Titanic Sister Ships Titanic Sister Ships The Titanic and her Sisters Assembled by the Harland Wolff Company, the Titanic was the most luxurious and celebrated vessel of her time. Built to be the apex of sophistication, the massive cruise liner was an industrial marvel and would become what is likely the most famous vessel of all time. What people might not know, is that the Titanic was actually the second of an entire line of similar cruise vessels. Each Titanic sister ship had similar composition to the maritime beast and was crafted with the same luxury in mind. The Titanic sisters were the Titanic sister Olympic and the Titanic sister Britannic. Since tragedy befell the Titanic on the night of April 14, 1912, the Titanic’s sisters missed much recognition. Although smaller than the Titanic, the Britannic and Olympic were undoubtedly engineering feats of their time. First to be built was the RMS Olympic followed by the Titanic, and the last Titanic sister by the name of the HMHS Britannic. When exploring the history of the legendary vessel, it’s important to remember that the Titanic was not the only highly luxurious and massive cruise liner run by White Star, simply the most famous. Each of the Titanic sister ships have their own unique story complete with triumph and tragedy.

First Titanic Film Came Out One Month After Sinking The Sad Story Under the command of Edward Smith, the ship leaved Southampton with 2224 passengers aboard, including some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of poor emigrants from Europe seeking a new life in North America. The ship had advanced safety features, but there were not enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Only 1,178 people can be carried in lifeboats. Four days into the crossing and about 375 miles (600 km) south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm ship's time. The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea; the ship gradually filled with water. Meanwhile, passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly loaded. By 2:20 AM, the giant ship broke apart and foundered, with over 1000 people still aboard. Just under two hours after the sinking, the Cunard liner RMS Carpathia arrived and brought aboard about 705 survivors.

Small Numbers 74: The number of years it took to find the wreck of the Ship in the Atlantic Ocean. 64 : The number of lifeboats supposed to be aboard the ship. 20 : The number of lifeboats she actually carried. 65: Maximum capacity of a lifeboat. 28 : The number of people on board the first lifeboat. 2 : The number of workers killed during the construction process. Now On Sale The Unsinkable Ship ! Who doesn’t know about Titanic? The famous British ship that was designed to be unsinkable, but it finally sank on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during its long trip from Southampton, UK to New York City, US. About 1,500 people died, and the largest ship made at the time led to one of the biggest disasters in modern history. Big Numbers $7,500,000 : The total cost of building the RMS Titanic. 12,600 feet : The depth at which the wreck of the ship lays. 882 feet : The length of the ship. 3,547 : The maximum number of people the ship could carry.

2,223 : The number of people aboard, including passengers and crew. 1,178: The number of people that could be carried in the lifeboats. 705 : The number of people who survived the tragedy. Titanic's Sister Ships Titanic's Sister Ships The Titanic was the second of three large liners intended to work the Southampton-New York "shuttle" service. The sister ships were planned to be near identical. RMS Olympic Olympic & Titanic in Belfast Launched on 20th October 1910 Olympic was the first of the trio of White Star Liners. Under the command of Captain E.J. Smith (who was later to command the Titanic) she sailed on June 14th 1911 on her Maiden voyage to New York. The Olympic was received well, but on 20th September 1911 she was involved in a collision with cruiser HMS Hawke. After limping back to Belfast she was repaired using components from her sister (Titanic) then under construction. After the Titanic disaster, Olympic underwent various safety improvements including lifeboats for all aboard, and in October 1912 she returned to Belfast again for installation of an inner watertight skin.

On 1st September 1915 the Olympic was requisitioned by the British Government for war service as a troopship. Later she received a coat of dazzle paint designed to confuse enemy observers. Perhaps her most famous exploit of the war years was when she struck and sank a German submarine, U103. After the war she returned to commercial service, and despite her early mishaps, she gained an affectionate following and earned the nickname "Old Reliable". Her bad luck returned on 15th May 1934 when the Olympic collided with the Nantucket lightship with the loss of 7 lives. Her last voyage ended in Southampton on April 12th 1935, on 13th October 1935 she arrived Palmers Yard on the Tyne for breaking up. Her pitiful remains were finally towed to Inverkeithing on 19th September 1937 for final demolition. Fittings from the Olympic were sold off at auction, and to this day it is possible to see them.

Notable locations include the White Swan Hotel, Alnwick, England and the famous "Honour and Glory Crowning Time" wood carving can be seen in the Southampton Maritime Museum. Recommended Reading: RMS Olympic "The Old Reliable" by Simon Mills Publisher: Waterfront Publications - ISBN: 0-946184-79-8 HMHS Britannic HMHS Britannic at Mudros on 3rd October 1916 Britannic started life under the cloud of the Titanic disaster, from the start she was expected to be named "Gigantic" but she was built as Britannic, considered by White Star as a lucky name (the White Star Line had three ships named Britannic over the years - HMHS Britannic was the second). In appearance the Britannic resembled the Titanic, having an enclosed promenade A-Deck, but one large difference was the lifeboat davits which were much more prominent on the Britannic. Below decks, the Britannic was similar to her sisters, but additional safety features (such as a double skin) were "built in" rather than retrofitted.

