A century has passed since the terrible catastrophe.
Exactly 100 years ago, on November 21, 1916, the largest shipwreck occurred - the Titanic sank again in the sea.
However, it would be more correct to formulate it differently: the ship sank outwardly, like two drops of water, similar to the Titanic.
This similarity is quite understandable: after all, in the autumn disaster of 1916, the twin brother of the famous ocean liner, the Britannic, died. Few people know about the fate of this gigantic ship. Meanwhile, his death is largely “copied” from the crash of the Titanic and is also surrounded by secrets and was accompanied by strange circumstances.
"Britanic"
There were three. – Three transatlantic giant liners of the same type, built at English shipyards by order of the largest transport company White Star Line.
The “elder brother” is the “Olympic”, which sailed safely through the seas and oceans for a quarter of a century and “died a natural death” (that is, it was cut into scrap metal).
“Middle Brother” is the infamous Titanic.
And finally, "younger brother." With his name, not everything is clear. In the original version, the WSL leaders approved the name "Gigantic". That is, this series of super-ships was dedicated to the heroes of Greek mythology: the Olympians, titans and giants. However, after the death of the Titanic, they realized that in this version a “logical mine” was laid. After all, according to ancient legends, as a result of battles, the titans and giants were defeated. And defeated by the Olympians! In order not to "scribble" a sad fate to the third of their liners (which then had just begun to be assembled on the slipway), the gentlemen-directors decided to change his name. As a result, "Gigantic" turned into "Britanic" - also sonorous and, moreover, patriotic!
To find out some details of a short but difficult biography of this unique passenger ship, the MK correspondent was helped by materials collected by an enthusiast - historian Dmitry Mazur.
Item No. 433
The Britannic was laid down at the shipyard in Belfast under the code designation "Product No. 433" on November 30, 1911 and launched on February 26, 1914. A few months later, immediately after the death of the Titanic, its construction was suspended for some time: it took time for the engineers to make changes to the design of this giant steamship, taking into account bad experience April maritime tragedy 1912. On the Britannica, the number of watertight bulkheads in the hull was increased (and now they also passed through the passenger compartments, reaching the level of the upper deck), double sides were designed to additionally protect the compartments in case of encountering an iceberg ... The number of rescue equipment has increased. Each of the five powerful davit cranes installed on the ship could safely launch five lifeboats at once even with a large list of the ship. For greater efficiency in the transmission of received radiograms about the navigational situation along the route to the captain's bridge, it was connected by pneumatic mail to the radio operator's cabin ...
"Titanic"
As a result of all the improvements, the liner was supposed to become the safest and, most importantly, the “most unsinkable” ship in the world. Specialists-designers argued that the Britannic would be able to stay afloat even with six bow compartments flooded with water on one side. (“The Titanic” was “allowed” to flood only four compartments, so if on the fateful night of April 14 it was not the Britannic, but the Britannic, at the “rendezvous” with the iceberg, there would not have been a terrible tragedy at sea).
"Junior" became the largest of the three "brothers"-liners. It was several meters longer than the Titanic, slightly wider than it, and had a displacement of almost 2,000 tons more (48,158 tons versus 46,328). Cabins of three classes are designed for 2575 passengers, and the crew of the ship was 950 people.
They also wanted to make the Britannic the most comfortable and luxurious of the trinity of WSL super-liners. For example, for the convenience of passengers, the restaurant and the smoking room of the 1st class were expanded. In addition, the project was supposed to equip the ship with a playroom for children, one more hairdresser, Gym for travelers in the 2nd class, 4 electric elevators... They even planned to install an organ on the main staircase for organizing concerts!
However, the implementation of these plans was hampered by the World War. Under the new conditions, it was no longer up to high-speed transatlantic flights. The completion of the Britannica slowed down significantly, and in the fall of 1915, radical changes took place in its fate. On November 13, the British Admiralty requisitioned a huge steamer in order to convert it for military purposes into a hospital ship.
