'Iceberg Right Ahead!' A Titanic Lookout's Story
5/12/202635 min
(Content warning: please be aware this episode includes discussion of suicide). It's 1140pm in the North Atlantic Ocean, April 14 1912, when Titanic lookout Fred Fleet first glimpses a hulking great mass of ice looming out of the darkness. He desperately warns the crew with the famous words "Iceberg! Right Ahead!" But it's already too late.
Many things went wrong in the build up to one of history's most famous disasters and the loss of around 1500 lives.
And in this episode we're focusing on the Titanic story through the point of view of 24-year-old lookout Fred Fleet.
Why didn't Fleet see the iceberg in time? How come crew apparently ignored ice field warnings? And what does the catastrophe tell us about the Edwardian attitude towards the natural world in the name of progress?
Michelle's joined by Titanic expert Paul Lee for an epic Beastly History.
More Beastly:
Follow Beastly History on Instagram @beastlyhistory
Discover More:
Explore Paul Lee's Titanic research: https://www.paullee.com/titanic/
Read Fred Fleet and others' testimony at the Titanic inquest in 1912: https://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTInq15Fleet01.php
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMichelle Douglas· Host0:00
A listener warning before we start: this story features discussion of suicide. Please be advised. [gentle music] Fred Fleet is about to start his night shift. The 24-year-old makes his way towards the crow's nest where he'll be spending the next few hours scanning the surface of the dark waters with fellow lookout Reginald Lee. This spring night, it's very cold and clear. Fleet observes how the stars look like lanterns above him. But Fleet won't be watching the stars. He'll be looking ahead at the uninterrupted view of the vast, black North Atlantic Ocean. Because Fred Fleet's job as lookout means serving as the eyes of the ship. He's got to keep a keen watch for any obstacles ahead, and if he spots something, he's got to alert the bridge or control center as quickly as possible. This night shift is grueling, but it's a good gig for Fleet because this vessel is something else. Billed as the largest, most luxurious passenger ship in the world, it's carrying more than 2,000 people from Britain to America. In fact, it's already been making headlines for its audacious size and engineering. They call it unsinkable. It's 10:00 PM on the 14th of April, 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean.