TITANIC: TILLER COMMANDS
“Hard a’starboard?” But it’s going to port… how does that work?
DING! DING! DING!
“Is someone there?” — Fred Fleet
“Yes, what do you see?” — Sixth Officer James Moody
“Iceberg right ahead!” — Fred Fleet
“Thank you,” — Sixth Officer James Moody
“Iceberg right ahead,” — Sixth Officer James Moody
“Hard a’starboard!” — First Officer William Murdoch
“Hard a’starboard,” — Sixth Officer James Moody
“Hard a’starboard, aye,” — Quartermaster Robert Hichens.
The Wheel is turned and the engine telegraphs are changed. The ship begins turning away, but to port when he ordered “Starboard”.
This question has lingered on many people. The Titanic was ordered “hard a’starboard” which means to go all the way to starboard. But when the order was carried out, it was turning to port. Why was this?
The order that William Murdoch gave is a “tiller command”. Tiller commands were still in use at the time, even though the ships never used tillers at that point. So, where did this come from? What is a tiller?
A tiller is a steering mechanism that dates back to ancient times, called a steering oar. This feature looked like any kind of rowing oar like those on an eponymous boat, be it a sports rowing boat or a canoe. The steering oar was invented by the Ancient Egyptians and attached to the starboard stern on rowing boats. But was rarely attached to smaller ones. This worked in the same way as a tiller, because it consisted of a paddle on one end in the water, and a longer handle above. The boat would always turn to the side that the paddle ended up on. So if the paddle was on the starboard side, the boat would turn to starboard. But in order for the paddle to go to starboard, the handle had to go to port.
This gave the premise for the tiller. Since ships kept growing larger, their steering mechanisms had to also evolve. This was because the stresses kept growing as the size of vessels grew as well, so the tiller became the answer. The tiller became a long handle at the veseel’s stern, attached to a stern post which held the rudder. The rudder is like the paddle on the steering oar, and the tiller itself is the handle on the eponymous oar. The only addition was the sternpost, the part that ran through a rotating structure.
Tillers became the proper way of steering ships until the 1700s. By this time the first steering wheel drum entered the picture. These steering drums had wheels attached to both faces, and pushed by many crew members. They also had ropes running around them, which hoisted the tiller and turned the ship. Much like the tiller handle itself, the wheel evolved to the point where it only had one wheel instead of many. As well as only needing to be steered by only one person instead of many. But still, the wheel was powered by ropes that hoisted the tiller from side to side.
The wheel which was wooden with many handles sticking out continued to be used. But in the 1860s the first steam powered steering engine was invented and installed on the SS Great Eastern. This made steering a ship much easier. This steering engine, powered by steam, grew in advancement over time to accommodate larger ships. It later found its way onto modern ships, which included the Titanic.
Yet, when ships adapted the steering wheel, it was practise to turn in the direction one wanted to turn. Here is where “rudder commands” come into play. But the tiller commands were too popular and the operators couldn’t get used to rudder commands. So, they still used tiller commands even though ships were configured to rudder commands. Rudder commands is the term used to order the ship to go in the direction one wishes to turn. Whereas tiller commands means turning in the opposite direction of the ordered side. So with rudder commands, if the officer orders “hard a’starboard” it means he wants to turn to starboard. But with tiller commands, if the officer orders “hard a’starboard” it means he wants to turn to port.
This means the quartermasters on ships had to turn the wheel to the opposite side ordered by the officer. Thus Robert Hichens on the Titanic would have been thinking:
“Murdoch has ordered “hard a’starboard” which is a tiller command. That means he wants to turn to port, and this ship will turn in the direction that the wheel is turned. I need to turn the wheel to port, so the ship will turn to port,”
Although Hichens turned the wheel to port in time, Titanic could not turn quick enough to avoid the iceberg. Moments before impact, Murdoch ordered “hard a’port,”. This was to turn the ship to starboard to swing the stern away from the iceberg. This was carried out effectively, as the stern did not collide.
Tiller commands were used all the way through World War One, and almost all the way to the outbreak of World War Two. During this time, attempts to get ship officers used to rudder commands were made. This worked just before the outbreak of World War Two in 1939. Rudder commands became the norm throughout that time, and onto modern ships. In the 21st century, if a ship approaches danger and takes evasive action, the officers order Rudder Commands. So if an officer wants a modern ship to turn to starboard, he/she will order “hard a’starboard”.