Although her service speed was not intended to be increased, she was fitted with a more powerful turbine capable of developing 18,000HP compared to the 16,000HP of the Olympic, it was the largest marine turbine in the world. Launched on 26th February 1914, fitting out was delayed by WW1 and financial/industrial difficulties. On 13th November 1915 the Britannic was requisitioned as a hospital ship becoming HMHS (His Majesty's Hospital Ship) Britannic. Receiving a coat of brilliant white paint, with huge red crosses each lit by 125 lights. On 11th December 1915 she left Belfast and started her short career. On 8:12am on 21st November 1916 Britannic struck a mine (some still contest it was a torpedo) in the Kea Channel, Aegean Sea. Despite her improved safety features, the Britannic began to sink in a cruel copycat of her sister's end four years earlier. Attempts were made to beach the ship on the nearby island of Kea, but it was not to be.

Two lifeboats, launched without authority from the port side were sucked into the propellers and smashed to pieces....the occupants didn't stand a chance. At 9:07 the stern disappeared beneath the ocean. From that moment the Olympic became the last survivor of White Star's dream of a three-ship New York shuttle. In retrospect, the disaster could have been much worse. If the Britannic had been on a homebound journey with wounded aboard, the loss of life would have been unthinkable. In 1976 the famous French explorer Cousteau discovered the wreck lying on her side at a depth of 110 meters and recovered a few small objects. Considering the shallow water that the Britannic rests in and the length of time her position has been know it's perhaps ironic that the wreck of the Britannic is safer from would-be salvagers than the Titanic. As a requisitioned ship in the service of Crown, the wreck to this day belongs to the British Government. On 27th August 1995, the British newspaper, The Sunday Express, reported that a team of 12 Greek divers led by Kostos Thoktardis would attempt to raise the wreck.

A week later (3rd September 1995) The Sunday Express reported that Paul Louden-Brown wrote to the British Ministry of Defence insisting that representations were made to the Greek Governmentt to stop Mr Thoktardis's plans. Recommended Reading: HMHS Britannic "The Last Titan" by Simon Mills Publisher: Waterfront Publications - ISBN: 0-946184-71-2 Last Update — November 14, 2005 Titanic Sister Ship Britanic, RMS Titanic and Her Sisters Titanic Sister Ship Britanic, RMS Titanic and Her Sisters Titanic, Olympic, Britannic History Built by the Harland Wolff company in Belfast, Ireland, the Titanic, Olympic, and Britannic were designed to be the most luxurious cruise lines of their time. Tickets for these vessels cost an absolute mint, but guests were treated with the finest luxury items ever to sail the seas. These ships were run by White Star Cruise Lines of Southampton, England. Both Titanic sister ships were smaller than her, but still quite large for their time. Each had different experiences, and met a different eventual end.

The Titanic and her sister ships are still some of the most famous vessels in history, and parts of them have been preserved in museums for all to see. Titanic Sister Ship Britannic Originally planned to be called the Giganitc, the Britannic was built and forced to live under the cloud of the Titanic disaster. The Titanic sister ship Britannic was named this because it was considered a lucky name; something that the White Star Line figured was needed after the Titanic sank into the Atlantic. The White Star had three ships named the Britannic over the years and the Titanic sister ship Britannic was the second. As far as looks went, the Titanic, Olympic, and Britannic all looked similar, but the Britannic looked much more like the Titanic than her other sister. On the inside, the Titanic sister ship Britannic also looked similar to her sister, but had more safety features. It was not designed to reach faster speeds than the Olympic and the Titanic, but it was fitted with the largest marine turbine in the world and boasted 18,000 horsepower.

The Titanic sister ship Britannic was first launched on February 26, 1914 and made its first appearance on the seas as the HMS (Her Majesty’s Hospital Ship) Britannic in November, 1915. After completing 5 successful voyages to the Middle Eastern theater of operations, transporting the wounded back to the United Kingdom, she departed on her 6th voyage on November 12, 1916. On November 21st, 1916, at 8:12 AM, the Britannic struck a mine (some believe it was a torpedo) in the Kea Channel of the Aegean Sea. Her improved safety features weren’t enough to sustain the blast and she began sinking in similar fashion to her sister the Titanic. Famous French explorer Jacques Cousteau discovered the wreck at a depth of 110 meters and recovered a few objects from it in 1976. To this day, the shallow wreck of the Titanic sister ship Britannic belongs to the British Government because it was requisitioned as a naval medical vessel, and remains in the Kea Channel and likely will not be raised by request of the British government.

