Image Gallery: Stunning Shots of the Titanic Shipwreck

The RMS Titanic

the SS Titanic

(Image credit: flickr commons)


The RMS Titanic, one of the world's most infamous and tragic shipwrecks, sank in 1912. Its final resting spot remained a mystery for decades, until its wreckage was discovered on the ocean floor 26 years ago.

This gallery contains haunting images of the Titanic — the ship before it sank, passengers during rescue efforts and the ship in its current deteriorating condition.

Setting Out

titanic sailing

(Image credit: Library of Congress)


The Titanic set sail on April 10th, 1912 from Southampton, England, and was headed for New York. It was the ship's maiden voyage.

The Titanic was the largest and most luxurious ship at the time, with 39 private suites and 350 cabins in first class alone. It also housed a lavish grand staircase, saloon, swimming pool, squash courts and even Turkish baths.

First Class

Titanic's restaurant reception room

(Image credit: flickr commons)


This illustration shows the restaurant reception room for the first class passengers aboard the Titanic. The architectural picture was done by Bedford Lemere and Co. in 1912.

Titanic Victims

Titanic victims, the Goodwin family

(Image credit: Photo copyright by Carol Goodwin, used by permission.)


When the massive ship went down on April 15, 1912, it took the lives of 1,497 of its 2,209 passengers with it. This photograph shows members of the Goodwin family, all of whom perished in the Titanic tragedy.

On the Way to Safety

life boats leaving the Titanic

(Image credit: flickr commons | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)


This photo captured life boats full of the Titanic's surviving passengers on way to reaching the RMS Carpathia, which was the first ship on the scene after the Titanic sank.

To the Rescue Ship

Titanic survivors on the way o the Rescue Ship

(Image credit: flickr commons | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)


Here, another photograph of Titanic survivors in lifeboats that are on their way to the rescue ship Carpathia.

Survivors

survivors of the titanic

(Image credit: flickr commons | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)


This photograph shows two survivors of the Titanic shipwreck. The children were identified as French brothers Michel Navratil, who was 4 years old at the time the photograph was taken, and Edmond Navratil, age 2.

Resting in the Murky Deep

Titanic wreck off southern Newfoundland

(Image credit: NOAA | Institute for Exploration | University of Rhode Island)


Built in Northern Ireland in 1909, the "RMS Titanic" was also known as the "unsinkable ship," because it had a double-bottom hull divided into 16 compartments that were presumed to be watertight. The 882.5-foot-long (268.9 meters) craft sank in April 1912 after it struck an iceberg off southern Newfoundland, and now rests on the ocean floor at a depth of 12,460 feet (3.7 kilometers).

Surveying the Remains

titanic ruins

(Image credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)


The remotely operated vehicle Jason Jr. uses video recording equipment to peer into the Titanic's stateroom. The ROV dove and examined the wreck while tethered to its command ship, a U.S. Navy-owned submarine named Alvin.

Rusting Away

Rust on the Titanic

(Image credit: RMS Titanic Inc.)


In 2010, researchers from Canada and Spain examined the underwater Titanic using DNA technology and found bacteria eating away at the remains of the famous ship. Scientists identified a new species of rust-eating bacteria, namedHalomonas titanicae, on a sample of the ship's rusticles, which are formations of rust that are shaped like an icicle.

Graving Dock

The massive Thompson Graving Dock at the Harland and Wolff Yard, Belfast, is where Titanic was completed after its launch on May 31, 1911.

(Image credit: David Alberg/NOAA)

The massive Thompson Graving Dock at the Harland and Wolff Yard, Belfast, is where Titanic was completed after its launch on May 31, 1911.

Remy Melina was a staff writer for Live Science from 2010 to 2012. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Hofstra University where she graduated with honors.