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108The People<span role="presentation" class="dropdown-menu-toggle"><span class="gp-icon icon-arrow"><svg viewBox="0 0 330 512" aria-hidden="true" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1em" height="1em"><path d="M305.913 197.085c0 2.266-1.133 4.815-2.833 6.514L171.087 335.593c-1.7 1.7-4.249 2.832-6.515 2.832s-4.815-1.133-6.515-2.832L26.064 203.599c-1.7-1.7-2.832-4.248-2.832-6.514s1.132-4.816 2.832-6.515l14.162-14.163c1.7-1.699 3.966-2.832 6.515-2.832 2.266 0 4.815 1.133 6.515 2.832l111.316 111.317 111.316-111.317c1.7-1.699 4.249-2.832 6.515-2.832s4.815 1.133 6.515 2.832l14.162 14.163c1.7 1.7 2.833 4.249 2.833 6.515z" /></svg></span></span></a><ul class="sub-menu"><li id="menu-item-1949" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1949"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-passengers/">Titanic Passengers</a></li><li id="menu-item-1938" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1938"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-crew/">Titanic Crew</a></li><li id="menu-item-1954" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1954"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-survivors/">Titanic Survivors</a></li><li id="menu-item-1957" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1957"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-victims/">Titanic Victims</a></li><li id="menu-item-1937" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1937"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-captain/">Titanic Captain</a></li><li id="menu-item-1947" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1947"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-orchestra/">Titanic Orchestra</a></li><li id="menu-item-1950" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1950"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-quotes/">Titanic Quotes</a></li></ul></li><li id="menu-item-1968" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-has-children menu-item-1968"><a href="#">The Disaster<span role="presentation" class="dropdown-menu-toggle"><span class="gp-icon icon-arrow"><svg viewBox="0 0 330 512" aria-hidden="true" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1em" height="1em"><path d="M305.913 197.085c0 2.266-1.133 4.815-2.833 6.514L171.087 335.593c-1.7 1.7-4.249 2.832-6.515 2.832s-4.815-1.133-6.515-2.832L26.064 203.599c-1.7-1.7-2.832-4.248-2.832-6.514s1.132-4.816 2.832-6.515l14.162-14.163c1.7-1.699 3.966-2.832 6.515-2.832 2.266 0 4.815 1.133 6.515 2.832l111.316 111.317 111.316-111.317c1.7-1.699 4.249-2.832 6.515-2.832s4.815 1.133 6.515 2.832l14.162 14.163c1.7 1.7 2.833 4.249 2.833 6.515z" /></svg></span></span></a><ul class="sub-menu"><li id="menu-item-1941" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1941"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-iceberg/">Titanic Iceberg</a></li><li id="menu-item-1952" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1952"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-sinking/">Titanic Sinking</a></li><li id="menu-item-1943" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1943"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-lifeboats/">Titanic Lifeboats</a></li><li id="menu-item-1958" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1958"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-wreck/">Titanic Wreck</a></li><li id="menu-item-1926" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1926"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/carpathia/">SS Carpathia</a></li><li id="menu-item-1934" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1934"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/californian/">SS Californian</a></li><li id="menu-item-1936" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1936"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-body-recovery/">Body Recovery</a></li></ul></li><li id="menu-item-1970" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-has-children menu-item-1970"><a href="#">Lists<span role="presentation" class="dropdown-menu-toggle">
108<span class="gp-icon icon-arrow"><svg viewBox="0 0 330 512" aria-hidden="true" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1em" height="1em"><path d="M305.913 197.085c0 2.266-1.133 4.815-2.833 6.514L171.087 335.593c-1.7 1.7-4.249 2.832-6.515 2.832s-4.815-1.133-6.515-2.832L26.064 203.599c-1.7-1.7-2.832-4.248-2.832-6.514s1.132-4.816 2.832-6.515l14.162-14.163c1.7-1.699 3.966-2.832 6.515-2.832 2.266 0 4.815 1.133 6.515 2.832l111.316 111.317 111.316-111.317c1.7-1.699 4.249-2.832 6.515-2.832s4.815 1.133 6.515 2.832l14.162 14.163c1.7 1.7 2.833 4.249 2.833 6.515z" /></svg></span></span></a><ul class="sub-menu"><li id="menu-item-1948" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-has-children menu-item-1948"><a href="https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list/">Titanic Passenger List<span role="presentation" class="dropdown-menu-toggle"><span class="gp-icon icon-arrow-right"><svg viewBox="0 0 192 512" aria-hidden="true" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" 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108id-100" id="primary"><main