The ocean liner "Britanic" is the last of the series "Olympic. Ship "Olympic" (Olympic): history of creation, description, characteristics. Transatlantic liner of the White Star Line

The Olympic-class ships, the Olympic, Titanic and Britannic, were built by engineers from the British shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff, commissioned by the White Star Line. The ships were conceived as competitors to the Lusitania and Mauritania, owned by the competing company Cunard Line.

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a catastrophe that still haunts the minds of people from all over the world - the sinking of the Titanic.

On April 14, 1912, during its first flight, this magnificent giant a cruise ship ran into North Atlantic with an iceberg and sank after 2 hours and 40 minutes. Of the 2,208 people on board, only 704 survived. The world was in shock.

Its predecessor, the ship "Olympic", was also not lucky, although the tragedy was not so large-scale. On one of her first voyages, the liner collided with the cruiser Hawk. No one was injured in the incident, but the Olympic whole year stood for repairs, and his captain was accused of negligence and neglect of the rules of navigation.

Designing, third passenger liner from this series, originally called "Gigantic", the engineers tried to take into account all the weaknesses of its predecessors, the Olympic and Titanic, identified by the tragedies. The creators of the new ship made it so that the Gigantic could stay afloat with damage that became fatal for the Titanic.

In addition to new design features"Gigantika", he added five more lifeboats. Moreover, even if the ship tilted dangerously and there was a threat of sinking, nothing should have prevented people from boarding the boats.

I also wanted to improve the decoration of the ship: the first-class reception room of the Gigantica should be done much more than on the Olympic and Titanic. The restaurant and smoking room were also expanded, and even planned to install an organ on the front staircase.

On February 26, 1914, this huge three-screw ship was launched. But he never managed to be on the Southampton - New York line, for which he was built: the First World War.

The luxury liner was immediately requisitioned by the British Admiralty, which ordered her to be renamed Britannic and converted into a hospital ship.

Gorgeous expensive interiors cruise ship became dormitories and operating rooms. The first class reception and dining room served as an intensive care unit. The rest of the premises became hospital wards for wounded soldiers and sailors, up to three thousand of whom the ship could take on board.

The most luxurious cabins on the Britannica became doctors' private offices. To protect against possible attacks, a green stripe and six red crosses were applied to the hull of the liner, emphasizing the medical and humanitarian purpose of the vessel.

In November 1915, the giant 275-meter floating hospital was commissioned into the fleet, and the Britannic set sail for the Mediterranean. During the war, the liner made five successful flights to the Aegean Sea and the Balkans, from where it took 15,000 soldiers british empire. But the sixth flight proved fatal.

On November 12, 1916, the Britannic once again set off for the Mediterranean Sea to the island of Mudros to take on board a new batch of wounded British soldiers. On the morning of November 17, she entered the port of Naples and continued heading east.

The disaster happened on November 21, 1916 at 8:12 am. The Britannic was already in the Aegean when she was rocked by an explosion of great force, followed by another, more powerful one. He literally tore the port side of the ship in several places. Nurses and attendants ran out on deck, interrupting their breakfast.

It turns out that the liner ran into a mine laid by the German submarine U-73. Due to the holes received, the ship tilted, and the situation worsened by the minute.

Captain Charles Alfred Bartlet immediately realized the gravity of the situation and ordered the airtight bulkhead doors to be closed and all lifeboats prepared for launching.

The four compartments of the ship were rapidly filling with water; boilers were flooded. The situation was aggravated by the portholes of the lower decks, which were open during the explosion: through them, water penetrated into the Britannica. The captain believed to the last that the liner would be able to reach the island of Kea and run aground. This would be a lifesaver.

But the bow of the Britannica plunged deeper and deeper, at the same time the ship lurched to starboard. It became clear that a miracle would not happen. Having received distress signals, four vessels immediately went to the aid of the liner.

On the Britannica itself, the evacuation was in full swing. After some time, the huge propellers of the ship, which continued to rotate, appeared out of the water - and then a new misfortune occurred. Two boats were pulled into the whirlpool and cut into pieces by the propeller. Seeing this, the captain ordered the lead screws to be stopped immediately.

Soon the maritime drama reached its climax: giant ship staggered and began to rapidly fall to the starboard side. Huge chimneys collapsed. Another minute - and the liner disappeared forever into the black abyss Aegean Sea. An hour later, four ships approached the crash site. 1,036 of the 1,066 people on board the Britannic survived.

The question of where exactly he rests has been of interest to many people for a long time. In 1975, the legendary explorer gave the answer to the riddle sea depths Jacques Yves Cousteau. After a three-day search, the underwater radar on his ship Calypso found the hull of the Britannica at a depth of 120 meters.

After the expedition of the famous French oceanographer, divers descended there 68 more times. They brought hundreds of artifacts to the surface, which are now on display in many museums around the world.

The captain, thanks to whose correct actions many lives were saved, continued his career, ended the war, retired and died on February 15, 1945 at the age of 76.

