There are some really crazy theories about the Titanic disaster, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, killing more than 1,500 people: Was it possible that a cursed mummy on board was to blame? Or did the Titanic not sink at all, but was replaced by sister ship Olympia shortly before the accident?
In any case, such patently absurd theories have left virtually no one in doubt about the official interpretation of events, which James Cameron also largely follows in his 1997 megahit ‘Titanic’: The result was the most successful film of all time to date. that point – and finally made Leonardo DiCaprio a global superstar!
Was James Cameron wrong?
But then a new theory developed between 2004 and 2017, largely put forward by Irish journalist Senan Molony – and eventually even in the critically acclaimed documentary ‘Titanic: The New Evidence’ (first broadcast on January 1, 2017 on Channel 4 in Great Britain) resulted. The core of the theory says: that the iceberg was not the main reason for the sinking, but a fire that had been smoldering in the coal bunker for days.
If that were the case, not only would the previous investigation into the sinking of the Titanic be outdated, but also the $200 million blockbuster ‘Titanic’, which has earned more than $2.2 billion since 1997 despite 25 years of inflation , still ranks at number 4 today. one of the most successful films of all time – behind only “Avatar 2: The Way Of Water” at No. 3, “Avengers 4: Endgame” at No. 2 and “Avatar: A Journey to Pandora” at No. 1 (and yes, James Cameron actually takes three of the top four places alone).
New evidence!?
Senan Molony presented in the TV documentary at the time Newly surfaced photos show a nine-metre long trail of soot on the hull of the Titanic. Since no one had followed this trail particularly carefully before, the journalist discovered that the fire in coal bunker 6 was probably already smoldering in the belly of the ship before it left the ship: “This is exactly the area that collided with the iceberg. And of course there was already weakness or damage to the hull at that point, even before the Titanic left Belfast.”
Court documents also prove the existence of the fire: although it had been extinguished on April 13, 1912 (one day before the collision and two days before the sinking), the extreme heat of up to 1,000 degrees would have made the outer wall porous – and right at the point where the iceberg later tore open the hull of the ship: “When the Titanic hit the iceberg, the ship’s hull was so badly damaged that it could simply tear open“, Molony explains, before ultimately naming ‘fire, ice and criminal negligence’ in the documentary as the main combination of causes of the accident.
Is everything just covered?
According to ‘Titanic: The New Evidence’, the shipping company White Star Line wanted to keep the fire hidden as much as possible. Molony said: “People knew about the fire, but it was downplayed. The Titanic should never have left.” He also quotes firefighter John Dilley, who worked on the Titanic:
“Hundreds of tons of coal were stored there. I fought the fire with eleven men. Four days later it got even worse. It took until Saturday before we could remove it. But the coal continued to bubble. We were not allowed to say anything about it.”
Around the broadcast The theory caused quite a stir; she seemed not only fascinating but also argumentatively coherent, which is why she quickly found supporters within the scientific community. FILMSTARTS also published an article at the time with the headline, which in retrospect was perhaps a bit too daring: ‘James Cameron told it wrong: that’s probably why the Titanic really sank.’
Because there were opponents of the theory from the start – including Malte Fiebing-Petersen, the president of the German Titanic Association, who did not accept the newly discovered photos of the soot on the hull as evidence: ‘A bunker fire could have had an impact on sinking, but the photo is not proof. A connection between the mysterious place and the bunker fire can be ruled out.” This was evident from appropriate measurements, he told journalists.
And apparently he was on the right steamer: The coal fire theory is now considered all but disproved – as summarized again in this YouTube video from the Titanic Animations channel:
@Rossimint’s top comment below the video sums up the current fascination with the theory and its – careful pun! – Downfall is also very well put together:
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So James Cameron wasn’t wrong after all. At least not at such an important point! But the ‘Titanic’ director got it completely wrong on another point – and later even digitally altered the film for the home theater version. But that’s a completely different story…