class="site-main" id="main"><article id="post-1569" class="post-1569 page type-page status-publish" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" itemscope><div class="inside-article"><header class="entry-header"><h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="headline">Building the Titanic</h1></header><div class="entry-content" itemprop="text"><p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Jump to <a href="#building">the story of building the Titanic</a></em></p><div class="introduction"><h3>Introduction</h3><p>As the largest moveable man-man object of its day, Titanic construction took a little over two years to complete, involving thousands of men and a cost equivalent to over one hundred million in modern day terms. Built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, alongside sister ship Olympic, building Titanic did not go without problems. Read on to discover fascinating facts and figures about the build.</p></div><div class="card"><noscript><img decoding="async" src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/titanic-construction.jpg" alt="Titanic under construction." width="100%"></noscript><img src='data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20210%20140%22%3E%3C/svg%3E' class="lazyload" decoding="async" data-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/titanic-construction.jpg" alt="Titanic under construction." width="100%"><p class="imageref">Above: Titanic under construction.</p></div><p><span class="fact">31 March 1909</span> – the date on which the keel was laid down and the construction of the Titanic commenced.</p><p><span class="fact">3 months</span> – the number of months after the keel of Olympic was laid down that Titanic’s keel was laid.</p><p><span class="fact">31 May 1911</span> – the date on which the <a title="Titanic launched" href="/titanic-launch/">Titanic launched</a>, entering the Victoria Channel in Belfast Lough from a slipway at the Queen’s Yard of the Harland & Wolff shipyard.</p><p><span class="fact">26 months</span> – the length of time it took to build the RMS Titanic, from keel to launch.</p><div class="faq"><h2>How much did the Titanic cost to build?</h2><p>At the US inquiry into the sinking, Bruce Ismay stated that the cost of building the Titanic was $7,500,000. This was converted into British Sterling at a rate of $5 to £1, with the cost in sterling being recorded as £1,500,000. Based on inflation and modern-day exchange rates, this would put the cost in modern money [<a title="How we converted old money to new" href="/titanic-online/#money">?</a>] at something in the region of $166,000,000 (£120,000,000). Interestingly, this is less than the cost of making the 1997 movie Titanic, which was $200,000,000.</p></div><p><span class="fact">401</span> – the yard number given to the Titanic when her keel was laid down (‘Harland and Wolff Yard No. 401’).</p><p><span class="fact">3</span> – the number of the slipway on which Titanic was built.</p><p><span class="fact">228 feet</span> – the height (69 metres) of the gantry built over the RMS Titanic and her <a href="/titanic-sister-ship/">sister ship Olympic</a>. Fittingly, it was the largest gantry in the world at that time.</p><p><span class="fact">14,000</span> – the number of men typically employed at the Harland & Wolff shipyard.</p><p><span class="fact">15,000</span> – the approximate number of men employed at the peak of the building work.</p><div class="faq"><h2>How many people built the Titanic?</h2><p><span class="fact">3,000</span> – the approximate number of Harland & Wolff shipbuilders <a title="The men who constructed the Titanic" href="/who-built-the-titanic/">who constructed the Titanic</a>.</p></div><p><span class="fact">20%</span> – the percentage of the total Harland & Wolff workforce this number represented.</p><div class="faq"><h2>How many rivets were used on the Titanic?</h2><p><span class="fact">3,000,000</span> – the number of rivets used in the construction of the hull. Unlike many ships built at the time, which used strong steel rivets, those used in building the Titanic were a mix of iron and steel, whilst even weaker iron rivets were used in the construction of the bow (the section of the ship that <a title="Titanic iceberg" href="/titanic-iceberg/">struck the iceberg</a>).</p></div><p><span class="fact">4</span> – the number of men in a riveting crew.</p><p><span class="fact">200</span> – the number of rivets that a riveting crew could complete per day (assuming dry weather conditions).</p><p><span class="fact">15,000</span> – the number of days work this rate of riveting would have represented for a single crew.</p><p><span class="fact">3 months</span> – the intended gap between the completion of Olympic and Titanic. This gap widened as more men were allocated to building Olympic in order to meet her planned launch date.</p><p><span class="fact">8</span> – the number of construction workers killed during the build, from keel laying to launch.</p><p><span class="fact">246</span> – the number of injuries recorded during the build.</p><div class="know"><h3>Did You Know?