She was the largest ship ever built. Believed to be unsinkable, when RMS Titanic went down on her maiden voyage taking 1500 people to their death, it sent shock waves across the world and started a debate that still rages today.
Why, when the Titanic received several warnings of icebergs ahead, did the captain steam full speed towards them without changing course?
A full two hours after the collision, the Titanic was safely afloat before she inexplicably gave way and took a hundreds of passengers to their deaths. What happened to make her sink so rapidly?
For the first time, investigative journalist and Titanic expert Senan Molony can reveal the real story. In a television exclusive, Titanic's Fatal Fire uses a new graphic technique to bring to life, in full moving colour, recently unearthed photographs of the launch and maiden voyage of RMS Titanic.
The rare photographs are a remarkable find in themselves - but buried within them is an intriguing clue: a previously unseen mark on the hull that launches Senan Molony into a fresh investigation into the century old mystery of the ship's sinking.
Drawing on the latest science, modern experts and overlooked eyewitness testimony, Senan discovers that behind the dark mark, a fire was raging in the ship's boiler rooms - a fire ultimately responsible for the most controversial tragedy in maritime history.
Shockingly, the owners of the Titanic knew about the fire before she set sail and deliberately kept the fire secret from their passengers.
Modern scientific analysis explains how the fire was ultimately responsible for Captain Smith's decision to charge through the ice-field at top speed.
The fire also explains the catastrophic failure that led to the "unsinkable" Titanic unexpectedly giving way, taking one and a half thousand passengers to their death.
In a bitter postscript, Senan reveals how in the wake of the disaster, he believes White Star's Chairman, J Bruce Ismay, did everything in his power to keep the real story from getting out.
| CHANNEL |
National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) |
| PREMIERE |
6 January 2018 at 22h00 |
| TIMESLOT |
Saturday, 20h05 |
| REPEATS |
None |