Fourteen minutes: The last voyage of the Empress of Ireland

It is very sad to see this book out of print. This is Canada's largest quiet maritime disaster, a pioneering study that the regular ship "Irish Queen" of 1912 sunk ... between "Titanic" (1912) and "Lusitania" (1916)). "Queen" is actually a greater loss of passenger's life than the notorious "Titanic", although there are not so many people in total. After colliding with a Norwegian coal carrier, she sank at the estuary of the St. Lawrence River, and still can see the land except for sunset and fog.

"Queen" was built in the same year as "Lusitania" and also relied on the vertical bulkhead of the hull to prevent collision of sea water (it is known as "double shell"). Like "Lusitania", she turned around before sinking to prevent lifeboats from being fired. The time from shock to disappearance was only 14 minutes ("Lusitania" for 18 minutes). I disappointed in this thoroughly studied and well-written book is that the structure and design problems are not being pursued more fully. The truth is that in fact it is a better record even for the Titanic, and from the point of saving life her sister ship "British Nick" was much better - and they were built according to different plans . They are not overturned!

But in this explanation the technical problems remain strictly balanced and there are lots of human drama (and stupidity) to portray through the sea and the land. During the official investigation after the disaster the captain of the Queen and the captain who collided with her claimed that their boats did not even move. Following faithful support from his men, the two masters indicated what actually happened ... impossible! As a result, Canada found problems with the Norwegian coal mine and Norway condemned a Canadian liner

For passengers who are drowning, regardless of how comfortable they are, their lives and personality are sympathetically tracked and enthusiastic. Their career is being swallowed by World War I (1914 - 1918), but the comfort of officials and staff is small. Other books (and some movies) appeared later, but I can easily recommend this vivid account to those who can find it.

In 2005, Canadian television film "The Queen's Last Sailing" investigated the sinking event through historical references, model production, and underwater survey. The opinion of the plan is that the cause of the incident seems to be fog, and Kendall's action exacerbates this situation. Both captains tell the truth in their own way, but Kendall omits the convenience of operating the Irish queen to shut off the company from the Atlantic Ocean. In order to quickly accelerate this speed hold via Storstad (on the Empress's starboard bow), Kendall acts as a maneuver to his previous title to pass part of Storstad's maneuver to his starboard side (Storstad For him) he saw useless time passing through the channel from his favorite fast route.

In May 1914, the Queen of Ireland returned to Quebec to complete the 95th voyage. The city waiting for her is Captain Henry George Kendall, commander of the Queen in the next voyage, 39 years old, he will become the captain of the ship for the first time leaving Quebec on Thursday May 28, 1914. Captain Kendall is a Canadian Pacific nova as he first went to the sea while his ship was still sailing and he worked hard and developed before heading to the beginning Mate Eventually I served as the captain of a CPR ship. Before he joined the Queen, he not only proved to be a fine sailor, but also himself got a big reputation, but he also liked being a commander, but In 1910 he was CPR SS Montrose. When he got to the captain, he acknowledged Dr. Crippen with his boat and contacted the London Police!