Britannic and Titanic comparison. The fate of three superliners: Titanic, Britannic and Olympic. The last days of the Olympic

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the flourishing of passenger shipbuilding. The powerful ship companies of England, Germany, France fought among themselves for leadership in passenger traffic. One of the leading companies "White Star Line", which was acquired by the American financier P. Morgan, who dreamed of a monopoly in the North Atlantic, decides to build three giant liners at that time. The first Olympic and Titanic were laid down in 1908 and 1909. The third ship, the Britannic, was laid down in November 1911.

Fighting for the Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic

The main direction of that time was America, which was developing very quickly and needed new markets. In addition, many emigrants from Europe went to New World looking for a better life. Trade with Europe demanded everything more ships, since at that time it was the only way to communicate between the continents.

Ocean liners competed for the right to own the Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic, a challenge prize for the speed at which they were required to cross the North Atlantic. It was a conditional prize of prestige. It was at that time a blue pennant, rising on the mast of the record-breaking liner. It was for him that there was a struggle between maritime shipping companies that built ever more powerful, fast and comfortable ships. In 1897, the German liner Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse won the Blue Ribbon. The prestige of British shipping companies was dealt a blow. They sought to regain leadership and passengers.

Predecessors of Britannica

A series of liners of the Olympic class was designed. The construction of the ships was carried out at the Harland and Wolf shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first of the planned liners, the Olympic, was launched in 1910. After completion, it passed sea trials and on 06/14/1911 went on its first voyage from British Southampton to New York. Some time later, the White Star Line makes a decision according to which changes were made to the Titanic under construction, taking into account the comments on the first ship.

In November 1911, at the same shipyard where the Olympic was built, the keel of the Britannica was laid. The ship had to be completed taking into account all the shortcomings on the two ships. It was the third liner of this series. But the fate of the ships was tragic. During the performance of its fifth flight, leaving Southampton Bay, the Olympic hit the British cruiser Hawk on its right side, as a result of which it received a significant hole. Its size was 12 meters. The liner was forced to stand for repairs at the Belfast shipyard.

Second of sea ​​liners of this series "Titanic" struck giant size, excellence, luxury and comfort for passengers. According to the owners' idea, it was supposed to compete with the leading companies Kunard Line and the German HAPAG and receive the Blue Ribbon. But these plans were not destined to come true. The Titanic was killed by an iceberg on its maiden voyage.

Creation of Britannica

The third liner of the Olympic series was still under construction when its fellow Titanic, which suffered a terrible accident in a collision with an iceberg, sank. This tragedy, which claimed the lives of 1,500 people, shocked the world. The original name of the third ship was "Gigantic", but after the tragedy, its owners decided to call the ship "Britannique", believing that this name would be more patriotic and appropriate.

Deciding to create a series of unsinkable liners, the management of the White Star Line makes a decision - to classify the construction of the third of them, and at the shipyard the laid down ship was listed under No. 433. But it was not possible to keep the construction of the Britannic ship secret. The company decided in this liner to combine all the advantages of its counterparts and eliminate all their shortcomings.

Structural changes

The tragedy of the Titanic suspended the construction of the Britannic, as a commission was working to investigate the causes of the disaster. Based on the conclusions made by the company, significant changes were made to the design of the ship under construction, the purpose of which was to create unsinkable ship. In the event of a collision of the liner with an iceberg, a double inner hull plating of the vessel was developed.

The next measure concerned the watertight five partitions that reached the upper decks. According to the calculations of the designers, this would have avoided flooding of all compartments. The changes also affected the architecture of the ship. The well that separated the poop and superstructure was completely covered and turned into a shelter deck. Additional cabins of the 3rd class were arranged on the poop deck superstructure.

The ship "Britanic" was equipped with 5 pairs of 12-meter-sized davit cranes, with the help of which each of them freely launched 5 boats with a large roll of the ship. The liner could freely accommodate 40 boats. But they were never installed.

Launching and sea trials

Work on the construction of the ship took place with delays, launching was canceled several times. Maybe this was the reason for the failure to carry out the “baptism” of the ship (the traditional breaking of a bottle of champagne) at the time of its launch. This was considered a bad omen.

The first entry to the Atlantic line by the company was scheduled for June 1915, and this was announced. Not much different in appearance from its "twin brothers", the Britannic was the best in this series. All design improvements were unprecedented innovations at that time. The calculated indicators gave the right to consider the Britannic the most unsinkable ship.

The company again had the hope of becoming the most prestigious and receiving the Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic. It was officially announced that the liner would enter the Atlantic route in the summer of 1915, but the First World War made its own adjustments to the life of the ship.

The beginning of the war

The war had its impact on all shipbuilding. Raw materials for the construction of ships were given only to those shipyards that collaborated with the Admiralty. Harland & Wolff continued building ocean civilian ships, so their construction progressed extremely slowly.

The port of Southampton was requisitioned, that is, it became a military one, so the White Star Line transferred its ships to the port of Liverpool. Many ocean liners And cargo ships were also requisitioned. This fate awaited the Olympic, which became a military transport, and the Britannic, which was turned into a hospital ship. On a dream to cross the Atlantic and get blue ribbon prestige was given a fat cross.

Military hospital

In October 1914, the Britannic was converted into a military hospital. Several operating rooms, special resuscitation rooms, cabins for medical personnel, a gym, storage rooms, dressing rooms and, of course, cabins for the wounded were arranged on board. The capacity of the floating hospital was 3,300 beds.

The ship, like a medical ship, also received a distinctive color. The hull was painted white with a longitudinal green stripe and red crosses on the sides, its pipes were covered with yellow paint.

Military service

On 12/12/1915, the Britannic made the transition from Belfast to Southampton, where she took on board the medical staff, medicines and supplies. On December 23, 1915, the ship left the port and headed for the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The best captain of the White Star Line, Carlos Bartlet, became the commander of the ship. All of Europe was engulfed in the conflagration of a world war. The Mediterranean is no exception.

England and France, being allies, fought against Germany and Turkey and landed their troops in Gallipoli during the Dardanelles operation. The British were failing, they needed reinforcements and the removal of the wounded. This mission was entrusted to hospital ships, who performed their task in the Mediterranean Sea, crowded with German submarines.

During 1916, the Britannic successfully completed five flights, evacuating over 13,000 people to England. The longer the war went on, the greater danger the liner was subjected, which was not adapted for maneuvering in the straits of the Mediterranean Sea, which were narrow for it. It was created for endless expanses The Atlantic, and because of its huge size, was vulnerable to German submarines, which literally "stuffed" the sea with mines.

The death of the Britannica

The sixth and last time the Britannic sailed to the Mediterranean was in November 1916. On November 21, he passed through the strait between the Greek islands of Kea and Kythnos for the next wounded to be evacuated. Exactly at 8:00 there was a dull explosion, followed by a rumble and vibration. Captain K. Bartlet, who was just having breakfast, realized that the ship had blown up on an enemy mine. He immediately took up his post.

The first thing the captain tried to do was to turn the ship around and throw it aground, but he did not succeed. The crew prepared to leave the ship in a hurry. The captain was able to prevent panic and take matters into his own hands.

The liner began to fall to the starboard side. Soon, rotating giant propeller blades appeared above the surface of the water, under which two boats were pulled. Realizing that the death of the rest of the escaping was inevitable, the captain ordered the cars to be stopped. The liner continued to sink into the depths of the sea. Water entering the upper deck through open portholes predetermined the outcome. The ship went down.

The behavior of Captain C. Bartlet is the model of a naval commander. Thanks to his endurance and professionalism, 1104 people were saved. He was the last to leave the board. With such a large-scale disaster, only 30 people died, who were pulled under the propellers. The rescue of people in distress from the Britannic entered the history of world navigation.

The search for the sunken Britannic was crowned with success only in 1975. It was discovered by the expedition of Jacques-Yves Cousteau at a depth of 112 meters near Greek island Kea. His remains belong to the navigation historian S. Mills.

