| STRANGERS ON THE HORIZON Titanic and Californian – A Forensic Approach by Samuel Halpern |
| On April 22, 1912, during the third day of the US Senate investigation into the loss of Titanic, it was learned that there had been a steamer in sight of Titanic. This steamer had failed to respond to distress rockets that were being sent aloft from the stricken Titanic as she slowly sank beneath the surface of the Atlantic following a collision with an iceberg. The following day, on April 23, 1912, a story was printed in a small New England newspaper that claimed that a small tramp steamer, the SS Californian, had seen the lights and rockets of Titanic, and had refused to come to her aid. This book takes a new look into what has since been called the Californian affair. It is significantly different from previous treatments of this highly contentious subject in that it does not try to simply interpret or reinterpret every single word that eyewitnesses said in 1912. Instead, it takes a novel approach of applying specific analytical techniques to test the many conflicting and sometimes contradictory statements that were made in 1912 in order to find the reality of what took place. It includes detailed analysis of distances, bearings, headings, speeds, drift rates, ranges of visibility and other quantifiable information that has never before been examined in any great detail. It provides answers to the question of where was Californian relative to Titanic that night, and were they in sight of each other. This book also looks into the role played by several other vessels that were in the area that memorable night, delving into some of the claims made afterward concerning rescue attempts and movements. In addition, the book also explores the moments leading up to, and immediately following, Titanic's collision with an iceberg, piecing together a detailed moment-by-moment picture of the events and actions that took place from the time the fatal iceberg was first spotted, to the time that the iceberg was last seen fading astern into the dark of night. |
Foreword (p.7)
Appendix B. Report from Californian’s Second Officer Herbert Stone (p.447)
Appendix C. Report from Californian’s Apprentice James Gibson (p.449)
Appendix D. Capt. Lord’s Letter to the Board of Trade (p.451)
Appendix E. Capt. Lord’s Letter to the Editor of The Reporter (p.453)
Appendix F. 1959 Affidavit of Captain Stanley Lord (p.455)
Appendix G. Socket Distress Signals in 1912 (p.462)
Appendix H. A Short Tutorial on Marine Navigation (p.474)
Appendix I. Distance Between an Observer and a Light at Sea (p.481)
Appendix J. Particulars of Californian and Titanic (p.489)
Appendix K. The Icefields of Albert Moulton Foweraker (p.498)
Appendix L. Captain A. H. Rostron’s Report to the Cunard Shipping Company (p.507)
Appendix M. 12:35am Apparent Time Carpathia (p.509)
Appendix N. IMM Company Rules Regarding Time Kept and Clocks on Board (p.513)
Appendix O. Bells, Clocks, Watch Schedules and Time Alterations (p.514)
Appendix P. Extract from the Memorandum of Robert Ellis Cunliffe Solicitor to the BOT (p.521)
Appendix Q. Transcript of the Almerian Report Written by Capt. Stanley Lord (p.524)
Appendix R. Transcribed Extract From the Handwritten Wireless Log of the SS Birma (p.525)
Appendix S. Affidavit of Californian’s Second Donkeyman Ernest Gill (p.527)
Appendix T. The Icefields and Charts of Captain John Joseph Knapp (p.529)
Appendix U. Excerpts From the Speech of Senator William Alden Smith (p.540)
Appendix V. Lord Mersey’s “The Circumstances in Connection with the SS Californian” (p.543)
Acknowledgement (p.547)
Index (p.548)
- By George M. Behe.
- This section explains why this book is being written.
- Describes the first rockets fired from Titanic by eyewitness Lawrence Beesley on Titanic and
Herbert Stone on Californian.
- Details the path of Californian and some inconsistencies in her reported navigation leading to her
stopped DR position on the night of April 14, 1912.
- Details the path of Titanic up to the point where she stopped following the collision with an iceberg
on the night of April 14, and how the erroneous distress position may have come about.
- Details reported events on Titanic immediately before and after the collision with an iceberg on the
night of April 14, 1912.
- Describes events as witnessed on Californian between midnight and 4am on April 15, 1912.
- Describes what was seen from Titanic and from the boats from about midnight until the arrival of
Carpathia.
- Develops a navigational line-of-bearing from Titanic to Californian, and establishes minimum and
maximum distances between vessels.
- Determines the distance between Titanic and Californian by several independent means including:
maximum geographic range between lights and an observer, the geometry of an icefield, and from
ship sightings at daybreak.
- Explains why Californian was not seen early on, how its appearance changed as it swung around,
and why it would seemed to disappear to those in the boats before daybreak.
- Details the actions and movements of the SS Californian on the morning of April 15th from about
4am onward, and looks at the movements of the SS Carpathia on her race to the rescue.
- Describes Carpathia’s departure from the scene of the wreckage and Capt. Rostron’s decision to
return to New York.
- Describes the movements of Californian following the departure of Carpathia, why Carpathia and
Californian did not report seeing many floating bodies amongst the wreckage, and answers the
question as to why Titanic was not affected by the Gulf Stream before reaching the ice region.
- Provides a detailed look at the issue of time carried on board Titanic, Californian and other vessels.
- Provides a detailed look into the role played by the SS Mount Temple in the Californian affair.
- Provides a detailed look into the role played by the SS Almerian in the Californian affair.
- Unlocks a number of puzzles concerning the mad dash taken by the SS Birma to reach Titanic’s
distress position, and the events that took place after she arrived on the scene.
- Describes what happened after Californian arrived in Boston and the birth of what would become
known as the Californian affair.
- Provides a summary and overall conclusions of this work, and examines why the debate regarding
the Californian affair is likely to continue.
- Describes the last minutes of Titanic as witnessed from a lifeboat and from the upper bridge of
Californian, and the one irrefutable conclusion from that night to remember.
Appendix B. Report from Californian’s Second Officer Herbert Stone (p.447)
Appendix C. Report from Californian’s Apprentice James Gibson (p.449)
Appendix D. Capt. Lord’s Letter to the Board of Trade (p.451)
Appendix E. Capt. Lord’s Letter to the Editor of The Reporter (p.453)
Appendix F. 1959 Affidavit of Captain Stanley Lord (p.455)
Appendix G. Socket Distress Signals in 1912 (p.462)
Appendix H. A Short Tutorial on Marine Navigation (p.474)
Appendix I. Distance Between an Observer and a Light at Sea (p.481)
Appendix J. Particulars of Californian and Titanic (p.489)
Appendix K. The Icefields of Albert Moulton Foweraker (p.498)
Appendix L. Captain A. H. Rostron’s Report to the Cunard Shipping Company (p.507)
Appendix M. 12:35am Apparent Time Carpathia (p.509)
Appendix N. IMM Company Rules Regarding Time Kept and Clocks on Board (p.513)
Appendix O. Bells, Clocks, Watch Schedules and Time Alterations (p.514)
Appendix P. Extract from the Memorandum of Robert Ellis Cunliffe Solicitor to the BOT (p.521)
Appendix Q. Transcript of the Almerian Report Written by Capt. Stanley Lord (p.524)
Appendix R. Transcribed Extract From the Handwritten Wireless Log of the SS Birma (p.525)
Appendix S. Affidavit of Californian’s Second Donkeyman Ernest Gill (p.527)
Appendix T. The Icefields and Charts of Captain John Joseph Knapp (p.529)
Appendix U. Excerpts From the Speech of Senator William Alden Smith (p.540)
Appendix V. Lord Mersey’s “The Circumstances in Connection with the SS Californian” (p.543)
Acknowledgement (p.547)
Index (p.548)
| CONTENT OUTLINE |
Size: 7"X10" Pages: 556