Titanic was built at the Harland & Wolff Shipyard of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The construction of Titanic began on March, 31, 1909.
She was completed on May 31, 1912. A total of 3 years and 2 months...
- September 17, 1908: Order To Proceed With Construction Signed
- March 22, 1909: Placement and positioning of keel blocks.
- March 31, 1909: Titanic’s first keel plate is laid.
- May 15, 1909: Double bottom is fully plated.
- Late November, 1909: Olympic is fully framed. By December 21st Titanic’s framing had accelerated.
- October 19, 1910: Titanic is fully plated. Just in time for Olympic’s launch the following day.
- February 27, 1911: Titanic’s rudder arrived at Harland & Wolff for installation.
- May 5, 1911: Titanic’s anchors (Center anchor, and 2 bower anchors) and anchor equipment arrived at Harland & Wolff for installation.
- Late May, 1911: Titanic receives first coat of paint and anchors were installed shortly after.
- May 31, 1911: Launch of Titanic. Olympic is completed and accepted by the White Star Line.
- Early June, 1911: Titanic is tied up at the Thompson fitting-out wharf.
- Late June, 1911: Plans for the redesign of the First Class areas on B Deck are reviewed and accepted.
- Late July, 1911: Heavy machinery, boilers, and engines are installed.
- August 20, 1911: Masts are installed.
- Early September, 1911: Structural modifications to B Deck begins and the slimmer “Utley’s vertical sliding windows” are installed. This was to accommodate the new First Class interior configurations. This modification would take six weeks to complete.
- Mid-September, 1911: Installation of the funnels begins. At a slow rate of one per month, it would not be until early January, 1912 before all four funnels would be installed.
- October 7, 1911: Titanic is moved from the Thompson fitting-out wharf to the Alexandra fitting-out wharf to make way for Olympic.
- October 11, 1911: Olympic is moved into the Thompson graving dock for repairs. Titanic is moved back to the Thompson fitting-out wharf shortly thereafter.
- November 20, 1911: Olympic is repaired. Titanic remains at the fitting-out wharf.
- February 3, 1912: Titanic is moved into the Thompson graving dock for the first time. The only known film footage of Titanic is taken during this event.
On February 24th, during an east bound crossing from New York, Olympic threw a propeller blade in mid ocean. Again materials were taken from Titanic.
- March 2, 1912: Titanic is moved back out of the graving dock to make way for Olympic.
- March 6, 1912: Olympic is repaired, and Titanic is moved back into the graving dock. Olympic will leave for Southampton the following day.
- March 8, 1912: Titanic was taken out of the graving dock for the last time, and tied up in the fitting out wharf.
- March 8, 1912 – March 31, 1912: Titanic’s hull receives its final coat of paint, the forward half of the A deck promenade is screened in, and other final details are completed.
- March 31, 1912: Titanic is completed.
- April 1, 1912: Titanic's Sea Trials are scheduled but postponed for the next day due to high winds.
- April 2, 1912: Titanic’s officers conduct her sea trials. She is accepted by the White Star Line and leaves Belfast for Southampton at 8pm. She will be docked in Southampton for one week to prepare for her maiden voyage.
Researched by Joshua Allen Milford. Sources include:
Original H&W documents.
"Titanic: The Ship Magnificent" Volumes 1 & 2 by Bruce Beveridge, Scott Andrews, Steve Hall, and Daniel Klistorner. (2008)
"Titanic In Photographs" by Daniel Klistorner, Art Braunschweiger, Scott Andrews, Bruce Beveridge, Steve Hall (2011)
"Anatomy of the Titanic" by Tom McCluskie (1998)