Titanic expert thinks new 3D photos may prove it didn't hit iceberg as shown in movies

Incredible new 3D images could hold the key to what really happened to the Titanic over 100 years ago.

In April 1912, the famous ship set sail from Southampton to New York City, with thousands onboard hoping to start a new life in America.

However, while en route, disaster struck, with the Titanic crashing into an iceberg on 15 April 1912, which tore a hole in its side and allowed water to flood in.

At the time, it had been branded 'unsinkable', however, this was not the case, and the ship eventually fell beneath the waves and to the ocean floor.

It's estimated that over 1,500 of over 2,000 passengers died that night.

Ever since, the prevailing thought has been that the ship hit the iceberg along its side, but new imagery may prove otherwise.

Atlantic Productions/Megallan

Parks Stephenson has dedicated years to studying the Titanic, and says there is a 'growing amount of evidence that Titanic didn’t hit the iceberg along its side, as is shown in all the movies'.

“She may actually have grounded on the submerged shelf of the ice," he said.

"That was the first scenario put out by a London magazine in 1912. Maybe we haven’t heard the real story of Titanic yet.”

Currently, the wreckage lies around 12,500ft beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

Experts have now been able to take over 70,000 images of the ship from each and every angle.

Atlantic Productions/Megallan

Stephenson, who was 'blown away' by them, believes it could be turning point in our understanding of what happened to the ship.

"And what it's showing you now is the true state of the wreck," he said.

"We really don't understand the character of the collision with the iceberg.

"We don't even know if she hit it along the starboard side, as is shown in all the movies - she might have grounded on the iceberg."

Atlantic Productions/Megallan

As you might expect, with it having been lost to the elements for the past century, the ship is not in the best state, with it slowly decaying on the ocean floor.

And Gerhard Seiffert, who works for the company that led the project, says it's an incredibly delicate process.

"The depth of it, almost 4,000m, represents a challenge, and you have currents at the site, too - and we're not allowed to touch anything so as not to damage the wreck," he told the BBC.

"And the other challenge is that you have to map every square centimetre - even uninteresting parts, like on the debris field you have to map mud, but you need this to fill in between all these interesting objects."