Titanic Shipbuilder & Annotated Biography of Thomas Andrews with Illustrations & Notes.

Thomas Andrews Junior was Chief Engineer in what was then the largest shipyard in the world, Harland and Wolff. Many of Comber’s inhabitants worked in the shipyard and celebrated the launch of RMS Titanic on 31st May 1911. This biography of the R.M.S. "Titanic's" historic builder, Thomas Andrews, takes readers from his boyhood on the cricket fields of Northern Ireland to his breathtaking final moments aboard a dying ship. In 1907. Andrew began to oversee the plans for a new superliner, the RMS Olympic for the White Star Line. The Olympic and its sister ship the Titanic began construction in 1909. Andrews familiarized himself with every detail of the Olympic and Titanic in order to ensure that they were in great functional working order. On April, 10 1912, Andrews and the group travelled from Belfast to Southhampton on Titanic. During this voyage, he took notes on various improvements that was needed, primiarily cosmetic changes to various vacilities. On April 14, 1912: Andrew said: “Titanic was as nearly as perfect as human brains can make her”. On April 1912, 11:40 pm – Titanic struck an iceberg on the ship’s starboard side. Andrews at that time was in the stateroom planning changes he wanted to make for the ship, and he barely noticed the collision. Captain Edward J. Smith had Andrews summoned to help examine the damage. Andrews and Captain Smith discussed the damage to the ship shortly after midnight. Andrews toured the damaged section of the ship and received several reports of the vessel’s damage. Andrews saw that the first five of the ship’s watergight compartments were rapidly flooding. Andrews knew that if more than four of the ship’s compartments flooded, it would inevitably sink. He then relayed the information to Captain Smith stating that it was a mathematical certainty and said that the veseel had only about an hour before it would completely sink. He then informed Smith of the severe shortage of lifeboats on board the ship. Evacuation began in the Titanic. Andrews tell the passengers to put on life belts and go to the deck. He urged reluctant people into the lifeboats in the hope of filling them as fully as possible because of the shortage. Andrews was last seen in the first class smoking room painting, Plymouth Harbour above the fireplace with his life jacket lying on a nearby table. Andrews went down with the Titanic and his body was never found.