It's always some kind of mystery. On the surface, ships rust and turn into terrible monsters, and at a depth they seem to acquire new life, acquiring a galaxy of sea creatures. Many ships died as a result of crashes and wars, and each of them has its own history of disaster and its own story of salvation.

The fate of the ocean liner « Britannic"built before the start of the First World War and considered an unsinkable ship is as tragic as its two brothers" olympic" And " Titanic».

Creation of Britannica

During the death of the liner "" on Queens Island at the shipyard " Harland & Wolff» the construction of the third vessel of the series « Olympic". Initially, this liner was supposed to bear the name " giant", but after the death of the predecessor, representatives of the company" White Star Line"they decided to abandon the mythology of antiquity, and called the new ship a patriotic name" Britannic". Its construction was frozen for several months, pending the conclusions of the British commission to investigate the Titanic disaster.

start of construction of Britannica

one of the watertight partitions

steam turbine rotor

During the slipway work on the ship " Britannic» Improvements have been made. When creating the project of the ship, the engineers set out to make it unsinkable. To do this, they developed a double inner skin of the ship's hull. This measure was taken in case of a collision with an iceberg. The second innovation was the installation of five watertight partitions that reached the upper decks, and were supposed to prevent flooding of all compartments one by one. The architecture of the liner has also undergone some changes. In particular, the well between the superstructure and the poop was closed with a deck, turning it into a shelter deck, and a superstructure with additional third-class cabins was erected on the poop deck.

Displacement " Britannica" was the largest among the whole trio" White Star Line and amounted to 48158 registered tons.

The biggest drawback of the Titanic was the lack of lifeboats, so the Britannic had twice as many. The liner was equipped with five pairs of huge 12-meter davit cranes, each of which could safely launch five boats with a large heel. In the bow of the boat deck, cranes were installed only on the starboard side. In the peacetime version, the liner was supposed to carry 40 boats, but some of them were never installed in connection with subsequent events.

Launching the Royal Mail Steamer (RMS) Britannic" February 26, 1914 was marked by a bad omen - there was no traditional christening, but the company announced that the liner would be released in the spring of next year. The ship was originally built as a transatlantic passenger liner, but with the outbreak of the First World War it was used for other purposes.

After the outbreak of the First World War Britannic" was requisitioned by the Admiralty and in October 1914, during completion afloat, was converted into a floating hospital. The ship was equipped with 3,300 beds for the wounded, many operating rooms, storage rooms, cabins for medical staff, a mortuary, recreational and gymnastic halls. Liner received coloring: a white hull with a wide green stripe and red crosses on the sides, as well as yellow pipes.

On November 13, 1915, the ship was completed, and on December 8, after successful sea trials, the British Navy entered service. 12 December " Britannic” moved from Belfast to Southampton, where he was staffed with medical personnel and supplies. December 23 liner " Britannic" set off on his maiden voyage to the Mediterranean. Captain liner was appointed the best captain of the shipping company Charles A. Bartlett, who oversaw the construction of " Britannica". Then he did not yet know what fate was in store for him and his offspring.

Britannic in World War I

In August 1916, Europe was engulfed in the First World War, this fate did not escape and eastern Mediterranean. Allies England and France launched a bloody Dardanelles operation against Germany and Turkey, landing their troops in Gallipoli. The British suffered heavy losses, and reinforcements had to be transferred. It was also necessary to establish a system for sending the wounded and sick back to Britain. It was for this purpose that Britannic". In the waters swarming German submarines the passenger liner was carrying a large batch of wounded British soldiers.

For the whole of 1916 Britannic managed to complete five successful flights. Over 13,000 wounded soldiers were brought to England. The fiercer the war at sea became, the greater danger subjected to " Britannic».

In the Aegean Sea, in the strait between Greece and Kea Island, U-boat captains laid mines in two parallel lines. In narrowness mediterranean sea this tactic often worked. Through this strait lay a course for British base on the island of Lemnos.

last way

November 21, 1916 liner " Britannic", following the strait separating the Greek islands of Kea and Kythnos, was on its sixth flight to pick up another batch of the wounded. There were 1134 people on board. Suddenly at 08:00 in the area of the bridge on the starboard side thundered powerful explosion, followed by a long hum and vibration of the hull. Captain Bartlett was still having breakfast, without changing his pajamas, hastily ran out into the wheelhouse. At first he thought the ship had hit a mine. The captain tried to turn the ship towards the shore in order to jump into shallow water, but it was in vain.

Britannic is sinking

Meanwhile, the ship's crew were preparing to leave the ship. Everyone rushed to the boats. As the water filled the bow of the ship, liner began to roll to starboard. It became clear that the compartments were flooded one by one. Giant propeller blades came to the surface, turning the two sailing boats and their passengers into a bloody mess, killing 28 people. As the ship hid under water, water began to pour through the portholes opened by the medical staff. It was enough to destroy liner. The last to leave the ship, as it should be, was Captain Bartlett. Only 30 people fell victims of this disaster, which spoke of endurance, discipline, as well as the coordinated actions of the team and medical staff. The rescued 1,104 passengers were later picked up by British destroyer escorts.

versions of the death of "Britanica"

"British" was the largest loss of the British merchant fleet in the history of the First World War.