The difficult situation that developed in the Mediterranean theater of operations prompted the British naval leadership to take such a step. The Dardanelles operation launched by France and England against Germany and Turkey was in full swing. The troops of the Entente allies landed in the Gallpoli area and actively tried to expand the bridgehead in order to take control of the most important Dardanelles on the way from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. At the same time, the French and British suffered serious losses. The British, it was necessary to evacuate by sea numerous wounded, sick "soldiers of His Majesty." It was for this purpose that the huge Britannic was needed to help the existing hospital ships.
Within a matter of weeks, the super-liner was converted into a floating hospital. The dining room and the 1st class lounge, located in the central area of the deck superstructures, were converted into an operating room and the main ward, respectively. In the nearby cabins on deck "B", it was decided to place medical personnel - doctors, paramedics, nurses. Other passenger cabins were adapted as wards for the wounded. Several hold spaces have now turned into warehouses for medical equipment and drugs, and one of them has even become a mortuary... For an outside observer, the most noticeable change was appearance"Britanica". It was painted in the colors of a hospital ship adopted by international agreement, which should guarantee its inviolability for warships of any country: white sides, each of which has a green stripe along the entire hull and three large red crosses.
"Britanic"
In December 1915, the failed transatlantic liner, now called His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic, was officially included in the British fleet. It could carry over 3,000 sick and wounded, the medical and maintenance personnel consisted of almost 450 people, and the ship's crew of 675 people. Charles Bartlett was appointed captain of the Britannic.
On December 23, having fully staffed the Southampton roadstead and loaded all the necessary supplies, the hospital steamer set off on its maiden voyage. He headed for the Mediterranean. The end point of the route was the transshipment hospital base of the British, created by them on the Greek island of Lemnos. The ship arrived there after 8 days, loaded another batch of wounded and set off back to the British shores.
In total, until the spring of 1916, the Britannic made three flights to evacuate the wounded in the Dardanelles operation. Each of these campaigns was by no means safe, because German submarines were active in the Mediterranean.
Then there was a lull on the Mediterranean battlefields, in connection with which the floating hospital was laid up as unnecessary. The naval command was even going to, in order to save money on the maintenance of a huge vessel, to return it back to its former owner, the WSL company. By the beginning of the summer, this ship was officially excluded from the lists of the British Navy, but after that they had to win back. The situation in the Mediterranean changed again, there began another surge in the activity of hostilities: the allies again went on the offensive.
On September 4, his former captain, Charles Bartlett, again rose to the captain's bridge of the Britannic. A few days later, a huge ship set off for the fourth time to the Greek islands to pick up the wounded. Another such flight was made in late October - early November 1916. The hospital liner moored off its native English shores on November 6th. After that, he was supposed to have a "time out" to carry out the prevention of steam boilers, machines ... However, circumstances prevented this: the British troops in the Mediterranean theater of operations unexpectedly carried big losses, the hospital transshipment base on the island of Lemnos was overflowing, so it was necessary to urgently take out the wounded from there. So the Britannica moored in the port of Southampton lasted only 5 days. Already on Sunday, November 12, the huge steamer again went to sea, setting off for the Greek islands.
This sixth voyage - "out of schedule" - turned out to be fatal for the ship.
How the "unsinkable" sank
9 days later, the Britannic safely reached the Greek archipelago. On November 21, 1916, the ship sailed along the strait between the Greek mainland and the island of Kea at a speed of 20 knots (about 36 km/h). Suddenly, in the bow on the starboard side there was an explosion, which noticeably shook the huge steamer, followed by another.
The ship's chronometer at that moment showed 8.12 am, the time for breakfast of the medical personnel. The nurses, who were alarmed, were reassured: nothing serious, you can continue the meal. However, Captain Bartlett already knew that the situation was becoming more and more dangerous. The ship began to list to starboard, sinking headfirst into the sea. The order to immediately batten down all watertight bulkheads did not help: for some reason, water flows continued to spread through the compartments. The holdmen reported to the bridge that as a result of a strong explosion, not only the bulkhead in the bow was destroyed, but the shaft of the main fire main was also damaged, through which water now penetrates into other compartments, including even into the boiler rooms. At the same time, the hermetic doors in the bulkheads turned out to be open for some reason at the time of the explosion, and now they can’t be battened down under the pressure of the arriving water.