Related Posts: Titanic And Her Sisters - Olympic WE HAVE MOVED TO A NEW WEBSITE Which Means The Site Is No Longer Updated Titanic And Her Sisters Click here to edit title Click here to edit text Click here to edit title Click here to edit text Click here to edit title Click here to edit text Click here to edit title Click here to edit text Click here to edit title Click here to edit text < We Would Like To Announce That We Have MOVED!!, To A Brand New Website!!!! IT LAUNCHED ON WEDNESDAY 15TH OCTOBER 2014 new site > The Construction In 1907, and the White Star Line’s chief rival, the Cunard Line had just launched the first of their two new super liners, the LUSITANIA. She would soon be joined by her slightly larger and faster sister, MAURETANIA. Though larger than most liners of the day, it was not by much, however. Coming in at only about 50ft longer than the largest White Star ship of the day, the ADRIATIC, the true wonder of the two ships was their great speed, made possible by using steam turbines instead of traditional reciprocating engines.

So, at this dinner party, held at the home of Lord William Pirrie, head of the Harland and Wolff Shipyard of Belfast, and attended by J.Bruce Ismay, head of the White Star Line, a plan was put in place. This grand plan involved building not two monster ships, but three. They would each be nearly 100ft longer than the two Cunarders, and would out weigh them by a large margin, coming in at over 45,000 tons as apposed to the 36,000 tons the two sisters were. The shipyard would need a major overhaul before construction could begin. An area once used to house three ships was rebuilt into two giant slips, with an enormous gantry overhead, built by the William Arrol Company, who had recently built the Forth railway bridge in England. The Arrol Gantry, as it was known, would be capable of lifting the massive hull plates planned for the new ships. So, on December 18th, 1908, the keel for yard number 400 was laid.

The general design of the new class of liners fell to Lord Pirrie himself, with the details, equipment, and final look being the job of Alexander Carlisle, Harland and Wolff’s Managing Director. He would create the final hull shape, clean lines and other aesthetics of the ships. However, Carlisle designed the class to hold 64 lifeboats, but when it came time to push this point, he was voted down, and he signed off on the final design. He would later claim that he was “ very soft the day I signed that.” Carlisle would retire in 1910, and be replaced by Thomas Andrews, who would sadly be lost with the TITANIC in 1912, due, ironically, to a lack of lifeboats. The great skeleton raising in the number 1 slip was soon joined, in March of 1909, by yard number 401, her nearly identical sister. As the two monster ships grew, they seemed to dominate the horizon near the shipyard, towering over all the buildings and workshops contained therein.

As plating was nearing completion on number 400, the two ships names were revealed to the public, OLYMPIC and TITANIC. As the first ship’s launch date was fast approaching, it was decided to paint her hull a light grey, to make it easier on photographers. The statistics of the ship are staggering. When complete, she would be 882ft 7in long, 92ft 6in wide. Her gross tonnage at the time of her maiden voyage would be 45,323, however, this would be increased upon subsequent refits, going to 46.358 in 1913, and 46,493 in 1920. Her height, measured from her keel to the top of her funnels came in at just over 150ft, from her forecastle down to the waterline would be a staggering 75ft, she displaced 52,310 tons of water when fully laden. Each link in the chains for her massive anchors weighed in at 150lbs. Her main engines stood 4 stories tall.

Her wing propellers came in at a diameter of just over 22ft, making them the largest ever put to a steamship, even her center propeller, though smaller, was still an impressive 16ft in diameter. She would have a combined engine power of over 60,000 horsepower. Everything was done on a massive scale. Her hull would contain over 3 million rivets. Still, by today’s standards, she is small, when compared to ships like the QUEEN MARY 2, but modern ships lack the grace and majesty of the liners of old. The Launch The great day came, October 20th, 1910. Crowds were gathered from all around Great Brittan, to witness a true modern marvel take to the water for the first time. As was the tradition of the White Star Line, there would be no christening, just a signal horn at the appropriate time, and a release of the hydraulic triggers holding the hull in place. The ways were covered in hundreds of tons of soap, grease and tallow, to help the great ship slide gently backwards into the harbor.

Drag chains were attached to her hull, that were designed to slow her and bring her to a stop once afloat. At the assigned time, the triggers were released, and a warning bell signaled that the ship was in motion. Less then a minute later, she was floating majestically as a fleet of tugs wrangled her to the fitting out basin. Over the next few months, thousands of workers would descend upon the yard, transforming the empty hull into a working ship. Unlike their Cunard rivals, the OLYMPIC class, as the three ships would become known as, would use a combination propulsion system. They decided that the ships would have what would end up becoming the largest reciprocating steam engines ever produced. The exhaust steam from these would be fed into a single turbine engine. This gave the ships triple screw propulsion, and would end up being a design flaw that would hurt them in April of 1912. The decided to test this configuration out on two identical sister, the MEGANTIC and LUARENTIC, with the former having a traditional twin screw, quadruple expansion engine set up, and the latter having the triple screw, reciprocating engine, turbine combination.