Another thing I’d like to comment on to finish this article, is a claim made by Louise Patten in her book Good as Gold. In her book, she claims Hichens steered Titanic into the iceberg by accident. This is thanks to panic and confusion caused by tiller and rudder commands on Hichens’ part. Patten is the granddaughter of Charles Lightoller, the Titanic’s 2nd Officer on the bridge. Patten claims that her grandmother, Sylvia Lightoller said Murdoch ordered “hard a’starboard” as told. But in a moment of panic, Hichens performed the order as if it were a rudder command. He steered the wheel to starboard, which turned Titanic into a head-on collision. Only when he realised his mistake did Hichens turn the wheel towards port as he should have done. But this only doomed the Titanic to a collision.
The only people on the bridge at that time were First Officer Murdoch and Sixth Officer Moody. Both Murdoch and Moody perished and couldn’t confirm anything at the inquiries. The other two who saw anything happen were the two lookouts, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee. Patten alleges that Fleet and Lee were ordered to go by the sequence that we have been told throughout the past century since the sinking. Something that Murdoch and Captain Smith had concocted along with J. Bruce Ismay. If the inquiries learned that Hichens steered Titanic into the iceberg, the insurers wouldn’t pay out on the claim. This is something that would have been thought up when it became obvious that the ship was sinking.
Patten could have a compelling case, especially if her grandfather told her such a story. But this has led to heated disputes between the relatives of Lightoller and Hichens. Hichens’ relatives have fought tooth and nail to defend their ancestor’s legacy. Hichens’ descendant Sally Nilsson has disputed this as an elementary mistake. Hichens had been at sea since he was 14 and was 30 on the Titanic’s voyage. This means he would have been trained in tiller commands since the age of 14. Why would a 30-year-old make a mistake like that?
Furthermore, Hichens, Fleet and Lee did not come forward with such a story in their later years. A secret like that would not be easy to keep even if they were paid to lie or keep quiet. A mistake leading to the deadliest single shipwreck ever recorded being covered up? How could someone keep a secret that big to their deathbeds? I know I couldn’t. There are also no diaries or records of Hichens admitting that he turned the wheel the wrong way. Not to mention, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee would have seen the Titanic turn towards the iceberg. Even if they were paid to keep quiet, such a secret would surely have seen them crack later in life. So I do not agree with Patten’s statement.
References
Videos
“Let’s Talk about “TILLER COMMANDS””. Youtube, uploaded by Part-Time Explorer. July 23rd 2021. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndse8-FekEE
“Titanic History/ Was the Titanic accidentally turned into the iceberg?”. Youtube, uploaded by Historic Travels. December 31 2020. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT6mLI9bOU4
Images
Fig 1: “Let’s Talk about “TILLER COMMANDS””. Youtube, uploaded by Part-Time Explorer. July 23rd 2021. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndse8-FekEE
Fig 2: Public Domain Link: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Tomb_of_Menna_-_funeral_boat_200dpi.jpg
Fig 3: Isotalo P. 2009. Tiller room of the warship Vasa. Link: https://upload.wikimedia.org./wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Vasa-tiller_room-3.jpg
Fig 4: MaciejKa. 2006. Tiller blocked by two lines. Link: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Rumpel.JPG
Fig 5: Public Domain. Link: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/US_Navy_050823-N-9076B-001_Electrician%27s_Mate_1st_Class_Aaron_Walker_speaks_to_chief_petty_officer_selectees_as_he_stands_at_the_helm_of_USS_Constitution_in_Boston.jpg
Fig 6: Public Domain. Link: https://upload.wikimedia.org./wikipedia/commons/5/57/SteeringEngine.jpg
Fig 7. Marschall K. 1992. Hard A’Starboard. Link: https://www.artnet.com/artists/ken-marschall/hard-astarboard-0I6vhjZuD-cJ39VrPid5eA2
Fig 8: Gilbert J. 2010. Louise Patten, whose grandfather was the only surviving officer on Titanic, has revealed the truth about its sinking. Link: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/8016751/The-truth-about-the-sinking-of-the-Titanic.html
