SS Californian - wikipedia SS Californian For other ships with the same name, see Californian ( ship ). SS Californian SS Californian on the morning after Titanic sank. History UK Name : SS Californian Namesake : State of California Owner : Leyland Line Port of registry : Liverpool, UK Route : Atlantic Ocean crossings Builder : Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee, Scotland Cost : £ 105,000 Yard number : 159 Christened : 26 November 1901 Acquired : 30 January 1902 Decommissioned : 9 November 1915 Maiden voyage : 31 January 1902 Identification : Official Number : 115243 Code Letters : TFLN Radio Call Sign : `` MWL '' Fate : Sunk by German U-boat, 9 November 1915, 61 miles ( 98 km ) southwest of Cape Matapan, Greece. General characteristics Type : Steamship Tonnage : 6,223 gross, 4,038 net Length : 447 ft ( 136 m ) LOA Beam : 53 ft ( 16 m ) Depth : 30.5 ft Decks : 6 ( 3 on Superstructure ( Flying Bridge, Promenade Deck and Shelter Deck ) and 3 below deck ) Propulsion : 1 × Triple expansion steam engine 2 × double - ended boilers Speed : 12.0 knots ( 22.2 km / h ; 13.8 mph ) Boats & landing craft carried : 6 ( 4 Lifeboats, 1 Gig and 1 Pinnace ) with total capacity for 218 people. Capacity : 102 ( Passengers and Crew ) Crew : 55 Officers and crew SS Californian was a British Leyland Line steamship that is best known for its inaction during the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912, despite being the closest ship in the area. The United States Senate inquiry and British Wreck Commissioner 's inquiry into the sinking both concluded that the Californian could have saved many or all of the lives that were lost, had a prompt response been mounted to the Titanic 's distress rockets. The U.S. Senate inquiry was particularly critical of the vessel 's Captain, Stanley Lord, calling his inaction during the disaster `` reprehensible ''. Despite this criticism, no formal charges were ever brought against Lord and his crew for their actions. Lord disputed the findings and would spend the rest of his life trying to clear his name. In 1992, the UK Government 's Marine Accident Investigation Branch re-examined the case and while condemning the inaction of the Californian, also concluded that due to the limited time available, `` the effect of Californian taking proper action would have been no more than to place on her the task actually carried out by Carpathia, that is the rescue of those who escaped... ( no ) reasonably probable action by Captain Lord could have led to a different outcome of the tragedy. '' Californian was later sunk herself, on 9 November 1915, by the German submarine U-35, in the Eastern Mediterranean during World War I. Contents 1 History 1.1 Sinking of Titanic 1.2 Aftermath 1.3 World War I 2 References 3 Bibliography 4 Further reading 5 External links History Californian was a British steamship owned by the Leyland Line, part of J.P. Morgan 's International Mercantile Marine Co... She was constructed by the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in Dundee, Scotland, and was the largest ship built in Dundee up to that time. The ship was built to the maximum dimensions that were allowed to moor and outfit her in the Dundee Docks. The ship 's size and importance to the local shipbuilding industry meant that there was a lot of local interest in her construction as it progressed. There were also some problems - When both of the ship 's boilers were being transported through the streets from a foundry to the shipyard the weight of them ( carried on a wheeled bogie ) caused considerable damage to the city 's roads, as well as breaking a number of underground water pipes. Later when a crane was being used to rig a spar on one of the Californian 's four masts, the spar became tangled in nearby telephone wires and severed them. She was designed primarily to transport cotton, but also had the capacity to carry 47 passengers and 55 crew members. She measured 6,223 tons, was 447 feet ( 136 m ) long, 53 feet ( 16 m ) at her beam, and had a triple expansion steam engine powered by two double - ended boilers. Her average full speed was 12 knots ( 22 km / h ). Californian was launched on 26 November 1901 and completed her sea trials on 23 January 1902. From 31 January 1902 to 3 March 1902, she made her maiden voyage from Dundee to New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Sinking of Titanic Main article : Sinking of the RMS Titanic It has been suggested that Cyril Furmstone Evans be merged into this article. ( Discuss ) Proposed since September 2018. Stanley Lord, who had commanded Californian since 27 March 1911, was her captain when she left the Royal Albert Dock, London, England on 5 April 1912 on her way to Boston, Massachusetts. She was not carrying any passengers on this voyage. On Sunday 14 April at 18 : 30 ship 's time, Californian 's only wireless operator, Cyril Evans, signalled to the Antillian that three large icebergs were five miles to the south. Titanic 's wireless operator Harold Bride also received the warning and