IN 1912, the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic became infamous after tragically sinking in the Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, USA.
Alongside its sister ships, the Britannic and the Olympic, the Titanic was one of the largest and most luxurious cruise liners in the world at the time. Nearly four city blocks long and 11 stories high, the Titanic was a sight to behold – and so were its four smokestacks (or funnels).
At 19 metres high and 7 metres in diameter, the smokestacks functioned as exhaust vents for the smoke generated by the boilers that ran the engines. However, it’s said that the Titanic’s fourth smokestack, the one closest to the stern, was fake. Is this true?
VERDICT:
True
Indeed, the fourth “smokestack” was a dummy, but it did have some use: it provided ventilation for the galleys and the first-class smoking room’s fireplace.
However, the main reason why White Star Line, which built the Titanic, added the extra smokestack was purely due to aesthetics – it looked grander and helped balance the ship’s profile.
In the early 1900s, the number of smokestacks a ship had lent to better impressions of its speed and safety.
Cunard, one of White Star Line’s biggest competitors, had ships with four smokestacks, such as the Lusitania and the Mauritania.
So, of course, the Titanic had to be able to stack up to them by having four smokestacks as well.
REFERENCES:
1) History of RMS Titanic | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: https://www.whoi.edu/ocean-
2) What was Titanic's fourth funnel actually for? | Oceanliner Designs Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/
3) Was Titanic’s fourth funnel fake? | RMS Titanic Inc: https://rmstitanicinc.com/
