By day Tim Knittig sells drapery products from Simcoe Draperies but his sideline hobby led him to publish a chap book on the sinking of the Titanic.
His chap book revives an old conspiracy theory that claims the unsinkable ship sinking was an insurance fraud.
Using timelines, comparative photos and information about the two sister ships — Titanic and Olympic — built by White Star Lines, Knittig lays out how the conspiracy worked.
“I build custom models,” Knittig explained his initial interest in the Titanic.
“With building my models, I investigate really, really deep for accuracy, stuff like that. When I was studying, I found a lot of different conflicting evidence and information between the two different ships, the Olympic and the Titanic.”
Both were sister ships built by White Star, owned by New York banker J.P. Morgan.
“The Olympic had been in three different big accidents. The last one was severe. It broke its back and bent the drive shaft.”
The ship’s drive shaft can’t be changed once installed.
“The Olympic was totalled off. Insurance wouldn’t pay because the last accident was the White Star line’s fault.
“What they did they decided even with government level on this conspiracy. They actually switched the names, sent the Olympic out as the Titanic, patched up enough to get it out to collect insurance.
The insurance payout was $10 million U.S.
“It was well-planned. Everybody was supposed to be rescued. Things went bad. They were off course ” when the iceberg was hit.
In the April 14, 1912 sinking, 1,527 of the 2,223 passengers died in icy waters.
“I found a lot of references with information, even the legal proceedings after the accident,” said Knittig. “Basically, the judge was paid off.
“A lot of people don’t want to know the real story. They put blinders on.”
The timeline runs from building the two ships to the Olympic’s accidents to where the switch transition started taking place down to the company not filling the voyage to capacity.
“All the workers on the job were threatened, even death threats but a lot of them were talking.”
His book — Titanic the Ship That Never Sank — was on sale at the Cosmo Seniors’ fall craft show.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected]