delivered it to the ship 's bridge a few minutes later. Californian encountered a large ice field at 22 : 20 ship 's time, and Captain Lord decided to stop the ship and wait until morning before proceeding further. Before leaving the bridge, he thought he saw a ship 's light away to the eastward but could not be sure it was not just a rising star. Lord continued to the engineers ' cabins and met with the chief, whom he told about his plans for stopping. As they were talking, they saw a ship 's lights approaching. Lord asked Evans if he knew of any ships in the area, and Evans responded : `` only the Titanic. '' Lord asked Evans to inform her that Californian was stopped and surrounded by ice. Titanic 's on - duty wireless operator, Jack Phillips, was busy clearing a backlog of passengers ' messages with the wireless station at Cape Race, Newfoundland, 800 miles ( 1,300 km ) away, at the time. Evans ' message that SS Californian was stopped and surrounded by ice, due to the relative proximity of the two ships, drowned out a separate message Phillips had been in the process of receiving from Cape Race, and he rebuked Evans : `` Shut up, shut up ! I am busy ; I am working Cape Race ! '' Evans listened for a little while longer, and at 23 : 35 he turned off the wireless and went to bed. Ten minutes later, Titanic hit an iceberg. Twenty - five minutes after that, she transmitted her first distress call. Third Officer Charles Groves of the Californian testified to the British inquiry that at 23 : 10 ship 's time, he had seen the lights of another ship come into view 10 or 12 miles away, 3.5 points above Californian 's starboard beam. At about 23 : 30, Groves went below to inform Lord. The latter suggested that the ship be contacted by Morse lamp, which was tried, but no reply was seen. To Groves, she was clearly a large liner, as she had multiple decks brightly lit. The ship finally seemed to stop and extinguish her deck lights at 23 : 40, the same time Titanic stopped her engines. At the British inquiry, Groves agreed that if the ship he saw had turned two points to port, it would have concealed her deck lights. Slightly after midnight, Second Officer Herbert Stone took watch from Groves. He testified that he, too, observed the ship, judging it to be about five miles away. He tried signalling her with the Morse lamp, also without success. Apprentice officer James Gibson, who had been doing the Morse signalling, testified that at 00 : 55, Stone told him he had observed five rockets in the sky above the nearby ship. Stone testified that he had informed Captain Lord, although the British inquiry did not ask whether or not he communicated the number. Lord asked if the rockets had been a company signal, but Stone did not know. Lord and Stone both testified that Stone reported they were not distress signals. Lord ordered Stone to tell him if anything about the ship changed, to keep signaling it with the Morse lamp, but did not order that it be contacted by wireless. Gibson testified that Stone had expressed unease to him about the situation : `` A ship is not going to fire rockets at sea for nothing, '' Stone said. `` She looks very queer out of the water -- her lights look queer. '' Gibson observed, `` She looks rather to have a big side out of the water '', and he agreed that `` everything was not all right with her ; '' that it was `` a case of some kind of distress. '' Stone, however, under questioning by the British inquiry which became more and more incredulous, testified repeatedly that he did not think at the time that the rockets could have been distress signals, and that the possibility did not occur to him until he learned the Titanic had sunk. By 02 : 00, the ship appeared to be leaving the area. A few minutes later, Gibson informed Captain Lord as such and that eight white rockets had been seen. Lord asked whether he was sure of the color. Gibson said yes and left. At 02 : 20, Titanic sank. At 03 : 40, Stone and Gibson, still sharing the middle watch, spotted rockets to the south. They did not see the ship that was firing them, but at about this same time RMS Carpathia was racing up from the southeast, firing rockets to let Titanic know that help was on the way. At 04 : 16, Chief Officer George F. Stewart relieved Stone, and almost immediately noticed, coming into view from the south, a brilliantly lit, four - masted steamship with one funnel ; Carpathia arrived on the scene shortly after 04 : 00. Captain Lord woke up at 04 : 30 and went out on deck to decide how to proceed past the ice to the west. He sent Stewart to wake Evans and find out what happened to the ship they had seen to the south. They subsequently learned from the Frankfurt that the Titanic had sunk overnight. Lord ordered the ship underway. Californian 's course took her west, slowly passing through the ice field, after which she turned south. Californian was sighted at 06 : 00 by SS Mount Temple steaming from the north. Californian actually passed the Carpathia to the east, then turned, and headed northeast back towards