However, the public stirred up not the crash " Britannica", where only 30 people died, otherwise under what circumstances this happened. After all, the ship sank in 57 minutes. People simply could not believe in the death of another giant.

Newspapers wrote that " Britannic"was the victim of a deliberate torpedo attack. However, this message was refuted by the commander of the German submarine U-73, Captain Seyss, who claimed that a mine bank was exposed in the strait, which he ran into. This is confirmed by the logbook, which accurately describes that the submarine commander did not give orders to torpedo " Britannic”, but also indicates the fact of laying several mines near the island where the disaster occurred. The submarine commander saw that there were people on the deck of the ship. All of them belonged to the military corps and were dressed in camouflage uniforms.

There are two versions the death of the Britannica. Official - liner was blown up by a mine laid by the German submarine U-73. The second unofficial version was voiced by the expedition of the famous explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1975, according to which illegal weapons were transported to Egypt on board the liner. The ship was supposed to call at the port of Alexandria and unload it. This fact became known to German intelligence, and during the bunkering in Naples, an infernal machine was laid in one of the starboard coal bunkers. Four days later, when the stores were fairly empty, the infernal machine went off, causing a secondary explosion of coal dust in all the starboard bunkers. This explains the hum that was felt for some time after the explosion. Rapid liner sinking Cousteau explains that the tightness was broken by a secondary explosion of coal dust throughout the bunkers. One way or another, the secondary detonation could also have occurred under the influence of a mine explosion overboard. This is confirmed by the accumulation a large number coal on the ground, scattered around the remains of the ship.

Since terrible disaster a century has passed

Exactly 100 years ago, on November 21, 1916, the largest shipwreck occurred - the Titanic sank again in the sea.

However, it would be more correct to formulate it differently: the ship sank outwardly, like two drops of water, similar to the Titanic.

This similarity is quite understandable: after all, in the autumn disaster of 1916, the twin brother of the famous ocean liner- Britannic. Few people know about the fate of this gigantic ship. Meanwhile, his death is largely “copied” from the crash of the Titanic and is also surrounded by secrets and was accompanied by strange circumstances.

"Britanic"

There were three. – Three transatlantic giant liners of the same type, built at English shipyards by order of the largest transport company White Star Line.

The “elder brother” is the “Olympic”, which sailed safely through the seas and oceans for a quarter of a century and “died a natural death” (that is, it was cut into scrap metal).

“Middle Brother” is the infamous Titanic.

And finally, "younger brother." With his name, not everything is clear. In the original version, the WSL leaders approved the name "Gigantic". That is, this series of super-ships was dedicated to the heroes Greek mythology: Olympians, titans and giants. However, after the death of the Titanic, they realized that in this version a “logical mine” was laid. After all, according to ancient legends, as a result of battles, the titans and giants were defeated. And defeated by the Olympians! In order not to "scribble" a sad fate to the third of their liners (which then had just begun to be assembled on the slipway), the gentlemen-directors decided to change his name. As a result, "Gigantic" turned into "Britanic" - also sonorous and, moreover, patriotic!

To find out some details of a short but difficult biography of this unique passenger ship, the MK correspondent was helped by materials collected by an enthusiast - historian Dmitry Mazur.

Item No. 433

The Britannic was laid down at the shipyard in Belfast under the code designation "Product No. 433" on November 30, 1911 and launched on February 26, 1914. A few months later, immediately after the death of the Titanic, its construction was suspended for some time: it took time for the design of this giant steamer engineers made changes that took into account the sad experience of the April maritime tragedy 1912. On the Britannica, the number of watertight bulkheads in the hull was increased (and now they also passed through the passenger compartments, reaching the level of the upper deck), double sides were designed to additionally protect the compartments in case of encountering an iceberg ... The number of life-saving appliances. Each of the five powerful davit cranes installed on the ship could safely launch five lifeboats at once even with a large list of the ship. For greater efficiency in the transmission of received radiograms about the navigational situation along the route to the captain's bridge, it was connected by pneumatic mail to the radio operator's cabin ...

"Titanic"

As a result of all the improvements, the liner was supposed to become the safest and, most importantly, the “most unsinkable” ship in the world. The design experts claimed that the Britannic would be able to stay afloat even with six bow compartments flooded with water on one side. (“The Titanic” was “allowed” to flood only four compartments, so, find yourself on the fateful night of April 14 at the “rendezvous” with the iceberg, not him, but the Britannic, terrible tragedy there would be no sea).

