HMHS BRITANNIC SINKS - REAL TIME DOCUMENTARY

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An hour? You're killing me bro.

👍︎︎ 15 👤︎︎ u/Dogalicious 📅︎︎ Apr 25 2017 🗫︎ replies

Fascinating.

Edited out inaccurate nitpicking!

👍︎︎ 3 👤︎︎ u/AKindOfWildJustice 📅︎︎ Apr 25 2017 🗫︎ replies

Woow... Good thing the narration that sounds like it was recorded over a bad Skype connection was so low volume and the mine was about 20x louder, I didn't need all that extra hearing anyway.

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/Ghigs 📅︎︎ Apr 28 2017 🗫︎ replies
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8:07 am. 21st of November, 1916. His Majesty’s Hospital Ship Britannic is sailing to the British sea base of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea, where it would take on board thousands of wounded soldiers from the allied campaigns against Turkey in the First World War. She sails from Naples, Italy, on a scheduled round trip of two weeks from Southampton. The Britannic is the third and final ship of the Olympic class; the youngest sister of the RMS Olympic and the infamous RMS Titanic. Increased competition among transatlantic liners and great expectations from passengers, led designers to make significant changes to her accommodations. This would set Britannic’s design apart from her two older sisters. Third Class was given new entrances. Second Class would be given the luxury of their very own gymnasium. First Class passengers would enjoy many new improvements. These included a larger A La Carte Restaurant and new Reception Room on B Deck, where the elite passengers would dine in unparalleled style. A Playroom, where children could play instead of using one of the Palm Courts like on Olympic and Titanic. A lady’s hair dresser salon, in addition to the barber shop. New sitting rooms were added on C-Deck, as a result of the Parlor Suites having proved so popular on Olympic and Titanic. Keeping up with transient expectations, First Class would see the addition of many private bathrooms and washrooms for cabins. Although basic on Olympic and Titanic, the swimming pool on Britannic was to be completely redecorated to keep up with the trend of sumptuous swimming baths on German liners. Even the already luxurious spaces such as the Grand Staircase were also improved. The Boat and A Deck Entrances were modified to accommodate a Welt Pipe Organ. Ultimately, this musical instrument was never installed, but it still survives today. The decorated wrought iron panels designed to conceal the pipes on the organ were eventually auctioned off in London after the war. Many of Britannic’s luxurious fittings were never installed due to the conversion to a hospital ship in 1915. These were sold off in three separate auctions in London and Belfast in 1919. When the First World War broke out, construction of the Britannic was placed on the backburner. Harland and Wolff, the builders, shifted their work towards the war effort. The allied invasion of Gallipoli showed that the British Admiralty would need larger ships to transport their wounded home from the far off battlefields of the Mediterranean. The Cunard ocean liners Mauritania and Aquitania were requisitioned into troop ships. This was also done with the White Star Liner Olympic, the first sister of the Britannic. Finally, the war office decided to pay for the finalization of White Star’s Britannic under the condition that it would be used as a hospital ship for the duration of the war. After the war ends, the ship would be scheduled to return to the hands of the White Star Line. Over 3,300 bunks were installed on Britannic to accommodate the patients. The ship was painted white with a green band broken by red crosses: the internationally recognized designation for a hospital ship. Both sides of the war had hospital ships under these markings, and both sides of the war agreed to care for whatever wounded they could. Therefore, it was understood that neither side should attack a hospital ship of any nationality. Prior to Britannic’s voyage, the German submarine U-73 had laid two mine barriers in the Kea Channel, totaling approximately 12 mines. Now, mines are indiscriminate killers. Mines were not meant to target a hospital ship like Britannic, but rather it was laid where the Germans thought they would interdict British naval traffic going into and out of Greek ports. “My name is Cpl. Jack Waugh, of the Royal Army Medical Corps. I had just finished breakfast and had come up on deck. I sat down on the hatchway while one of our chaplains with his map out was showing us different places of interest on the nearby shorelines.” When Britannic hit one of the contact fuses on the mine, the mine detonated. The resulting explosion created an expanding gas bubble, lifting Britannic’s bow with it. It twisted Britannic’s hull a bit; slightly warped her frame, which resulted in the Watertight Doors in Boiler Room 6 and 5 becoming jammed in their tracks in the full open position. “At breakfast, a muffled explosion rang out from the lower decks. The ship vibrated more than it shook. The vibrations passed us, smashing the furniture and windows and echoed off into the distance. Moments later, the vibrations echoed back, smashing more glass and crockery around