Portholes in its sides contributed to the agony of the "most unsinkable" ship. Most of them were open: the medical staff arranged for the morning airing of the cabins. Now that the Britannic was noticeably bowed down, through these round "windows" the sea began to easily overwhelm the rooms on the lower decks of the starboard side.
There were 1134 people on the liner - the administration of the floating hospital, medical and maintenance personnel, and the crew. Realizing that his ship was sinking, Captain Bartlett ordered to give an SOS signal on the radio, and to begin evacuation before the arrival of help.
In general, it passed quite calmly and clearly, however, according to the recollections of eyewitnesses, there were still several cases of panic. For example, a group of ship's firefighters began to lower the boat without obtaining permission from the officers in charge of the rescue operation. At this time, the Britannic was still moving forward at a very decent speed, and this ship, swept by the waves, almost immediately capsized. Luckily none of the firefighters died.
But, alas, it was not without casualties. The huge ship plunged headlong into the sea, listing more and more to starboard (according to the strange whim of Lady Fortune, everything happened exactly the same as with the Titanic!). At some point, the stern lifted up so high that propellers appeared out of the water. They rotated as the liner's machines continued to operate. And now, under these "fans", two large boats with escaping people, just lowered by stern davits, began to tighten. Both rescue boats were crushed to pieces, and the losers who were in them began to grind, as if in a giant meat grinder - more than 20 people died under the blades, others were injured ... A few more people could not get out of the internal compartments of the dying ship.
At 09:07, the “younger brother” of the Titanic capsized on the starboard side (at the same time, a terrible roar of collapsing mechanisms was heard inside its hull) and then quickly went to the bottom. The “most unsinkable” ship disappeared into the depths of the sea just 55 minutes after the explosion (and the same “Titanic” stayed afloat for almost 2 hours and 40 minutes!). Captain Bartlett, observing maritime tradition, was on his dying ship until the last moment. Once in the water, he managed, thanks to the life belt put on, to stay on the surface and swam to the nearest boat.
The distress signals given by the Britannic's radio operator were heard on several English ships, which rushed to the rescue. Already by 10 o'clock in the morning, the Skourzh and the auxiliary cruiser Heroik were the first to arrive at the shipwreck, then several more ships ... People from the Britannic were lifted from the boats on them.
A total of 1,104 people were saved. The number of victims of the catastrophe "Britanic" was 30 people. This floating hospital was the largest ship to die during the First World War. And the operation to save people from it was recognized as perhaps the most successful.
The cause of the tragedy of the Titanic is known to everyone: a collision with a huge iceberg. In the case of the death of his twin, there is still no absolute clarity.
According to the official version, the Britannic was the victim of a German submarine. A few days before the tragedy, the German submarine U-73, commanded by Captain Gustav Ziss, laid mines in the strait between the island of Kea and the mainland. A super-liner came across one of these mines.
For a long time, the giant ship that sank in 1916 remained “invisible”. Only in 1975, the expedition of the famous French explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau established the exact place of his death. On the next year divers managed to examine the liner, lying at a depth of about 120 meters. On the one hand, what they saw confirms the official version: in the bow of the vessel, lying on the starboard side, there is a hole from the explosion. But besides this, underwater scouts discovered other damage to the Britannica hull.
Subsequently, members of the expedition put forward a different version of the death of a huge ship. It is this version that explains the paradoxical fact: why did the “unsinkable” Britannic sank much faster than its not so perfect “middle brother”. According to this version, on board the hospital (and therefore inviolable for German ships) Britannic, the British illegally transported weapons to Egypt. On its sixth (which turned out to be disastrous) voyage, the liner was supposed to call at the port of Alexandria to unload military contraband. However, German intelligence managed to find out about this secret operation. During the Britannica's stopover in Naples, German agents managed to smuggle and hide an ingenious explosive device on its board and hide it in one of the coal bunkers. Some time later, in the Kea Strait, the infernal machine worked, also causing a secondary explosion of coal dust that had accumulated in the already half-empty bunkers of the huge ship by that time (this “belated” explosion was heard by many of those who were on board the Britannic). The detonation of an explosive coal-air mixture led to serious damage to the watertight bulkheads adjacent to the bunkers and other systems in the holds of the ship, violated the tightness of the compartments, which led to their rapid flooding.
Looks too fantastic? “But even some of those specialists. who reject this conspiracy theory, agree that the secondary "coal" explosion could still have occurred under the influence of a mine explosion that the Britannic stumbled upon.
A more thorough examination of the Britannic lying at the bottom of the Cousteau expedition was not allowed by the lack of appropriate equipment for deep-sea work in those years. Already today, a group of divers managed to get inside the hull of the sunken liner and examine some of the compartments. What he saw only confirmed the information that existed before: for some reason, the sealed doors in the watertight bulkheads were not battened down.
x x x
The "posthumous" fate of "Titanic No. 2" has not yet been determined. The authorities of Greece, in the territorial waters of which this sunken ship lies, stand up for including the Britannic in the lists of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are enthusiasts offering to raise the liner and restore it to original form. There is also a more realistic plan: to create a virtual museum of this dead giant by setting different places his video cameras. Broadcast views of various parts of the ship lying at the bottom will be combined with the help of a computer into a single panoramic "picture" that visitors who have come to the museum can admire.
Meanwhile, when trying to implement any of these projects, it should be borne in mind that this moment the sunken "Britanic" has a full-fledged owner, without the consent of which it is impossible to even go under water for a "rendezvous" with the "little brother" of the Titanic. This gentleman's name is Simon Mills. host legendary ship he became in 1996. Then the high military officials in the UK suddenly realized that on the balance sheet of their department there are still some ships that participated in the First World War (among them a giant floating hospital), and decided to arrange an unusual sale of these rarities. Mills, by then long interested in the history of the Titanic, having learned about such an exclusive sale, applied and bought the Britanic cheaply. The “shipowner” himself is in no hurry to specify the expenses incurred by him for this deal, but the amount of 25 thousand dollars was mentioned in the press.
Help "MK"
Englishwoman Violet Jessop was "lucky" to become a participant in the accidents on all three WSL superships. In September 1911, she was on board the Olympic, acting as one of the stewardesses of the liner, when he collided with the cruiser Hawk in Southampton Bay, received a large hole and was forced to urgently return to port. In April 1912, Violet, also enlisted as a stewardess, sailed on the Titanic and was among the survivors of the disaster. And on November 21, 1916, during the evacuation of people from the sinking Britannic, nurse Jessop was loaded into one of those two ill-fated boats that were pulled under the liner's rotating propellers. However, this time the Englishwoman escaped death.
Violet Jessop
One hundred years ago, in November 1916, in the Aegean Sea between the coast of mainland Greece and the islands of Kea, the giant liner Britannic, the twin brother of the infamous Titanic, sank within 55 minutes. During years the official version was that he ran into a German mine.
Many years later, the famous explorer of the ocean depths, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, put forward his original version: the liner was carrying weapons and that is why it was torpedoed by a German submarine, which German spies pointed at it. And more recently, an international team of divers managed to descend to the sunken liner, explored it inside and out, and seemingly refuted Cousteau's version.
However, first things first.
The rapid development of trade between countries and mass emigration to the United States from Europe and other parts of the world required powerful and high-speed transatlantic liners.
In 1902, the construction of ships of unprecedented size and speed began in the United States. The twin liners Lusitania and Mauritania monopolized transatlantic traffic and relegated the British merchant fleet to the background.
Lusitania and Mauritania in Liverpool
In response to this, the Harland and Wolf shipyards in Belfast began building three liners that surpass American ones in terms of power and reliability - the Olympic, the Titanic and the Britannic.
Titanic, Britannic and Olympic
Each next twin ship was built taking into account the shortcomings of the previous ones. The best fate was with the first-born - "Olympic". He crossed the Atlantic more than 500 times, while the Titanic made only one voyage, and the Britannic five.
After the death of the Titanic, shipbuilders took into account all the shortcomings that led to its death during the construction of the Britannic. The ship was outwardly similar to its "brothers", but it was more powerful and perfect: it was better equipped with boats, and 17 watertight partitions made it unsinkable when even six compartments were flooded.
The characteristics of the boat deck have 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.
Vessel characteristics:
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 for two four-cylinder steam engines connected with external propellers (16,000 hp each) were used to operate the engine;
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.