the rescue ship, arriving at 08 : 30. Carpathia was just finishing picking up the last of Titanic 's survivors. After communicating with Californian, Carpathia left the area, leaving Californian to search for any other survivors. However, Californian only found scattered wreckage, empty lifeboats and corpses. Aftermath As public knowledge grew of the Titanic disaster, questions soon arose about how the disaster occurred, as well as if and how it could have been prevented. A United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Titanic started on April 19, 1912, the day Californian arrived unnoticed in Boston. Initially, the world was unaware of her and her part in the Titanic disaster. On April 22, the inquiry discovered that a ship near Titanic had failed to respond to the distress signals. The identity of the ship was unknown. The next day, a small newspaper in New England, The Clinton Daily Item, printed a shocking story claiming that Californian had refused aid to Titanic. The source for the story was Californian 's carpenter, James McGregor, who stated that he had been close enough to see Titanic 's lights and distress rockets. By sheer coincidence, on the same day, the Boston American printed a story sourced by Californian 's assistant engineer, Ernest Gill, which essentially told the same story as the Daily Item. Captain Lord also spoke with Boston area newspapers. In a Boston Traveller article dated April 19, Lord claimed that his ship was 30 miles from Titanic, but in a Boston Post article dated April 24, he claimed 20 miles. He told the Boston Globe that his ship had spent three hours steaming around the wreck site trying to render assistance, but Third Officer Grove later stated that the search ended after two hours, at 10 : 40. When reporters asked Lord about his exact position the night of the disaster, he refused to respond, calling such information `` state secrets ''. After the newspaper revelations on April 23, the U.S. Senate inquiry subpoenaed Gill, as well as Captain Lord, and others from Californian. During his testimony, Gill repeated his claims. Lord 's testimony was conflicting and changing. For example, he detailed three totally different ice conditions. He admitted knowing about the rockets ( after telling Boston newspapers that his ship had not seen any rockets ) but insisted that they were not distress rockets, and they were not fired from Titanic but a small steamship, the so - called `` third ship '' of the night. Yet the testimony of Captain J. Knapp, U.S. Navy, and a part of the Navy Hydrographer 's Office, made clear that Titanic and Californian were in sight of each other, and no third vessel had been in the area. The so - called `` scrap log '' of Californian also came under question. This is a log wherein all daily pertinent information is entered before being approved by the captain and entered into the official log. Company policy of International Mercantile Marine Co., the parent of both Leyland Line and the White Star Line, required scrap logs to be destroyed daily. The official log mentioned neither a nearby ship nor rockets. At the British inquiry, Stone was not asked to recall the notations he had actually written in the scrap log, during his bridge - watch between midnight and 4 : 00 on April 15. On 2 May, the British Court of Formal Investigation began. Again, Lord gave conflicting, changing, and evasive testimony. By way of contrast, Captain Arthur Rostron of Carpathia, at each inquiry, gave consistent and forthright testimony. It is significant that, during the British Inquiry, he was asked to confirm an affidavit he had made to the United States Inquiry. Among the other things in his affidavit, he confirmed that `` It was daylight at about 4.20 a.m. At 5 o'clock it was light enough to see all around the horizon. We then saw two steamships to the northwards, perhaps 7 or 8 miles distant. Neither of them was Californian. '' During the inquiry, the crew of Californian, like Captain Lord, gave conflicting testimonies. Most notably, Lord said he was not told that the nearby ship had disappeared, contradicting testimony from James Gibson who said he reported it, and Lord had acknowledged him. Also during the inquiries, Titanic survivors recalled seeing the lights of another ship after Titanic had hit the iceberg. To Titanic 's Fourth Officer Boxhall, the other ship appeared to be off Titanic 's bow, five miles ( 8 km ) away and heading in her direction. Just like Californian 's officers, Boxhall attempted signaling the ship with a Morse lamp, but received no response. However, Titanic lookout Frederick Fleet, who was in the crow 's nest when the iceberg was sighted and remained there for another forty minutes, testified at the US inquiry that he did not see the lights of another ship while in the crow 's nest. He only saw a light later after leaving the ship on a lifeboat. Titanic 's Captain Edward Smith had felt the ship was close enough that he ordered the first lifeboats launched on the port side to row over to the ship, drop off the