The first version of the death of the ship

The public of England, shocked by the death of an unsinkable liner, could not recover from the fact that it sank in just 57 minutes. The newspapers expressed the version that the ship was attacked by a German submarine and therefore received holes incompatible with the life of the ship.

The version of the torpedo attack was refuted by the commander of the German submarine. Captain Zeiss reported that a mine bank had been placed in the strait, which caused the death of the Britannic. As evidence, a journal was presented, where there was no entry about the order to torpedo the floating hospital. official version it was recognized that the liner was blown up by a mine exposed by a German submarine. But many consider it unclear how the ship "Britanic" died. Interesting Facts were obtained sixty years after the tragedy.

The second version of the death of "Britanica"

This version was announced worldwide famous explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. According to her, the ship was secretly transporting weapons. This became known to German intelligence, which installed an infernal machine in the coal bunker of the ship while it was refueling in Naples. During its explosion, a secondary explosion of coal dust occurred, which was in abundance in the bunkers. This may explain the rumble that was heard for some time after the explosion. But the detonation of coal dust could also be caused by a mine explosion overboard.

"Oceanic III"

Having lost two of my most the best liner, White Star Line has not abandoned its Blue Ribbon plans. She dreamed of revenge and pinned her hopes on a faster, more powerful and more reliable ship. The company in January 1928 submitted an application to Harland and Wolfe for the construction of the Oceanic III, which was an improved Olympic series, with diesel-electric engines. But the outbreak of the Great Depression, which also affected the shipping business, put an end to this project.

Afterword

The only remaining of the three twin ships was the Olympic. He lived a glorious ship life, became a legend in British shipbuilding and was known as the most reliable liner. But superstitious sailors see a relationship between the fates of the ships and their original names Olympic, Titanic and Gigantic (Britanic). According to the ancient Greek legend, the Titanics and the Gigantics died in the fight against the Olympics.

This is evidenced by the incident that occurred with the Olympic in 1929. It was heading for New York. When there were several hours left, the ship began to shake for some unknown reason. There were no other ships nearby, the engines were working normally, which excluded the possibility of losing the propeller blade But the sailors were horrified when they learned that the ship was at the site of the sinking of the Titanic. The crew did not calm down and the message that an earthquake had occurred in this place. Captain Parker retired after returning.

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 collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank 2 hours and 40 minutes later. 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.

When designing the third passenger liner from this series under the original name "Gigantic", the engineers tried to take into account all the weaknesses of its predecessors, the Olympic and Titanic, revealed 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 the new design features of the Gigantika, five more lifeboats were added to it. 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.

May 12, 1918 in the English Channel occurred unique story- sistership "Titanic", the world's largest passenger liner "Olympic" (displacement 46,358 tons) chased the German submarine U-103, which was five times shorter and 55 times lighter, caught up with her and cut in half.

I called the Olympic the world's largest (at that time) ocean passenger liner, because, unlike the larger German Imperator and Vaterland, it continued to work on the Transatlantic route throughout the First World War, while the Germans stood on fun in New York and Hamburg.

"Olympic" is a ship with a unique destiny, undeservedly left in the shadow of its "classmates" "Titanic" and, in part, "Britanic", which sank during the war in the Mediterranean after a mine explosion. Throughout his career, he got into critical situations akin to those that cost the "life" of the "sisters" (and on both sides) and constantly got out of them safely. And in terms of the number of collisions with something floating, it was a mile away from any other liner of its time. Reading his biography, you constantly remember the Chekhov Duet number about a man who insured his life in order to get a solid sum, but instead gained absolute health. Perhaps some saint in charge of the soul of the ships decided to lead the Olympic through all the trials that his sisterships could not endure.

Look: the Olympic entered service on June 14, 1911 and immediately went to New York. Bruce Ismay was on board. The one! Who commanded the ship? You guessed it - Edward Smith. The one that will then stand on the captain's bridge of the Titanic on the "night to remember" (c). And nothing happened! No, it actually happened. A few days later, powerful jets of water from the propellers of the "Olympic" drag a small tugboat under the stern. The tug is damaged, there are scratches on the stern of the Olympic.

