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Military service

The war had a serious impact on the shipbuilding industry. The shipyards that had contracts with the Admiralty were given the closest and paramount importance, and also most available raw materials. The Admiralty ordered nothing from the Harland and Wolff, making them able to continue their civilian contracts, but at a much slower pace. By September, the Britannic was dry-docked for propellers. The port of Southampton was requisitioned by the armed forces to use it as the main starting point for sending troops to France. The White Star Line was forced to move its home port back to Liverpool. In addition, many of the company's ships were commandeered by the Admiralty. Oceanic (III), Celtic, Cedric and Teutonic were converted into commercial cruisers, while Megantic and Laurentik served as military transport. The large Britannic and Olympic were both laid up until the need arose. On 3 November the Olympic arrived in Belfast, where he spent the next ten months with his younger brother.

The year 1915 arrived, on September 1, the Olympic was requisitioned as a military transport, and the Britannic was still unfinished in Belfast.

By this time the war, which should have ended by Christmas 1914, was almost out of control. In the Mediterranean, the number of victims increased, mainly due to the Dardanelles campaign. The Cunarders Aquitania and Mauritania were already serving as hospital ships, but more were needed, and on November 13, 1915, the Britannic was requisitioned by the Admiralty as a hospital ship.

Work on the conversion of the unfinished liner was in full swing. cabins on upper decks were converted into wards as the patients had to be as close to the boat deck as possible. The dining room and first class lounge have been converted into operating rooms and the main ward due to their central locations. Surgeons, doctors and nurses would live in cabins on B deck so they were close to patients at all times. When the conversion to a hospital ship was completed, the Britannica could accommodate 3309 patients, only the Aquitania could accommodate more, 4182 people.

Outwardly, not everything went as planned. There was no time to equip the ship with crane davits. Therefore, five pairs of davit cranes and 6 standard pairs were installed, which could not hold more than 2 boats, so that a smaller number of boats were installed.

The vessel was painted in the international colors of a hospital ship: a white side, a green strip along the hull, interrupted in three places on each side by red crosses. The pipes were mustard-colored, similar to the White Star Line, but lacked the black top. These colors guaranteed the ship the status of inviolable for all warships under the Geneva Agreement. On December 14, 1915, Captain Charles Bartlett was given command of His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic, number G618. By Christmas he was ready for the first voyage.

On December 23, the Britannic set sail on her maiden voyage, bound for the port of Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos. Five days later he reached Naples, the only port for taking coal and water before Mudros. Reaching Mudros on New Year's Eve, he began taking victims on board, which took 4 days. On January 9, the Britannic arrived in Southampton and began disembarking patients. Two more voyages were made, but by the spring of 1916 the situation in the Mediterranean had calmed down and hospital ships were no longer required. The Britannic was laid up at Southampton, he was on his way to.

At 8:12 a.m., the ship was suddenly shaken by an explosion in the starboard bow. Major Harold Priestly immediately took command and ordered the nurses to continue breakfast, as the captain had not given the order to abandon ship. Few thought the situation was very serious, and some joked that they had rammed a submarine. Meanwhile, Captain Bartlett was thinking about how to save the ship, because it was already listing to starboard and plunging bow into the water. He ordered the bulkheads to be battened down and SOS signals to be sent out. The explosion destroyed the bulkhead at the forepeak, and in addition, the fire tunnel was also damaged, thus water could enter the boiler rooms. With the four forward compartments flooded, the Britannic could still stay afloat. But to make matters worse, the door in the bulkhead between boiler rooms 5 and 6 failed to close, allowing water to pass through. Also that morning, portholes were opened on the starboard side to ventilate the cabins - now the deck was flooded through them.

Knowing this, Captain Bartlett decided to try to run the ship aground off the nearby island of Kea. He quickly abandoned this idea, as water entered a moving vessel faster. The paramount issue was evacuation. Help was on the way, distress calls were received by several ships. The British ship Scourge, the auxiliary cruiser Heroic and the British ship Foxhound were among the ships that received the distress signal.

The evacuation continued aboard the Britannic. There were several instances of panic; one of them, when a group of firefighters took the boat without asking. Few lifeboats were lowered, but as the ship was still moving, the crew refused to lower the boats until the ship came to a halt. Despite this precaution, an accident occurred - two boats were launched and tightened by the still-rotating propeller. Under the propeller, 21 people died. Plus, 9 more people died on the ship.