passengers, and come back to Titanic for more. Moreover, lifeboat occupants reported the other ship 's lights were seen from the lifeboats throughout the night ; one lifeboat rowed towards them but never seemed to get any closer. Both the American and British inquires found that Californian must have been closer than the 19 ⁄ miles ( 31.4 km ) claimed by Captain Lord, and that each ship was visible from the other. Indeed, when Carpathia arrived at the wreck site, a vessel was clearly seen to the north ; this was later identified as Californian. Both inquiries concluded that Captain Lord had failed to provide proper assistance to Titanic, the British Inquiry concluding further Californian 's responding to Titanic 's rockets and going to assist ``... might have saved many if not all of the lives that were lost. '' In the months and years following the disaster, numerous preventive safety measures were enacted. The United States passed the Radio Act of 1912, which required 24 - hour radio watch on all ships in case of an emergency. The first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea formed a treaty that also required 24 -- hour radio monitoring and standardized the use of distress rockets. Despite the criticisms of Lord 's conduct, no formal charges were ever brought against him. As a result, he had no right of appeal against the inquiry 's findings. The issue lay dormant for almost half a century, when the publication of Walter Lord 's ( unrelated to Captain Lord ) book A Night to Remember in 1955 and the release of the 1958 film of the same name prompted Lord to seek a re-hearing of the Inquiry relating to his ship, to counter the allegations made in the book and his portrayal in the film. Petitions presented to the UK Government in 1965 and 1968 by the Mercantile Marine Service Association ( MMSA ), a union to which Captain Lord belonged, failed to get the matter re-examined. However, when the wreck of the Titanic was discovered by Ballard 's expedition in 1985, it was found to be 13 miles from its reported position ( the location accepted by both inquiries ), so the Board of Trade ordered a re-examination. The British Government 's Marine Accident Investigation Branch ( MAIB ) concluded its reappraisal of evidence in 1992. The conclusions were those of Deputy Chief Inspector, James de Coverly, stating : `` What is significant, however, is that no ship was seen by the Titanic until well after the collision... watch was maintained with officers on the bridge and seamen in the crow 's nest, and with their ship in grave danger the lookout for another vessel which could come to their help must have been most anxious and keen. It is in my view inconceivable that the Californian or any other ship was within the visible horizon of the Titanic during that period ; it equally follows that the Titanic ca n't have been within the Californian 's horizon. '' The report went on : `` More probably, in my view, the ship seen by Californian was another, unidentified, vessel. '' The original investigator of the 1992 reappraisal was a Captain Barnett, who unlike de Coverly, concluded `` that the Titanic was seen by the Californian and indeed kept under observation from 23 : 00 or soon after on April 14 until she sank... ( based on ) the evidence from Captain Lord and the two watch officers, Mr. Grove and Mr. Stone. '' It was after Barnett 's original report was submitted that Captain de Coverly was given the task of further examination. Both Barnett and de Coverly had concluded that Titanic 's rockets had been seen and that Stone and Lord had not responded appropriately to signals of distress. The 1992 MAIB report concluded that Captain Lord and his crew 's actions `` fell far short of what was needed ''. The report did concede that even if `` proper action had been taken '', Californian could not have arrived on the scene until `` well after the sinking ''. It also noted that when he did know of Titanic 's distress, Lord twice took his ship across an ice field to help search for survivors. Captain Lord 's chief defender and union attorney, Leslie Harrison, who had led the fight to have the Californian incident re-examined by the British government, called the dual conclusions of the report `` an admission of failure to achieve the purpose of the reappraisal. '' Author Paul Lee accused Captain Lord of an `` inability or unwillingness to adjust to an entirely new situation. '' Although Lord had stopped his ship upon encountering ice, the British inquiry concluded that if Californian had acted upon the rockets and pushed through the ice, the Californian `` might have saved many, if not all, of the lives that were lost ''. The U.S Senate inquiry was also critical of Lord 's inaction, the final report stating that `` such conduct, whether arising from indifference or gross carelessness, is most reprehensible, and places upon the commander the Californian a grave responsibility. ''. Senator William Alden Smith, in a speech to the U.S. Senate inquiry, said : `` the failure of Capt. Lord to arouse