"Junior" became the largest of the three "brothers"-liners. It was several meters longer than the Titanic, slightly wider than it, and had a displacement of almost 2,000 tons more (48,158 tons versus 46,328). Cabins of three classes are designed for 2575 passengers, and the crew of the ship was 950 people.

They also wanted to make the Britannic the most comfortable and luxurious of the trinity of WSL super-liners. For example, for the convenience of passengers, the restaurant and the smoking room of the 1st class were expanded. In addition, the project was supposed to equip the ship with a playroom for children, another hairdresser, a gym for travelers in the 2nd class, 4 electric elevators ... They even planned to install an organ on the main staircase for organizing concerts!

However, the outbreak of World War II prevented the implementation of these plans. Under the new conditions, it was no longer up to high-speed transatlantic flights. The completion of the Britannica slowed down significantly, and in the fall of 1915, radical changes took place in its fate. On November 13, the British Admiralty requisitioned a huge steamer in order to convert it for military purposes into a hospital ship.

For such a step maritime guide Great Britain was pushed by the difficult situation that was developing in the Mediterranean theater of operations. The Dardanelles operation launched by France and England against Germany and Turkey was in full swing. Allied troops landed in the Gallpoli region and actively tried to expand the bridgehead in order to take control of the most important Dardanelles on the way from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. At the same time, the French and British suffered serious losses. The British, it was necessary to evacuate by sea numerous wounded, sick "soldiers of His Majesty." It was for this purpose that the huge Britannic was needed to help the existing hospital ships.

Within a matter of weeks, the super-liner was converted into a floating hospital. The dining room and the 1st class lounge, located in the central area of the deck superstructures, were converted into an operating room and the main ward, respectively. In the nearby cabins on deck "B", it was decided to place medical personnel - doctors, paramedics, nurses. Other passenger cabins were adapted as wards for the wounded. Several hold spaces have now turned into warehouses for medical equipment and drugs, and one of them has even become a mortuary... For an outside observer, the most noticeable change was appearance"Britanica". It was painted in the colors of a hospital ship, adopted by international agreement, which should guarantee its inviolability for warships of any country: white sides, each of which has a green strip along the entire hull and three large red crosses.

"Britanic"

In December 1915, the failed transatlantic liner, which was now called His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic, was officially included in the British fleet. It could carry over 3,000 sick and wounded, the medical and maintenance personnel consisted of almost 450 people, and the ship's crew of 675 people. Charles Bartlett was appointed captain of the Britannic.

On December 23, having fully staffed the Southampton roadstead and loaded all the necessary supplies, the hospital steamer set off on its maiden voyage. He headed for the Mediterranean. Destination route was the transshipment hospital base of the British, created by them on the Greek island of Lemnos. The ship arrived there after 8 days, loaded another batch of wounded and set off back to the British shores.

In total, until the spring of 1916, the Britannic made three flights to evacuate the wounded in the Dardanelles operation. Each of these campaigns was by no means safe, because German submarines were active in the Mediterranean.

Then there was a lull on the Mediterranean battlefields, in connection with which the floating hospital was laid up as unnecessary. The naval command was even going to, in order to save money on the maintenance of a huge vessel, to return it back to its former owner, the WSL company. By the beginning of the summer, this ship was officially excluded from the lists of the British Navy, but after that they had to win back. The situation in the Mediterranean changed again, there began another surge in the activity of hostilities: the allies again went on the offensive.

On September 4, his former captain, Charles Bartlett, again rose to the captain's bridge of the Britannic. A few days later, a huge ship set off for the fourth time to Greek islands take the wounded. Another such flight was made in late October - early November 1916. The hospital liner moored off its native English shores on November 6th. After that, he was supposed to have a “time out” for the prevention of steam boilers, machines ... However, circumstances prevented this: the British troops in the Mediterranean theater of operations suffered unexpectedly heavy losses, the hospital transshipment base on the island of Lemnos was overflowing, so it was necessary to urgently take out the wounded. So the Britannica moored in the port of Southampton lasted only 5 days. Already on Sunday, November 12, the huge steamer again went to sea, setting off for the Greek islands.

This sixth voyage - "out of schedule" - turned out to be fatal for the ship.

How the "unsinkable" sank

9 days later, the Britannic safely reached the Greek archipelago. On November 21, 1916, the ship sailed along the strait between mainland Greece and the island of Kea at a speed of 20 knots (about 36 km/h). Suddenly, in the bow on the starboard side there was an explosion, which noticeably shook the huge steamer, followed by another.

The ship's chronometer at that moment showed 8.12 am, the time for breakfast of the medical personnel. The nurses, who were alarmed, were reassured: nothing serious, you can continue the meal. However, Captain Bartlett already knew that the situation was becoming more and more dangerous. The ship began to list to starboard, sinking headfirst into the sea. The order to immediately batten down all watertight bulkheads did not help: for some reason, water flows continued to spread through the compartments. The holdmen reported to the bridge that as a result of a strong explosion, not only the bulkhead in the bow was destroyed, but the shaft of the main fire main was also damaged, through which water now penetrates into other compartments, including even into the boiler rooms. At the same time, the hermetic doors in the bulkheads turned out to be open for some reason at the time of the explosion, and now they can’t be battened down under the pressure of the arriving water.

