Britannic sinks only 400ft down?

[Gene Guzzo]

Can anyone explain why Britannic sank to only a depth of 400ft where the Titanic is 12,000+ ft down?

Why such a HUGE difference? They were pretty much the same specs in terms of weight and length.


Just curious if anyone knows the answer. Are different areas of the world more deeper than others? That's about all I can think of.

[Jim Keller]

Ocean depth can vary a great deal. As anyone who has been to the beach knows, near shore it is quite shallow. The deepest known spot is 35,800 feet (about 11km) deep. A ship can sink in any depth of water, and will always sink all the way to the bottom, however deep that happens to be. Britannic just happened to be in a relatively shallow area when she was sunk. Titanic happened to be in significantly deeper water.

[Gene Guzzo]

Ocean depth can vary a great deal. As anyone who has been to the beach knows, near shore it is quite shallow. The deepest known spot is 35,800 feet (about 11km) deep. A ship can sink in any depth of water, and will always sink all the way to the bottom, however deep that happens to be. Britannic just happened to be in a relatively shallow area when she was sunk. Titanic happened to be in significantly deeper water.

Makes you wonder about something......what if Titanic only sank to a small depth of 400 ft? Do you think we would have been able to salvage and find even more items and artifacts? Do you think someone would have attempted to actually raise the bow or stern? It's obviously impossible at 12,000 ft but at 400 ft, would it all be plausible?

Your thoughts Jim?

[Jim Keller]

Well, salvage is certainly a lot easier at shallower depths. And wrecks in shallow waters also tend to have their locations well known by local fishermen who know where they tend to lose nets. But there are so many variables involved in the "what if" scenarios that I find it hopeless to play the game...

[Michael H Standart]

>>Well, salvage is certainly a lot easier at shallower depths.<<

Weeeelllllllll....kind of. Certainly you can get down there with either the hardsuits or any sort of advanced tech diving equipment but it's still one extremely dangerous undertaking. Tech divers lose their lives all the time diving wrecks at about this depth. John Chatterton and Richie Kohler got into trouble inside the Britannic's Number Six Boiler Room when they stirred up some silt.

The Andrea Doria lies at nearly the same depth and kills experienced tech divers all the time. David Bright is a recent example. This was a guy who understood the risks and knew what he was doing.

[Timothy Trower]

Not to forget Carl Spencer -- a wonderful fellow, and a very good diver. He died on the Britannic not two years ago.