the wireless operator on his ship, who could have easily ascertained the name of the vessel in distress and reached her in time to avert loss of life, places a tremendous responsibility upon this officer from which it will be very difficult for him to escape. '' Author Daniel Allen Butler wrote : `` The crime of Stanley Lord was not that he may have ignored the Titanic 's rockets, but that he unquestionably ignored someone 's cry for help. '' Others have suggested that, considering all the circumstances, there was actually little if anything the Californian could have done to prevent or reduce the loss of life. Allegations have been made that trade unions defending Captain Lord succeeded in influencing the reports from the official investigations before they were available to the public. Williams and Kamps wrote in Titanic and the Californian : `` Bearing ( the ) distance in mind, and recalling that a mere fifty - five minutes had elapsed from the time Captain Lord was first informed about the rockets to the moment the Titanic slipped beneath the waves, it would have been nothing short of a miracle for Lord to bring his ship to the Titanic and effect a rescue in such a short space of time. '' Titanic Historian Tim Maltin theorized that the Californian 's inaction was the result of a cold water mirage, or Superior mirage, arising from differences in air temperature over the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the colder waters of the Labrador Current. Maltin 's suggested that this would cause a superior refraction, superimposing and stretching and distorting the edge of the sea and lifting images of objects, distorting their appearance. This would explain why the Titanic 's morse lamp was believed to be a flickering oil lamp on the mast of a much smaller ship, and why Capt. Lord thought the Titanic was a different vessel. If correct, Maltin 's theory may further explain why the Titanic 's lookouts did not spot the iceberg earlier. World War I This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2016 ) Site of sinking ( diamond ), off Cape Matapan ( red dot ) Californian continued in normal commercial service until World War I, when the British government took control of her. On 9 November 1915, while en route from Salonica to Marseilles, she was torpedoed and sunk approximately 60 miles ( 50 nmi ; 100 km ) south - southwest of Cape Matapan, Greece by the German U-boat U-35, killing one person and injuring two others. To date, Californian 's wreck remains undiscovered. The Californian went down less than 200 miles ( 170 nmi ; 320 km ) from the location where HMHS Britannic, Titanic 's sister ship, would be sunk by a mine just over a year later. References ^ Jump up to : `` Caledon Built - Dundee Ships '', Friends of Dundee City Archives Jump up ^ `` The SS Californian : The Ship That Watched Titanic Sink ''. ^ Jump up to : `` Circumstances in Connection with the SS Californian ''. British Wreck Commissioner 's Inquiry. 30 July 1912. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` United States Senate Inquiry Report : Pleas for Help ; Steamship `` Californian 's '' responsibility ``. Titanic Inquiry Project. July 30, 1912. Retrieved April 28, 2016. Jump up ^ `` RMS `` TITANIC '' Reappraisal of Evidence Relating to SS `` CALIFORNIAN '' '' ( PDF ). Marine Accident Investigation Branch. April 2, 1992. p. 18. Retrieved January 25, 2018. Jump up ^ Wright, Jerry ( 2011 ). `` Some Dundee Ships ''. Friends of Dundee City Archives. Retrieved April 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Duzen, Harland ( October 18, 2018 ). `` The SS Californian and Dundee : Scotland 's Forgotten Leviathan ''. https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org. External link in website = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Cyril F. Evans ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 28, 2016. ( the ice warning ) is dated 6.30 p.m. `` A.T.S. '' which means apparent time ship... The sent date was 5.35 p.m., New York time. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Harold S. Bride, recalled ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 29, 2016. ( The Attorney General. ) : Could you tell us how long it was after you got the message that you delivered it on the bridge ? Bride : About two minutes. ^ Jump up to : `` Testimony of Stanley Lord, cont ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 29, 2016. When I came off the bridge, at half - past 10, I pointed out to the officer that I thought I saw a light coming along, and it was a most peculiar light, and we had been making mistakes all along with the stars, thinking they were signals... He said he thought it was a star, and I did not say anything more. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Stanley Lord ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 29, 2016. I said, `` Let the ' Titanic ' know that we are stopped, surrounded by ice. '' Jump up ^ `` Acquitting the Iceberg ''. Encyclopedia Titanica. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Phillips was tired and on edge and Cyril Evans ' call burst in on him like a thunderclap ; so loud, we are assured, it hurt his ears. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Cyril F. Evans ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved May 5, 2016. At 11.25 I still had the phones on my ears and heard him still working Cape Race, about two or three minutes before the half hour ship 's time, that was, and at 11.35 I put the phones down and took off my clothes and turned in. ^ Jump up to : `` Testimony of Charles V. Groves ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 28, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Stanley Lord, cont ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. We signaled her, at half - past 11, with the Morse lamp. She did not take the slightest notice of it. ^ Jump up to : `` Testimony of Herbert Stone ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 29, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Testimony of James Gibson ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of James Gibson, cont ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Herbert Stone, cont ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of George F. Stewart ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Electronic copies of the inquiries into the disaster ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of George F. Stewart, cont ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Clarke, Jim ( April 11, 2012 ). `` History judges Titanic captains ''. BBC News. Retrieved January 19, 2018. Jump up ^ Lee, Paul ( 2008 ). The Titanic and the Indifferent Stranger. Paul Lee. pp. 15 -- 18. ^ Jump up to : Lee, Paul ( 2008 ). The Titanic and the Indifferent Stranger. Paul Lee. p. 180. ^ Jump up to : Lee, Paul ( 2008 ). The Titanic and the Indifferent Stranger. Paul Lee. p. 13. Jump up ^ Lee, Paul ( 2008 ). The Titanic and the Indifferent Stranger. Paul Lee. p. 22. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Charles V. Groves ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved May 3, 2016. Jump up ^ Hamer, John ( 2013 ). `` RMS Olympic ''. Rossendale Books. p. 253. ISBN 978 - 1 - 291 - 63862 - 2. Retrieved April 28, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Ernest Gill ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Stanley Lord, cont ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Senator SMITH : Captain, did you see any distress signals on Sunday night, either rockets or the Morse signals ? Mr. LORD : No sir ; I did not. The officer on watch saw some signals, but he said they were not distress signals. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Stanley Lord, cont ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. I said, ' This is not the Titanic ; there is no doubt about it. ' Jump up ^ `` Testimony of John J. Knapp ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of George F. Stewart, cont ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Molony, Senan ( 2006 ). Titanic and the Mystery Ship. The History Press. p. 278. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Arthur H. Rostron ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Joseph G. Boxhall ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of Frederick Fleet ''. Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ Bartlett, W.B. ( 2010 ). 9 Hours to Hell, the Survivors ' Story. Amberly. ISBN 9781848684225. Jump up ^ Butler, Daniel Allen ( May 26, 2009 ). `` The Other Side of the Night ''. Casemate. p. 186. Retrieved April 27, 2016. `` There was another vessel within sight of the Carpathia, facing to the west, north of where the Titanic 's lifeboats waited, but clearly within visual distance of where the Titanic sank. It was the Californian. Jump up ^ `` RMS `` TITANIC '' Reappraisal of Evidence Relating to SS `` CALIFORNIAN '' '' ( PDF ). Marine Accident Investigation Branch. April 2, 1992. p. 18. Retrieved January 25, 2018. Jump up ^ `` RMS `` TITANIC '' Reappraisal of Evidence Relating to SS `` CALIFORNIAN '' '' ( PDF ). Marine Accident Investigation Branch. April 2, 1992. p. 1. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` RMS `` TITANIC '' Reappraisal of Evidence Relating to SS `` CALIFORNIAN '' '' ( PDF ). Marine Accident Investigation Branch. April 2, 1992. p. 2. Retrieved April 27, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` RMS `` TITANIC '' Reappraisal of Evidence Relating to SS `` CALIFORNIAN '' '' ( PDF ). Marine Accident Investigation Branch. April 2, 1992. p. 12. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` RMS `` TITANIC '' Reappraisal of Evidence Relating to SS `` CALIFORNIAN '' '' ( PDF ). Marine Accident Investigation Branch. April 2, 1992. p. 15. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` RMS `` TITANIC '' Reappraisal of Evidence Relating to SS `` CALIFORNIAN '' '' ( PDF ). Marine Accident Investigation Branch. April 2, 1992. p. 18. Retrieved January 25, 2018. Jump up ^ `` RMS `` TITANIC '' Reappraisal of Evidence Relating to SS `` CALIFORNIAN '' '' ( PDF ). Marine Accident Investigation Branch. April 2, 1992. p. 16. Retrieved January 25, 2018. Jump up ^ Harrison, Leslie ( 1992 ). A Titanic Myth : The Californian Incident. S.P.A. ISBN 9781854211842. Jump up ^ `` Speech of Senator William Alden Smith, cont ''. United States Senate Inquiry. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ Butler, Daniel Allen ( May 26, 2009 ). `` The Other Side of the Night ''. Casemate. p. 199. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ Butler, Daniel Allen ( 2011 ). `` Unsinkable : The Full Story ''. Frontline Books. p. 241. Retrieved April 28, 2016. Jump up ^ Williams, Thomas ; Kamps, Rob ( 2007 ). `` Titanic and the Californian ''. The History Press. p. 98. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Jump up ^ Levy, Nigel ( Director ) ( April 15, 2012 ). Titanic 's Final Mystery ( Motion Picture ). Various : Breen, Simon. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Tennent, A.J ( 2006 ). `` British Merchant Ships Sunk by U-boats in World War One ''. Periscope Publishing. p. 153. Retrieved April 27, 2016. Bibliography `` Caledon Built - Dundee Ships '' ( PDF ). Friends of Dundee City Archives. Friends of Dundee. Retrieved 28 April 2015. Lord, Walter ( 1955 ). A Night to Remember ( 2005 ed. ). New York, New York : St. Martin 's Griffin. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8050 - 7764 - 3. MAIB. Titanic : Reappraisal of Evidence ( PDF ). Tennent, A.J. ( 2006 ). British Merchant Ships Sunk by U-boats in World War One. Cornwall, U.K. : Periscope Publishing. ISBN 978 - 1 - 904381 - 36 - 5. Lee, Paul ( 2008 ). The Titanic and the Indifferent Stranger. Paul Lee. p. 18. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9563015 - 0 - 5. Further reading Butler, Daniel Allen. The Other Side of the Night. Casemate, 2009. Lee, Paul. The Indifferent Stranger, electronic book, 2008. Eaton, John P. and Haas, Charles A. Titanic : Triumph and Tragedy ( 2nd ed. ). New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 1995. Lord, Walter. The Night Lives On. Morrow and Company, 1986. Lynch, Donald and Marschall, Ken. Titanic : An Illustrated History. Hyperion, 1995. Molony, Senan. Titanic and the Mystery Ship. Tempus Publishing, 2006. Padfield, Peter. The Titanic and the Californian. The John Day Company, 1965. Reade, Leslie. The Ship That Stood Still : The Californian and Her Mysterious Role in the Titanic Disaster. W.W. Norton & Co Inc, 1993. Dyer, David ( 2016 ), `` The Midnight Watch '', Atlantic Books, 2016 External links Californian Crew List with Biographies Captain Stanley Lord SS Californian SS Californian on Facebook A PV Solves a Puzzle by Senan Molony The Californian Incident, A Reality Check The Titanic and the Californian Coordinates : 35 ° 32 ′ 30 '' N 22 ° 06 ′ 06 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 35.54167 ° N 22.10167 ° E ﻿ / 35.54167 ; 22.10167 Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1912 Shipwrecks 2 Feb : HMS A3 29 Feb : H.K. Bedford 12 Mar : Oceana 20 Mar : Koombana 2 Apr : USS Santee 15 Apr : Titanic ( sinking ) 12 May : HMS A3 May ( unknown date ) : USS Pensacola 8 Jun : Vendémiaire 26 Jun : Naniwa 8 Aug : HMS Holland 5 17 Aug : Leafield 1 Sep : HMS Waterwitch 3 Sep : HMS Holland 4 28 Sep : Kiche Maru 4 Oct : HMS B2 16 Oct : Ralph Creyke, Nicaragua 22 Oct : SS Keystorm 31 Oct : Feth - i Bülend 23 Nov : Rouse Simmons 28 Nov : Friendship Unknown date : City of Adelaide, USS Ericsson, Fox Other incidents 7 Jan : HMS Orion, HMS Revenge 18 Jan : Sarah Dixon 2 Feb : HMS Hazard 12 Mar : Pisagua 14 - 15 Apr : Californian 2 Jun : Friendship, Derwent 8 Jun : Saint Louis 16 Aug : Camano, Sioux 4 Oct : Amerika 12 Oct : Arabia December ( unknown date ) : Lady Elizabeth, Pelayo 1911 1913 Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1915 Shipwrecks 4 Nov : Le Calvados 5 Nov : HMS Tara 6 Nov : HMS E20, Clan Macalister 7 Nov : France IV, SMS Undine 8 Nov : Ancona, Wacousta 9 Nov : Californian, Masséna 10 Nov : Bosnia 15 Nov : Wandra 17 Nov : HMHS Anglia 21 Nov : Endurance 29 Nov : SM UC - 13 Other incidents 4 Nov : SM UC - 8 7 Nov : HMS Albemarle 1914 1915 1916 October 1915 December 1915 RMS Titanic First class facilities Second and Third class facilities Grand Staircase Musicians Sinking Alternative theories Changes in safety practices Legends and myths Lifeboats Lifeboat No. 1 British inquiry US inquiry Wreck of Titanic Maritime Memorial Act Deck officers Edward J. Smith ( Captain ) Henry Tingle Wilde ( Chief Officer ) William McMaster Murdoch ( First Officer ) Charles H. Lightoller ( Second Officer ) Herbert Pitman ( Third Officer ) Joseph G. Boxhall ( Fourth Officer ) Harold G. Lowe ( Fifth Officer ) James Paul Moody ( Sixth Officer ) Joseph Bell ( Machine Room Manager ) Crew members Frederick Barrett Harold Bride William Denton Cox Sid Daniels Alfred Frank Evans Frederick Fleet Luigi Gatti Robert Hichens Violet Jessop Charles Joughin Reginald Lee Evelyn Marsden William Mintram Jack Phillips George Symons Passengers Fatalities Allison family Thomas Andrews John