us. These vibrations reverberated from one end of the ship to the other for over a full minute. Nurse Ada Garland, Voluntary Aid Detachment.” “I had just had my bath and was now shaving in my cabin - which was about 10 yards distant from the point of contact. I was thrown very forcibly across the cabin with sundry articles of gear on top of me. The boat lifted twice and everything seemed to dance, and the fumes from the explosions temporarily blinded me. Fifth Officer Gordon Fielding.” “Some were killed by the explosion itself. In the stewards’ quarters, the bunks fell down on top of the men, and everything collapsed, while I believe the emergency stairs were blown away. The water ran in in great volumes in the forward compartments. The fumes in the alleyways were something stifling- not sulfurous, but something poisonous and unearthy. Assistant Chief Engineer Joseph Wolfe.” “My first impression was that we had hit a mine and that would probably be safe. I gave orders to clear the lifeboats and have them made ready to be sent away should it necessitate. Captain Charles Bartlett. 21st of November, 1916” Captain Charles Bartlett came onto the bridge still wearing his pajamas. His first orders were to sound the emergency quarters alarm and to close the watertight doors. He wasn’t aware at that point that the forward doors were jammed in the open position. He ordered the engines to stop and the lifeboats be swung out and readied for lowering. At the same time, he gave the order to the wireless telegraph operators to send out an SOS call for distress. “I ordered the sending out of the SOS signal by wireless, but we were not receiving any replies whatsoever. We were for a while under the impression that the apparatus was down all-together, but they continued sending the messages out regardless of response.” What the wireless operator didn’t know was that the explosion had caused Britannic’s hull to flex a bit, whipping the foremast, and breaking some of the connections to the wireless aerial strung between the masts and the transmitter in the ship’s silent room. What this meant was that Britannic could still send out and SOS message, but she could not receive any reply. “I was on the bridge waiting for orders. My heart was in my mouth, but when I saw the captain standing there, cool and quiet, I thought to myself it’s all right, and felt a deal more comfortable, and I went to the locker and got out the captain’s megaphone according to orders, and I stood alongside the captain on the bridge to see if he had any orders for me. The ship seemed to be leaning a bit to the starboard side and she still seemed to be going ahead a little. Second Freemantle Scout Troop Patrol Leader James Vickers.” “I permitted my staff to return to their cabins, so long as it was done with haste. We’re all too familiar with the dangers of ships sinking; the Lusitania was only a year ago and the Titanic was only three years ago. Nurse Matron of the HMHS Britannic Miss Elizabeth Anne Dowse.” “As we were walking out of the saloon the signal went and blasts rang out from the siren; not until then would I believe that there was any danger. I distinctly remember, as we quietly walked down the beautiful marble staircase and along the long corridor; where the sun streamed in the portholes lighting up all our lovely cabins, this was goodbye to everything. Our ship was sinking. How fast, we didn’t know. Nurse Ada Garland, Voluntary Aid Detachment.” As the conditions of the situation continue to deteriorate, the captain realizes that his ship is in serious trouble. The Greek Island of Kea looms only a couple of miles in the distance. Captain Bartlett orders a turn towards it in an effort to beach the ship. If the Britannic can be beached, a dangerous evacuation would be avoided and the ship could possibly be salvaged. The crew immediately began to uncover and swing out the boats. Britannic’s 55 lifeboats were arranged on the deck and numbered much differently than on Titanic. On the forward starboard side were boats 1A through 1C, consisting of large 34 foot rowboats. Amidships in single-acting davits, were twelve 30-foot boats, as well as 12 collapsible boats similar to those found on Titanic. These were numbered 2 to 2a thru 13 to 13a respectively. The middle set of gantry davits held 12 more 34 foot boats: 14a thru 14f and 15a thru 15f. The after-most gantry davits held 10 34 foot boats and two 34' thornycraft motorboats. These were numbered 16a thru 16f and 17a thru 17f. Aft on the Shade Deck, where originally two more gantry davits were designed to be installed, here Welin davits held 2 30 foot boats and 2 collapsibles, 18, 18a, 19 and 19a. At the end of the sinking, of the 55 boats on board, only 35 boats would be launched. The first boat to leave the Britannic left at 8:20 am. A group of frightened firemen swung the boat out and climbed aboard themselves, lowering the boat with only a handful on board, despite its capacity of around 65. However, Assistant Commander to the Britannic Captain Dyke ordered the boat to rescue people as they jumped overboard, so these seats were not entirely wasted. “Immediately I swung out two boats which we promptly rushed by the stewards followed by my working crew of about a dozen sailors. As this was only a sudden