Plans for its commercial exploitation were violated in August 1914. The First World War prepared for the "Britanic" the fate of a floating hospital. On board were 437 members of the medical staff, 675 people from the ship's crew and 3,300 wounded soldiers.
The ship was "decorated" with a green stripe and six red crosses indicating that it was a civilian hospital.
For two years, the Britannic transported the wounded, but the autumn of 1916 became fatal for him.
On November 21, 1916, the Britannic, following the strait separating the Greek islands of Kea and Kythnos, was on its sixth voyage to pick up another batch of wounded. There were 1134 people on board. At 08:00, a powerful explosion thundered in the area of the bridge on the starboard side, followed by a long rumble and vibration of the entire hull. Captain Bartlett was having breakfast at this time. Without a second's hesitation, and without even changing his pajamas, he ran out into the wheelhouse. He tried to turn the ship towards the shore in order to throw himself into shallow water, but almost immediately realized that he would not have time to do this.
The liner quickly rolled to starboard. The compartments flooded one after another. Giant propeller blades were on the surface, shredding two lifeboats with passengers. As a result, 28 people died. The rescued 1,104 passengers were picked up by British warships.
At first, the version spread that the ship was torpedoed by the German submarine U-73. In a report on these accusations, the captain of the submarine Seyss stated that a "mine can" was placed on the liner's path, which the Britannic ran into. As proof, he presented his logbook, which did not contain a command for torpedoing, but there was a record of laying mines.
Another version was voiced by the famous Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1975, who examined the remains of the liner: he came to the conclusion that illegal weapons were transported to Egypt on board the Britannic. The weapons were to be unloaded at the Egyptian port of Alexandria. This became known to German intelligence, and during the bunkering in Naples, an explosive device was planted in one of the starboard coal bunkers. Four days later, when the coal stores were considerably empty and filled with coal dust, the planted bomb exploded, causing a secondary explosion of coal dust in all the bunkers on the starboard side. This explains the hum that was felt for some time after the explosion, and which may indicate a series of explosions of coal dust. Cousteau also explained the rapid flooding of the liner: the tightness of the compartments was broken by a secondary explosion of coal dust.
In 2003, an international team of divers descended to a depth of 118 meters to the liner lying on its side and literally climbed all of its compartments.
A minefield set up by the Germans was discovered. It was proved that the watertight bulkheads were open, and it was because of this that the liner sank.
However, the brave divers did not clarify anything about the secondary detonation after the mine explosion, as well as about the presence or absence of weapons on board the liner. Perhaps they did not want to stir up an unseemly past. In addition, it is rather naive to rely on the assurances of the commander of the German submarine, who could well (and with the approval of the command) falsify the entry in the logbook, and put a torpedo on board the doomed liner, which even after the first explosion tried to run aground. Indeed, according to Seiss himself, he saw a lot of people on board the liner in military uniform, and if the German intelligence really had information about the weapons transported on the Britannica, then it was necessary to sink the liner from the points of view of the German General Staff at any cost. +
Unbelievable but true: nurse Violet Jessop managed to survive after the lifeboat in which she sat down was pulled under a rotating propeller. Four years earlier, Violet had been aboard the Titanic - and also managed to survive. And in 1911, she was on board the Olympic when it collided with the Hawk, although there were no casualties in that accident.
This fact suggests putting forward a mystical version of the death of two giant liners: a femme fatale aboard the "unsinkable" giants.
Believe it or not…
The British liner "Britanic" was a representative of the "Olympic" series, consisting of three units, and originally bore the name "Gigantic". For its time, the ship was the largest in the world, and being the last in the series, it seriously differed from its predecessors due to the introduction of numerous changes to eliminate the shortcomings identified during the operation of previously built ships of the series. The whole series consisted of passenger liners"Olympic" , « Titanic "and" Britannic.
Dimensions and specifications
The laying of the Britannica took place on November 23, 1911 at the Harland and Wolf shipyard in the Northern Irish city of Belfast. For its time, the ship was a real giant. Having a length between the extremities of 269 meters with a maximum width of the hull of 28 meters 65 centimeters.