The experiment paid off, with the LAURENTIC being slightly faster, yet still more economical on coal consumption than her sister. White Star always went with the comfort of speed philosophy, and though the new liners would be slower than the Cunarders, with those running at an average of 25 knots and the White Star ships coming in at 21 knots, they would still be highly competitive on the North Atlantic run. By late May, 1911, the OLYMPIC was ready for her sea trial. She preformed better than her designers had expected, and at one point during her trials, she briefly was brought to the speed of 24 knots. With everything more than satisfactory, it was time to hand her over to the White Star Line. May 31st, 1911, became a double celebration fro the line. The hull of number 401, TITANIC, was ready to enter the water, and the OLYMPIC would be officially handed over after the launch of her sister. Once TITANIC was afloat, a luncheon was held upon her sister.

Shortly thereafter, the great ship was brought to her home port of Liverpool, where she would be opened to the public, for a small fee of course, going towards local charities. Everyone was astounded by what they saw. OLYMPIC was not only large, but her interiors were spectacular. She easily earned her reputation as a floating palace. Upon leaving Liverpool, she was steered towards Southampton, where the final preparations were made for her maiden voyage. Joining the ship would be a guarantee group from Harland and Wolff, there to note any improvements that could be made to her sister, and also to deal with any problems that might arise on the trip. Also coming on board was Captain Edward John Smith, White Star’s most senior Captain, whose job it was to break in any new significant vessel entering service The Maiden Voyage The maiden voyage got off to a great start, however, upon reaching New York , as tugs were struggling to get her massive bulk into the slip at pier 59, the tug O.L. HALLENBACH got to close to the liners stern, and the tugs rudder was damaged as a result.

Other than that, and the slight against her made by the departing LUSITANIA, whose master refused to return the salute afforded by the OLYMPIC, the trip was a huge success. The ship made the crossing in just over five days, at an average of 21.7 knots. Bruce Ismay reported that OLYMPIC was a “marvel.” She certainly was, as thousands flocked to the piers to see the world’s largest ship. Her next few voyages were also without incident, but all that would change as she was outbound from Southampton on September 20, 1911. With the Southampton pilot in charge on the bridge, the liner was making her way out to sea, when the British warship, HMS HAWKE , which was at first ahead, but had quickly fallen in line with the larger ship, suddenly lost control of her rudder, and was sucked into the OLYMPIC’s stern, puncturing it above and below the water line, and damaging the starboard shaft and propeller. The bow of the HAWKE was crushed and ruined. Though damaged, the OLYMPIC was able to make her way back to the dock and discharge her passengers.

Divers then attached temporary patches to the hull, and the great ship headed back to Belfast, where the only dry dock large enough to take her existed. The problem with this was that the dry dock was currently occupied by her sister, still fitting out. A sad side not to this, given the damage to the OLYMPIC, which was great, the fact that the ship barely even listed to starboard help give credence to the myth that she and her sisters were unsinkable. Men and materials were shifted from finishing TITANIC and put to the task of repairing OLYMPIC. The result was one of the only times the two sisters would ever be photographed together. The Royal Navy was also blaming White Star for the incident, and even though the harbor pilot was in command, they still named Captain Smith as responsible. In the end, it was revealed that the large hull of an enormous liner like OLYMPIC can cause a massive suction effect as it gets up to speed. This effect would come into play in April of 1912, as TITANIC was leaving Southampton. After many weeks of repair, the OLYMPIC would return to service, good as new.

A few months later, she would return to Belfast yet again, due to losing a propeller blade on an uncharted wreck during one of her crossings. This return would cause a delay in her sister’s maiden voyage, moving it from late March to April 10th, 1912. This trip to Belfast would also mark the last time the two sisters would ever be in port together. On the night of April 14/15 1912, the OLYMPIC was a day out of New York, heading to England, when she received a faint distress call from her sister. Her master, Captain Haddock, calculated that they were over 500 miles from the sinking TITANIC. He ordered all speed possible, yet sadly, when they were within 100 miles of the recorded position, they received a message from the Cunard liner CARPATHIA. She had all the survivors on board, and reported that the TITANIC had gone down at around 2:20 am ship time, taking over 1500 souls with her.

At first, it was suggested to Bruce Ismay, who survived the sinking, that the CARPATHIA meet up with the OLYMPIC and transfer the survivors to the far larger ship. This was met by a look of horror on Ismay's face as he pointed out that the survivors might panic when they see the nearly identical ship that had just sunk beneath them. With a heavy heart, Haddock continued on his original course, reducing speed to normal. Using the OLYMPIC’s far stronger wireless, she became the relay station fro the CARPATHIA and the mainland until she too was out of range. Once she was docked in Southampton, crews went right to work fitting additional lifeboats to her, many coming from liners that had recently been taken out of service. She left on her next trip on April 27th, 1912, but soon, the black gang, consisting of the stokers, trimmers, and passers in the boiler rooms, mutinied. They refused to sail on a ship without adequate life boats for all, claiming that many of the additional boats were not seaworthy, and had reached their useful lifespan. The voyage was cancelled, until the dispute could be resolved.

