Titanic scan reveals ground-breaking details of ship's final hours

A detailed analysis of a digital scan of the Titanic has revealed new insights.

The 3D replica shows how the ship ripped in two after hitting an iceberg in 1912. About 1,500 passengers lost their lives in this disaster.

The scan provides a new view of a boiler room. It confirms that engineers worked until the end to keep the lights on.

A computer simulation suggests that punctures in the hull caused the sinking. These punctures were about the size of A4 pieces of paper.

"Titanic is the last surviving eyewitness to the disaster," said analyst Parks Stephenson. "She still has stories to tell."

The scan was studied for a National Geographic documentary called Titanic: The Digital Resurrection. The wreck lies 3,800 meters deep in icy Atlantic waters and was mapped using underwater robots.

More than 700,000 images were taken from every angle to create this "digital twin." BBC News revealed it exclusively in 2023.

Exploring the wreck with submersibles only shows limited views. The scan provides a full view of Titanic's remains.

The bow lies upright on the seafloor, as if continuing its voyage. However, the stern is a heap of mangled metal, damaged when it hit the sea floor after breaking apart.

New mapping technology offers a different way to study Titanic. "It's like a crime scene," said Parks Stephenson. "You need context to understand what happened."

Having a comprehensive view of the wreck site is crucial for understanding its fate. The scan reveals close-up details, including a porthole likely smashed by ice.

This matches survivor reports that ice entered some cabins during impact. Experts are studying one large boiler room visible at the rear of the bow section where it broke apart.

Passengers reported that lights remained on as Titanic sank beneath waves. The digital replica shows some boilers are concave, suggesting they operated while submerged.

On the stern's deck, an open valve indicates steam flowed into the electricity system. This was due to engineers led by Joseph Bell who stayed behind to shovel coal into furnaces.

All those engineers died but their actions saved many lives, according to Parks Stephenson. They kept power running so crew could launch lifeboats safely amid chaos.

"They held back chaos as long as possible," he told BBC News about their efforts symbolized by an open steam valve on the stern.

A new simulation also offers insights into Titanic's sinking process. It uses structural models from blueprints along with data about speed and position at impact.

"We used advanced algorithms and supercomputing capabilities," said Prof Jeom-Kee Paik from University College London, who led this research.

The simulation shows that Titanic made only a glancing blow against an iceberg, causing multiple punctures along its hull's narrow section.

Titanic was designed to be unsinkable even if four watertight compartments flooded. However, damage spread across six compartments according to simulations.

"The difference between sinking and not sinking comes down to small holes," said Simon Benson from Newcastle University’s naval architecture program.

These holes allowed water to enter slowly but surely until compartments flooded completely and Titanic sank.

Unfortunately, damage cannot be seen on scans because part of the bow is buried under sediment.

Personal possessions from passengers are scattered across the sea floor today, highlighting Titanic's human tragedy still visible today.

Experts will take years to fully analyze every detail of this 3D replica for clues about that cold night in 1912.

"She's only giving her stories little by little," said Parks Stephenson. "Every time she leaves us wanting more."