Updated: 10:13 AM EST
Titanic Likely Sank Faster Than Thought
By JAY LINDSAY, AP

FALMOUTH, Mass. (Dec. 6) - The discovery of two large pieces of the
Titanic's hull on the ocean floor indicates that the fabled luxury
liner sank faster than previously thought, researchers said Monday.

The hull pieces were a crucial part of the ship's structure and make up
a bottom section of the vessel that was missing when the wreck was
first located in 1985, the researchers said.

After the bottom section of the hull broke free, the bow and stern
split, said Roger Long, a naval architect who analyzed the find. The
stern, which was still buoyant and filled with survivors, likely
plunged toward the ocean floor about five minutes later.

"It would have been immediately terrifying," he said.



Previous researchers believed the ship broke in just two major pieces,
the bow and stern, which was how the sinking was depicted in the 1997
film version of the catastrophe. David Brown, a Titanic historian,
estimated before the latest find that the stern took 20 minutes to
slide into the water.

"It turns out the Titanic was more merciful. It was over more quickly,"
Brown said.

The newly found hull sections, located about a third of a mile from the
stern of the wreck, were examined during an expedition in August
sponsored by The History Channel. On Monday, Titanic experts met at
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to discuss their analysis of the
find for a documentary to be aired on the cable channel on Feb. 26.

The sections, both about 40 feet by 90 feet, were once a single section
and were found in good condition, with red bottom paint still visible.
The missing sections had been believed to have fragmented into hundreds
of small pieces.

"The breakup and sinking of the Titanic has never been accurately
depicted," said Parks Stephenson, a Titanic historian who took part in
Monday's conference.


"The breakup and sinking of the Titanic has never been accurately
depicted."
-- Titanic historian Parks Stephenson

The 46,000-ton ocean liner was billed as "practically unsinkable" by
the publicity magazines of the period. But it struck an iceberg on its
maiden voyage just before midnight on April 14, 1912, and sank the
following day. About 1,500 people died.

Explorer Robert Ballard found the bulk of the wreck in 1985, at a depth
of 13,000 feet and about 380 miles southeast of Newfoundland. Ballard
was not impressed with the expedition's find.

"They found a fragment, big deal," he said. "Am I surprised? No. When
you go down there, there's stuff all over the place. It hit an iceberg
and it sank. Get over it."


12-06-05 04:21 EST


Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.