15 April

And

it’s history of tragedies ..

two tragedies happened at night in this day ..
they are related to each other only by their date

but still …

they both hold , death , fear , dark and sad memories ..

15 April : the titanic sinking 1912
15 April : American air strike on Libya 1986

So , let us just

remember …

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The Story of Titanic

15 April 1912

The British luxury passenger liner Titanic sank on April 14-15, 1912, en route to New York City from Southampton, Eng., during its maiden voyage. The vessel sank with a loss of about 1,500 lives at a point about 400 miles (640 km) south of Newfoundland. The Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911 at the specially built Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast Ireland. She and her older sister, Olympic were the largest ships in the world when they were built and were considered to be high tech in their time. A third ship, the Britannic, was finished after the Titanic. The White Star line built the ships to compete with Cunard line's Lusitania and Maritania. They were able to carry 3,550 people including the crew in elegant style. Every shipwreck tells a story of tragedy and human loss. The loss goes beyond the lives of those who perished in the sinking, beyond even all those ashore, the friends and family whose lives were shattered. Some shipwrecks are so significant, so meaningful at a symbolic level, their loss can stab deep into the psyche of a nation, of an entire society. The sinking of Titanic is one such shipwreck. The story of Titanic’s short life and tragic death has enthralled generations since that fateful night in April, 1912, when more than 1,500 people died in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic, on a moonless night under a sky glorious with stars. Although that number has been vastly eclipsed by other catastrophes, the tragedy of Titanic has endured to pull at the heartstrings of people all over the world.

The Ship

The great ship, at that time the largest and most luxurious afloat, was designed and built by William Pirrie's Belfast firm Harland and Wolff to service the highly competitive Atlantic Ferry route. It had a double-bottomed hull that was divided into 16 presumably watertight compartments. Because four of these could be flooded without endangering the liner's buoyancy, it was considered unsinkable.Shortly before midnight on April 14, the ship collided with an iceberg; five of its watertight compartments were ruptured, causing the ship to sink at 2:20 AM April 15. Inquiries held in the United States and Great Britain alleged that the Leyland liner Californian, which was less than 20 miles (32 km) away all night, could have aided the stricken vessel had its radio operator been on duty and thereby received the Titanic's distress signals. Only the arrival of the Cunard liner Carpathia 1 hour and 20 minutes after the Titanic went down prevented further loss of life in the icy waters. The 45,000 ton Titanic was 882 1/2 feet (269 meters) long , 92 1/2 feet (28 meters) wide and about 10 stories tall, more with the smoke stacks. She had 24 boilers to power her reciprocating steam engines and turbines which pushed her through the water at as much as 24 knots (27 1/2 miles per hour.) Passengers had their choice of accommodations, ranging from clean but crowded third class to luxurious first class. The small third class cabins had bunk beds enough for a family with room for some luggage under the lower bunks and a sink. First class staterooms were quite large and were decorated with carved paneling and wall paper. First class passengers had comfortable beds, bureaus, tables and chairs couches as well as a sink. First class passengers could choose to have their meals at the first class dining room, at the a la carte (Ritz) restaurant or at the Cafe Parisien. They also had a gym with exercise equipment, a smoking room, Turkish baths, a swimming pool and a lounge. After sea trials, the Titanic loaded passengers at South Hampton England. At noon, Wednesday, April 10, 1912, the Titanic, with Captain Edward Smith in command, let go her mooring lines and maneuvered toward the open sea. As she approached two smaller liners tied to a pier, the mooring lines on one, the New York, snapped and the ship drifted into the path of the departing super-liner. Quick work narrowly avoided a collision. One passenger was overheard saying the near collision was a bad omen. The Titanic stopped at Cherbourg, France and Queenstown Ireland to pickup more passengers. In Queenstown she anchored because there was no dock big enough for the ship; passengers were ferried to the ship by White Star Line boats. She departed in the afternoon Thursday on her maiden voyage to New York. The passengers enjoyed a pleasant journey with fine weather and calm seas. The crew was happy with the performance of the ship's machinery and was expecting to beat the Olympics speed to New York on her maiden voyage.

Timeline

April 15, 12:25 amThe ship was sinking fast. Captain Smith gave the order to load the lifeboats. Unfortunately, there were only enough lifeboats to carry 1,178 of the more than 2,200 people on board.April 15, 2:20 amTitanic, still holding hundreds of people, sank beneath the waves. In all, 700 people were rescued, and more than 1,500 died.

The Strory

After years of construction and work, the Titanic was finally ready for her maiden voyage. The beginning of her voyage was to take place on the morning of April 10, of 1912 at approximately 10:00am. The firs of Titanic passengers began to board the ship. Most of these passengers were British residents who had journeyed to Titanic by means of transportation either that a boat train. The real precipitance came when the boat train arrived. People rich or poor were scattered all aver Southampton’s bay, attempting to find their gangway. After the second and third class passengers boarded, the firs class passengers were to be escorted to their cabins. Approximately at 12:00pm Titanic was ready to set sail. After Titanic sets out into the open sea, her water displacement causes mooring ropes of the New York, which was a small ship, to brake. Which causes her stern to swing towards Titanic's mighty bow. Titanic official’s quick actions prevent a catastrophic collision. After hours delayed the Titanic finally sets sail into the open sea headed towards Cherbourg, France. The Titanic lowered her anchor when arrived at Cherbourg, France, at about 5:30pm of the same day.

More passengers boarded the Titanic. At approximately 8:10pm Titanic On Sept. 1, 1985, the wreck of the Titanic was found lying upright in two pieces on the ocean floor at a depth of about 4,000 m (about 13,000 feet). The ship, located at about 41° 46' N 50° 14' W, was subsequently explored several times by manned and unmanned submersibles under the direction of American and French scientists. The expeditions found no sign of the long gash previously thought to have been ripped in the ship's hull by the iceberg.




The scientists posited instead that the collision's impact had produced a series of thin gashes as well as brittle fracturing and separation of seams in the adjacent hull plates, thus allowing water to flood in and sink the ship. In subsequent years marine salvagers raised small artifacts and even a 20-ton piece of the hull from the wreckage.

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American air strike on Libya

15 April 1986

on April 15, 1986, Reagan ordered major bombing raids against Tripoli and Benghazi that killed 60 people Among the victims of the 14 April attack was the adapted daughter of the Libyan leader.

Without any declaration of war, the United States launches air strikes against Libya in retaliation for the Libyan sponsorship of terrorism against US troops and citizens. The raid, which began shortly before 02:00 (Libya time = 00:00 UT), involved more than 100 US Air Force and Navy aircraft, and was over within an hour. Five military targets, including the home tent of Libyan leader .

The attacks were mounted by 14 A-6E navy attack jets based in the Mediterranean and 18 FB-111 bombers from bases in England. Numerous other support aircraft were also involved. France refused to allow the F-111s to fly over French territory, which added 2600 total nautical miles to the journey from England and back. Three military barracks were hit, along with the military facilities at Tripoli's main airport and the Benina air base southeast of Benghazi.. The Benina military airfield was hit to preempt Libyan interceptors from taking off and attacking the incoming US bombers.

I was too young to remember that day.
But they all said they were afraid and shocked, and it was a sad, dark long night on the Libyan sky.