R. M. S. BRITANNIC
1914- 1916
48, 158grt, length: 275, 2m (903 ft), beam: 28,7m (94 ft) three Propellers, Shipyard: Harland & Wolff, Belfast.
A Story of a beauty and a beast
People called them "THE BELOVED, THE DAMNED AND THE FORGOTTEN", Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. Out of the three beautiful sisters the White Star line commissioned in 1908, only "the beloved", the Olympic survived Word War I. Much literature has been written about the fate of the second "the damned Titanic , but almost nothing has been published about the third sister "the forgotten" Britannic.
Laid down in 1911 on the stocks where Olympic has been build, R. M. S. Britannic supposed to be the greatest and most luxurious liner in the world. After the Titanic disaster in 1912 work on her ceased until the results of the Titanic inquiry was known. Consequently to the Titanic disaster, her doubble bottom was extended by about 1, 30m ( four feet) above the waterline which increased the beam of the ship by 0, 66m ( two feet) compared to Olympic and Titanic. Also for safety reasons the Britannic was fitted with eight sets of motorisid gantry davits ccapable of handling six!!! boats each . (please note the huge davit- arms on either the photo and the model.)
The original name "R. M. S Gigantic" the White Star Line suggested for her has been dropped in favor to a less "monumental" name after the Titanic disaster and therefore the last of the three sisters was launched on Feb. 26th as R. M. S Britannic. After the hostilities of World War I had begun in summer 1914, completion has been delayed but on November 1915 the British Admirality requisitioned her as a hospital ship to help with the evacuation of wounded soldiers from the Dardanelles campaign.
On December 23rd 1915, Britannic commenced her maiden voyage, not to New York with all her splendour and luxury in her White Star Line dress and the "creme de la creme" of European and American Society aboard but on a mission of humanity painted entirely in white highlighted with a green band and three red crosses on her hull and with a capacity of 3.009 hospital berths. Her ports of call in her maiden - and the following voyages were Southampton, Naples and Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos and back.
Although released from the Admirality in June 1916 and intended for Atlantic mail service, the Britannic was recalled again in August the same year for the same route as before.
Only a few months later on November 21st, 1916 the beauty met her beast 4 miles west of the Aegean Island St. Nikolo in form of a mine laid by German Submarine U-73 . The explosion occured on starbord side near the engine rooms 2 and 3 but it is also believed that there must have been a second explosion, perhaps of coal dust in her bunkers. For inexplicable reasons the bulkhead closing system didn't work and therefore 5 compartements amongst these boiler rooms 1 and 2 were almost immediately filled with water. Commodore Bartlett the master of the ship gave order to proceed to the nearest island and at the same time began with the evacuation of the ship. Two of the liveboats were drawn into the still turning screw.
Out of 1, 125 medical stuff and crew "only" 28 people were lost. Most of them were in the two liveboats teared to pieces by the ship's screw.
The R. M. S. Britannic was the largest mercheant vessel lost in Wold war I.
A young crewmember, Stewardess Mrs. Violet Jessop has been aboard R. M. S. Olympic in 1911 when the British Cruiser H. M. S Hawke collided with the ship's stern, had been aboard on R. M. S Titanic on her tragical maiden voyage and yes you already guess it,- survived the Britannic disaster. It is not recorded if she furthermore remained at the White Star Line or if she finally had expierienced enough catastrophies. ( If someone of the readers knows more about her fate, it would be rather interesting for me to know.)
The model shows the Britannic in the beauty of her White Star Line colours, if she had survived World War I, or better; if there wouldn't have been a war at all.
The modified stern and the newly developed gentry davits of the R. M. S. Britannic.