In late 1912, she was pulled from service and returned to Belfast for her first major refit. The World War When World War 1 first broke out, the OLYMPIC was still used for passenger service. However, by October, Germany had threatened that her U-boats would sink the great ship on site. On October 20th, 1914, she left New York and began her return to England, though with very few passengers on board, many having cancelled after Germany’s threat. As she was approaching the coast, she received a distress call. The new British battleship, HMS AUDACIOUS had struck a mine and was sinking. It was thought that the OLYMPIC could be used to tow her to shallower water, where she could be beached. The attempt was made, but the battleship had taken on too much water, and coupled with the rough seas, the tow lines kept parting. The officers and crew of the AUDACIOUS were rescued by the OLYMPIC and a few smaller vessels.

Then, the great liner was ordered to Lough Swilly, where she would be interned for a while, the head of the Royal Navy wanting to keep the sinking of the AUDACIOUS hidden from the public for morale reasons. Another interesting incident from the beginning of the war happened shortly after hostilities broke out. In New York, a call came down from Bar Harbor, Maine. The harbor master there was wondering why the OLYMPIC was sitting anchored in his harbor. The man in New York quickly informed him that the OLYMPIC was currently tied up to her normal spot at pier 59, and that the harbor master was mistaken. It was soon revealed that the German liner, KRONPRINZESSIN CECILIE, in an attempt to avoid capture by the British, had painted her funnels to look like the famous White Star liner. She made for the United States, currently neutral, and snuck into Bar Harbor in the middle of the night. The ship would be interned and eventually put to use in the war effort. After the war, she and three of her sisters would spend about 30 years rusting away, anchored together in the back waters of Norfolk, Virginia.

Soon after, the OLYMPIC and her nearly completed sister, BRITANNIC were both called up for service, along with many other liners from both Cunard and White Star. BRITANNIC was converted to a hospital ship, and she served well in this role, until her untimely sinking by a mine in the Aegean sea in November of 1916. The OLYMPIC it was decided, would become a troop transport. She was refitted for this purpose, with 5 inch guns added fore and aft. With her speed and size, she would run separate from the convoys that many slower ships traveled in. Soon she was off to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to bring thousands of troops to the war effort. For most of the war, the OLYMPIC would perform her duties admirably. She was even sent to the Dardanelles region, to assist with evacuation, marking one of the few times she was ever seen with the BRITANNIC.

She was popular with the troops, and it was they that gave her the nickname she would keep for the rest of her days, “Old Reliable.” As the war was reaching a fever pace, an incident occurred that would forever put the OLYMPIC in the record books. On May 12th, 1918, in the early morning, a U-boat was spotted. The ship was fully loaded with troops, and a torpedo hit would be disastrous. The U-boat, later identified as U-103, began to make for the liner, but the gun crews on deck began to fire at it. On the bridge, Captain Bertram Hayes grabbed the wheel and turned the OLYMPIC directly at the sub, it’s crew trying to crash dive to avoid the liner. The great ship’s bow sliced into the U-boat just aft of the conning tower, and as she passed over, her port propeller sliced into the pressure hull of the sub. The crew of the U-boat had no choice but to abandon ship, scuttling the sub in the process. The OLYMPIC did not stop to pick up survivors, leaving that to a US destroyer, the USS DAVIS.

The White Star liner is the only passenger ship to ever sink an enemy warship during hostilities. After the war, a medal commemorating this would be placed in her first class grand staircase. When the war ended, the OLYMPIC was tasked with repatriating troops to Halifax. On one such journey, as she was being lead into the harbor, all the men lined the rails, to the point where the OLYMPIC took on a slight list. Everyone was happy to be home. Once she was released from government service, it was off to Belfast for a much needed dry docking and refit. The post war refit was one of the most significant of her life. For one thing, there was a lot of damage from the war to be dealt with. Her regular maintenance was neglected during the war, and she looked older then she really was. Also, her stem had been twisted two degrees from impact with the U-103. When they finally got her into the dry dock, they discovered something very curious. On her port side bilge area, about midway down her hull, was a series of plates that had been dented inwards, enough to allow a small amount of water into her bilge.

Apparently, at some point during the war, she had been struck by a dud torpedo, the sub commander that fired it must have been cursing his bad luck. Olympic's Post War Service As her outer hull was being repaired, inside, she was fully converted from being coal fed to being oil fed. This would reduce the engineering departments head count from over 300 to just around 60. As she was nearing the end of her refit, a fire broke out as they were doing a test of the new oil system. It was quickly extinguished, and the culprit was found to be faulty valves. The next few weeks were spent replacing every single valve with far more reliable ones. Her passenger accommodations were given a much needed overhaul, reducing the number of first class cabins, and adding more public lavatories. Unlike the cruise ships of today, back then, cabins did not come with their own plumbing. Just as she was back in 1911, when she returned to service after the war, the OLYMPIC was opened to public inspection. She would soon be joined by two new running mate, since both her sisters were sitting at the bottom of the sea.

