Welcome back viewers
This week we will honor a team of heroes
They are...
The crew of the RMS Carpathia
The RMS Carpathia was a large steam ship launched by the Sawn Hunter & Wigham Richardson Company in 1902. For three years, she was used to bring immigrants to the United States. In 1905, she became a cruise ship for the Cunard Line and took hundreds of passengers on luxury pleasure cruises to the Mediterranean Sea.
On April 11, 1912, the Carpathia embarked on a cruise from New York to Europe. With a crew of 300 and 700 passengers, she headed for the North Atlantic while under the command of highly experienced captain named, Arthur Henry Rostron. Although Captain Rostron had only been in command of the Carpathia for four months, he had been on many successful voyages across the Atlantic Ocean in his career. Little did he know, that he and his crew's skills and experiences would make the ultimate difference for more than 700 people.
On the night of Aril 14, the Carpathia's wireless operator Harold Cottam, was doing a routine check of radio frequencies. All of a sudden, he began to notice a morse code distress signal (SOS) coming across the telegraph. Cottam realized that a ship was sinking and needed immediate assistance. It was a new ocean liner on her maiden voyage called, RMS Titanic. She had struck an iceberg and was rapidly sinking. Cottom ran and awoke Captain Rostron and informed him of the situation.
Captain Rostron immediately ordered all of the crew to get to their stations. He then set a course for the Titanic's last position. Since they were sixty miles away, Rostron ordered all power to be routed to the Carpathia's engines. They then began the dangerous rush at 18 knots (full steam) through a maze of icebergs. Despite the risk of getting his own ship hit by a berg, Rostron was determined to get to the Titanic as quickly as possible. During their run threw the ice-field, the ship nearly collided with six different icebergs. However, they managed to make it through to the morning of April 15.
Unfortunately, by the time the Carpathia arrived at the Titanic's coordinates, the latter was already gone. Of her complement of 2,200 passengers and crew, only 705 had successfully made it into the ship's 20 lifeboats. The rest had either gone down with the ship or froze to death in the icy waters of the North Atlantic. The Carpathia successfully recovered all of the survivors in the lifeboats and gave them blankets and dry clothes to save them from hypothermia. Once all of them were aboard, the Carpathia set out for the Titanic's original destination, New York City. They arrived three days later.
For their brave race to save the Titanic's passengers, the crew of the Carpathia became instant celebrities over night. However, most of them shunned the spotlight and refused all interviews. When asked by a journalist about the rescue, Captain Rostron (who was a man of faith) responded, "A hand other than mine was steering my ship". He went on to serve in the British Navy during World War I. He officially retired in 1931, and lived in Holcolm, West End, Southampton. He died on November 7, 1940.
During World War I, the Carpathia was converted into a troopship and spent the war ferrying Canadian and American soldiers to and from the front-lines. On the morning of July 17, 1918, she was torpedoed by a German u-boat (U-55). She sank off the coast of Ireland and currently rests on the ocean floor of the North Atlantic (not too far from the Titanic).
https://www.irishpost.com/news/rms-carpathia-12-facts-titanics-rescue-165987
https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/carpathia-crew/arthur-henry-rostron.html
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