RMS Olympic: Old Reliable

Richard 44 67 when to 0-0 at 1 0 runway in September 1907 the Cunard lines Lusitania completed her maiden voyage marking the beginning of Kuhn arts potential domination of the North Atlantic the Lusitania could cross the Atlantic in just five days while her passengers enjoyed the relative luxury of the largest ship in the world Lusitania sneer sister Mauritania was under construction and was not far behind soon after Mauritania would come a third ship the Aquitania and then Cunard would have a premium free ship Express service between Liverpool and New York Cunard was the front-runner on the North Atlantic but the famously ambitious White Star Line was eager to catch up since 1870 with the construction of the first oceanic every ship built for the White Star Line with the exception of the first traffic was built by Harland & Wolff so when Bruce Ismay chairman of the White Star Line and son of its founder decided that his company would need to order trio ships to rival the developing triad of Cunard ships he immediately met with Lord Puri chairman of Harland & Wolff in the summer of 1907 Ismay and his wife joined lured Puri at his home for dinner they talked about Lusitania and Mauretania and what their partner companies could do to compete they quickly decided that their ships competitive edge would be sighs any attempt to compete with cue nard ships on speed would be expensive and result in a draw at best a wider ship meant that it would be slower but also that it would be less prone to rolling and more spacious to allow for luxurious accommodations a larger ship would also allow white star to take advantage of greater economies of scale in other words profitability per passenger would theoretically be higher on the larger White Star Line ships than the smaller Kuhn our line ships all else being equal and at that dinner meeting a gentlemen's agreement was formed furious Harland and Wolff would build three ships for ismay's White Star Line the first of these ships would be far and away the largest in the world with each of her two younger sisters improving upon the first designers went to work and the keel of the first ship was laid down a year and a half later in December 1908 but white stars died one major decision to make what type of propulsion system would be used to power the ship Hugh nards Lusitania and Mauretania were powered by revolutionary turbine engines white stars focus was on size and costs so a ship fully powered by turbine engines was out of the question there was potential though for improved efficiency and lower costs by reevaluating for traditional triple-expansion engine arrangement luck would have it that Harland and Wolff had been building two identical sister ships for the Dominion line these ships were the Albany and the Alberta the Dominion line like the White Star Line was owned by the International mercantile marine company so white star which was the flagship line of the IMMC took the opportunity to enlist the two ships for an experiment the two ships were renamed Megantic in Laurentiis respectively more importantly Megantic was fitted with traditional triple expansion engines powering two propellers while our sister Laurentiis was also fitted with triple expansion engines power and two propellers but also a turbine engine powering a third central propeller once delivered both ships were placed on the Liverpool to Canada route and pitted against each other and by June 1909 it was clear that not only could Llorente achieve higher speeds than her sister but she could do so more efficiently and at a lower cost so it was decided the White Star Line's new giant ships would be powered by two triple expansion engines and a single turbine engine to maximize efficiency and minimize cost three and a half months after the construction of the first ship again that of the second ship began immediately beside her sister finally in October 1910 after nearly two years of construction Olympic the first of the white stars giant steam ships was launched the size of the ship was breathtaking to the spectators who watched the launch it was clear that this ship was the biggest in the world it had to be and in fact it would be but the work was not done yet Olympic was in that moment just a shell and an incomplete one at that for the next seven months Olympic went through the fitting-out process when she was finally complete Olympic came in at 46,000 gross register tons she was far and away the largest ship in the world surpassing Mauritania by almost 50% despite being a public spectacle Olympic was only half full when she sailed from Southampton on her maiden voyage on Wednesday June 14th 1911 one week later on the Wednesday June 21st Olympic arrived in New York after a comfortable and uneventful crossing there was no speed record to speak of and the voyage took a bit longer would have aboard one of the premier Cunard liners but Olympics passengers enjoyed seemingly endless space plentiful amenities and novel luxuries along the way one day in September 1911 after a smooth inaugural summer season Olympic was departing Southampton on her fifth voyage under the command of a harbour pilot she was cruising down the Solent with 1,300 passengers on her way to pick up another 800 in cher burg in Queenstown the weather was fine with a moderate breeze and to exit the Solent and head for shurberg Olympic had to execute a complicated s turn under the command of harbor pilot George Bower Olympic sounded her whistles to announce the manoeuvre once the turn was complete Olympics turbine engine which powered the central propeller and was not used during the turn was reactivated and the ship began accelerating toward a speed of 20 knots by now the naval Cruiser HMS Hawke which had been traveling eastward of the solvent was practically running parallel to Olympic Captain Edward Smith aboard the Olympic was observing Hawke from the starboard bridge wing by then Hawkes bow was even with Olympics Bridge and seem to have been overtaking the liner giving Olympic the right-of-way suddenly the Hawks bow veered deport the Hawks commander ordered the cruiser hard to port which in terms of tiller commands meant to turn the ship to starboard but the Hawke turned in