panic, I was able to persuade them to get back to their positions. I must say that my sailors were wonderful after this first panic, and not one offered to leave the ship before receiving his orders. Fifth Officer Gordon Fielding.” “After a certain interval, the steering gear having apparently failed, I turned the ship to port to head for land under her own steam. I had tried compensating for our jammed rudder by running the engines on one side of the ship harder than the other.” The ship begins to lose control as the helmsman reports steering failure. For one reason or another, the steering gears no longer respond. The captain tries to use the propellers to steer the ship; using higher power on the port side that would turn the ship slowly to starboard: towards Kea. “I snatched up my coat, rug, and lifebelt and commenced along the corridor to the wards to see if help was needed with the patients. It was a terrible sight, men who could barely walk struggling to climb the stairs. The screams and shouts could be heard all over the ship as the badly injured were being moved. We all helped until the very last minute when we heard the cry of our dear brave matron saying, ‘hurry up, my dear children!’ Nurse Ada Garland.” “I broke off from the group and entered my cabin. I indulged in a few bites as I pocketed my possessions. A ring my friend had given me and my clock, of course. This clock was the most precious gift a friend had given me. Then there was my prayer book and my toothbrush. The latter was because I complained about not being able to acquire a toothbrush while on board the Carpathia after the sinking of the Titanic. I was now experienced with surviving shipwrecks. One might even call me an expert. I was advising people that they should wear their coats over their lifejackets and not the other way around. Should they find themselves in the water, they will need to drop off their coats, which becomes harder when the lifebelt is over it. Despite my frequent advice, I found myself having accidentally done the opposite.” “Most of us put on our coats and all took our lifejackets and started for the boat deck, when part way up the emergency exit, an officer hailed us with “you better hurry up ladies”. Then we knew there was more cause to hurry than we thought and as soon as we got on top we realized that something dreadful had happened.” Panic was beginning to spread around the people idling on the decks. Fresh in their minds were the sinkings of Titanic and Lusitania. Within only the first few minutes of the explosion, the ship took on a noticeable slant towards the bow and a list to starboard. This only increased the panic. Instead of waiting for orders, a handful of lifeboats were launched without authorization from the overseeing officer. Some of the boats cleared the sinking ship, but not all. “The ship had taken on a heavy list to starboard; then she began to dip heavily forward. The RAMC were paraded on deck and I am proud to say that anyone would have taken it for an ordinary everyday parade; everyone was as calm and as collected as it was possible to be. I never thought for a moment that she would go down as sharp as she did. Cpl. Jack Waugh. Royal Army Medical Corps.” The first ship to receive Britannic’s distress calls was the destroyer HMS Scourge. The Naval Auxiliary HMS Heroic also received Britannic’s distress call. The responded to it, saying that they were steaming to the rescue, but Britannic’s wireless operator never received the message. “And as we were being lowered we were almost thrown out by the boat catching the side. However, we eventually reached the water. The propellers were now on water level, and several of the boats were drawn in the whirlpool. The boat I was in, directly the pulleys were taken off, was drawn right to the propellers, and then came the decisive moment of my life. I could not swim, yet as I looked and saw men being cut up by those terrible blades, I made a quick decision. My chum could swim, so he dived over the side. I looked after him; we were now almost to the blades, so I jumped into the sea as well. The blades were beating the boats down, and the wreckage was keeping me under and I could not rise, try as I would. How long this went on I don’t know, but to me it was terribly long; and I had ceased to struggle, never expecting to come out alive, as I was almost gone. I remember my thoughts then were these: his is the end. What a death. I saw my dear wife and dear little children as plainly as if they were standing before me. Then, as if by magic, I caugh a breath of fresh air. Cpl. Jack Waugh. Royal Army Medical Corps.” “My name is Henry Pope; I’m a 15-year-old sea scout. There wasn’t any excitement, as everyone knew their boat stations and went to them without stopping to look for their kits. The sea scouts on the lifts worked them for as long as they could, but the ship soon listed so much to starboard that they had to give up and go up to the boats.” “I had lowered two of them down to about 6 feet above the waterline. In spite of the curses of the men in the boats, I kept them there until definite orders from the bridge to launch the boats. Fifth Officer Gordon Fielding” “We didn’t have much success getting away from the ship’s side. The Britannic was still