Ships

Ships are large or small vehicles that transport people or things (often both) across different parts of culture. A ship can often be refered to as a vehicle that drives across the ocean, often similar to a boat, except much bigger. Some of the most historic & most fascinating consists of the RMS Titanic, which hit an iceberg on its Maiden Voyage while en route to New York from Southhampton, England, RMS Lusitania, which was torpedoed of the coast of southern Ireland by U-20 on the starboard bow, HMHS Britannic, which struck a mine close to Kea, Greece, RMS Olympic, the only Olympic-class liner that never sank, RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the Titanic's survivors & RMS Queen Mary, which is retired & now serves as a floating tourist attraction at Long Beach, California as of late 1967.

## History:

Ships are an ancient concept tht date back as floating palaces during the Roman Era. These ships served as sailing across the lakes. As time progressed, they were also used as battle services, often used as troop vessels to fire at the enemies. This example consists of a small ship that had a spiky top. It now settles in a museum lounge. Following the Roman times, they were used for other purposes, such as travel. As ships traveled across the sea, new territiories began to settle. Ships would eventually be equipped with sails that would help steer the ship by weather. Eventually, as before, they were used as ameans of transportation across the sea, including for the British, who decided to use them in a much more decorative manner. They began being known as type of luxury for the wealthy. However, they were often also used as war vessels equipped with cannons for such ocassion. Several ships would be sunken during these times. They would eventually be used to travel across the Atlantic Ocean, believing them to be sailing for India. However, they ended up on the other side of the Atlantic in the bahamas, where Christopher Columbus slaughtered & tortured many of the tribes that lived there. Other ocassions example when Pocahontas was captured by the British & taken to England at the age of 12. She died at the age of 19. As technology developed, Benjamin Franklin flew a kite into a storm after attaching a key to it. The bolt of lighting struck the kite & gave homes electricity. Following this marvel, after having several incidents when ships caught on fire with lanterns or getting lost at sea, newer ships were given this phenomenon. It provided light & shelter out at sea. Overtime, the better the electricity & more lightbulbs, the better it was for ships to get bigger, even going as far as to inlude boilers. This prompted newer ships to start having funnels to pump out steam & boiler exhaust. After sailing became a thing from the past, paddle steamers were invented. These types of vehicles would give passengers & crew maximum improvements on travel across the sea or the ocean (sometimes both). Soon, ocean liners were invented. Great Britain is the 1st ship to have a propeller. With the propeller giving a newer invention, it would help push the ship to its destination, However, there were times when a ship would crash into rocks offshore. This was a common thing & still is today. Radar didn't exist at the time, so ocean liners weren't the most capable, but they were the only source of transportation across the ocean. Ferries came in to play, often with a funnel on either side of the ship. Ship companies were soon brought into play, such as Cunard & White Star Line. Oceanic was the 1st ocean liner built for White Star Line, while Cunard went with Britannia & Umbria. White Star Line had ships such the Atlantic, Britannic & Georgic. Atlantic crashed into offshore socks & wrecked. Britannic & Georgic were the 1st White Star Liners to bare 2 funnels in front of 1 another in a single row in the center. Lifeboats also became a thing. This was important so that people who survived a disaster would be rescued. Cunard have the same tactic. Like White Star Line, most of their ships had 2 funnels. However, compared to White Star Line, who ships' funnels were golden yellow, Cunard's ships' funnel were red with black stripes, a tradition that continues to this day. They both competed against 1 another in hopes of building the most luxurious ocean liners in history. White Star Line often chose Harland & Wolff Shipyards to build their ships, while Cunard went with French ship building companies. Germany was the 1st country to include 4-funnel liners, starting Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse. The funnels were in groups of 2, with a gap between the 2nd & 3rd funnels. Other ships proceeding Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse were Konprinz Wilhelm, Kaiser Wilhelm II & Deutchland. Cunard came up with a similar idea & built Lusitania & Mauretania, which were also 4-funnel liners, except no gap between the 2nd & 3rd funnels. Mauretania was the fastest 4-funnel liner & often held the Blue Ribband speed award. White Star Line wanted to take stuff up a notch & built the Olympic & the Titanic. Another ocean liner that had 4 funnels was the original SS France. Olympic set sail on her Maiden Voyage in June of 1911 from Southhampton, England to New York & succeeded in the maiden voyage. However, her sister wasn't so lucky. When SHE set sail from the same route, she hit an iceberg & sank within 2 1/2 hours, claiming the lives of over 1,500 innocent lives. The survivors were rescued by the Carpathia & brought to New York. Titanic is the most popular ship to talk about. Following the disaster, ship companies had to add more lifeboats to ensure everyone would make it off safely in case of emergency. However, following the outbreak of World War 1, Lusitania was stuck by a torpedo on the starboard bow & sank within 18 minutes, claiming the