Titanic navigation bridge
On the Titanic, the navigation bridge was a superstructure where the ship's command was exercised. From this location, the officer on watch determined the ship's geographical position, gave all orders regarding navigation and speed, and received information about everything happening on board.
The bridge was composed of various compartments: a navigation shelter where watch was kept, and the wheelhouse where a wheel was located, known as the helm in maritime language, which steered the rudder and transmitted orders to the engines, also called a chadburn. On either side to starboard and port of the navigation shelter, two exterior wings allowed for maneuvers. There was also a chart room and the captain's watch room. The bridge was also connected to the officers' cabins, which varied in comfort according to rank. It was also close to the wireless telegraphy room. Six officers took turns on watch duty on the bridge, accompanied by quartermasters and other members of the deck crew. The second officer and the captain could also be present if the situation so required.
On 14 April 1912, around 11:40 p.m., decisions to attempt to avoid the iceberg were made from the bridge. After the collision, the order to evacuate the ship was also decided on the bridge. Crushed by the fall of the first funnel, then by that of the foremast, little remained of the bridge when the wreckage of the Titanic was discovered in 1985.
Location
The bridge was the "brain" of the liner and was located in the most appropriate place, in line with the ship's direction of travel, i.e. forward of the boat deck. Situated sixty metres from the bow, the navigation bridge rises some twenty-three metres above the waterline. This gives officers a clear view of the front of the ship and the horizon.The bridge was accessible from the boat deck on the port and starboard sides. Staircases located forward allowed access from either side of promenade deck A. It also communicated with the officers' wardroom, located aft of the wheelhouse, at the level of the first funnel. However, access was reserved for officers in charge of navigation and crew members on watch at sea.
Infrastructures
Gangway shelter
At the forward end of the boat deck, there was a shelter and two manoeuvring fins. A railing connected them, lining the front of the deck. The bridge shelter was airy and open on both sides to the officers' promenade. Nine windows gave the helmsman and navigation officers an unobstructed view of the foremast and bow.Auxiliary helm and course compass
Under the bridge shelter there was an auxiliary steering wheel for Titanic's rudder. It was used during harbour entrances and exits, so that the helmsman, working in open space, could more easily hear the successive orders of the manoeuvring officers. The auxiliary helm was also used along the coast, in good weather or hot conditions. It was mechanically connected to the main rudder.A course compass, manufactured in Glasgow, was located opposite the auxiliary helm, so that the helmsman could see it at all times. The instrument consisted of a wooden base topped by a magnetic compass, fitted with an internal oil light. It indicated the ship's course. In addition, a rudder angle indicator was fixed to the ceiling of the bridge shelter. This electrical indicator told the helmsman the precise angular position of the rudder in relation to the ship's axis. The third officer, Herbert Pitman, was in charge of checking the compass, correcting the compass course with the help of the deviation curve. The officer relied on the bearing compass, located on a platform on the boat deck, between the second and third funnels, in the centre of the liner. Navigation could be astronomical, using the stars and the sun. An identical compass and the main helm were located in the wheelhouse.
Order transmitters
The bridge shelter contained five telegraphs. These transmitted orders to various installations on the liner. Two of them were connected to the engine room, two others to the gangway. The last was an emergency telegraph, which also communicated with the engine room. It was only used if the other two failed.The telegraphs connected to Titanic's engine room were used by the officer of the watch or the commanding officer to communicate any orders concerning forward and astern speed.
Forward, the possible orders were, in ascending order of power, Dead Slow, Slow, Half, Full.
The "STOP" command instructed the engine room to stop propeller rotation.
The Stand By command meant that the machine had to be ready. The Dead Slow, Slow, Half and Full commands indicated different levels of propeller revolutions per minute.
Towards the rear, the power commands were identical.
The Finished With Engines command indicated that the machines were no longer required.