pushing forward under her own steam. Suddenly, all the men in the boats began leaping into the sea. No shouts- just splashes as they leapt for it. Within moments, I found myself to be the only occupant of these lifeboats, but it didn’t take me long to find out the reason. Britannic’s huge propellers were churning and mincing up everything near them- men, boats, and everything were just one ghastly whirl. I turned to leap into the sea, but I hesitated. I forced myself into the water, but was unable to swim. Then hit on the head repeatedly by something solid. I believe it was either a piece of a boat or the propeller itself. It hit me three times on the head. Terrible blows that made my brain rattle, but fortunately it hit me where my hair was the thickest. An arm grabbed me and pulled me to the surface. It gripped me and moved as mine did. I grabbed it back as I surfaced, but to my horror found that it was merely a severed arm and part of a torso. As the great white liner steamed away from me, I saw to my horror a severed head to my left, floating, despite having been cracked open like a sheep’s head severed by a butcher. Wreckage of every sort was everywhere as the ship slowly ploughed into the distance.” “The men in my boats, still hanging on the falls 6 feet above the water witnessed this disaster, and I must say they ceased cursing about not being released.“ “I saw that boat with its poor, pathetic crew get dragged into the churning propellers. I suppose I was shaken to the core, but I could not show this. If I dared reveal fear, it would spread like a brush fire on the veldt. I sat there, emotionless, for what emotion could I have expressed if not fear and sorrow? Nurse Matron Miss Elizabeth Anne Dowse.” “Water began flooding the forward holds rapidly and water was reported in the Numbers 5 and 6 boiler rooms, so I stopped the engines and ordered all boats possible to be sent away, but to stand by close to the ship.” “Two lifeboats were smashed to splinters by the propeller blades, but the blades stopped briefly just before a third boat came into their death grip. Three men stayed in the boat and pushed against the blades to move the boat away. Lt. Col. Henry Stewart Anderson, Royal Army Medical Corps.” “Having climbed into our lifeboat we were lowered away only to discover halfway down that the plug wasn’t in the bottom of our boat. There we were suspended in mid air whilst that important item was found. Down we were lowered again. It took some time before we managed to get away from the tremendous structure of the boat.” “I know that women can be brave, but I never dreamed they could rise to such heights of cool, unflinching courage as those nurses did when under Miss Dowse, the matron, they lined up on deck like so many soldiers, and unconcernedly and calmly waited their turn to enter the boats. We men are proud of them, and we can only hope England will hear of their courage. They were magnificent.” Britannic glided to a stop with the propellers lifting out of the water as the bow sank deeper into the sea. The forward port lifeboat davit, a standard Welin davit, became inoperable due to increasing starboard list. 3 boats are launched in quick succession from the aft port gantry davit, which could accommodate more of a list than the standard Welin davits. “With the forward lifeboat gantries out of commission, I moved aft and successfully launched another fully loaded boat. I then hooked on the five-ton motor launch when the First Officer came up saying he had orders from the Captain to leave in this boat and to take charge and pick up any survivors from the smashed boats. As this officer had been nearly drowned in the wreck of the Arabic, he was somewhat excited and urgent.” “The second alarm was sounded and Captain Bartlett told me to go and get into my boat. I walked along the boat deck to my boat and the first officer told me to get into the motor launch, which was soon being lowered. I got in and in doing so, my foot got jammed between the side of the ship and the motor launch.” “I filled the motor launch with thirty RAMC and two or three sailors and launched it under the charge of the First Officer.” “My boat was lowered to the water. 4 oars and four men to each oar. We pulled for our lives to clear the suction. While pulling away something hit me on my left eye; but did not take much notice at the time. Blood began running down my face. After we got clear of the danger of the ship, we started to rescue our comrades that was in the water. We had no one to man our boats, so we carried on ourselves. We had pulled one out of the water and giving him treatment, we saw another that was nearly dead, so we pulled towards him. On reaching him, we tried to pull him into our boat. But we failed as our boat had so many people in it; it overturned and we were in distress. Pvt. Samuel Edwin Williams. Royal Army Medical Corps” Because of the heat of a buttoned up steamship, even in November, the medical staff, against all operating procedures in a war zone, opened the portholes to allow ventilation; to get some fresh air to circulate throughout the ship before the wounded were brought on board. But this meant that as the water reached the portholes of E Deck, those portholes now gave the water multiple entries