The height from the waterline to the boat deck was 18.4 meters. The total displacement of the vessel was 48158 registered tons. At the same time, the draft in full load was 10.54 meters. Overall Height vessel from the keel to the top of the chimney was 52.4 meters.
Construction work was carried out very intensively, but after the death of the Titanic liner of the same type on April 14, 1912, on which about one and a half thousand people died, work was temporarily suspended to make changes to the project to increase survivability. In particular, an additional longitudinal bulkhead was introduced in the electrical engine room, which made it possible to increase the number of compartments to 17.
According to the project, the ship remained buoyant when six of them were flooded. The existing bulkheads also passed through the passenger spaces. The most critical parts of the board in the area of engine and boiler rooms received reinforcement in the form of a double bottom.
Serious changes have also taken place in equipping the ship with life-saving equipment. It turned out that the number of boats was significantly increased (up to 48 units), placed 6 units on davits. The use of such a solution had a negative impact on aesthetics, but increased the overall effectiveness of the means of rescue.
The power plant of the ocean liner was a combination of two steam engines and one steam turbine. At the same time, the turbine rotated the middle propeller, and the steam engines turned the extreme ones. The total power of the power plant was 50 thousand horsepower, including 18 thousand hp. steam turbine power. The production of the required amount of steam was ensured by the operation of 29 boilers.
As a result, the Britannic had a cruising speed of 23 knots, and could accelerate to a maximum of 25 knots. 860 crew members were engaged in the management of the vessel and the maintenance of mechanisms.
Passenger capacity
The Britannic was launched at the end of 2012, after which its completion afloat began, which was supposed to make the new liner the most luxurious and comfortable in the world.
In total, the ship received eight decks intended for passengers and crew members and was designed to accommodate two and a half thousand passengers, with their division into three classes.
The liner was positioned as a masterpiece of world shipbuilding, and received the appropriate equipment. Numerous salons, halls, restaurants were distinguished by the richness of the interior decoration and spaciousness, but all this was not destined to come true, since in early August 1914 the First World War began, which completely changed the fate of the ocean-going ship.
The British Admiralty immediately appreciated the dignity of the unit under construction, and requisitioned the Britanic with completion as a hospital ship, while initially the admirals did not interfere with the completion of the ship according to the original project. Part navy the liner was commissioned on November 13, 1915. At the same time, its interior premises were converted to receive the wounded and provide medical care. In particular, all the cabins of the upper decks, located as close as possible to the boat deck, were turned into chambers. All saloons, dining rooms and resting places have become operating rooms and various kinds of rooms for the provision of assistance.
Medical personnel in the amount of 489 doctors and nurses are located on the middle decks. In total, after the conversion, the Britannic could simultaneously take on board 3309 sick and wounded. In accordance with international law, the ship was painted white with red crosses.
At the very end of 1915, the hospital ship went to the place of service in the Mediterranean Sea, where it made several voyages to deliver wounded soldiers for further treatment to the British Isles.
Toward the middle of 1916, the ship spent some time inactive, after which it was again sent to the Mediterranean. The main port for receiving the wounded was the port of Mudros in Greece.
On November 21, 1916, while passing the Kea Strait, the hospital ship Britannic ran into a German mine, as a result of which it received a large hole in the bow. Four compartments were flooded. At the same time, open portholes and unsecured doors in the bulkheads led to the further spread of water. As a result, less than an hour later, the ship capsized and sank.
At this point, there were no casualties on board (only the crew and medical personnel), which facilitated evacuation. A total of 1,036 people were rescued. Only 30 people died, while 21 of them died in two unauthorized boats, tightened under working propellers.
The evacuation of the crew of the Britannica is still considered one of the most successful in the history of navigation.
Fate allowed the liner to stay on the lists of the active fleet a little more time than its famous sistership. And if the Titanic sank during its first voyage, then the Britannic sailed for less than one year.
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 the New World in search of 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 with 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.
The second of the sea liners of this series, the 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 the Gigantic, but after the tragedy, its owners decided to name the ship Britannic, 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 an 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 and Wolff continued to build ocean-going 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 commandeered. This fate awaited the Olympic, which became a military transport, and the Britannic, which was turned into a hospital ship. The dream of crossing the Atlantic and earning the blue ribbon of prestige was given up.