September 20, 1911 near the Isle of Wight, the British armored cruiser Hawk crashes into the Olympic (October 15, 1914 German submarine U-9, the same one that three weeks earlier in the English Channel sent three armored cruisers to the bottom within a few minutes).

"Hawk" has a wrinkled nose, "Olympic" has a ... hole. By the way, the legendary Violetta Jessop (1883-1971) was already on board the ship. Let me remind you that later she will survive the death of the Titanic and Britannic. Little is known that there was another person who survived the wrecks and crashes of all three liners - fireman Arthur Priest.

OK. February 24, 1912 "Olympic" loses part of the propeller in the Atlantic, on the way to Brittany. It is known that it was this accident that led to the delay in the departure of the Titanic on its inaugural voyage.

The night the Titanic sank, the Olympic was sailing from New York to Southampton. The captain of the ship, Herbert Hadcock, gave the order to immediately go to the rescue of passengers, although he was 580 miles away from the sinking ship and he needed more than a day to reach the crash site. When 120 miles remained to the place of the sinking of the Titanic, the captain of the Carpathia Rostron contacted Hadcock and asked him not to approach his ship so that rescued passengers did not panic at the contemplation of a complete copy of the ship from which they had just escaped.

Well, about the mutiny of part of the crew in the same April 1912, after which it was finally decided to provide all passengers with lifeboats, I think everyone familiar with the history of navigation knows.

In 1914, the First World War began and the Olympic remained one of the few transatlantic liners who remained on the lines all the time of hostilities (by the way, during the Second World War, passenger shipping across the Atlantic was quickly terminated - the family of the US Ambassador to Great Britain Joseph Kennedy (including Bobby) traveled to New York on September 21, 1939 on the last flight of the Dutch transatlantic liner "Amsterdam ". "English", "French" and "Poles" (Poland had two large liner, only shh. officially the country was rotting in poverty) did not go anymore. Until the spring of 1940, Italian liners sailed in the USA, but for obvious reasons they were also taken off the lines).

October 9, 1914 "Olympic" at the same time almost anticipated the fate of "Britanic" and more than repeated the actions of "Carpathia". On this day he smashed into a German minefield. And from the other end, the British battleship "Odesies" entered it. Went in and ran into a mine. The boats of the "Olympic" removed the ALL crew from the battleship, it turned over and, plunging, exploded. "Olympic" safely left the minefield and delivered the sailors to the port.

Boats from the "Olympic" remove the crew of "Odeishis"

A year later, in the Mediterranean, the Olympic will save the crew of the French transport Provence, despite the fact that Austrian submarines were spinning around. It passed this time too.

Well, the finest hour at the sistership "Titanic" came exactly 98 years ago. He was making another voyage from New York, escorted by 4 American cruisers (while unlimited submarine warfare was raging). And then a small convoy enters the English Channel and Hadcock sees a submarine through binoculars. "German", thought the captain and ordered the crews of the onboard guns to open fire on her, but here's the problem - the sides are high and it's impossible to get into the boat. The boat was charging the batteries and the Germans literally overslept the approach of the allies. The problem with the submarines of that time was that they sank very slowly, some models up to an hour. So the captain tried to get away from the Olympic in a zigzag, but Hadcock, tugging on a glass of single malt and puffing on a strong Virginia cigar, moved the helmsman, personally stood at the helm of the liner and, muttering something like "Shuzz dear, don't move, daddy will kiss you" or something even dirtier, chased after the Germans. This only happens in cartoons - a huge (though no longer white) liner rushes across the stormy sea behind a tiny boat. A few minutes later, the sound of crackling frames breaking was heard, muffled by the water and the bulk of the liner, Hadcock grunted with satisfaction - "Radio operator, tell the Yankees to let them collect meat from the sea, and I'll go to the cabin. Work with documents" and taking with him an open bottle of whiskey, a pint and a half of smuggled coke -cola, a liter of "Barber" left from the Mediterranean company and the shaker is gone. This is how the Drunken Stewardess cocktail was born, later, however, Coca-Cola was replaced with a tonic. The cruisers were raised from the surface of the sea by 31 German sailors.

