As the Titanic’s forward compartments flooded, wireless operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bride frantically signaled other ships.
At first, they sent the traditional Morse code distress call: CQD (Attention all stations: Distress). Several ships replied. But the nearest one, the Carpathia, was 58 miles away. It would take more than four hours to reach the Titanic.
The radio operators then sent the newer SOS distress call, a signal that was easy to send and receive. In 1906, SOS (dot, dot, dot; dash, dash, dash; dot, dot, dot) had been created. It replaced the longer and harder CQD: dash, dot, dash, dot; dash, dash, dot, dash; dash, dot, dot.
Now, it was only a matter of time.
