⚠️This fact has been debunked
The Titanic was not the first ship to use SOS. The signal was first used by the SS Slavonia in June 1909, three years before the Titanic disaster. The Titanic initially used CQD (the older British distress code) before also transmitting SOS. While the Titanic disaster helped popularize SOS as the universal distress signal, it was already in use.
The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal.
Did the Titanic Send the First SOS Signal?
One of the most persistent myths about the RMS Titanic is that it was the first ship to use the famous SOS distress signal. It's a compelling story—the doomed luxury liner, sinking into the icy Atlantic, desperately sending out the first-ever call for help using those three famous letters. But here's the truth: the Titanic wasn't even close to being first.
The SS Slavonia beat Titanic by three years. On June 10, 1909, this Cunard Line passenger ship ran aground in the Azores and became the first vessel to use SOS in a real emergency. Two months later, the American steamship SS Arapahoe sent the first recorded American SOS off Cape Hatteras on August 11, 1909.
So What Did the Titanic Actually Send?
When the Titanic struck an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, senior radio operator Jack Phillips initially sent "CQD"—the older distress code still preferred by British wireless operators. His junior colleague Harold Bride half-jokingly suggested trying the new SOS signal, reportedly saying it might be their last chance to use it.
Phillips alternated between both signals that night. The nearby Carpathia, about 60 miles away, picked up the distress call and rushed to the scene, ultimately rescuing 705 survivors from the freezing water.
Why Does Everyone Think Titanic Was First?
The Titanic disaster was a catastrophic international news event that dominated headlines for months. The sinking was so famous, so tragic, and so thoroughly documented that it overshadowed the relatively mundane groundings and maritime incidents where SOS had been used before.
The disaster did serve as a turning point, though. After the Titanic, everyone—including the British who had stubbornly stuck with CQD—finally adopted SOS as the universal standard. The tragedy made the signal famous, even if it didn't make it first.
The Real Origin Story
SOS was born from bureaucracy, not drama. Germany adopted it in their maritime radio regulations in 1905, and it became the international standard when the first International Radiotelegraph Convention was signed on November 3, 1906, taking effect on July 1, 1908.
Why SOS? It's distinctive in Morse code (· · · — — — · · ·), easy to recognize, and contrary to popular belief, it doesn't actually stand for "Save Our Ship" or "Save Our Souls." Those are backronyms. The letters were chosen simply because they're unmistakable when transmitted.
The Titanic's operators sent their distress calls into history, but they were following a protocol that dozens of ships had already used. Sometimes the most famous story isn't the first one—it's just the one we can't forget.