</h3><p>There was an unwritten expectation in shipyards at the time of ‘one death for every £100,000 spent’, so at a build cost of £1.5, the Titanic’s toll was less than the 15 deaths that might have been expected.</p></div><div class="card"><noscript><img decoding="async" src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/building-titanic-harland-wolff.jpg" alt="Building the Titanic at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast." width="100%"></noscript><img src='data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20210%20140%22%3E%3C/svg%3E' class="lazyload" decoding="async" data-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/building-titanic-harland-wolff.jpg" alt="Building the Titanic at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast." width="100%"><p class="imageref">Above: Building the Titanic at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.</p></div><p><span class="fact">20</span> – the number of horses needed to transport the main anchor.</p><div class="faq"><h2>Why was the Titanic built?</h2><p>Titanic and her sister ships Olympic and Britannic were built to compete with the ocean liners Lusitania and Mauretania. Owned by rivals Cunard, the Lusitania was renowned for her luxury, whilst the Mauretania held the Blue Riband, the unofficial record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic (a record which remained unbeaten until 1929). White Star Line had decided not to attempt to compete on speed but rather to build larger, more reliable and more luxuri
108ous ships than their rivals.</p></div><p><span class="fact">100 feet</span> – the approximate increase in length of Olympic and Titanic over Lusitania and Mauretania.</p><p><span class="fact">14,000</span> – the number of men employed at the Harland & Wolff shipyard.</p><p><span class="fact">49</span> – the average hours worked per week at the shipyard.</p><p><span class="fact">£2</span> – the weekly wage of a Harland & Wolff construction worker.</p><p><span class="fact">6</span> – the number of days worked each week (Saturday was a shorter day, ending early afternoon, and Sundays were not worked).</p><p><span class="fact">06.00 am</span> – the time by which yard managers were expected to be on site.</p><div id="building"></div><hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/><h2 class="wp-block-heading">The story of building the Titanic</h2><p class="wp-block-paragraph">The construction of the RMS Titanic, an iconic ocean liner, commenced on 31 March 1909. This was a mere three months after the keel of its sister ship, the Olympic, was laid down. The Titanic’s construction unfolded at the Queen’s Yard of the Harland & Wolff shipyard, where it was ceremoniously launched into the Victoria Channel in Belfast Lough on 31 May 1911. The building process spanned an impressive 26 months, signifying a remarkable feat of engineering and human effort.</p><h3 class="wp-block-heading">Funding and resources for this maritime marvel</h3><p class="wp-block-paragraph">At the U.S. inquiry into the Titanic’s sinking, Bruce Ismay revealed that its construction cost amounted to $7,500,000. When converted to British Sterling at the time, this equated to £1,500,000. Adjusted for modern-day inflation and exchange rates, the cost would be around $166,000,000 (£120,000,000). Intriguingly, this sum is less than the budget for the 1997 film “Titanic”, which had a production cost of $200,000,000.</p><h3 class="wp-block-heading">Structural specifications and workforce involvement</h3><p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Titanic was assigned yard number 401 at its inception. It was constructed on slipway number three, under a gantry that stood 228 feet tall (approximately 69 metres), the largest in the world at that time. Harland & Wolff, the shipyard responsible for the Titanic, typically employed 14,000 men, with the workforce peaking at around 15,000 during the height of the ship’s construction. Remarkably, about 3,000 shipbuilders from Harland & Wolff were directly involved in the Titanic’s construction, representing 20% of their total workforce.</p><h3 class="wp-block-heading">The hull’s construction and the human cost</h3><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Millions of rivets were used in the hull’s construction, either from iron or steel, with the former being notably weaker and used predominantly in the bow’s construction – the part that tragically struck the iceberg. A typical riveting crew comprised four men, capable of fixing 200 rivets per day in favourable weather conditions. This rate meant that the riveting task alone would have represented 15,000 days of work for a single crew.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">The timeline originally planned for the Titanic was to follow three months after the completion of the Olympic. However, this gap widened due to increased allocation of workers to the Olympic to ensure its timely launch. During the Titanic’s construction, there were eight fatalities and 246 recorded injuries. This was notably less than the shipyard norm of one death per £100,000 spent, which would have projected 15 deaths for the Titanic.