the wrong direction in an attempt to correct the crew realized that the steering gear was jammed the commander ordered the engines to be stopped but it was too late the Hawks bow sliced into Olympics quarter Olympics watertight doors were quickly shut and only two watertight compartments were flooded the passengers occupying the cabins where the Hawks trucked the liner or enjoying the public spaces of the ship at the time and remarkably there were no injuries with the efforts of the crew and pumps the HMS Hawke was saved from sinking - but Olympic was unable to continue her voyage and had to return to Southampton her passengers would have to find another ship to take them across the Atlantic meanwhile White Star Line had a heavily damaged ship to fix and every day that was spent repairing her cost money and resulted in lost revenue ultimately Olympic would not return to service for six expensive weeks as to who was at fault for the accident well the court ruled in favor of the Navy and place blame entirely on the Olympic the argument was that the abrupt turning of the Olympic combined with a large amount of water she displaced sucked the Hawke into her wake if the Olympic had already completed her complicated maneuver though it was building speed on a study core and the hawk which have been traveling at a consistent speed was overtaking the Olympic then the hawk would have been obliged to steer clear of the latter perhaps though Pok could not have steered clear due to the reasons previously stated the events surrounding Titanic's departure from Southampton seven months later in which Titanic's suction seems to have caused the liner SS New York to break free from her mooring and nearly collide with Titanic might be validation for the Royal Navy's claim about the dangers of such large ships operating close quarters with smaller ships Olympics costly repairs the later sister Titanic's maiden voyage when Titanic did sail in april 1912 white star officially had a major to ship service between England and New York of course white stars newest liner was immediately lost bringing a monumental loss of life and a devastating financial blow Olympic was once again without a proper running mate on the Atlantic she would have to wait for the completion of her second sister Britannic before her full potential as a transatlantic liner could be unlocked further the loss of Titanic did not inspire a great confidence in White Star Line or transoceanic shipping in general Olympic was travelling eastbound toward Europe when Titanic went down and when her crew learned the full story of the disaster upon arrival in Southampton white star came to realize that Olympic schedule too would be thrown off the gang of black the crew who worked in the boiler rooms were fused to sail the lifeboats they said were insufficient in an unacceptable condition and they knew that as crew of the boiler and engine rooms they were among the least likely to survive in the event of a sinking after all only a fifth of their counterparts were saved from Titanic white storm management tried to calm the men down but when the crew still refused white star then threatened the men with charges of mutiny the resentment among the crew was tangible one of Olympics leaving firemen reportedly said personally I do not care as I am unmarried but many of the men have wives and families and their lives are as valuable as those of the first-class passengers white star instead rounded up a crew of Stoker's from Portsmouth but the striking crew of Olympic refused to let them board the white star line was at a loss and it was forced to cancel the scheduled two crossing when the ship returned to Southampton 54 crew members were arrested and charged with mutiny the court decided that the men were guilty but no fines or punishments were ordered as public opinion in the wake of the Titanic disaster was in favour of the crew and again the White Star Line eventually Olympic like all ocean liners was equipped with additional lifeboats and safety equipment and Olympic resumed her normal operations for two years Britannic was nearing completion then World War one broke up white stars flagship was finishing a westbound crossing in August 1914 when she received Wireless messages informing her crew of Britain's imminent declaration of war against Germany and she like all other British merchant ships was directed to dim her lights and immediately find refuge in a neutral or friendly port olimpic completed three more transatlantic crossings returning citizens abroad to their home countries before being called in for troop service by the British Admiralty the ship arrived at Harland and Wolff in October where she underwent a 10-month conversion in September 1915 Olympic armed with a 4.7 inch gun at the bow in a three inch gun at the stern went to work in her new role shipped 2810 was tasked with carrying 6,000 troops to the Mediterranean to support the Gallipoli campaign the mission was carried out over four voyages then the Canadian government requested the use of Olympic to transport Canadian troops to Europe to assist in the war the port of Halifax were Canadian troops congregated to shift to Europe was not ready to support a ship the size of Olympic the ship required immense amounts of coal to cross the Atlantic and there were not enough workers or equipment to efficiently fill the bunkers when the 3,000 tons of coal were sourced it took six days instead of the scheduled three days to call the ship for the first trip from Halifax to Europe all wall troops are on board being exposed to the harmful coal dust despite the obstacles Olympic departed Halifax in early April of 1960 on the first of many voyages between Halifax and Europe Olympic tended to be fully loaded during her time as a troop ship with men sleeping everywhere including in hammocks hung in the first-class dining saloon while on board the troops were fed the equivalent of third-class meals it was Hardy and probably better than what they were used to but the journey across the Atlantic was anything but a pleasant and peaceful transatlantic crossing even merchant ships were routinely sent to the bottom of the ocean by German u-boats and Olympic filled to the brim with six thousand military