17. Just 37 seconds passed between the iceberg being spotted and it fatally scraping the side of the Titanic.
It was the lookout Frederick Fleet who spotted the iceberg first. He immediately telephoned Sixth Officer James Moody – given the hour, most senior officers had retired to bed – and famously exclaimed “Iceberg, right ahead!”. After some confusion, the Titanic’s heading was altered just in time to avoid a head-on collision. However, this meant that the iceberg struck the vast hull with a glancing blow. In all, just 37 seconds passed between Fleet spotting the danger and the Titanic suffering its fatal blow.
