For the first time, the circumstances leading up to the collision that took place on 20 September 1911 is objectively analyzed and presented. Like most collision cases, there are two different, and mutually exclusive versions as to what had happened in the minutes before the two vessels involved came into contact with each other. To those on Olympic, it appeared that Hawke, after first coming up from behind, deliberately turned toward the massive ocean liner in a failed attempt to go under her stern. To those on Hawke, their protected cruiser was mysteriously drawn into Olympic as the pride of the White Star Line was accelerating past them in the restricted waters of the Solent. This project had its beginnings in early 2010 after work was completed on an analysis of the collision that took place in July 1956 between the Italian liner Andrea Doria and the Swedish liner Stockholm (see Lights To Port - Lights to Starboard). Available to us for this project was a wealth of primary source materials, including access to transcripts of the Naval inquiry that took place just two days after the collision, the subsequent court trial that followed in November, as well as subsequent appeals and other related materials that dealt with the specifics of the case. In this book, we examine all aspects leading up to the collision, and critically analyze the claims made by both sides as to what happened. We also look at the role of adverse hydrodynamic interaction between two vessels in restricted waterways, and look at the contributory circumstances leading up to a situation that caught both sides by surprise. Based on all the evidence presented, we present a detailed scenario of what most likely happened in the Solent that September day showing the minute-by-minute movements of each vessel before and after the collision. Finally, we address the question of could the collision have been prevented and what was learned, if anything, from a collision that seemingly should not have happened. |
CONTENTS Preface Prologue Ch 1. “There’s Going to be a Collision” Ch 2. A One-Sided Enquiry Ch 3. Trial in the High Court of Justice Ch 4. Appeals and Judgments Ch 5. An Olympic Tale Ch 6. A Hawke’s Tale Ch 7. In Search of Reality Ch 8. Damages and Repairs Ch 9. Causes and Alternatives Ch 10. Incident at Southampton Epilogue Appendix A. Hydrodynamic Forces and Interactions Appendix B. The Equation of Continuity Acknowledgements Index |
The Sting of the Hawke: Collision in the Solent by Samuel Halpern and Mark Chirnside Kindle Direct Publishing; Revised September 2023. 121 pages. |