These new ships would come from German fleets, prizes of war, some would call them, taken as a way to repay the lines for the losses they suffered at the hands of German U-boats. The two largest losses belonged to Cunard and White Star respectively, with the former losing the LUSITANIA, in a horrendous act I already covered in a previous blog, and White Star losing the BRITANNIC, a victim of war, never having seen a paying customer. White Star would be given the largest ship the Germans had, the BISMARK. She would be renamed MAJESTIC and would return to White Star the honor of having the largest ship in the world. The third ship to be paired with OLYMPIC and MAJESTIC on the New York run would be the former COLUMBUS, renamed HOMERIC, though she would be the weak link in the trio, being far slower than her larger running mates. The 1920’s brought prosperity and regularity to the OLYMPIC. She was always one of White Star’s most popular ships with both the regular public, and with celebrities and dignitaries of the day.

She lived up to her was nickname of “Old Reliable,” and her performance week in and week out proved it. On two separate occasions, she made identical runs. Given the unpredictability of crossing the North Atlantic at that time, that is to be highly commended. However, the White Star line had changed hands, and now, under Lord Kyslant and his Royal Mail Group, many irregularities were beginning to show in the company ledgers. When the crash of 1929 hit, Kyslant would end up arrested, and the company thrown into chaos. 1924 would be an odd year for the ship, one marked with both a minor collision, and then later, a great honor. The collision occurred as she was being backed out of her slip and into the Hudson river in New York, on March 22, 1924. Further up river, the Bermuda bound liner FORT ST. GEORGE, had just left her berth, and was racing her rival on the Bermuda run, the ARCADIAN. As the two ships sped up, trying to outdo each other, they failed to notice the giant White Star liner as it was backing into the channel.

The ARCADIAN, being on the outside track, would easily clear the OLYMPIC. Alas, the same could not be said for the FORT ST.GEORGE. The ship would brush past the OLYMPIC’s stern, tearing away 150ft of railing, and causing other damages. Her trip to Bermuda was then cancelled, and her passengers transferred to her rival. As for the OLYMPIC, she would stop near quarantine, where divers would check her for damage, which was only cosmetic. Another sad incident to mark the year was the passing of Lord Pirrie on June 6th, while he was onboard another ship, headed to New York from a business venture he had in South America. The OLYMPIC was given the sad task of bringing his body home for burial. As the year closed, on October 25th, the great ship would have the honor of carrying as her passenger, the Prince of Wales, returning to England after touring the United States and Canada. While he was onboard, the ship encountered a storm, yet the OLYMPIC had always handled heavy weather admirably, and this was no exception. The Prince was very pleased with his crossing.

On Monday, November 18th, 1929, a very unusual occurrence happened, catching everyone on board off guard. The ship was in the middle of the Atlantic, steaming on a calm sea with clear skies, when suddenly, the entire ship was shaken violently for two minutes. Her Captain at the time, Walter Parker, came running from the chartroom to see if they had hit anything. Fearing that they may have lost a propeller or worse, he sent for the ship’s carpenter to sound the ship, meaning to check if she was taking on water. All her tanks were dry, and other than the electricity in the mailroom being knocked out, the ship was fine. The great OLYMPIC had just had a run in with mother nature, an undersea quake, whose epicenter was ironically not far from the sunken remains of her sister TITANIC, had shaken the ship like a leaf. The Great Depression took it’s toll on all the shipping lines. Cunard had hired the John Brown Shipyard to construct a new super liner for them, one that would become famous in her own right.

However, as funds began to dwindle, all work stopped on what was known as just Hull 534. White Star had a similar problem. They too had started a new giant, but it was soon abandoned, the steel that had already been laid being reused into a new BRITANNIC, the company’s first diesel driven motor ship. With both of her premiere shipping lines in danger of going under, and the fear of having no ships in case of war, the British government stepped in, and forced a merger of the two rivals. The new Cunard-White Star Line would be given an loan from parliament to finish Hull 534, and also to construct a suitable running mate. These two ships would go down in history as the QUEEN MARY and the QUEEN ELIZABETH. The Later Years By 1934, the OLYMPIC was again turning a profit, and things were finally looking up. However, with the merger, the new company was getting rid of much of it?s outdated tonnage. Even the great MAURETANIA was not spared.

With Cunard having the larger control margin of the new company, many of the ships to go to the block were older White Star ships. The OLYMPIC probably would have been spared, given her fantastic condition and reliability, if it were not for an incident that would mar her otherwise outstanding career. As ships back then would approach New York, they would generally make their final turn as they passed the Nantucket Lightship. This small vessel, known officially as LV 117 and permanently anchored in place, acted both as a visual and radio beacon to ships. It was crewed by just eleven men. Many times, ships, usually in fog, would get too close. Even the OLYMPIC would be guilty of this, one of the crew snapping a picture as the great ship sped by at close range. Her captain even said that one day, one of the big liners would run them down. He was sadly prophetic. Earlier in the year, the liner GEORGE WASHINGTON had actually bumped the tiny lightship as it came past. Unfortunately, in May of 1934, one would come even closer.

ay 15th, 1934 found the OLYMPIC approaching New York in very heavy fog. This was nothing new, as fog is common in that part of the North Atlantic. Her master, Captain John Binks, had ordered half speed, and was trying to get the lightship?s radio beacon, so that he could get a better fix on his position. Once they had the beacon, he set course, and slowed even further. With the OLYMPIC crawling through the fog, the Captain had the lookouts keep a sharp watch. He further reduced speed, so that the ship was now just making 8 knots. Suddenly, the fog lifted, and to their horror, they were headed directly into the light ship. Binks tried to stop the OLYMPIC and she did get down to just 3 knots, but her momentum and bulk were more than a match for the poor lightship. The liner struck the small ship, ironically, hitting it right on the radio antenna they had been following in. The vessel quickly sank to the bottom. Some of the crew from the lightship were now in the water. Lifeboats from OLYMPIC pulled seven out of the frigid sea.

