In the Archives
This timeline comes from episode two and three of the podcast, "Communication on the RMS Titanic" which you can listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This timeline is from the perspective of the Wireless Telegraphy Cabin aboard the Titanic. The timeline shows which ships contacted the Titanic the days before and the day of the crash. It also documents which ships responded to the Titanic's distress calls.
The ship's wireless room was manned by two men, John Philips and Harold Bride. John Philips was the main person sending out distress signals. He was the one who sent out the first and last distress signals. Harold Bride, on the other hand, assisted Philips. Bride took the important messages to the captain and took over for Philips when he wanted to look outside.
Photo from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Titanic.
Friday, April 12, 1912 |
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| La Touraine sends an ice warning |
Around 10 PM | The wireless apparatus breaks down, it took six hours to fix it |
Saturday, April 13, 1912 |
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4:30-5:00 PM | Wireless apparatus is fixed* |
| The operators spent the rest of the day catching up on passenger messages |
Sunday, April 14, 1912 |
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9:00 AM | First ice warning of the day from the Caronia |
11:40 AM | Ice warning from the Noordam |
1:42 PM | Ice warning from the Athenia via the Baltic |
~1:45 PM | Ice warning from Amerika |
~ 5:00 PM | Ice warning from the Californian |
9:40 | Ice warning from the Mesaba |
11:00 PM | Last ice warning before the accident came from the Californian |
11:40 PM | The Titanic hits ice |
Monday, April 15, 1912 |
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12:05 Am | Captain Smith informed the wireless operators of the crash, but did not order them to call for help, yet |
12:10-12:15 AM | Captain Smith instructs the wireless operators to send out the first distress signal. The signal is immediately sent out. |
12:18 AM | Frankfurt responds with “Standby” |
| Bride takes the Frankfurt message to Captain Smith |
12:25 AM | Carpathia responds. She immediately change their course and head full steam towards the Titanic |
| Bride takes the Carpathia’s message to Captain Smith; Bride and Captain Smith make their way to the wireless Cabin together |
| As the Captain walked in with Bride, Philips was trying to establish communications with the Olympic. |
| Captain Smith worked out the distance between the Titanic and the Carpathia, then he exited the wireless cabin. Philips and Bride continued working |
| After the Captain left, Philips, who was manning the apparatus, left the cabin to look outside. Bride took over for him at the apparatus. Smith returns before the Frankfurt called again |
12:34 AM | Frankfurt calls again to inquire about the Titanic’s problem; this is the last communication between the Titanic and the Frankfurt |
Immediately after the Frankfurt’s call | The Olympic calls; however, Philips is unaware of the call until the Carpathia’s operator informs him of the Olympic’s communication |
| Philips leaves the cabin again and Bride takes over for him |
| Bride established communication with the Baltic |
| Philips returns and informs Bride to put on their lifebelts. Philips takes over again. |
2:00 AM (10- 15 min. before the ship sank) | Captain Smith dismisses the Philips and Bride and the rest of the crew |
After the dismissal | Bride and Philips still continue to send out distress calls |
2:17 AM | The last distress call was sent out |
2:20 AM | The ship completely sunk in the ocean |
| The wireless operator responds to the last message with “received” but does not hear back from the Titanic |
3:30 AM | Carpathia arrives at the crash site |
4:00 AM | Captain Rostron stops the engines of the Carpathia |
By 8:30 Am | All survivors are on board the Carpathia and the Californian arrives on the scene |
April 18, 1912 |
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| Carpathia arrives in NY, NY with the all the survivors of the Titanic |
*It is believed that no crucial messages or ice warnings were received while the device was not functioning.
(For more information about the story of Communication on the RMS Titanic check out the In the Archives Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or check back here for more articles on the subject.)