Military hospital
In October 1914, the Britannic was converted into a military hospital. Several operating rooms, special resuscitation rooms, cabins for medical personnel, a gymnasium, warehouses, dressing rooms and, of course, cabins for the wounded. 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 color with a longitudinal green stripe and red crosses applied along it from 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 the danger of the liner, which was not adapted to maneuver in the narrow straits of the Mediterranean Sea. It was created for the vast expanses of the Atlantic and, due to its huge size, was vulnerable to German submarines, which literally "stuffed" the sea with mines.
The death of the Britannica
Sixth, last time The Britannic set sail for the Mediterranean 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 the Greek island of 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. The official version was that the liner was blown up by a mine laid 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 voiced by the world famous researcher 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 its best liners, the White Star Line has not abandoned its plans for the Blue Ribbon. 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 series of the Olympic, 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. He 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 ruled out the possibility of losing the propeller blade But horror gripped the sailors 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.
MOSCOW, March 27 - RIA Novosti. The Olympic, one of the three superliners of the White Star Line, completed its last voyage 75 years ago on March 27, 1935.
At the end of 1907, the White Star Line decided to build three liners 259 meters long, 28 meters wide and with a displacement of 52,000 tons at the Harland and Wolf shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They provided space for 2,566 thousand passengers in cabins of three classes, and passengers of all classes were provided with unprecedented amenities.
First flights
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.
October 20, 1910 "Olympic" was launched, May 31, 1911, after completion of outfitting work, she went to sea trials, and June 14 went 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 it was decided to make it closed on the Titanic, 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. Repair work on the Olympic, the completion and the first flight of the Titanic, which was completed in 1912, were somewhat delayed.
"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.
The sinking of the Titanic
On April 10, 1912, the Titanic set out on its first and last voyage to America, carrying more than 2,200 people. April 14, running out fourth day way, "Titanic" collided with a huge iceberg. The starboard side of the ship was ripped open from the stem itself, the length of the hole was 90 meters. Panic broke out on the ship, in crowded and crowded people tried to get aft. Of the 20 boats, two were never launched.
The Titanic sank at 2:20 am on April 15th. According to various sources, from 1.4 thousand to 1.517 thousand people died, about 700 were saved.
The wreckage of the wrecked liner remained intact until the American marine archaeologist Robert Bollard and his French colleagues discovered them on September 1, 1985, 325 miles off the coast of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. Since then, about 5,000 artifacts have been recovered from the wreckage of the Titanic. A lot of submarines visited the remains of the ship, submarines delivered tourists there.
Dozens of books, hundreds of articles and essays have been written about the infamous ship, and several films have been made.
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 it was decided to abandon this idea, 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 powerful 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 there were not enough boats on the Titanic to save all the people, the Olympic crew refused to go to sea until the liner was provided with necessary quantity 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.
World War I
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.
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.
The fate of 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 "Gigantic", but after the death of the "Titanic" it was decided to choose a more modest and at the same time patriotic name "Britanic". She was laid down on November 30, 1911 and was supposed to go on a 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.
Not differing from its older brothers in appearance, in terms of passenger comfort, the Britanic was the best of the series. Another barbershop appeared on it, a children's playroom, gymnasium for second class passengers, fourth elevator. 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 navigational situation to the bridge, and pneumatic mail appeared on the Britannic, connecting the radio room and the bridge.
However, passengers did not have time to appreciate the merits of the new liner. When the war began, it was converted into a hospital ship, and already in this capacity the liner went on its maiden voyage at the end of 1915. On November 12, 1916, the Britannic hit a mine in the Kea Strait, near Greece. Despite the fact that the liner sank for only 55 minutes, most of the people on board were saved.
Olympic after the war
After the end of the war, the Olympic returned to civilian work on the transatlantic line, and soon embarked on another lengthy reconstruction, during which its engines were transferred 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 global 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 in thick fog ran into the lightship Nantucket off the coast of Canada 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.
The last days of the Olympic
Despite the fact that the schedule of Olympic's transatlantic flights 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".
"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. He took an honorable place in the history of transatlantic shipping.