lives of over 1,100 people. The ship DID carry plenty of lifeboats, but due to the listing, it was unsafe to lower the rest of the lifeboats. HMHS Britannic, which had been refitted during construction after Titanic's tragedy, carried more lifeboats than her sister. This proved to be efficient as when she struck a mine of the coast of Kea in Greece, everybody was sucessfully evacuated, but only 30 people were killed by the ship's port propeller. To this day, Britannic remains the largest passenger shipwreck in history, laying on her starboard side with a crack close to the bow. Olympic would be the only Olympic-Class Liner to survive World War 1. Mauretania & Aquitania, which a newer member to Cunard's fleet as of 1914, also survived. Despite the loss of ships during the war, some ships were still new & would replace the sunken liners, such as The RMS Majestic, formerly Bismarck, which would take Britannic's place & Homeric, formerly Columbus, which would take Titanic's place. In 1913, prior to the war, White Star Line had planned a replacement for Titanic named Ceric. When Britannic sank, Germanic was thought up, but instead would become the 2nd Laurentic after the original from years prior. During the Great Depression, RMMV Oceanic was planned, but was only partially built. She was covered in protective oil in hopes of resuming construction. Unfortunately, she was scrapped before she could be complete. White Star Line merged with Cunard, who built the Queen Mary, which set sail in 1936. As for Mauretania & Olympic, they were sold for scrap, while Aquitania was left unscathed. Queen Mary also rivaled with the French liner Normandie for the Blue Ribband. Both ships had 3 funnels. When World War 2 broke out, the Swastika-branded flags would be seen on the back of enemy Nazi planes. Queen Mary & Aquitania served as troopships during this time. RMS Queen Elizabeth had just been completed by that time. While 20th Century Fox was producing a war film by Daryll F. Zanuck, German Creigsmarine Flagship Bismark was the most dangerous of all Military Warships. She had been commisioned by Adolf Hitler. Bismark sank the HMS Hood, but revenge was brought upon it when the British defeated the evil liner & sank it. Hitler was furious that the ship was sunken. He even had anyone would sink the Queen Mary paid. Fortunately, Queen Mary was easilly out run from the attacks & even sank some enemy submarines, just like the Olympic did during World War 1. While at the Pacific Ocean, Pearl Harbor was bombed & dozens of American warships were sunken at the Harbor, including the SS Arizona, the SS Mississippi & so forth. They got their revenge on Japan, although the USS Johnston was lost during the conflict. To this day, it is the deepest wreck found at the bottom of any ocean. In 1945, German Liner WIlhelm Gustloff was carrying over 10,000 civilians over its normal 2,000 capacity in the Baltic Sea. She was spotted by Russian Submarine S-13, which shot 3 torpedoes on its port side, sinking it in 55 minutes. Over 9,000 people died in the frigid sea while at least 900 were rescued. This was not long before World War 2 ended. By the 50s, air travel was becoming more of a thing. However, Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth had a new rival: the SS United States. In1956, Andrea Doria was accidentally struck by the SS Stockholm. The survivors were evacuated & rescued by the Ild De France. Because the air line industry was quickly developing, Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth were retired early. Queen Mary sailed for the last time from Southhampton & arrived in Long Beach, California in December 1967, where she is today. As for Queen Elizabeth, she was to be converted into a floating university, but a fire broke out & the ship capsized. At last, the United States was unrivaled. She retired in 1996 & now stays at a dock in Philedelphia. Around that time, cruises were becoming more modern. They would be used for vacationing. Along came Carnival Cruise Line & others. Royal Caribbean built their ships with the usual Of The Seas name. Disney even took interests in building cruises. In 2004, Cunard launched Queen Mary 2, the only ocean liner today. While air travel is more efficient, cruises are used for vacations. However, with radar having already being invented, there are still incidents, such as the Costa Concordia, which hit a rock in Italy & capsized, although it could still be half above water. The ship was eventually salvaged & scrapped. With radar being a thing on modern ships, this helps keep ships safer. Over the years, Cunard launched Queen Victoris in 2007 & MS Queen Elizabeth in 2010. As for other ships such as Oasis Of The Seas & Quantum Of The Seas, They have become popular. Disney unvailed & lauched Disney Wish in 2022 while Royal Caribbean launched Wonder Of The Seas, the largest cruise liner ship in the World! Joseph Ricker's SS Titan will soon be the World's largest ocean liner. Titanic II was purposed in 2012, but hasn't been built yet.

## Trivia:

Of all the most popular, the 4-Funnel liner were the most popular. Most notably, the Titanic, which made Hollywood history while still at the bottom of the North Atlantic. The ship was discovered in 1985 & 20th Century Fox & Paramount Pictures distributed the James Cameron box-office splendor of the same name in 1997.

833time couldn't put everything in this article, so only the most facinating would included.

Titanic suffered a huge amount of deaths during the sinking but Wilhelm Gustloff suffered the most amount in Maritime History. Despite this, Titanic is still the most popular.

Ships don't only sail in the ocean. There's also the USS Enterprise from the Star Trek franchise. However, the ship has not been built yet around this time of the article being created. More than not, it's all science fiction.