into the hull. The flooding of the ship now intensifies. “I rounded up another boat with 75 men, mostly RAMC’s. As the Britannic was now very badly listing to starboard and we were on the high side, we had much difficulty in getting this boat away. She nearly capsized a few times before she cleared the ship. It was now impossible to launch any more boats from the port side.” “The ship seemed to stop settling a little; she gave me hope that she had stabilized herself. I passed word to stop lowering the boats as we again attempted to work the ship towards land.” “At this point, I had about six sailors and 30 RAMC’s who were said in the next boat calmly waiting for me to put them in the water. They didn’t realize it was impossible. With this crowd, I went to Britannic’s midship island and we threw overboard to starboard all the collapsible rafts and deck chairs we could find. This was the first time I had thought I might have a chance at saving my own life. A little bit of hope that I felt. I can’t explain it.” When the starboard list reached 10 degrees, launching of port boats from even the gantry davits was no longer possible. Crews on that side gave up trying to lower boats and began throwing deck chairs and liferafts into the water below. And despite the growing list, it seemed to the crew on board that the rate at which Britannic was sinking had slowed, so Captain Bartlett ordered the lifeboat launching to be paused and the engines started again in attempt to reach Kea Island. “I saw the Sixth Officer struggling to get his boat in the water at one of the lower points of the ship. I got some rather nasty rope burn as we tried maneuvering this boat by the ropes. We almost lifted this boat over the side. I put in all the remaining men with the Sixth Officer and kept two or three with me to manage the control breaks during launching. Once the boat was in the water, the two men and I slithered ourselves down the rope and into the boat.” The forward motion of the ship only dug the bow deeper under water. Water was reported to be flooding the vessel at a record rate, so the captain ordered the Britannic to stop for one final time. “I gave the order for all to leave the ship, passing word to the engine room and blowing the whistle for the last alarm; the abandon ship signal. Two long blasts of the whistle.” “She seemed just like a pitiful, dumb animal tortured, her sirens blasting for help up to the last.” “Captain C. A. Bartlett, the commander of the Britannic, stayed on the bridge giving orders to the officers through his speaking megaphone as the ship was going down under his feet. He’d not leave until the water lapped over him.” “The ship was sinking very quickly then, going by the head and listing to starboard and soon the water came to the bridge. Assistant Commander Dyke having reported to me that all had left the ship. I told him to leave, and shortly after I followed him. We barely left the bridge; walking into the water by the forward boat gantry on the starboard side. The funnels fell just moments later.” “One of the Quartermasters had gone below early in the sinking to find supplies of bread from the ship’s pantries to stock the lifeboats. He came out onto the deck to find the bridge submerged and the ship rapidly dropping in the water. He dropped the bread and leapt into the sea, with mere seconds to spare before the vessel had disappeared.” “When we reached the deck, the foremost of the four funnels was touching the water and the bows were completely submerged. We jumped eighty feet into the sea from the Second Class quarters on C Deck and after swimming clear, we watched the awesome sight of the mighty liner sinking. Assistant Chief Engineer Joseph Wolfe.” “It was indeed sad to watch our ship, slowly but surely sinking. We could hear her boilers rumbling off like thunder under the water and her immense funnels, through which one could have driven a coach-and-four, were ripped up with as little difficulty as we should have in tearing a piece of paper.” “As she sank in only 480 feet of water and the ship sank almost vertical and was 890 feet long, she touched the bottom.” “I had supervised over the construction and launch of the Britannic; I skippered her, and I watched her founder. To have been able to witness a vessel her whole life from birth to death is surely a unique circumstance. Captain Charles Bartlett, HMHS Britannic. 21st of November, 1916.” His Majesty’s Hospital Ship Britannic sank in 55 minutes; three times the time it took for the Lusitania to sink, but one third of the time it took the Titanic to go down. Out of 1,066 souls on board, there were only 30 casualties in the sinking; far fewer than most other shipwrecks of this size. 21 were members of the crew, and 9 were members of the Royal Army Medical Corps. Britannic remains the largest passenger shipwreck on the ocean floor.
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Channel: Titanic: Honor and Glory
Views: 6,445,551
Rating: 4.7909193 out of 5
Keywords: britannic, sinking, hospital ship, hmhs, hmhs britannic, titanic, real time, documentary, history
Id: Qr5HmOJtgSI
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 63min 1sec (3781 seconds)
Published: Sat Nov 26 2016
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