For other White Star liners with this name, see SS Britannic (1874) and MV Britannic (1929).
"RMS Britannic" redirects here. Not to be confused with RMS Britannia.
His Majesty's Hospital Ship (HMHS) Britannic
History
United Kingdom
Name
HMHS Britannic
Owner
White Star Line
Operator
Royal Navy
Port of registry
Liverpool, United Kingdom
Ordered
1911
Builder
Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Yard number
433[1]
Laid down
30 November 1911
Launched
26 February 1914
Completed
12 December 1915
In service
23 December 1915
Out of service
21 November 1916
Fate
Sank after striking a mine set by SM U-73 on 21 November 1916 near Kea in the Aegean Sea
37°42′05″N24°17′02″E / 37.70139°N 24.28389°E / 37.70139; 24.28389
General characteristics
Class and type
Olympic-class ocean liner
Tonnage
48,158 gross register tons
Displacement
53,200 tons
Length
882 ft 9 in (269.1 m) overall
Beam
94 ft (28.7 m)
Height
175 ft (53 m) from the keel to the top of the funnels
Two four-cylinder triple-expansion reciprocating engines, each producing 16,000 hp (12,000 kW) for outboard wing propellers, one low-pressure turbine producing 18,000 hp (13,000 kW) for the centre propeller
Total 50,000 hp (37,000 kW)
Propulsion
Two bronze triple-blade outboard wing propellers
One bronze quadruple-blade central propeller
Speed
21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) (service)
23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) (maximum)
Capacity
3,309
HMHS Britannic (/brɪˈtænɪk/) was the third and final vessel of the White Star Line's Olympic class of steamships and the second White Star ship to bear the name Britannic. She was the youngest sister of the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. She was operated as a hospital ship from 1915 until her sinking near the Greek island of Kea, in the Aegean Sea, in November 1916. At the time she was the largest hospital ship in the world.[not verified in body]
Britannic was launched just before the start of the First World War. She 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. She was laid up at her builders, Harland and Wolff, in Belfast for many months before being requisitioned as a hospital ship. In 1915 and 1916 she served between the United Kingdom and the Dardanelles.
On the morning of 21 November 1916 she hit a naval mine of the Imperial German Navy near the Greek island of Kea and sank 55 minutes later, killing 30 people. There were 1,066 people on board; the 1,036 survivors were rescued from the water and lifeboats. Britannic was the largest ship lost in the First World War.[3]
After the First World 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 RMS Majestic.
The wreck was located and explored by Jacques Cousteau in 1975. The vessel is the largest intact passenger ship on the seabed in the world.[4] It was bought in 1996 and is currently owned by Simon Mills, a maritime historian.
^Lynch (2012), p. 161.
^"HMHS Britannic (1914) Builder Data". MaritimeQuest. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
^Vladisavljevic, Brana. "Titanic's sister ship Britannic could become a diving attraction in Greece". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
HMHSBritannic (/brɪˈtænɪk/) was the third and final vessel of the White Star Line's Olympic class of steamships and the second White Star ship to bear...
the sinking of both the RMS Titanic in 1912 and her sister ship the HMHSBritannic in 1916, as well as having been onboard the eldest of the three sister...
surviving four ship sinkings, including the RMS Titanic, HMS Alcantara, HMHSBritannic and the SS Donegal. Due to these incidents, Priest gained the moniker...
liners—the lead vessel was RMS Olympic and the final ship in the class was HMHSBritannic. They were by far the largest vessels of the British shipping company...
with the White Star Line shipping company, including as captain of HMHSBritannic. Born in London, Bartlett served six years with the British-India Steam...
during her maiden voyage in 1912, and her sister ships RMS Olympic and HMHSBritannic. The building contains more than 12,000 square metres (130,000 sq ft)...
liners for the White Star Line: RMS Olympic, RMS Titanic and RMS (later HMHS) Britannic. All three ships were designed by Andrews, William Pirrie and general...
RMS Britannic which never saw service as a liner; instead she was requisitioned directly into service as His Majesty's Hospital Ship (HMHS) Britannic (during...
Olympic-class ocean liners, consisting of RMS Olympic, RMS Titanic and HMHSBritannic. As with some other liners, the sisters worked as running mates. Other...
Ships RMS Baltic RMS Olympic HMHSBritannic SS Mount Temple RMS Carpathia SS Californian CS Mackay-Bennett SS Birma SS Frankfurt Replica Titanic Titanic...
several changes to maritime safety practices. As for the third sister, HMHSBritannic, she never served her intended purpose as a passenger ship, as she was...
(which used CQD as well), sank in 1912 RMS Lusitania, torpedoed in 1915 HMHSBritannic, sank in 1916 SS Andrea Doria, sank in 1956 500 kHz 2182 kHz CQD Distress...
characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average HMHSBritannic, a ship originally named "RMS Gigantic" All pages with titles beginning...
Ships RMS Baltic RMS Olympic HMHSBritannic SS Mount Temple RMS Carpathia SS Californian CS Mackay-Bennett SS Birma SS Frankfurt Replica Titanic Titanic...
Ships RMS Baltic RMS Olympic HMHSBritannic SS Mount Temple RMS Carpathia SS Californian CS Mackay-Bennett SS Birma SS Frankfurt Replica Titanic Titanic...
Ships RMS Baltic RMS Olympic HMHSBritannic SS Mount Temple RMS Carpathia SS Californian CS Mackay-Bennett SS Birma SS Frankfurt Replica Titanic Titanic...
famous ocean liners, such as the RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania, and the HMHSBritannic, and other transportation vessels including the Bismarck, LZ 127 Graf...