Page:Walker - An Unsinkable Titanic (1912).djvu/128

AN UNSINKABLE TITANIC ments. But, in this connection it must be noted that these bulkheads did not extend through the whole height of the ship to the shelter deck, as they did in the case of the Great Eastern, and therefore it cannot be said that the whole of the interior space of the hull received the benefit of subdivision. As a matter of fact, only about two-thirds of the total cubical space contained below the shelter deck was protected by subdivision. Water, finding its way into the ship above the level of the decks to which the bulkheads were carried, was free to flow the whole length of her from stem to stern. Furthermore, the value of the subdivision below the bulkhead deck depends largely upon the degree to which this deck is made watertight. If the deck is pierced by hatchways, stairways, and other openings, which are not provided with watertight casings and hatch covers, the integrity of the deck is destroyed, and the bulkhead subdivision below loses its value.

It was largely this most serious defect—the existence of many unprotected openings in the bulkhead deck of the Titanic—that caused her to go down so soon after the collision.

Referring now to the side elevation of [ 106 ]