thanks for all of your hard work that goes into them Mike🙂
I wanted to know this for YEARS!
I couldn't imagine a cable as that would have too much elastic slack over time; and a stupidly long rod down the centre of the ship seemed stupid.
Thank you so much for this information!
More ! More ! More !!!!! I thought I knew a lot about the titanic and you teach me so much more lol 😂 so please keep up with the videos lol 😂
It didn’t even occur to me why he ordered starboard when he meant port. Awesome. Makes for a great riddle
Oh, Mike Brady. A friend indeed ❤ Love your videos, please carry on. Appreciate you, sir!
Excellent technical analysis.
Thanks, Mike. That was fascinating. I had no idea.