The Captain’s Bridge, high up in the superstructure, served as the command center for the Ship’s navigation.

The bridge originally got its name from a catwalk-like structure that spanned the width of a ship, permitting the commanding officers a view of the vessel’s sides while docking. Around the year 1900, steamship companies began to install glass windscreens, which protected officers from the wind and inclement weather.

The photograph on the right, taken by Father Browne of the Olympic, shows the array of instruments on the Captain’s Bridge. The telegraphs (87/0175.A, 87/0176.A) relayed speed orders to the engine rooms below and docking orders to the Poop Deck far astern. A steering stand, whistle controllers, and one of the Ship’s compasses take pride of place with the telegraphs in the center of the Bridge. The Titanic had four such compasses, each housed in a brass and wooden case called a binnacle (87/0165).

The steering wheel located in this position on the Ship was used for navigation in fair weather and while coming in and out of port. The stand (00/0105) from this steering wheel was recovered during Expedition 2000. Also recovered from this area was a fuse panel (87/0185) that stated its purpose on celluloid labels. On one of the labels is printed "watertight doors" indicating an ominous electrical connection to the bells that rang as the watertight doors closed against the onslaught of seawater rushing in at seven tons per second.

During colder weather, the helmsman would move into a small, heated Wheelhouse, which contained the Ship’s main steering wheel (00/0253A), a compass, and a battery of telephones linking the Bridge to the important stations around the Ship. One of these stations was the crow’s nest where Frederick Fleet, without the benefit of binoculars, spotted the iceberg at 11:40pm on April 14, 1912. After ringing the bell (87/0154) attached to the crow’s nest three times, Fleet telephoned (87/0186) the Bridge to relay, "Iceberg right ahead!"

First Officer Murdock promptly ordered Quartermaster Hichens to turn the main steering wheel (00/0253A) hard over in a desperate attempt to avoid the collision with the iceberg. In the next 37 seconds, the Titanic’s bow would swing 22 degrees away from the iceberg—enough to avoid a head-on collision into the ice, but not enough to prevent the fatal puncture wounds in her side.

The Titanic was equipped with two sheet metal megaphones (87/0100), both of which have been recovered from the wreck site. Under normal circumstances, they were used to shout docking orders from the Bridge to the foredeck. However, on the night of the accident, officers used them to coordinate the lifeboat launchings.