Titanic Database : Titanic's Launch

May 31st, 1911 was a very special day for Harland and Wolff. The RMS Titanic was being launched. A large crowd gathered at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast to watch the launch. Just before noon, a red rocket was fired high into the sky from the shipyard, announcing to the gathered masses that the launch was imminent. Fifteen minutes later, another rocket soared skywards, and the assembled crowds all stared intently at the hull, waiting to see it slip majestically into the water. Workers had used 22 tons of soap and tallow to lubricate the slipway for the launch. Then, beneath the mighty hull, all of the supporting timbers were knocked free, and it was now 'every man for himself' as the workers leaped from under the hull, scrambling clear as the hull began it's short, graceful journey down the immense slipway and into the River Lagan. Just over a minute later, Titanic was floating for the very first time, riding high in the water due to her unfinished condition. The launch was now over, and Titanic had been brought to a standstill by huge clumps of of anchor chains fastened to her hull. Once these chains had been detached, tugs from Liverpool's Alexandra Towing Company, namely Alexandra, Hornby, Herculaneum and Wallasey, warped Titanic into the fitting out basin, assisted by Harland and Wolff's own tug, Hercules.