At 9:07 a.m., the ship capsized to starboard and sank 55 minutes after the explosion. Captain Bartlett, who was in the water, swam to the lifeboat and was pulled out of the water. By 10:00 a.m., the Scourge reached the site of death and began to pick up survivors.

A total of 1036 people were saved.

History after

There were a large number of questions that remained unanswered. First of all: how could the Britannic, which was safer than the Titanic, which sank for almost 3 hours, sink to the bottom in just 55 minutes? There was also debate about whether the ship was carrying weapons, but this was denied by the Admiralty. And was it really a mine or a torpedo? The first person to look for answers was Jacques Yves Cousteau who, in collaboration with Historical Museum Titanic, December 3rd Interesting Facts

• On board the Britannic was nurse Violet Jessop, one of the survivors of the Titanic disaster. She was in a boat that was pulled under the propeller of a sinking ship and survived. What is even more surprising is that V. Jessop was a flight attendant on the Olympic" (the older brother of both liners) when he collided with the cruiser in the port of Southampton"

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 the narrowness of the Mediterranean, 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. Second unofficial version was announced by the expedition famous researcher 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.

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 with a length of 259 meters, a width of 28 meters and a displacement of 52 thousand 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. April 14, at the end of the fourth day of the journey, the Titanic collided with 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. 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 major transatlantic liners started 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 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 the morning of November 21, the Britannic liner entered the Kea Strait in the Aegean Sea, heading for Lemnos. But around 8:00 huge ship shuddered from the 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 reached the small island of Malta (not the same, 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 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.

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 is such to last voyage was no longer) rotted (later expeditions found that the glass dome was partially damaged).

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.

Many centuries have passed since mankind built its first boats and began to conquer the seas and oceans. All this time people were accompanied by shipwrecks. Over time, the size of the ships increased, as did the number of victims in disasters.

All shipwreck records were broken in the 20th century, when, it would seem, they had already learned how to build reliable and strong liners, cruisers and steamers, and not just sailing wooden ships subject to all winds. The liner "Britanic" is one of the victims of the shipwreck.

The history of the three ships-brothers

The accelerated pace of life at the beginning of the 20th century required faster movements in space than it had previously been. Rapidly developing trade between countries and mass emigration to the United States from Europe and other parts of the world created a need for powerful and high-speed transatlantic ships.

In 1902, the implementation of the Lusitania project began, within the framework of which 2 ships of unprecedented size and speed were created in America. The sister liners Lusitania and Mauritania took over the transatlantic traffic, which put the prosperity of the British merchant marine in jeopardy.

In response to the US challenge, at the Harland and Wolf shipyards in Belfast, it was decided to build 3 liners that are superior in power and reliability to the American ones. The customer was one of the directors of the ship company "White Star Line".

So in 1907, the implementation of the British Admiralty project began, thanks to which the light saw the appearance of three brother ships - the Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. The passenger ship as a category of ships, thus, has changed, has become much faster than the military battleships existing at that time, thanks to the equipment with the latest technology.

Characteristics of "Britanica"

What is curious about the three identical twin liners of the British company is that each subsequent ship was built taking into account the shortcomings of the previous ones, but the first ship, the Olympic, had a better fate. Unlike his "younger brothers", he crossed the Atlantic more than 500 times, while the Titanic had only 1 flight, and the Britannic had 5.

After the death of the Titanic, shipbuilders took into account all the shortcomings that led to the collapse of this ship when building the Britannic. The ship was outwardly very similar to its "brothers", but it turned out to be much more powerful and perfect. She was better equipped with lifeboats, and bulkhead bulkheads were to prevent the ship from sinking in the event of an accident. This detail has become a significant advantage of the Britannic. The ship had 17 watertight partitions, which made it unsinkable when filling 6 compartments open to water.

The characteristics of the boat deck have also been changed. The alteration of the davits and their installation not only on the sides, but also on the stern, made it possible to evacuate passengers at any roll of the liner.

• hull length - 269 m;
• width - more than 28 m;
• the height from the waterline to the boat deck was 18.4 m;
• 29 steam boilers were used to run the engine for two four-cylinder steam engines associated with external propellers (16,000 hp each);
• the total engine power was 50,000 hp. With.;
• the ship's speed was up to 25 knots.

In February 1914, the Britannic was launched. The ship, whose photo was in the newspapers of all countries, struck with its size and grandeur.

