FALMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The sheer size of the vessel and the shoes were what struck Robert Ballard when he descended to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic in 1986, the year after he and his crew from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution helped find the ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic in 1912.
“The first thing I saw coming out of the gloom at 30 feet was this wall, this giant wall of riveted steel that rose over 100 and some feet above us,” he said in an interview from Connecticut on Wednesday, the same day the WHOI was releasing on YouTube 80 minutes of never before publicly seen underwater video of the expedition to the wreckage.
“I never looked down at the Titanic. I looked up at the Titanic. Nothing was small,” he said.
The crew of Alvin, the three-person submersible he was in, headed to the surface when it started taking water into its batteries, and as it rose Ballard saw the Titanic’s portholes.

Uncredited – handout one time use, WHOI Archives, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
“It was like people looking back at us. It was pretty haunting actually,” he said.
There were no human flesh or bones left, but he saw shoes, including the footwear of what appeared to be a mother and a baby, that looked like tombstones marking the spot where some of the roughly 1,500 people who perished came to rest on the ocean floor.
“After the Titanic sank, those that went into the water that didn’t have lifejackets died of hypothermia and their bodies came raining down,” he said.
The liner sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City after hitting an iceberg in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912.
The WHOI team, in partnership with the French oceanographic exploration organization Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer, discovered the final resting place of the ship in 12,400 feet (3,780 meters) of water on Sept. 1, 1985, using a towed underwater camera.
The newly released footage was from a return expedition the following year.
Get the full story here:
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
Library of Congress/TNS/TNS
The RMS Titanic was 882 feet, 9 inches long, and 92 feet wide.
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
Dreamstime/TNS
The Titanic was 175 feet tall. The boat deck was 60 feet above water, and the bottom of the boat went 34 feet below the water line.
Dreamstime/TNS
The Titanic was 175 feet tall. The boat deck was 60 feet above water, and the bottom of the boat went 34 feet below the water line.
-
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
Dreamstime/TNS
The Titanic had four smokestacks, although only three carried smoke from the ship’s furnaces. The fourth was used to ventilate the kitchens and for aesthetic purposes.
Dreamstime/TNS
The Titanic had four smokestacks, although only three carried smoke from the ship’s furnaces. The fourth was used to ventilate the kitchens and for aesthetic purposes.
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
Dreamstime/TNS
The Titanic travelled at a cruising speed of 21 knots (24 mph) and had a top speed of 23 knots (26 mph).
Dreamstime/TNS
The Titanic travelled at a cruising speed of 21 knots (24 mph) and had a top speed of 23 knots (26 mph).
-
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
Dreamstime/TNS
The Titanic had three propellers. The central propeller was used in open seas, while the two on the sides were used for navigation and could be run in reverse.
Dreamstime/TNS
The Titanic had three propellers. The central propeller was used in open seas, while the two on the sides were used for navigation and could be run in reverse.
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
-
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
Dreamstime/TNS
The Titanic was powered by 159 coal-burning furnaces.
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
Library of Congress/TNS
The Titanic used 14,000 gallons of drinking water every day.
-
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
Library of Congress/TNS
The Titanic carried, among other foods, 75,000 pounds of meat and 40 tons of potatoes.
Library of Congress/TNS
The Titanic carried, among other foods, 75,000 pounds of meat and 40 tons of potatoes.
-
It was ‘haunting’: Robert Ballard recalls mission to Titanic site
Library of Congress/TNS
On its maiden voyage, the Titanic carried 2,208 people: 1,496 passengers and 712 crew members.
Library of Congress/TNS
On its maiden voyage, the Titanic carried 2,208 people: 1,496 passengers and 712 crew members.