Three of whom would die of their injuries. Out of a crew of eleven, only four were saved, including the lightship?s Captain. The OLYMPIC resumed course to New York, and the company was told of the incident via wireless. There, her bow was examined, showing it had been twisted by the impact. Many had claimed that the liner sliced the LV 117 in two, but a recent dive on the small ship has show that although the damage sustained was critical, the OLYMPIC did not cut her in twain, proving that she was not speeding in the fog. Shortly after the sinking of the lightship, in March of 1935, OLYMPIC was taken out of service. With the QUEEN MARY getting close to completion, she would no longer be required. Her running mate, MAJESTIC would also be withdrawn, though she would get an easy yet brief , second chance at life, being used as a cadet training ship for the Royal Navy. Alas, the same could not be said for OLYMPIC.

After sailing more than a million miles, and carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers, she was tied up at the death row for ships in Southampton, ?Berth 108,? her old rival, MAURETANIA moored behind her. Rumors of a second life began to circulate, including talk of her becoming a floating hotel, a fate that would befall the QUEEN MARY many yeas later, but, all the rumors were found to be false. In 1935, she was sold for scrapping, the destruction of her hull bringing many needed jobs to the small community of Jarrow. On October 11th, 1935, she went to her death under her own power, only a skeleton crew aboard. A few days after tying up in Jarrow, an auction was held for all her fittings. Once everything was sold off, an army of workmen descended upon the ship, and with hammers and cutting torches, the work of dismantling the great liner began. The truly sad thing about her scrapping is that she still had many useful years ahead of her.

If only they had foreseen the coming of World War II, where her great size would once again have come into play helping to bring troop across the sea. Her engines were still as good as they had been when they were first installed. Her machinery was still in top condition, and her hull was still as sound as the day she was launched. It was so well put together that it took extra effort to break her down. The sad reality was that she had become a victim of both a downtrodden world economy, and company politics. Cunard - White Star only left two original White Star ships on the roster, the two newest, the motor vessels BRITANNIC and GEORGIC. Both were allowed to keep their original White Star colors, and fly both lines house flags. The BRITANNIC would serve the line until 1960 and then she too would be scrapped, the last White Star liner ever built. Olympic's Sad Demise So it came to pass that her mighty funnels were removed, her superstructure cruelly cut down, until, by 1937, only the lower portion of her hull remained.

Unable to demolish more of her in Jarrow, the remains of her hull were towed to Inverkeithing, where at the Thomas W Ward shipyard, her final demolition began. By 1938, the great and powerful RMS OLYMPIC was gone. Her story does not end there though. Over the years, with the surge in popularity of her sister TITANIC, many of the fitting sold at auction have come to light. A potion of the aft grand staircase, as well as the first class lounge, can be found at the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick, Northumberland, England. The Southampton Maritime museum has in their collection the clock from the grand staircase, identical to the one on TITANIC, with Honor and Glory crowning Time. Numerous private residences in England contain wood paneling from the ship. The Celebrity Cruise Line’s MILLENIUM contains what is known as the RMS OLYMPIC restaurant, containing wood paneling and other fixtures from the liners A la Carte restaurant. In 2004, Branson, Missouri’s TITANIC museum installed a surviving first class cabin, saved from storage in England.

Though gone, she is not forgotten, thanks to her sister. I wish she had been allowed to continue, that she had been offered the chance to serve her country one last time in war. As it was, there was only one liner to serve in both world wars, Cunard’s AQUITANIA, a ship, that although designed after her two older sisters, MAURETANIA and LUSITANIA, was built to eclipse the OLYMPIC in size. She would serve well in World War II, but after the war, her age caught up with her, and while still in military use, she began to fall apart. The floor above the grand piano gave way one day, sending it crashing to the deck below, luckily, no one was injured. I would like to think that if the OLYMPIC had been saved for war use, she would have come through it in far better shape than her rival. If you would like to learn more about this fantastic ship, I would suggest two books by author Mark Chirnside, RMS Olympic, Titanic’s Sister and The Olympic-class Ships. Both are fascinating reads into the history behind this great ship and her sisters. I shall end this here.

