The+Three+Sisters

**THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION BY //TITANIC LECTURES// WE APOLOGISE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE**
= = =Olympic: The First of The //'Olympic Class'// Ships= The //Olympic// was first conceived in 1907. That summer, White Star Chairman Bruce Ismay and his wife dined at the house of Lord Pirrie - Chairman of Harland & Wolff shipyards - and his wife. It was during the course of that evening that the dream of building the largest liners the world had ever seen was born. Their decision lead to the creation of the three sister ships; Olympic, Titanic, and Giganitc (Britannic) The keel for the //Olympic//, Harland & Wolff Yard No. 400, was laid on December 16, 1908 under the shipyard's new Arrol Gantry, which was built specifically for the huge Olympic class ships. Here sister, //Titanic//, was built alongside of her, trailing some several months in the //Olympic//'s wake. The //Olympic// was launched on October 20, 1910. The world's newest, largest and most luxurious ocean liner made her maiden voyage on June 14, 1911. Aboard the ship was J. Bruce Ismay of the White Star Line, son of the Line's founder. Also aboard was Harland & Wolff's Thomas Andrews, nephew of Lord Pirrie. Captain Smith - who would go on to command the //Titanic// on her legendary and ill-fated maiden voyage the following year - was in command. The //Olympic// was so remarkable that by the time she had docked in New York, the formal order for the third entrant of the //Olympic//-class was placed. During the following ten months, the //Olympic// gained the lion's share of the fame on the Atlantic. Her sister //Titanic// was not given anywhere near the attention as had been lavished on the //Olympic// in 1911 simply because she was the second of the class. Only after she sank did the //Titanic// eclipse the //Olympic//'s fame. Following the loss of the //Titanic//, the //Olympic// returned to Harland & Wolff for extensive modifications that included the addition of a new watertight bulkhead which divided her Electric Engine Room, the installation of an inner skin running the length of her Boiler and Engine Rooms, and the raising of several critical transverse bulkheads all the way to B Deck. During this refit, the //Olympic// was also endowed with several //Titanic//-like modifications, such as the Cafe Parisian, and emerged slightly larger than her younger sister had been in April of 1912. Her career continued uninterrupted until the outbreak of the Great War in August 1914. Thereafter, she saw an extensive layup in Belfast, which was followed by distinguished service as a troop transport. The ship enjoyed great success in this guise, earning a reputation for reliability which was sorely needed in the wake of the //Titanic//. //Olympic// earned the name //Old Reliable// and became the first passenger liner to sink a German U-Boat. During her war service she transported over 34,000 American and Canadian troops across the Atlantic After the War, the ship was returned to commercial service following a large-scale refurbishment at Harland & Wolff which included her conversion to an oil-firing powerplant. Throughout the 1920's, she proved herself a solid, reliable vessel. But even the great //Olympic// could not survive the changing times. With the advent of newer, more modern-looking liners with more private bathrooms for their first class passengers, the //Olympic// began to look dated. When the Great Depression hit, this situation was made only worse as passenger bookings continued to decline. Nevertheless, the ship managed to help keep the White Star Line financially afloat. Finally, the White Star Line was forced to merge with the Cunard Line on May 10, 1934. There was simply too many old ships in the newly combined fleet, and on April 12, 1935, she was laid up in Southampton. She went to the breakers and disappeared from the Atlantic scene forever. However, many of her furnishings and fittings were preserved, and can still be found in museums and hotels.

= Titanic: The Second Sister = = = The keel for the //Titanic//, Harland and Wolff No. 401, was laid on march 31st 1909 and she was launched on 31st May 1911. Like her sisters much work needed to be done after her launch, and the work was officially completed on 2nd. April 1912. //Titanic// began her sea trials on the same day, and then left Belfast for Southampton, arriving at midnight. Over the following seven days provisions and cargo was loaded and the crew familiarised themselves with the ship, and the safety equipment was tested and passed by the board of trade. //Titanic// was advertised to sail on April 10 and the owners were deternined that she would do so, but there was a coal strike at the time so the White Star Liner //Oceanic// and the American Liner //New York// were laid up so their coal stock could be transferred to //Titanic// and many of their passengers were offered a berth on //Titanic.// The ship sailed on time, April 10 1912 at 12 noon, stopping off at Cherbourg, France and Queenstown (now known as Cobh) in Southern Ireland to board more passengers and mail. At 13:30 the following day //Titanic// left Queenstown destined for New York. 1912 was an exceptional year for ice. The mild winter had caused more ice to travel south than usual, with many sailors saying they had never seen anything like it. Titanic's maiden voyage had been far from uneventful with a near collision and a fire in one of her coal bunkers but a collision with an iceberg on thr 14th April 1912 was to be her demise. For more detailed information see TIMELINES.

=Britannic: The Third and last Sister=

//R.M.S. Britannic seen here in her hospital livery, now renamed H.M.H.S (His majesty's hospital ship) Britannic//

Originally named //Gigantic,// but the White Star Line renamed her //Britannic// immediatly after the //Titanic// disaster. Construction work was completed just before World War 1 broke out and she was offered to the British Admiralty for wartime service. Her new roll was that of a hospital ship and she was quickly converted for this purpose. Dispite her being painted in her famous hospital livery (above), at 08:12 on Tuesday, 21 November 1916, a loud explosion shook the ship, she was attacked and sunk by a German U-Boat causing heer serious damage the force of the explosion had damaged the watertight bulkhead between hold one and the most forward part of the ship. That meant that the first four watertight compartments were filling rapidly with water. To make things worse, the Fireman's tunnel connecting the firemen's quarters in the bow with boiler room six had also been seriously damaged and water was now flowing into that boiler room. Captain Bartlett ordered the watertight doors to be closed, sent a distress signal and ordered the crew to prepare the lifeboats. Along with the damaged watertight door of the firemen's tunnel, the watertight door between boiler rooms six and five also failed to close properly for an unknown reason, now water was flowing further aft into boiler room five. The //Britannic// had reached her flooding limit. Under these conditions //Britannic// was able to float so long as she remaind motionless but there was one more surprise waiting. The nurses had opened most of those portholes to ventilate the wards. As the ship's list increased, water reached this level and began to enter aft from the bulkhead between boiler rooms five and four. With more than six compartments flooded, the //Britannic// could not stay afloat. Thirty men lost their lives and 1,036 people were saved. Fortunately the ship was not yet carrying ant patients, if she had been then it is likley that many more lives would have been lost. The //Britannic// was the largest ship lost during World War I.