Launching

February 26, 1914 was a significant day for the builders of the Harland and Wolf shipyard (Belfast). The descent of the ship took place without the usual breaking of a bottle of champagne on board, since there was no such tradition at the shipyard.

For that time, the size of the Britannic and its equipment were unparalleled - it accommodated 790 passengers of the 1st class, the second - 835, the third - 950. There were also many crew members - 950 people.

All plans associated with the owners of the transport company with transatlantic flights of the ship were violated in August 1914. The outbreak of the First World War prepared for the "Britanic" the fate of a floating hospital. On board were 437 members of the medical staff, 675 crew members and 3,300 wounded patients.

Rebuilding the Britannica into a hospital

To transfer the passenger liner to the category of a hospital, it was necessary to slightly change the external and internal appearance of the Britannica. The ship was "decorated" with a green stripe and six red crosses - identification marks indicating that it was a civilian hospital and not a military vessel.

Internal alterations were more significant. The cabins were converted into operating rooms, wards for the seriously wounded and a hostel for staff. The liner fit 2034 simple and 1035 folding beds. The promenade deck was converted into a compartment for soldiers with minor injuries.

The commander of the updated ship was Charles A. Bartlett.

First Voyage of Britannica

The history of Britannica as a naval hospital began on December 23, 1915, when she left Liverpool, ready to take out the wounded soldiers, and headed for Naples and the Greek port of Mudros on the island of Lemnos.

Together with two other converted liners - "Aquitaine" and "Mauritania", he cruised in

The captain of the Britannica introduced a strict regime, to which not only the staff, but also the patients obeyed:

• rise at 6.00 + bed cleaning;
• breakfast at 7.30 with subsequent cleaning of the dining room;
• captain's tour at 11.00;
• lunch at 12.30 with the cleaning of the dining room;
• tea at 16.30;
• dinner at 20.30;
• round of the captain at 21.00.

Strict discipline allowed to keep the hospital in order. To refuel the ship, it was necessary to go to Naples, which was done on December 28, 1915 by the Britannic. The ship, the photo of which in its new appearance became recognizable in the expanses of the Mediterranean, got coal and water and went to Mudros, where the wounded were waiting for it.

The loading lasted 4 days, and already on 01/09/1916 the ship was unloading patients in Southampton. Having made 2 more “walkers” for wounded soldiers, the Britannic returned to the commercial fleet due to a lull in the Mediterranean.

The return of the Britannic to the war

In September 1916, hostilities intensified again in the Mediterranean, which required the presence of big liner to transport the injured to the battlefield.

German submarines cruising in those waters set traps from rows of floating mines in a narrow part of the Mediterranean Sea to destroy the enemy. On the outskirts of the military base on Lemnos, Allied ships often fell into these traps.

On November 21, 1916, in the strait between the islands of Kea and Kythnos, the Britannic wrecked when she ran into one of the underwater mines. The explosion took place at 8:70 in the morning, when some of the patients and staff were still in the dining room for breakfast.

The last minutes of Britannica

The captain, assessing the situation, decided that he would be able to bring the ship to the nearby shore and run aground. This maneuver only increased the flooding of the ship, as the partitions between the compartments were open.

Witnesses of the shipwreck were able to describe how the Britannic sank. Two explosions - the first from the starboard side and a few minutes later the second from the port side, rolled the ship. Water began to quickly fill the holds and cabins, in which the portholes were open to ventilate the premises.

The evacuation in the boats was carried out in strict order, as everyone remembered well what the panic had done to the passengers of the Titanic. The first 2 lifeboats, launched before the captain's assistant gave the order, fell with the people there under the Britannic propellers that had risen from the water, but were still working.

After 55 minutes, the bow of the liner hit the bottom, and the ship shuddered and capsized from the impact. Thanks to the discipline and clear leadership of the captain and his assistants, out of 1066 passengers on board, 30 people died.

Expedition Cousteau

The death of the Britannic gave rise to many rumors and accusations. Some said that the British government itself flooded the ship, others blamed it on torpedoes fired from a German submarine at an unarmed hospital.

Created as a transatlantic passenger liner, the Britannic did not make a single crossing of the Atlantic and did not carry a single passenger. He went down in history as the largest ship that took part in the First World War.

To figure out what exactly sank this liner, in 1975 a team led by the famous Jacques Yves Cousteau entered the Aegean Sea on the ship Calypso. Based on the data indicated in the charts by the British Admiralty, the team did not find the vessel and began to search for it using radar. After a three-day search, the Calypso crew discovered the place of the liner's death under completely different coordinates.