Portholes in its sides contributed to the agony of the "most unsinkable" ship. Most of them were open: the medical staff arranged for the morning airing of the cabins. Now that the Britannic was noticeably bowed down, through these round "windows" the sea began to easily overwhelm the rooms on the lower decks of the starboard side.

There were 1134 people on the liner - the administration of the floating hospital, medical and maintenance personnel, and the crew. Realizing that his ship was sinking, Captain Bartlett ordered to give an SOS signal on the radio, and to begin evacuation before the arrival of help.

In general, it passed quite calmly and clearly, however, according to the recollections of eyewitnesses, there were still several cases of panic. For example, a group of ship's firefighters began to lower the boat without obtaining permission from the officers who ordered rescue operation. At this time, the Britannic was still moving forward at a very decent speed, and this ship, swept by the waves, almost immediately capsized. Luckily none of the firefighters died.

But, alas, it was not without casualties. The huge ship plunged headlong into the sea, listing more and more to starboard (according to the strange whim of Lady Fortune, everything happened exactly the same as with the Titanic!). At some point, the stern lifted up so high that propellers appeared out of the water. They rotated as the liner's machines continued to operate. And now, under these "fans", two large boats with escaping people, just lowered by stern davits, began to tighten. Both rescue boats were crushed to pieces, and the losers who were in them began to grind, as if in a giant meat grinder - more than 20 people died under the blades, others were injured ... A few more people could not get out of the internal compartments of the dying ship.

At 09:07, the "younger brother" of the Titanic capsized on the starboard side (at the same time, a terrible roar of collapsing mechanisms was heard inside its hull) and then quickly went to the bottom. The “most unsinkable” ship disappeared into the depths of the sea just 55 minutes after the explosion (and the same “Titanic” stayed afloat for almost 2 hours and 40 minutes!). Captain Bartlett, observing maritime tradition, was on his dying ship until the last moment. Once in the water, he managed, thanks to the life belt put on, to stay on the surface and swam to the nearest boat.

The distress signals given by the Britannic's radio operator were heard on several English ships, which rushed to the rescue. Already by 10 o'clock in the morning, the Skourzh and the auxiliary cruiser Heroik were the first to arrive at the shipwreck, then several more ships ... People from the Britannic were lifted from the boats on them.

A total of 1,104 people were saved. The number of victims of the catastrophe "Britanic" was 30 people. This floating hospital was the largest ship to die during the First World War. And the operation to save people from it was recognized as perhaps the most successful.

The cause of the tragedy of the Titanic is known to all: a collision with huge iceberg. In the case of the death of his twin, there is still no absolute clarity.

According to the official version, the Britannic was the victim of a German submarine. A few days before the tragedy, the German submarine U-73, commanded by Captain Gustav Ziss, laid mines in the strait between the island of Kea and the mainland. A super-liner came across one of these mines.

For a long time, the giant ship that sank in 1916 remained “invisible”. Only in 1975 exact location his death was established by the expedition of the famous French explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau. The following year, divers managed to examine the liner, lying at a depth of about 120 meters. On the one hand, what they saw confirms official version: there is a hole in the bow of the ship, lying on the starboard side, from an explosion. But besides this, underwater scouts discovered other damage to the Britannica hull.

Subsequently, members of the expedition put forward a different version of the death of a huge ship. It is this version that explains the paradoxical fact: why did the “unsinkable” Britannic sank much faster than its not so perfect “middle brother”. According to this version, on board the hospital (and therefore inviolable for German ships) Britannic, the British illegally transported weapons to Egypt. On its sixth (which turned out to be disastrous) voyage, the liner was supposed to call at the port of Alexandria to unload military contraband. However, German intelligence managed to find out about this secret operation. During the Britannica's stopover in Naples, German agents managed to smuggle and hide an ingenious explosive device on its board and hide it in one of the coal bunkers. Some time later, in the Kea Strait, the infernal machine worked, causing a secondary explosion of coal dust that had accumulated in the already half-empty bunkers of the huge ship by that time (this “belated” explosion was heard by many of those who were on board the Britannic). The detonation of an explosive coal-air mixture led to serious damage to the watertight bulkheads adjacent to the bunkers and other systems in the holds of the ship, violated the tightness of the compartments, which led to their rapid flooding.

Looks too fantastic? “But even some of those specialists. who reject this conspiracy theory, agree that the secondary "coal" explosion could still have occurred under the influence of a mine explosion that the Britannic stumbled upon.