Wheelhouse
Operation
The wheelhouse was an innovation in ship steering at the beginning of the 20th century. On the Titanic, it enabled the helmsman to steer the ship at night, or in cold temperatures. The wheelhouse had five windows arranged so that the view could be extended through the nine windows in the bridge shelter. The helmsman stood on a small platform to maximise his view of the course compass in front of him and the bow of the ship.At night, the wheelhouse was completely closed. The blinds on the five windows were lowered and the helmsman relied on the course compass and the orders of the officer of the watch. The purpose of this total closure of the wheelhouse was to enable the quartermaster to concentrate on the course compass, preventing distraction from any outside light. Similarly, the order transmitters were designed to be lit from inside at night, but this lighting was deactivated when the ship was on the high seas, as orders were less common.
Telephone system
The wheelhouse was equipped with a set of four horn telephones. These were used to communicate with four of the ship's installations, to ensure smooth navigation. The forecastle, crow's nest, engine room and docking gangway were all linked to the wheelhouse. On the evening of the collision, the watchman Frederick Fleet used the telephone in the crow's nest to warn the bridge of the presence of the iceberg.In addition to these telephone installations, Titanic was equipped with a switch to close the watertight doors. On the night of the sinking, this switch was operated by First Officer William Murdoch, closing the compartments. There could have been an indicator, but only the testimony of a sailor confirms this.
Other installations
In addition to the telephone system, the wheelhouse also included an underwater signal receiver, capable of warning the ship of the approach of a dangerous area. This system worked by means of two boxes, each containing a microphone, placed inside the hull, below the waterline, on the port and starboard sides. Connected to the receiver in the wheelhouse, these boxes received noises identified by bells of different tones, over a distance of up to 20 miles. This indicator was useful when approaching a dangerous place, but also for navigating in fog, as it allowed the liner to be located in relation to the signals picked up.Titanic's wheelhouse was also equipped with a speed indicator and a clinometer to measure the ship's angle of heel. Lastly, it was equipped with two pendulums, sextants, marine chronometers, thermometers and barometers.
Officers' accommodation
At the back of the wheelhouse, at the level of the first funnel and accessible from the boat deck, were accommodations for the eight navigating officers. The entirety of these accommodations was designated as the "officers' quarters". The captain had the most luxurious apartments, a set of three rooms, a personal bedroom, a lounge, and a bathroom, located on the starboard side. The apartments of the fourth officer and a smoking room were situated on the same side.On the port side, a corridor provided access to the apartments of the first, second, third, fifth, and sixth officers. The navigation room was a meeting space for the captain and his officers for all matters concerning navigation. The chart room, located just behind the wheelhouse on the port side, contained numerous map portfolios and nautical documents, as well as the two master clocks. These clocks controlled the forty-eight clocks distributed throughout the entire ship. These two main clocks required daily evaluations of their running, as they were never reset to protect their delicate mechanism. For example, while sailing towards America, the clocks gained half an hour each day of navigation. Every day at noon, the fourth officer Joseph Boxhall recorded the time discrepancies in the "chronometer log". The chart room also contained the International Code of Signals, as well as the Titanic's logbooks and navigation charts. The harbour pilot's cabin adjoined the chart room on the starboard side. It was used during port entries and exits. When pilots boarded the liner, they went to this cabin with the captain to advise on the manoeuvres to be carried out.
Finally, the officers had at their disposal a bathroom located opposite the wireless room.
Marconi wireless room
The Marconi wireless room, whose wireless operators were Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, was located about 12 m from the forward end of the boat deck, behind the first funnel. It communicated with the bridge via a passageway to port of the officers' quarters. It consisted of three rooms.The room furthest to port was known as the "salle sourde", which contained the radio transmission equipment and an emergency transmitter. From the roof of the "salle sourde", was a 50 m high vertical radiating radio wire linking four horizontal wires to form the T-shaped antenna. This was where the radio receiver and control equipment were located. Finally, the room furthest to starboard was a rest room, equipped with a bunk. During the voyage, the two wireless operators took it in turns to ensure a permanent listening watch by wireless telegraphy on the 600 metre waveband from the Titanic. At night, Jack Phillips, the chief operator, was on watch from 8 pm to 2 am, while his colleague Harold Bride was on watch from 2 am to 8 am. During the day, the men took turns for mutual convenience, always ensuring a continuous watch. The operators shared the toilets and showers with the navigation officers. They also had a small lounge on C deck.