Amazing Vintage Photos That Show the Construction of Titanic, 1909-1911

The name Titanic is derived from the Titans of Greek mythology. Built in Belfast, Ireland, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, RMS Titanic was the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners—the first was RMS Olympic and the third was HMHS Britannic.

Britannic was originally to be called Mammoth and to be over 1,000 feet (300 m) long. She was by far the largest ship in the British shipping company White Star Line's fleet, which in 1912 consisted of 29 steamers and tenders.

The company sought to upgrade its fleet primarily in response to the Cunard veterans, but also sought to replace its oldest pair of passenger ships still in service, being the 1889 RMS Teutonic and the 1890 RMS Majestic.

Teutonic was replaced by Olympic while Majestic was replaced by Titanic. After the loss of the Titanic, the Majestic would be returned to her old position on the White Star Line's New York service.

The ships were built by Belfast shipbuilders Harland and Wolff, who had a long established relationship with the White Star Line in 1867.

Harland and Wolff were given considerable leeway in designing the ships for the White Star Line; The usual approach for the latter was to sketch a general concept which the former would take away and turn into a ship design.

Cost considerations were relatively low on the agenda and Harland & Wolff was authorized to spend on the ships, plus a five percent profit margin.

In the case of the Olympic-class ships, a cost of £3 million (about £310 million in 2019) was agreed for the first two ships, as well as a "contract addition" and the usual five percent fee.

Titanic was 882 ft 9 in (269.06 m) long with a maximum width of 92 ft 6 in (28.19 m).

Its overall height, measured from the base of the keel to the top of the bridge, was 104 feet (32 m).

She measured 46,329 GRT and 21,831 NRT and with a draft of 34 feet 7 inches (10.54 m), she displaced 52,310 tons. All three Olympic-class ships had ten decks (excluding the top of the officers' quarters), eight of which were for passenger use.

The boat deck on which the lifeboats were kept. It was here that Titanic's lifeboats were lowered into the North Atlantic during the early hours of 15 April 1912.

The bridge and wheelhouse were at the forward end, opposite the captain's and officers' quarters. The bridge stood 8 feet (2.4 m) above the deck, extending to either side so that the ship could be controlled during docking. The wheelhouse stood inside the bridge.

The entrances to the first class grand staircase and gymnasium were located midship along the raised roof of the first class lounge, while aft of the deck were the roof of the first class smoking room and the relatively modest second class entrance.

The timber-covered deck was divided into four separate lounges: for officers, first class passengers, engineers and second class passengers, respectively. Lifeboats lined the sides of the deck except in the first class area, where there was a gap so as not to impair the view.

A deck, also called the Promenade Deck, extended along the entire 546 feet (166 m) length of the superstructure. It was reserved exclusively for first class passengers and included first class cabins, first class lounges, smoking rooms, reading and writing rooms, and the Palm Court.

B Deck was the bridge deck, the top load-bearing deck, and the uppermost level of the hull. More first class passenger accommodation was located here with six palatial staterooms (cabins) each with its own private promenade.

On Titanic, an à la carte restaurant and Café Parisien provided luxury dining facilities to first class passengers. Both were run by sub-contracted chefs and their staff; All were lost in the disaster. Both the second class smoking room and the entrance hall were located on this deck.

The ship's raised forecastle was forward of the bridge deck, which contained No. 1 hatch (the main hatch through to the cargo hold), several pieces of machinery, and anchor housings.

Behind the bridge deck was a raised poop deck 106 feet (32 m) long, which was used as a promenade by third class passengers. This was where many of the Titanic's passengers and crew made their final stop after the ship sank. The forecastle and poop decks were separated from the bridge deck by a well deck.

C Deck, the Shelter Deck, was the highest deck running uninterrupted from stem to stern. This included both well decks; The aft one served as part of the third class promenade.

The crew cabins were placed below the forecastle and the third class public rooms were placed below the poop deck. In between were most of the first class cabins and the second class library.

D deck, the saloon deck, was dominated by three large public rooms—the first class reception room, the first class dining saloon and the second class dining saloon.

An open space was provided for third class passengers. On this deck were first, second and third class passenger cabins, with a berth for the fireman located in the bow.

This was the highest level reached by the ship's watertight bulkheads (although only eight of the fifteen bulkheads).

E deck, the upper deck, was used primarily for passenger accommodation for all three classes as well as berths for cooks, seamen, stewards and trimmers.

A long route called Scotland Road ran along its length, in reference to a famous road in Liverpool. Scotland Road was used by third class passengers and crew members.

F Deck, the middle deck, was the last completed deck and accommodated mainly second and third class passengers and several departments of the crew. The third class dining saloon was located here, as were the swimming pool, Turkish bath and kennel.

G Deck, the lower deck, was the lowest full deck that carried passengers, and had the lowest hatch just above the waterline.

The squash court was located here along with the traveling post office where letters and parcels were prepared for delivery when the ship was docked. Food was also kept here. The deck was interrupted at several points by orlop (partial) decks over the boiler, engine and turbine rooms.

The orlop deck and lower tank top were at the lowest level of the ship, below the waterline. The orloop deck was used as cargo space, while the tank top—the inner floor of the ship's hull—provided the platform on which the ship's boilers, engines, turbines, and electrical generators were placed.

This area of the ship was occupied by the engine and boiler rooms, areas that passengers would be prohibited from viewing. They were linked to the higher levels of the ship by flights of stairs; Twin spiral staircases near the bow provide access to D Deck.