You’ve probably heard of the Titanic, the great “unsinkable” ship that crashed into an iceberg and sank in the icy North Atlantic, killing more than 1,500 people. Maybe you’ve read about brave heroes who gave their lives in the service of others on that frigid night, or cowardly villains who only cared about saving themselves. Perhaps you’ve heard heartbreaking details: how there weren’t enough lifeboats and how third-class passengers were locked away from the boat deck, where they might have been saved.

The tale of the Titanic is legendary—but only parts of that tragic story are true. When we take a closer look—through eyewitness accounts, historical evidence, and the work of modern-day archaeologists—other parts come crashing down. Here’s the real deal about that not-so-unsinkable ship that captured the world’s attention after it hit an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912.