A more thorough examination of the Britannic lying at the bottom of the Cousteau expedition was not allowed by the lack of appropriate equipment for deep-sea work in those years. Already today, a group of divers managed to get inside the hull of the sunken liner and examine some of the compartments. What he saw only confirmed the information that existed before: for some reason, the sealed doors in the watertight bulkheads were not battened down.

x x x

The "posthumous" fate of "Titanic No. 2" has not yet been determined. The authorities of Greece, in the territorial waters of which this sunken ship lies, stand up for including the Britannic in the list of objects world heritage UNESCO. There are enthusiasts offering to raise the liner and restore it to its original form. There is also a more realistic plan: to create virtual museum this dead giant, setting in different places his video cameras. Broadcast views of various parts of the ship lying at the bottom will be combined with the help of a computer into a single panoramic "picture" that visitors who have come to the museum can admire.

Meanwhile, when trying to implement any of these projects, it should be borne in mind that this moment the sunken "Britanic" has a full-fledged owner, without the consent of which it is impossible to even go under water for a "rendezvous" with the "little brother" of the Titanic. This gentleman's name is Simon Mills. host legendary ship he became in 1996. Then high military officials in the UK suddenly realized that their department still had some ships that participated in the First World War (among them a giant floating hospital) on their balance sheet, and decided to arrange an unusual sale of these rarities. Mills, by then long interested in the history of the Titanic, having learned about such an exclusive sale, applied and purchased the Britanic cheaply. The “shipowner” himself is in no hurry to specify the expenses incurred by him for this deal, but the amount of 25 thousand dollars was mentioned in the press.

Help "MK"

Englishwoman Violet Jessop was "lucky" to become a participant in the accidents on all three WSL superships. In September 1911, she was on board the Olympic, acting as one of the liner's stewardesses, when he collided with the cruiser Hawk in Southampton Bay, received a large hole and was forced to urgently return to port. In April 1912, Violet, also enlisted as a stewardess, sailed on the Titanic and was among the survivors of the disaster. And on November 21, 1916, during the evacuation of people from the sinking Britannic, Nurse Jessop was loaded into one of those two ill-fated boats that were pulled under the liner's rotating propellers. However, this time the Englishwoman escaped death.

Violet Jessop

The fate of three superliners: Titanic, Britannica and Olympic

At the end of 1907, the White Star Line decided to build at the Harland and Wolf shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland, three liners 259 meters long, 28 meters wide and with a displacement of 52,000 tons. They provided space for 2,566 thousand passengers in cabins of three classes, and passengers of all classes were provided with unprecedented amenities. The ships were conceived as competitors to the Lusitania and Mauritania, owned by the competing company Cunard Line.

In 1908 and 1909, the construction of the first two ships of the series began. One was named "Olympic", the other - "Titanic". Both ships were built side by side, in the same workshop. The construction of the third was scheduled for a later date.

On October 20, 1910, the Olympic was launched, on May 31, 1911, after completion of fitting out work, she entered sea trials, and on June 14 she set off on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

The management of "White Star Line" treated the first flights of "Olympic" with great responsibility. It was on these voyages that decisions were made on a number of improvements on the Titanic, which was still under construction: the layout of some rooms was slightly changed, the number of passenger cabins was increased by reducing the area of promenade decks, there were cabins-apartments, only two, a Parisian-style cafe was created, adjoining the restaurant. Finally, the first flights showed that part of the promenade deck of the liner was not sufficiently protected from the weather, so on the Titanic it was decided to make it closed, with sliding windows. In the future, the Titanic and Olympic could be visually distinguished precisely by this promenade deck.

There was an accident on the fifth flight. On the morning of September 20, 1911, at the exit from Southampton Bay, the Olympic collided with the British cruiser Hawk and received a 12-meter hole in the starboard side. The barely begun voyage was interrupted, and the Olympic returned to Belfast to the shipyard for repairs.

This accident was destined to enter the marine chronicle as the first among others of its kind, as a result of which a new phenomenon was discovered - the mutual suction of ships and ships - one of the important reasons for the collision of ships. It was in connection with the accident of the cruiser "Hawk" and the liner "Olympic" that this phenomenon was first studied, and quite clear and scientifically substantiated practical conclusions were drawn from it.

Repair work on the Olympic somewhat delayed the completion and the first voyage of the Titanic, which was completed in 1912. "Titanic" was striking in its size and architectural perfection; newspapers reported that the length of the liner is the length of three city blocks, the height of the engine is the height of a three-story building, that the anchor for the Titanic was dragged through the streets of Belfast by a team of 20 of the strongest horses.

On April 10, 1912, the Titanic sailed its first and last flight to America, taking on board more than 2.2 thousand people. On April 14, at the end of the fourth day of the journey, the Titanic collided with a huge iceberg. The starboard side of the ship was ripped open from the stem itself, the length of the hole was 90 meters. Panic broke out on the ship, in crowded and crowded people tried to get aft. Of the 20 boats, two were never launched. The Titanic sank at 2:20 am on April 15th. According to various sources, from 1.4 thousand to 1.517 thousand people died, about 700 were saved.

