How many funnels did the ill-fated Titanic officially have?

Everybody knows the story of the ill-fated RMS Titanic, which struck an iceberg on the 14th of April, 1912, and sank, leaving more than 1,5 thousand people dead. Titanic is also considered one of the best known four funnel liners in history, along with the RMS Lusitania, which was destroyed during the WWI.

The primary purpose of funnels on steamships were to allow smoke, heat and excess steam to escape from the boiler rooms. As liners became larger, more boilers were used. The number of funnels eventually became symbolic of speed and safety, so shipping companies even sometimes added false funnels to give an impression of power.

Thus, the Titanic's fourth funnel was actually fake. There was a popular belief that it (besides making the ship look bigger) made the vessel faster.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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82 Comments

Stevie G

If you read the question it states that the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on the 14th Apri 1912 which caused it to sink. It does not state that it sank on this date so the explanation is correct.

Brenda Wohlford

A grammatically poor question but otherwise great. If you read the question, it asks how many funnels it had. It doesn't ask how many were functional. Also, if you've watched the Titanic movie, read any books about the ship or seen any documentaries about it, you know what they mean by funnels. Don't criticize because you couldn't remember hearing that term in movies, shows or books.

William Laughlin

Scott L Thelen I believe you meant to say "supposedly". 1,5 thousand is equal to 1,500. The war was originally referred to as the Great War. After World War II, the use of WWI came into vogue to differentiate the two world wars. it is quite common usage in the US. I cannot speak for this usage in other nations around the world.

earlepg

Dealing with a 6 year old question here, so my opinion isn't going to carry any weight. Perhaps the word "officially" should have been eliminated, but we would still dealing with counting functioning and/or false. Titanic was described as a four-funnel ship along with a few dozen other ships, and looking at the ship, it was probably described as a four-funneled ship.

skrueger

If I had three US coins and one fake US coin, the bank would say that I only had three US coins and not four US coins. Therefore I would say that the Titanic only had three funnels.

Sally Downie

Wish some of you know-all's would write a few questions, so the rest of us can pick holes in them!!

Susan Morrison

That was my thinking too Ken Jacobs.

skullfire

How many unofficial funnels did it have?

Kenneth Jacobs

Officially the Titanic was designed with three operational 3 operational funnels, this is a widely know fact. The idea that an additional, faux funnel, was added for ascetic purposes is also commonly known. The problem in my mind is the word "officially." From the perspective of a naval design a faux funnel is not considered an "official" funnel. My personal perspective is that the Titanic officially had 3 funnels and an additional faux funnel.