Jacob Astor IV David John Bowen Archibald Butt Thomas Byles Roderick Chisholm Walter Donald Douglas Edith Corse Evans Annie Funk Jacques Futrelle Sidney Leslie Goodwin Benjamin Guggenheim John Harper Wallace Hartley Charles Melville Hays Edward Austin Kent Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche Francis Davis Millet Harry Markland Molson Michel Navratil Eino Viljami Panula W.T. Stead Ida Straus Isidor Straus John Borland Thayer Jr. Frank M. Warren, Sr. George Dennick Wick George Dunton Widener Harry Elkins Widener Duane Williams George Henry Wright Survivors ( last living ) Rhoda Abbott Trevor Allison Lillian Asplund Madeleine Astor Ruth Becker Lawrence Beesley Karl Behr Dickinson Bishop Mauritz Håkan Björnström - Steffansson Elsie Bowerman Francis Browne Margaret `` Molly '' Brown Daniel Buckley Alden Caldwell Helen Churchill Candee Charlotte Drake Cardeza Lucile Carter Gladys Cherry Millvina Dean Margaret Devaney Sir Cosmo Duff - Gordon Lucy, Lady Duff - Gordon Ethel Flora Fortune Dorothy Gibson Archibald Gracie IV Frank John William Goldsmith Edith Haisman Henry S. Harper Eva Hart Margaret Bechstein Hays Masabumi Hosono J. Bruce Ismay Eleanor Ileen Johnson Louise Laroche Louise Kink Margaret Mannion Michel Marcel Navratil Alfred Nourney Arthur Godfrey Peuchen Winnifred Quick Marjorie Newell Robb Edith Rosenbaum Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes Emily Ryerson Beatrice Sandström Frederic Kimber Seward Eloise Hughes Smith Jack Thayer Marian Thayer Barbara West Ella Holmes White R. Norris Williams Marie Grice Young Monuments and memorials General Memorials and monuments to the RMS Titanic Australia Bandstand ( Ballarat ) United Kingdom Engine Room Heroes ( Liverpool ) Engineers ( Southampton ) Musicians ( Southampton ) Titanic ( Belfast ) Orchestra ( Liverpool ) United States Straus Park ( New York City ) Titanic ( New York City ) Titanic ( Washington, D.C. ) Butt - Millet Memorial Fountain ( Washington, D.C. ) Popular culture ( cultural legacy ) Books The Wreck of the Titan : Or, Futility ( 1898 ) A Night to Remember ( book ) Polar the Titanic Bear Films Saved from the Titanic ( 1912 ) In Nacht und Eis ( 1912 ) Atlantic ( 1929 ) Titanic ( 1943 ) Titanic ( 1953 ) A Night to Remember ( 1958 ) The Unsinkable Molly Brown ( 1964 ) Raise the Titanic ( 1980 ) Secrets of the Titanic ( 1986 ) Titanica ( 1992 ) Titanic ( 1997 ) The Legend of the Titanic ( 1999 ) Titanic : The Legend Goes On ( 2000 ) Ghosts of the Abyss ( 2003 ) Tentacolino ( 2004 ) Titanic II ( 2010 ) Television S.O.S. Titanic ( 1979 ) Titanic : The Complete Story ( 1994 ) Titanic ( 1996 ) No Greater Love ( 1996 ) `` A Flight to Remember '' ( Futurama ) ( 1999 ) Titanic ( 2012 ) Titanic : Blood and Steel ( 2012 ) Saving the Titanic ( 2012 ) Music `` The Titanic ( It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down ) '' ( folk song ) The Sinking of the Titanic ( music composition ) Titanic ( musical ) The Unsinkable Molly Brown ( musical ) `` My Heart Will Go On '' ( Celine Dion song ) `` Nearer, My God, to Thee '' ( song ) Video games Titanic : Adventure Out of Time ( 1996 ) Dive to the Titanic ( 2010 ) Titanic VR ( 2018 ) Titanic : Honor and Glory ( TBA ) Museums and exhibitions SeaCity Museum ( Southampton ) Titanic Museum ( Branson, Missouri ) Titanic Museum ( Pigeon Forge, Tennessee ) Maritime Museum of the Atlantic ( Halifax ) Titanic Belfast Places Titanic ( Canada ) Titanic Canyon Titanic Quarter, Belfast Cape Race, Newfoundland Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia Mount Olivet Cemetery ( Halifax ) Related Ships RMS Olympic RMS Carpathia HMHS Britannic CS Mackay - Bennett SS Californian Replica Titanic Titanic II Others White Star Line David Blair Arthur Rostron Stanley Lord Titanic Historical Society Encyclopedia Titanica Halomonas titanicae Women and children first SOS CQD Robert Ballard Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SS_Californian&oldid=865515157 '' Categories : Maritime incidents in 1912 Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom RMS Titanic Ships built in Dundee Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I 1901 ships Maritime incidents in 1915 World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Hidden categories : CS1 : Julian -- Gregorian uncertainty CS1 errors : external links Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from April 2016 Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles to be merged from September 2018 All articles to be merged All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2014 Articles needing additional references from March 2016 All articles needing additional references Use dmy dates from April 2011 Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español فارسی Français Galego Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Suomi Svenska 中文 7 more Edit links This page was last edited on 24 October 2018, at 11 : 51 ( UTC ). 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Question: what ship was close to titanic when it sank
Answer: SS Californian