I have read that they would have been better off if they hit it head-on....It would seem to me that with all of the inherent weaknesses of the boat, had they hit the iceberg head-on, it probably would have sunk faster than it did.
Yes, I heard that as well. Also, had they not reversed the propellers, which affects the ship’s ability to steer, they might have been able to steer around the iceberg.
By ripping the side open, it made the bulkheads worthless. A head on strike would have crippled the ship...she would have stayed afloat.
Ships even then are built with a collision bulkhead near to the fore peak. The void space between the stem and the collision bulkhead was meant to absorb the energy of an allision/ collision and maintain the watertight boundary.
The allision with the berg raked down the side of the ship simultaneously opening several compartments to the sea. So much buoyancy lost pulled the ship down, with water overtopping the compartment bulkheads progressively flooding more compartments, the ship’s fate was sealed.