That Sinking Feeling Trivia Quiz

Answer: New York

The RMS Titanic began its maiden voyage from the port of Southampton in England on 10th April 1912. In the late hours of April 14th the ship hit an iceberg and sank less than three hours later. The sinking caused the death of more than half of the passengers who were onboard the Titanic.

Answer: RMS Carpathia

The RMS Carpathia was also sailing to New York. She was located just over 90 kilometers from the site of where the Titanic sunk, when the wireless operator received a distress signal from the Titanic. The ship headed towards the site at full speed and arrived within four hours of the distress signal. The crew saved more than 700 people who had been aboard the Titanic.

The SS Californian had been closer to the Titanic when the unfortunate events began unfolding. However, they had earlier attempted to warn the ship of icebergs and were dismissed by the Titanic's wireless operator.

Answer: Struck by another vessel

On the evening of 3rd September 1878 the SS Princess Alice collided with the much larger cargo ship the Bywell Castle. The captain of the Bywell Castle observed the approaching SS Princess Alice and altered the course of his vessel to pass it without altercation.

This action confused the captain of the SS Princess Alice as so he also changed his course which unfortunately caused his paddle steamer to be in the path of the Bywell Castle. By the time the captain of the Bywell Castle realised they were on the same path it was too late to reverse the engines and the ships collided.

More than 550 people drowned in the incident.

Answer: Thames

The SS Princess Alice was bought by the London Steamboat Company in 1866 and commonly transported passengers on excursions to destinations along the River Thames. When the boat sunk, it was close to North Woolwich Pier in London, making its return journey for the evening.

Answer: Hospital Ship

The HMHS Britannic became a hospital ship in December 1915 after the outbreak of World War One in 1914. The vessel made five safe voyages to the Middle East. It was on the ship's sixth journey towards the Middle East that it sunk. Many of the ship's occupants were doctors and nurses when it sunk off the Greek island of Kea in November 1916.

Answer: It hit a mine

The vessel struck a single mine. Factors such as open portholes on the lower decks and water tight doors which failed to shut are believed to be major influences of the quick sinking of the ship; she sunk in less than an hour after the initial explosion from the mine. More than 1,000 crew members were saved, while 30 lost their lives.

Answer: Germany

Germany declared the waters around the British Isles a war zone in 1915. Originally the German submarines only attacked naval vessels. However, after they declared the area a war zone they warned that they would attack allied ships without any warning. Prior to the departure of the RMS Lusitania from New York, the German Embassy published warnings in American newspapers about the possible attacks.

After the ship was hit by the torpedo it was sunk in less than 20 minutes. Almost 1,200 of the people onboard the ship lost their lives in the disaster.

Answer: No

Between 1907 and 1915 the ship made more than 200 journeys between Liverpool and New York. The ship was owned by Cunard Line which was at the time a competing company to White Star, the owners of luxury ships including the Titanic and the Olympic.

Answer: Suffocation

After the Princess Sophia hit the reef, the bottom of the vessel was damaged but was not taking on water. The Princess Ann was sent to rescue passengers, however there was a storm that worsened and winds smashed the Princess Sophia against the rocks. The ship then began to sink. It is believed that all deaths were caused by suffocation from bunker oil.

Answer: A dog

The English setter dog was the only survivor from the steamer. It was found covered in oil on a harbour around 30 kilometers from the location of the steamer's sinking. The owners of the dog were believed to be a wealthy couple onboard the ship. All other passengers and crew, which exceeded more than 340 people, lost their lives.