At the time of the sinking of the Titanic on the night of April 15, 1912, the Olympic was on its next voyage from New York to Southampton. Having received information about the disaster, the Olympic hurried to help its twin brother, but he was at a considerable distance from the crash site, and the liner Carpathia picked up the surviving passengers. The captain of the Olympic offered to take on board some of the rescued, but this idea was decided to be abandoned, because there were fears that the appearance of a copy of the Titanic would terrify people who were in shock. Despite this, the Olympic was asked to stay within sight of the Carpathia, as the ship's radio was not strong enough to contact the shore, and the radio on the Olympic had sufficient power. The lists of the rescued were transmitted to the Olympic radio operator, who immediately sent them to the coast radio station. After some time, the Olympic, carrying hundreds of passengers hurrying to Europe, continued sailing along its route.

On April 24, 1912, the Olympic was scheduled to leave for the next flight from Southampton to New York. But since the Titanic did not have enough boats to save all the people, the Olympic team refused to go to sea until the liner was provided with the necessary number of boats. Part of the crew left the ship at Southampton. The flight was cancelled.

In the same year, the Olympic arrived at the Harland and Wolf shipyard, where, within six months, its expensive reconstruction was carried out: the second bottom was raised and the height of the watertight bulkheads was increased. These measures were taken following the sinking of the Titanic. Now the "Olympic" could stay afloat even if six compartments were flooded. Only on April 2, 1913, "Olympic" went on the first flight after the reconstruction.

The liner was finishing another transatlantic flight when the First World War began. Increasing speed, the Olympic arrived in New York ahead of schedule. It was decided to leave the liner on the transatlantic line, especially since with the outbreak of war there were a lot of people who wanted to leave troubled Europe. In October, the Olympic rescued the sailors of the warship Odeishies, which had been blown up by a mine off the coast of Ireland. Since September 1915 "Olympic" has become a transport ship for transporting troops and was named "T-2810". The vessel was repainted in camouflage colors and equipped with six-inch guns for defense against submarines.

During the First World War, the liner received the affectionate nickname Old Reliable, "reliable old".

In April 1917, the Olympic was included in the Navy. During its military service, the famous liner transported 119 thousand military and civilians across the Atlantic, was attacked by submarines four times, but always remained unharmed, and once rammed and sank a submarine with an incredible maneuver.

Such postcards were given to soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who were returning home on the Olympic in early July 1919. This was the last voyage of the Olympic as a troop transport; from Halifax he proceeded to Liverpool, where he arrived on 21 July.

His Majesty's Troop Transport Olympic leaves Southampton.

THE SHIP I HAVE RETURNED HOME

Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919

Mons - Saint Eloi - Neuve Chapelle - Ypres 2 - Festuber - Givenchy - La Bas - Loo - Plogsteert - Saint Julien - Ypres 3 - Somme - Courcelet - Vimy - Hill 70 - Paschendal - Amiens - Arras - Cambrai - Valenciennes - Occupation of Mons November 11"

After the end of the war, the Olympic returned to peaceful work on the transatlantic line, and soon embarked on another lengthy reconstruction, during which its engines were switched from coal to fuel oil. The reconstruction lasted almost a year, and only on June 25, 1920, the Olympic, which was the first of the large transatlantic liners to start using fuel oil as fuel, returned to work.

The 1920s were a stellar time for the Olympic. The sinking of his twin Titanic has been forgotten. The liner has gained a reputation as an extremely reliable vessel. During these years, the ship regularly crossed Atlantic Ocean with passengers on board and was very popular.

There were no accidents either. On May 22, 1924, in New York, the Olympic collided with the St. George liner, after which she had to replace a significant part of the aft plating.

In 1928, the passenger premises of the liner were modernized. But age began to take its toll. By 1930, mechanical problems and fatigue cracks in the hull began to appear. It got to the point that in 1931 the ship was issued a certificate of seaworthiness according to the state of the hull for only six months. Later, however, it was extended.

In the 1930s the world economic crisis turned into serious problems for shipping companies. To stay afloat, White Star Line teamed up with another British company, Cunard Line. In 1934, a new company, Cunard-White Star, appeared, to which the entire passenger fleet of the two companies, including Olympic, was transferred. Shortly thereafter, on May 16, 1934, the Olympic ran into the Nantucket lightship off the coast of Canada in dense fog and sank it, along with seven crew members.

I immediately remembered the disaster of the Titanic. In addition, the construction of a new Queen Mary liner was underway, next to which there was no place for the Olympic. In the context of the ongoing global crisis, this decided the fate of the liner.

Despite the fact that the Olympic's transatlantic flight schedule for the summer of 1935 was officially published, already in January 1935 the company announced the cancellation of the liner's flights. The Olympic completed its last flight on March 27, 1935. He remained to wait for his fate in Southampton. In September of the same year, "Olympic" was sold for scrapping.