The war is over. The Olympic was completely modernized (boilers became oil-fired, and the capacity of lifeboats exceeded 3,000 people, which far exceeded the capacity of the ship) sailed from Great Britain to New York and South America until 1935. Cunard bought the White Line and the Olympic finally became a purely British vessel. For 16 years of post-war peaceful service, the ship managed to sink a floating lighthouse, ram a French steamer right in the harbor of New York, saved another Frenchman a little. People disappeared on board, one of its developers died and, to a heap, right above the site of the death of the Titanic, the Olympic fell into an underwater earthquake.

Hotel "White Swan"

And in 1935 it was cut into metal, not forgetting to sell all the interior furnishings at auction. If someone during their travels will bring to the British town of Alnwick, in Northumberland, then go to the White Swan Hotel there, one of the oldest (and perhaps the oldest) continuously operating hotel in the world (it is over 300 years old). Most of the local situation from the "Olympic".

When you take a look at the history of the Olympic, you get the feeling that the ship, ramming and saving other ships for many years, never met its main enemy - the iceberg, and everything that happened to it in 24 years of operation was nothing more than training before the main one, the meeting that never took place.

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Once upon a time there were three twin-liners in the world: Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. Today's post is about them.

During the sinking of the Titanic, the captain of the Olympic offered to transfer passengers to his ship, but the crew refused. It was considered that it would be a shock for the victims to see the recently sunken liner afloat again.

At the end of the 19th century, White Star Line was the most powerful transport company in the UK. Steamship communication was carried out not only with America, but also with Australia and South Africa.

In 1902, the American Pierpont Morgan bought the company. American capital and cooperation with one of the best shipbuilding companies Harland and Wolff contributed to the start of the construction of three huge ships: the Olympic (Olympic), Titanic (Titanic) and Britannic (Britannic)

1. Olympic. "Darling".

"Olympic" was the first of a series of three liners of the same class. Along with the Titanic and Britannic, it was conceived as a competitor to the ships of other transatlantic companies.

At first, the White Star Line saw two large liners with three pipes. Such a construction was supposed to leave competitors far behind. But the duet of the liners was turned into a trio. Three chimneys have been replaced with 4 to give passengers more confidence that a ship with 4 chimneys is safer.

In 1908, the keel of the future Olympic was laid. The ship had a length of 268 m, a width of 28 m and a height of 18.4 m from the waterline to the boat deck. 16 watertight compartments protected the ship from damage. The gigantic engines, together with the turbine, produced about 50,000 horsepower. and reached a speed of 21 knots.

Launching

On Thursday, October 20, 1910, at 11:00 a.m., the Olympic was launched. Ship "after 62 seconds, it reached a speed of 12.5 knots. We could start decorating.

Trials in 1911

After tests that exceeded all expectations, the ship was ready to go to sea.

According to tradition, after the end of all the tests, the Olympic arrived in Liverpool for general consideration. Although the port of departure was later changed to Southampton, at the stern of the Olympic and her two brothers, the word "Liverpool" will always be visible under the name.

First Class Grand Staircase

The "chip" of all three liners was unsinkability. This fact was published in all the newspapers during the construction of the ships.
Unsinkability was provided by 16 waterproof compartments and sealed doors.

Interior spaces The Olympics were graceful. The style of the rooms, in contrast to German ships, was not so pretentious, but more modest, and therefore more attractive.

Second Class Dining Room

On Wednesday, June 14, 1911, the Olympic gave up her moorings and headed from Southampton to New York. Its captain was the experienced Edward John Smith. On Thursday, June 22, the ship moored at the pier in America.

