Titanic Launch

Even though the launch was on a work day Wednesday, Harland and Wolff declared the day a holiday so employees could enjoy the event with friends and family.

Celebrations began at 7:30am with a boatload of special guests and reporters to record and report on all the events of the Titanic launch.

The British Union Jack, American Stars and Stripes, and White Star Line flags were flown from the huge 214 foot tall gantry that resided nearby.

At 11:30am, the red launch flag was installed on the Titanic's stern, and all nearby boats and ships were alerted with the firing of a red rocket to leave the area.

The 772 foot long launch ramp was covered with 22 tons of soap to allow the ship to slide stern first into the water.

From very early morning, workers knocked out and removed the majority of the supports holding the Titanic in place, leaving just enough to hold the massive ship upright..

The ship was able to slide down the ramp into the water under its own weight, with the help of tons of soap and several hydraulic rams.

To help prevent the Titanic's 883 foot long hull from grounding itself on the other side of the river's 1200 foot wide bank upon launch, three sets of anchors and two piles of drag cables were successfully used to stop the ship after it slid down the ramp into the water.

The official order to launch was at 12:05pm, by Lord Pierre.

It was both Lord and Lady Pierre's birthdays and they were instrumental in helping with the glamour and fanfare of the launch.

 At 12:13pm on May 31, 1911, while under the eyes of thousands, the Titanic started to slide stern first down the soaped up ramp.

It took 62 seconds before the anchor chains and drag cables sprung into action and brought the Titanic to a stop, afloat in the water for her very first time.

Contrary to several common myths, there was no christening, no speeches and no firework displays that night.

Also contrary to common myth, there was no bodies sealed up in the hull during construction.

One worker, 43 year old James Dobbins, passed away to injuries the following day due to a support beam falling on him during the launch.

Titanic was just a hull when it was launched on May 31, 1911, and the next step was building the cabins, installing the engines and boilers, loading in tons of furniture and much more.

The ship was the most advanced of its time, and several hundred miles of electrical cables were installed.

It would take almost a year and tens of thousands of working hours to complete the fitting-out, which also included the four funnels and 20 lifeboats.

White Star Line officially announced to the world that March 20, 1912 would be the date of the Titanic's maiden voyage, however this wasn't to be as Titanic's sister ship Olympic was in an accident two days later on March 22, and one of the Titanic's starboard propeller shafts was used to replace the damaged one on Olympic.