</p><h3 class="wp-block-heading">Transportation and logistics</h3><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Transporting the Titanic’s main anchor required 20 horses, underscoring the immense scale of the project. The motivation behind the Titanic’s creation was to compete with Cunard’s ocean liners Lusitania and Mauretania. The Lusitania was known for its luxury, while the Mauretania held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing. Instead of vying for speed, White Star Line aimed to surpass these rivals in size, reliability, and luxury. The Titanic and its sister ship, the Olympic, were approximately 100 feet longer than the Lusitania and Mauretania.</p><h3 class="wp-block-heading">Working life at Harland & Wolff</h3><p class="wp-block-paragraph">The shipyard boasted a workforce of 14,000 men, each typically working 49 hours per week. A construction worker’s weekly wage was £2, and the workweek spanned six days, with Saturdays being shorter and Sundays not worked at all. Yard managers were expected to be on site by 06:00 am, showcasing the rigorous work ethic that underpinned the Titanic’s construction.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">The building of the RMS Titanic was an extraordinary undertaking, marked by significant financial investment, remarkable engineering, and immense human effort. Despite its tragic end, the Titanic remains a symbol of early 20th-century ambition and ingenuity.</p><hr><h3>More To Explore</h3><p>If you’ve found these facts on the build interesting, you might also wish to read about the <a title="The shipyard where Titanic was built" href="/where-was-the-titanic-built/">shipyard where Titanic was built</a> and about her ill-fated <a title="Titanic maiden voyage" href="/titanic-maiden-voyage/">maiden voyage</a> to New York.</p><hr><div class="wp-block-button aligncenter is-style-outline is-style-outline--1"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="#top">Back to top</a></div></div></div></article></main></div></div></div><div class="site-footer"><div id="footer-widgets" class="site footer-widgets"><div class="footer-widgets-container grid-container grid-parent"><div class="inside-footer-widgets">
108<div class="footer-widget-1 grid-parent grid-33 tablet-grid-50 mobile-grid-100"><aside id="custom_html-11" class="widget_text widget inner-padding widget_custom_html"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"><h3 class="footer-h3">The Ship</h3><ul><li><a href="/who-designed-the-titanic/" title="Who designed the Titanic?">Who designed the Titanic?</a></li><li><a href="/who-built-the-titanic/" title="Who built the Titanic?">Who built the Titanic?</a></li><li><a href="/where-was-the-titanic-built/" title="Where was the Titanic built?">Where was the Titanic built?</a></li><li><a href="/how-big-was-the-titanic/" title="How big was the Titanic?">How big was the Titanic?</a></li><li><a href="/titanic-sister-ship/" title="Titanic sister ships, Olympic and Britannic">Titanic sister ships</a></li><li><a href="/titanic-2/" title="Titanic 2 - a new ship?">Titanic 2 - a new ship?</a></li><li><a href="/titanic-models/" title="Titanic models">Titanic models</a></li></ul></div></aside></div><div class="footer-widget-2 grid-parent grid-33 tablet-grid-50 mobile-grid-100"><aside id="custom_html-12" class="widget_text widget inner-padding widget_custom_html"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"><h3 class="footer-h3">The People</h3><ul><li><a href="/titanic-survivors/how-many-people-survived/" title="How many people survived the Titanic?">How many people survived?</a></li><li><a href="/unsinkable-molly-brown/" title="Unsinkable Molly Brown">Unsinkable Molly Brown</a></li><li><a href="/titanic-victims/benjamin-guggenheim/" title="Benjamin Guggenheim">Benjamin Guggenheim</a></li><li><a href="/titanic-victims/thomas-andrews-jr/" title="Thomas Andrews Jr">Thomas Andrews Jr</a></li></ul></div></aside></div><div class="footer-widget-3 grid-parent grid-33 tablet-grid-50 mobile-grid-100"><aside id="custom_html-13" class="widget_text widget inner-padding widget_custom_html"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"><h3 class="footer-h3">The Disaster</h3><ul><li><a href="/how-did-the-titanic-sink/" title="">How did the Titanic sink?</a></li><li><a href="/how-big-was-the-iceberg/" title="How big was the iceberg?">How big was the iceberg?</a></li><li><a href="/when-did-the-titanic-sink/" title="When did the Titanic sink?">When did the Titanic sink?</a></li><li><a href="/where-did-the-titanic-sink/" title="Where did the Titanic sink?">Where did the Titanic sink?</a></li><li><a href="/how-deep-is-the-titanic/" title="How deep is the Titanic?">How deep is the Titanic?</a></li><li><a href="/who-found-the-titanic/" title="Who found the Titanic?">Who found the Titanic?</a></li></ul></div></aside></div></div></div></div><footer class="site-info" aria-label="Site" itemtype="https://schema.org/WPFooter" itemscope><div class="inside-site-info grid-container grid-parent"><div class="copyright-bar"> © 2026 Dave Fowler ⢠<a href="https://titanicfacts.net/site-map/">Site Map</a> ⢠<a href="https://titanicfacts.net/privacy-policy/">Privacy Poilcy</a></div></div></footer></div>
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