1912 illustration of Titanic's collision with the iceberg at 11.40pm on Sunday 14 April.
Titanic was travelling at over 20 knots when she struck the iceberg.  In less than 10 seconds her hull was opened below the waterline on the starboard side for a length of 300 ft.  Within 10 minutes the ship's 5 forward compartments were flooded to a height of 14 feet above the keel.   Titanic's collision with the iceberg was a freak accident in which 6 compartments were immediately open to the sea.  The massive inrush of water, with which the pumps and system of hull subdivision could not cope, doomed the ship.