HMHS Britannic

Lore & Background

Britannic was launched on 26 February 1914, months before the start of the First World War. The ship was designed to be the safest of the three ships with design changes made during construction due to lessons learned from the sinking of the Titanic. Britannic was laid up at her builders, Harland & Wolff, in Belfast, for many months before being requisitioned by the British government to be operated as a hospital ship.

In 1915 and 1916 she operated between the United Kingdom and the Dardanelles. On the morning of 21 November 1916, Britannic struck an Imperial German naval mine near the Greek island of Kea and sank 55 minutes later, killing 30 of 1,066 people on board; the 1,036 survivors were later rescued from the water and from lifeboats. Britannic was the largest ship lost in the First World War. After the War, the White Star Line was compensated for the loss of Britannic by the award of SS Bismarck as part of postwar reparations; she entered service as .

The wreck of the Britannic was located and explored by Jacques Cousteau in 1975. The vessel is the largest intact passenger ship on the seabed in the world. The wreck was bought in 1996 and is currently owned by Simon Mills, a maritime historian.

Common Misconceptions (Editorial)

1. Some believe Britannic was sunk by a submarine or torpedo, but according to the facts on record, she sank after striking an Imperial German naval mine near the Greek island of Kea.
2. Another common misconception is that Britannic was the only Olympic-class ship lost, but the facts confirm her sister Titanic also sank, making Britannic the third and final vessel of the class.

Why It Matters (Editorial)

HMHS Britannic endures as a powerful symbol of medical mercy in wartime, her conversion from a luxury liner to a hospital ship reflecting the tragic repurposing of civilian assets during the First World War. Her rapid sinking—in just 55 minutes—and status as the largest ship lost in that conflict continue to captivate historians and remind us of the human cost of war and the fragility of even the most ambitious engineering.

Reader's Guide

The original dimensions of Britannic were similar to those of her older sisters, but her dimensions were altered whilst still on the building stocks after the loss of Titanic. With a gross tonnage of 48,158, she surpassed her older sisters in terms of internal volume, but this did not make her the largest passenger ship in service at that time; the German held this title with a significantly higher tonnage. The Olympic-class ships were propelled by a combined system of two triple-expansion steam engines which powered the three-bladed outboard wing propellers whilst a low-pressure steam turbine used steam exhausted from the two reciprocating engines to power the central four-bladed propeller giving a maximum speed of 23 knots.

Following the Titanic disaster and the subsequent inquiries, several design changes were made to the remaining Olympic-class liners. With Britannic, these changes made before launch included increasing the ship's beam to 94 ft to allow for a double hull along the engine and boiler rooms and raising six out of the 15 watertight bulkheads up to B Deck. Additionally, a larger 18000 hp turbine was added instead of the 16000 hp units installed on the earlier vessels in response to the increased hull width.

The central watertight compartments were enhanced, allowing the ship to stay afloat with six compartments flooded. Externally the largest visual change was the fitting of large crane-like gantry davits, each powered by an electric motor and capable of launching six lifeboats which were stored on gantries; the ship was designed to have eight sets of gantry davits but only five were installed before Britannic entered war service, with the difference being made up with boats launched by manually operated Welin-type davits as on Titanic and Olympic. Additional lifeboats could be stored within reach of the davits on the deckhouse roof, and the gantry davits could reach lifeboats on the other side of the ship, providing that none of the funnels was obstructing the way. This design enabled all the lifeboats to be launched, even if the ship developed a list that would normally prevent lifeboats from being launched on the side opposite to the list.

Several of these davits were placed abreast of funnels, defeating that purpose. The elevators, which previously stopped at A deck, could now reach the boat deck. The ship carried 48 lifeboats.