The purpose of Cousteau's expedition was to determine the causes of the crash and describe how the Britannic sank. At the bottom, the researchers found almost the entire hull of the ship, in which only one break was clearly visible from the impact of the bow on the bottom. More serious studies were not conducted due to the limited equipment of that time. It was a superficial inspection that brought the Britannic, lying on its right side, to the front page of all the newspapers. The photo at the bottom also gave rise to a lot of rumors, given that the ship was found almost 7 further from where the maps indicated.

Finding the truth

In 2003, a diving expedition decided to test the German government's claims that the Britannic had hit a mine. They even discovered the remains of the shell on which the ship was blown up. They remained on the chain, anchored to the bottom.

Modern diving equipment made it possible to get inside the ship and check that all watertight bulkheads were indeed open at the time of the explosion, which indicates someone's negligence.

"Britannic" is the third and last vessel of the class " Olympic"ordered by the company" White Star Line", shipbuilding company " Harland & Wolf". Initially, the ship was built under the name "Gigantic". The name was conceived as a replacement for the deceased " Titanic"and therefore the Britannic had a number of improvements: watertight bulkheads passed through the decks with first class cabins.

Building "Britanica"
After death" Titanic"construction was stopped on the third ship, and the name" giant"changed to" Britannic". Although the shipbuilding company " White Star Line"denied that the ship would initially be named" giant", statements in the press before death" Titanic"were different. The liners were supposed to be named after the ancient Greek characters: Olympians, titans and giants. But according to legend, the titans and giants died in the battle with the Olympians, and the name of the new ship" giant"would be as insolent as in the case of" Titanic"therefore, the ship was named" Britannic".
The engineers made changes to the project. Construction was still in its early stages and this meant it would be easier to incorporate the new safety requirements on the third ship. Ultimately, these features would make him very different from his two brothers. An extra bulkhead was added in the electrical engine room, thus dividing the ship into seventeen watertight compartments rather than sixteen. This project, in theory, did it" the most unsinkable"ship, being able to survive with six flooded forward compartments. The most striking new feature there were lifeboats. A different type of davit was installed, much larger than " Titanic" And " Olympic". lifeboats were even installed at the stern of the vessel one above the other. As a precaution, pneumatic mail was added from the bridge to the radio room.
Work on " Britannic" continued throughout 1912. The launch was delayed several times, and on February 26, 1914 " Britannic"was launched. In accordance with tradition" White Star Line", there was no ceremony of breaking a bottle of champagne on the side of the ship.
Over the next six months" Britannic"began to take shape as the largest and most luxurious ocean liner Great Britain. But work progressed slowly, as Harland and Wolff had financial problems. In August 1914, something happened that changed fate" Britannica": Great Britain, France and Russia declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. The World War I.

Launching
« Britannic"was launched on February 26, 1914 at the shipyard" Harland & Wolf"in Belfast (where they were built" Titanic" And " Olympic"). Already in August 1914, the liner was suitable for transatlantic voyages between Southampton and New York.
He was considered the most comfortable in " big three"which included" Titanic" And " Olympic". The first class restaurant and smoking room were expanded and there were also plans to install an organ on the front staircase." Britannic"accommodated 790 first class passengers, 835 second, 950 third class and 950 crew members.

The first and last voyage of Britannica
In my first journey " Britannic"left Liverpool on December 23, 1915 in the direction of Naples and the port of Madros on the Greek island of Lemnos." Britannic"began to ply in the Dardanelles.
In my last thing journey, as it turned out later, the Britannic left Southampton on Sunday, November 12, 1916. He reached Italy without incident. On Friday, November 17, he arrived in Naples. The Britannic was supposed to stay there until November 18, but due to a storm, the departure was postponed to the next day. November 21 " Britannic"Walked at sunset through the Kea Canal. Around 8.00, the team working in the boiler room and engine room were waiting for the shift. To speed up the shift, the officers sometimes opened the watertight doors for a short time. Suddenly, there was an explosion of tremendous force. It was followed by another, more powerful one. It literally tore the port side of the ship in several places.Nurses and attendants ran out on deck, interrupting their breakfast in the dining room ... The Britannic began to sink....