Next time, I do believe we shall enter into the fires of World War II and the destruction of a ship moored in paradise. Till then, may your journeys be safe, and your destinations be bright, bon voyage! Create your own free website today Webs Titanic and Olympic: How to tell them apart in photographs. | joeccombs2nd My Published Works Titanic and Olympic: How to tell them apart in photographs. The RMS Titanic and the RMS Olympic were sister ships (along with the HMHS Britannic). So they can be very difficult to tell apart in photographs. In my first Titanic book Titanic, A Search For Answers , I published photographs of the two on page 20 (see below) I used photographs of the Olympic on pages 28, 30, and 32; so I wanted people to be able to see the two ships together to enable readers to tell them apart. Even so, some readers wrote to me thinking those three photographs of Olympic were Titanic. This article will enable you to tell the difference between the two sister ships, and how to tell the difference between Olympic photographs taken before and after the sinking of the Titanic . So … let’s get to it.

(click on the images to make them bigger.) The following illustration shows an image of Titanic with before and after disaster images of Olympic with the differences marked on them. After that will be photos of identifiable images of Titanic and Olympic, images of Olympic often labeled Titanic, photos that could be either ship, and last photos of the 1911 and April 1912 Olympic. SPECIAL NOTE TO “BRENT” We have been through this before. Your opinion, though impassioned, is not evidence. Your saying something is a fact, does not make it so. I understand you have educated yourself quite well on the Titanic, unfortunately you have not expanded your education to encompass very much beyond the Titanic in the maritime field. Until you have something new to offer, your comments will not be posted as they have already been posted and refuted. This image explains the visual differences between the Titanic & the Olympic, and the visual changes made to Olympic after Titanic’s loss 1911 Olympic photograph. This photograph of the RMS Olympic is often labeled “RMS TITANIC”. Pre-Titanic loss, Olypic-class boatdeck.

Pre-Titanic loss, Olympic-class boatdeck (Titanic) Post-Titanic loss, RMS Olympic. Post-Titanic loss, RMS Olympic. Pre-Titanic loss, RMS Olympic photograph Next Sunday, March 4, 2012, my article will explain the research methods I use when analyzing evidence in historical research in all my research work. Here is the link for the British Report on the loss of the Titanic, “Loss of the Steamship ‘Titanic’.” You can buy the print book, or download the e-book for free. You may download a free sample of my book “Titanic, A Search For Answers” at your favorite e-book store, it is also available at Amazon in print and E-book formats . This book has more than 35 photographs (hardcover has more) some which do not appear in most Titanic books. Such as a photograph of the tug boat which met the Carpathia and its Titanic survivors. The link to the next part of this article is below the next two photographs. If you do not have a kindle, you can download a free app for your phone or computer.

Joe C Combs 2nd signing books I have added a photo mosaic of Titanic and Olympic at Ocean Dock in Southampton. Follow the shortlink to see this new addition. Thank you. 20 April 2012: I have added this to help me answer Jon’s comment (made on 19 April 2012 below). Olympic arrived in Southampton in late April after Titanic sank. After provisioning the Olympic was due to sail again, however the black gang mutinied over the collapsible boats that had been added to Olympic after Titanic sank. The black gang did not believe the collapsible boats were safe. This was not settled until May 4. Wikipedia ( ) has a good write-up pn the Olympic class ships and talks about the mutiny and the refit after Titanic sank. Although, wikipedia states that Olympic was withdrawn from service and sent to the builders for the refit on 9 October 1912, I believe the correct date was actually 9 September 1912. I believe that Encycopedia Titanica will also say September 1912 ( ).

Encyclopedia Titanica is one of the best sites on the web for information and forum discussions about the Titanic and her sister ships. RMS Olympic arriving in New York on her maiden voyage, June 1911. The over-hanging starboard bridge-wing can be seen. Photo from wikipedia. RMS Oylimpic entering the Thompson graving dock for repairs while Titanic is under construction. The over-hanging starboard bridge-wing can be seen in the photograph. Photo from author’s collection. RMS Olympic entering the Thompson graving dock on 11 September 1912 for a refit after the loss of RMS Titanic. Photo from Encyclopedia Titanica ( I HAVE SAID REPEATEDLY I have said repeatedly if you wish to make a comment on this post PLEASE read the other comments to insure your comment or question is something new. Since the Titanic Fanatics are unable or unwilling to follow these instructions the comments on this article are closed. I am a professional author and cannot take time away from current projects to rehash the same comments over and over and over again. Nor does my staff have the time to cater only to Titanic fanatics. I have already made my opinion (or as much of it as I will) public.

There are times that I do not agree with specific information. However, in an attempt to let YOU the reader choose for yourself. I post the post comments, articles, and interview comments so that you may decide for yourself. If Titanic Fanatics wish to attempt to dominate the time of my staff and myself I will shut down the comments on all the Titanic articles one at a time. I make my living writing. I write about many topics. Unless you are will to pay me a salary and have enough common courtesy to not repeat the same old thing time and time and time again then I will not dedicate myself to this one topic. I have written several articles and a book on this subject. I am done with this subject. At this time if you have a comment on any of the other Titanic articles and you have checked to see if that comment has already been made, then my staff and I will continue to post those comments. Share this:

Question: The vessel had two sister ships the Olympic and which other?
Answer: Britannic