(Depth : 12,500 feet.  Stern : 41°43'35" N, 49°56'54" W.  Bow : 41°43'57" N, 49°56'49" W)

On 22nd August 1985 Dr Robert D Ballard, (from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute), teamed up with Jean-Louis Michel (of the French Institute for Research and Exploration of the Seas), in an attempt to locate the wreck of Titanic. The expedition was carried out on the U.S. Navy Research vessel "Knoor", and the Ship carried two vital pieces of equipment to aid their efforts. "Angus" and "Argo" were both unmanned submersibles that could be operated at a depth of 20,000 feet. In essence, they were Sleds that could be towed along the sea bed by means of an armoured steel cable. The main differences between them being the facilities that were built into each. Argo carried sonar that scanned the vicinity to the front and to the sides of the sled, enabling it to search a large are in little time. But, more impressively, Argo was equipped with highly sophisticated real time video cameras which could transmit, through Fibre Optic cables, near perfect images to the control room onboard the Knoor. Angus was a slightly older model, it had no real time video onboard, but due to it's excellent still photography capabilities, it was vital for mapping areas of the Ocean floor. 

In the early hours of 1st September, the operating crew aboard knoor were finding it hard to stay awake. For days Argo had scanned the sea bed and found nothing, and the team were running out of time. Suddenly, on the video monitor, appeared an object that was obviously man made. Argo's sonar confirmed that something "big" lay ahead. As the submersible drew closer to the object, a clear image was made out, it was a funnel belonging to Titanic.

Argo was raised 100ft and continued it's search of the area. What they saw next was to fill their hearts with mixed emotions, Titanic was sitting upright, proud and as elegant as the World remembered her, but she was dying. She was barely recognisable, "Rusticles" hung from every piece of metal, and her Wooden Decks had long gone. As the time approached 02:00 am, the crew stood silently on the quarter deck of the Knoor, lost in thoughts of what occurred over that very spot 73 years ago. 

With Weather conditions worsening, the team stayed but a few more days before setting a course back home to Wood's Hole, and to tell the World of their news........They had found Titanic.

In 1986, on "Atlantis 11", Ballard led a second expedition to the wreck site, and he had high hopes for some new equipment that the U.S. Navy had provided. This time, Ballard was going down to the wreck himself in a three man submersible named "Alvin". This new submersible would allow him to get within meters of the Great Ship, and, using the second piece of equipment, "Jason Junior", they would be able to get photographs and video footage of her once magnificent interior.

The team made a total of 11 dives, with calm weather providing better conditions than their last trip.  Jason Junior, or "J. J." as Ballard christened him, was a remotely operated, self propelled unit that was attached to Alvin via a 250 ft long umbilical cable, and the results it gave were stunning. Due to his size, J. J. was able to enter cabins and passage ways in the Ship, and to the delight of the crew, he went "dancing in the ballroom". The expedition was a complete success.

On 28th July, the Atlantis 11 safely returned to Wood's Hole. Ballard's discoveries yielded a much better understanding of the terrible circumstances that brought an abrupt end to the life of the World's Largest liner. The Ship did indeed break in two, between the Third and Fourth Funnels. The Stern section lies over 1,800ft from the Bow, and the whole area is littered with debris such as coal, china, and wine bottles. No human remains were found during the dives, the only sign of the tragic loss of life was a pair of boots being found on the sandy Ocean floor, and the only evidence of man visiting the wreck, is a plaque left by Ballard, dedicated to the souls that were lost.

Australian Entrepreneur Mike McDowell, has recently won the rights to allow tourists to visit the wreck. At a cost of £21,500 (Per Person) you will descend to the site, in submersibles "Mir 1" & "Mir 2", where you can experience for yourself, the Wonder that is "Titanic".