As mentioned earlier, the Titanic took approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes to fully sink after its collision with the iceberg. Understanding the events that transpired during this time allows us to gain insights into how a disaster of this magnitude unfolded.

The RMS Titanic stayed afloat for approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes after striking the iceberg. The collision occurred at 11:40 PM on the night of April 14, 1912, and the ship finally disappeared beneath the surface of the Atlantic at 2:20 AM on April 15. The iceberg caused a series of "grazing" punctures along the starboard side, compromising five of the ship's sixteen watertight compartments. Because the ship was only designed to stay afloat with four compartments flooded, the weight of the water in the fifth compartment pulled the bow down, allowing water to "spill over" the top of the bulkheads into subsequent sections. This "domino effect" made the sinking inevitable. During those 160 minutes, the crew managed to launch most of the available lifeboats, though many were not filled to capacity. The sinking remains one of the most studied maritime disasters, serving as a catalyst for massive changes in international maritime safety regulations, including the requirement for enough lifeboats for every person on board and 24-hour radio monitoring.