October 11, 1935 the liner left Southampton and went to Scotland for cutting. A month later, an auction was held in London, at which property from the Olympic was sold within ten days. Until now, details of the exquisite finish of the liner can be seen in the interiors of some British hotels and restaurants. Wall panels from the restaurant "Olympic" decorate the restaurant of the cruise ship "Millennium".

The Olympic enters New York Harbor. Postcard printed in Detroit.

And such “silk” postcards were sold on board the liner itself as a souvenir.

"Olympic" crossed the Atlantic Ocean more than 500 times and remained in the memory of passengers and sailors as a beautiful, comfortable and reliable liner.

The fate of the Britannica

During the First World War, the younger brother of the Olympic and Titanic, the third and last ship of the series, perished. At first it was planned that the new liner would be called the Gigantic, but after the death of the Titanic, it was decided to choose a more modest and at the same time patriotic name Britannic. She was laid down on November 30, 1911 and was supposed to go on her maiden voyage in the summer of 1914, but the structural improvements that had to be made after the sinking of the Titanic delayed the ship's departure from the shipyard. On February 26, 1914, the Britannic was launched.

The length of the liner was 275.2 m, width 28.7 m, draft 10.5 m, gross tonnage - 50,000 r.t. 50,000 hp main engine. With. Speed 21.0 knots.

During the construction of the vessel, the lessons of the death of the Titanic liner were taken into account. He received a double bottom, which increased the width of the hull by 2 feet, the space between the outer and inner bottom was divided by six longitudinal bulkheads, which were supposed to reduce the amount of flooding in case of damage to the skin. The Britannic liner received 16 watertight bulkheads, the number of boats was increased.

Not differing from its older brothers in appearance, in terms of passenger comfort, the Britanic was the best of the series. Another hairdressing salon, a children's playroom, a gym for second-class passengers, and a fourth elevator appeared on it. The developers remembered that the radio operators of the Titanic, due to their employment, did not always have time to transmit radiograms related to the navigation situation to the bridge, and pneumatic mail appeared on the Britannic, connecting the radio room and the bridge.

On February 26, 1914, this huge three-screw ship was launched. But he never managed to be on the Southampton - New York line, for which he was built: the First World War began. The luxury liner was immediately requisitioned by the British Admiralty, which ordered her to be renamed Britannic and converted into a hospital ship. And already in this capacity, the liner went on its first voyage at the end of 1915.

Gorgeous expensive cruise ship interiors have become dormitories and operating rooms. The first class reception and dining room served as an intensive care unit. The rest of the premises became hospital wards for wounded soldiers and sailors, up to three thousand of whom the ship could take on board.

In November 1915, the giant 275-meter floating hospital was commissioned into the fleet, and the Britannic set sail for the Mediterranean. During the war, the liner made five successful voyages to the Aegean Sea and the Balkans, from where it took out 15,000 soldiers of the British Empire. But the sixth flight proved fatal.

On the morning of November 21, the Britannic liner entered the Kea Strait in the Aegean Sea, heading for Lemnos. But at about 8.00 a.m. the huge ship shuddered from a terrible blow. The Britannic liner was blown up by a mine laid by the German submarine U-73, and immediately began to sink forward. Captain Charles E. Bartlett ordered the radio operators to issue a distress call. The crew worked smoothly and calmly. The boats were immediately lowered, so of the 1066 people on board at the time of the explosion, only 30 died. This was because two boats were lowered too hastily and they were blown to pieces by the liner's huge propellers.

55 minutes after the explosion, the Britannic liner lifted its stern high and went under water. He sank at a depth of 106.5 m, so he rested his nose on the bottom of the sea even before the stern completely disappeared under the water. The distress signal was received by British warships, and soon the destroyer Skoge arrived at the crash site. A little later, the destroyer Foxhound. With their help lifeboats got to the small island of Malta (not the one, of course). There, the crew of the Britannica liner had to wait for a hospital ship that delivered the sailors to Marseille. Captain Charles E. Bartlett was the last to leave the sinking ship.

It remains unclear why the Britannic, despite all the improvements, sank so quickly, even faster than the Titanic. Most likely, this happened because the nurses opened most of the windows to ventilate the compartments before receiving the wounded. When the steamer landed with her bow, the open portholes were in the water. If they had been closed, then the Britannic liner would most likely have survived.

The question of where exactly he rests has been of interest to many people for a long time. In 1975, the legendary explorer of the deep sea, Jacques Yves Cousteau, gave the answer to the riddle. After a three-day search, the underwater radar on his ship Calypso found the hull of the Britannica at a depth of 120 meters.

The researchers found that:

1) The liner lies on the starboard side and has holes from the explosion.

2) None of the chimneys remained in place (they lie next to the liner).

3) Coal and parts of the ship's interior (hospital beds, other equipment) are scattered on the ground.

4) Wooden parts" Front Stairs"(which was no longer such by the last voyage) rotted (later expeditions found out that the glass dome was partially damaged).

The captain, thanks to whose correct actions many lives were saved, continued his career, ended the war, retired and died on February 15, 1945 at the age of 76.