Britannic in military service
The war seriously affected the shipbuilding industry. The shipyards, which had contracts with the Admiralty, were given the closest and paramount importance, and also most of the raw materials available. The Admiralty ordered nothing from the Harland and Wolf, making them able to continue their civilian contracts, but at a much slower pace. For the preparation of " Britannic"was placed in drydock for propeller installation. White Star Line was forced to move its home port back to Liverpool. Many of the company's ships were requisitioned by the Admiralty. "Britannic" And "Olympic"were laid up until necessary. November 3 "Olympic arrived in Belfast, where he spent the next ten months with his younger brother.
September 1, 1915 "Olympic"was requisitioned as a military transport, and "Britannic"still stood unfinished in Belfast.
The war was supposed to end on Christmas Day 1914, got out of hand. In the Mediterranean, the number of victims increased. November 13, 1915" Britannic"was requisitioned by the Admiralty as a hospital ship. Work on the conversion of the unfinished liner was in full swing. The cabins on the upper decks were turned into wards, since the patients had to be as close as possible to the boat deck. The dining room and the First Class Drawing Room were converted into operating rooms and the main ward due to their central locations.Surgeons, doctors and nurses would live in cabins on deck B so they were close to patients at all times.When the conversion to a hospital ship was completed, on Britannica"could fit 3,309 patients.
But not everything went as planned. There was no time to equip the ship with crane davits. Therefore, five pairs of davits-cranes and 6 standard pairs were installed. The ship was painted in the international colors of a hospital ship: a white side, a green strip along the hull, interrupted in three places on each side by red crosses. The pipes were mustard-colored, similar to the White Star Line, but lacked the black top. These colors guaranteed the ship the status of inviolable for all warships, according to the Geneva Agreement. By Christmas" Britannic was ready for the first voyage.
December 23 "Britannic", set off on his maiden voyage, bound for Mudros, on the Greek island of Lemnos. Five days later, he reached Naples, the only port for taking coal and water before Mudros. Reaching Mudros on New Year's Eve, he began taking victims on board, which took 4 days. January 9 "Britannic" arrived in Southampton and began disembarking patients. Two more voyages were made, but by the spring of 1916 the situation in the Mediterranean had calmed down and so far no hospital ships were required. The Britannic was laid up at Southampton on 12 April and lay idle for five weeks. Due to the financial troubles experienced by the military, it was decided that the Britannic would be returned to commercial service. "White Star Line".
She arrived in Belfast on 18 May and was released from Government service on 6 June. But by September 1916, the offensive in the Mediterranean intensified once again, and it became obvious that big liners will again be needed as floating hospitals.

"Britanic" sank in the Aegean
On the morning of November 21, 1916, the " Britannic"- twin ship" Titanic".
"Britanic"- His Majesty's hospital ship, originally built as the Gigantik passenger liner, was the last of a series of three Olympic-class liners. It was conceived as a replacement for the lost Titanic and had a number of improvements - for example, watertight bulkheads also passed through the decks with first-class cabins.
But he never managed to get on the Southampton-New York line, for which he was built. Instead, the liner was immediately requisitioned by the British Admiralty, who converted her into a hospital ship.
November 21, 1916, after hitting a German mine in the Aegean, the Britannic liner capsized and sank in just 55 minutes. Thanks to the well-organized rescue work, out of 1,136 wounded and crew members on deck, only 21 people died. The victims were those who did not have time to jump off the stern high above the water with the lead screws still rotating.
A feature film was made in 2000 directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. "Britanic".

Investigation by Jacques Yves Cousteau.
In 1975 to the district Aegean Sea the French research vessel came out" Calypso"under the guidance of the great oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau. After a 3-day search, the hull was discovered by an underwater radar" Britannica"at a depth of 120 meters. It immediately became clear that on the maps of the Admiralty the place of the death of the liner was indicated incorrectly.
In 1976" Calypso"back to" Britannicus". The team of the research vessel has set itself the main goal: to carefully examine the hull of the sunken liner and, if possible, get inside.
The first to be launched from the Calispo was a saucer-shaped submersible with William Tantoon on board. After him, divers descended to the Britannic 68 times, but each of them had no more than 5 minutes to inspect the sunken liner.
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 all lie next to the liner.
3) Coal and parts of the interior of the ship are scattered along the bottom of the sea.
4) The wooden parts of the "Front Staircase" (which was no longer such) rotted away (later expeditions found out that the glass dome was partially damaged).
During research, some artifacts were raised to the surface with " Britannica", they are exhibited in many museums around the world.