In the first years of operation with the "Olympic" there were a number of minor failures. The ship then collided with other ships, then received damage. For example, on February 24, 1912, the liner lost a propeller blade on its way to England. The Olympic had to return to Belfast for repairs, which delayed the Titanic's maiden voyage.

Third class cabin

The lessons of the Titanic were not in vain. The ship was equipped with lifeboats. True, this was done after the rebellion of the team. The crew refused to continue voyages without the normal number of boats.

The First World War caught the Olympic on its way to New York. In America, the liner was painted grey.

Since that time, the Olympic was listed as a military transport and was equipped with massive weapons. A little later, he became a transport ship between the UK and Canada.

After the war, having undergone modernization, the ship returned to its former occupation - the transport of passengers across the Atlantic.

On May 15, 1934, the Olympic sailed through New York waters through dense fog at a speed of ten knots. Despite the low speed and lights, the ship did not notice the lightship. The huge "Olympic" cut the lighthouse in half. Seven men aboard the lightship were killed and only four survived.

The Olympic is outdated. Now it was only a matter of time before he was taken off the line.
On October 11, 1935, the Olympic left Southampton for the last time, to be sawn to pieces. All interior decorations were sold at auction. Most of all the furniture and decoration went to the hotels.

2. Titanic. "Damn".

The most famous and saddest liner of the series. Was the biggest passenger liner world at the time of construction.

Length 269.1 m, width - 28.19 m, height from the waterline to the boat deck -18.4 m.

It was laid down on March 31, 1909 at shipyards in Northern Ireland and was built together with Olympic. Already May 31, 1911 launched.

"Olympic" and "Titanic" on the stocks of Harland and Wolf

Before launching

Place of death

On April 4, 1912, she collided with an iceberg and sank after 2 hours and 40 minutes. There were 1,316 passengers and 908 crew members on board, for a total of 2,224 people. Of these, only 711 people were saved.

Three ships were closest to the Titanic: the Californian, the Carpathia, and the Mount Temple. "Californian" and "Mount Temple" were squeezed by ice, so only "Carpathia" was able to come to the aid of the dying titan.
However, she arrived too late: the Titanic had already sunk for 2 hours. The Carpathia loaded the surviving passengers on board and departed for New York.

3. British. "Forgotten".

The Britannic is the third and final ship of the Olympic class. It was originally built under the name "Gigantik".

Planned appearance

Length 269 m, width 28 m, height from the waterline to the boat deck 18.4 m

After the death of the Titanic, construction on the third ship was immediately halted, and the intended name "Gigantic" was changed to "Britanic".

Britannic launched.

Work on the Britannica continued throughout 1912. The launch was delayed several times, and only on February 26, 1914, the Britannic was launched. In accordance with White Star Line tradition, there was no ceremony, and no champagne bottle was smashed on the bow of the ship.

The Britannic was supposed to be one of the majestic liners, but then the First World War broke out.

November 13, 1915 she 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 turned into chambers. The Dining Room and First Class Lounge have been converted into operating rooms and the main ward.

The vessel was painted in the international colors of a hospital ship: a white side, a green strip along the hull with red crosses. These colors guaranteed the "Britanica" the status of inviolable for all warships, according to the Geneva Agreement. The failed liner was sent to serve in the Mediterranean.

On November 21, 1916, the Britannic hit a German mine between the island of Kea and mainland Greece. The ship capsized to starboard and sank 55 minutes later. The victims were few.

Sinking Britannic

Interestingly, Violet Jessop, a nurse, was on board the Britannic. She was pulled under the propeller of a sinking ship, but the woman survived.
Violet also survived the death of the older brother of the Britannic, the Titanic. More surprisingly, she was a flight attendant at the Olympic.

Three liners were named in honor of the heroes Greek mythology: Olympians, titans and giants. It is curious that the titans and giants were defeated by the Olypians. Perhaps that is why the Olympic is the only one that has not been wrecked?

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 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 there appeared new company"Kunard - White Star", which was transferred to the entire passenger fleet of the two companies, including "Olympic". 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.

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 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 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 signal. 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).

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.