personnel was a prime and legitimate target for the Germans the Admiralty had originally planned for Olympic to sail as part of a convoy escorted across the Atlantic from Halifax but Captain Bertram Hayes successfully argued that the ship would be safer steaming at full speed rather than being bogged down by a slow convoy so Olympic crossed the Atlantic alone and it was a harrowing journey Olympic always departed Halifax under the cover of night for the first hundred miles she would sail a strict zigzag course to throw off enemy u-boats all lights including navigation lights were left off below decks lights could only be used if portholes were covered the passengers were even restricted from smoking at night to avoid the possibility of the soft orange glow at the end of the cigarette from revealing the ship to prowling submarines upon arriving a Liverpool the troops would disembark and get on trains to make the final journey to their assigned locations on the return trips across the Atlantic Olympic took on wounded soldiers forced to return home well Olympic was serving as a troop transport ship her second younger sister Britannic had been completed and immediately converted into a hospital ship toward the end of Olympics first year carrying troops from Halifax Britannic struck a mine on her way to pick up wounded soldiers from the droves Britannic sank with the miraculously low but still tragic death toll of 30 if Olympic was to make it out of World War one she would return to commercial service without a sister and it was likely to continue to lack her proper running mate on the Atlantic run but that concern was secondary first she had to survive the war in January 1917 Olympic was temporarily pulled from service to undergo some modifications including the installation of more powerful 6-inch guns and returned to Halifax as his Majesty's troop ship HMT Olympic and when she returned pressure from the Canadians to provide Olympic with an escort continued to be resisted captain Hayes insisted that the ship was safer unhindered by an escort and that the British Admiralty would send destroyers to escort Olympic into port as she approached coastal waters Olympic continued her service for the rest of 1917 in December she narrowly avoided the catastrophic Halifax Explosion having departed the city eastward just five days earlier had Olympic been in the city at the time she likely would have been a total loss not to mention the extra thousands of people who would have been in the port in the process of embarking without Olympic North America's further contribution to the war would have been greatly diminished after all the citizens of Halifax nicknamed Olympic old reliable and they did in fact rely on her the United States had joined the war in 1917 but severely lacked the ships to send troops to Europe on Christmas 1917 Olympic arrived in New York and on January 12th 1918 departed with her first complement of American troops three months later in April 1918 Olympic was westbound headed for New York when she was attacked by a German u-boat by some miracle the torpedo which struck her was a dud and Olympic escaped by the skin of her teeth on the return voyage from New York Olympic was entering the English Channel when she spotted an enemy submarine she acted quickly turning sharply to starboard and ramming the you 103 sinking her Olympic eggs acted her revenge World War 1 finally ended on November 11th 1918 Olympic immediately went to work bringing Canadian troops home after the first of these voyages from Southampton to Halifax she was returned to her civilian colors and resumed flying the red ensign signifying Olympic as a British merchant ship once again during her three and a half years as a troop ship Olympic had carried a hundred and thirty-two thousand Canadian and American troops to war and brought 58 thousand Canadians back home this grueling work had taken its toll on the ship and she returned to Harland and Wolff for an overhaul in August 1919 having served with honor Olympic finally returned to the role she was built for as a commercial passenger liner for the next 15 years Olympic would enjoy the longest period of uninterrupted commercial operations she would see much of Olympics remaining career would be successful but by the late 1920s she was declining in popularity and thus carrying fewer passengers the onset of the Great Depression only exacerbated Olympics decline much of Olympics careers were spent in wartime service and it was not long before she was simply outclassed by the likes of majestic Berengaria Bremen and Europa among others efforts to keep Olympic in style included painting the famous grand staircase and other woodwork green in 1933 but Olympic was fundamentally old-fashioned and insufficient amenities such as a severe lack of private bathrooms gave the ship an expiration date in the early morning hours of May 15 1934 Olympic was nearing the coast of the United States carrying only a hundred and fifty-eight passengers like many previous approaches to New York City this one was shrouded in thick fog in fact most of that particular voyage had been plagued with fog Captain John W Banks was likely exhausted having been obliged to stand ready on the bridge for most of that slow but perilous voyage for several minutes you would have been able to hear the cautionary sounds from the Nantucket lightship which marked the southern end of the dangerous waters of the Nantucket Shoals suddenly Olympic steam whistle bursts out the Nantucket lightship was 600 yards dead ahead Olympia stopped her engines but it was too late for crew members dove off the light ship just before Olympics knife-edge bow sliced into the anchored light ship which went straight to the bottom taking the remaining seven crew members with her one of Olympics like both was already being lowered before the collision even occurred the surviving crew of the stricken light ship was quickly taken aboard as many ships had always done Olympic had been aiming directly for the light ship with the intention of turning away as she got close this common yet flawed navigational tactic finally resulted in a serious accident the White Star Line merged with Cunard in 1934 and within two years Olympic along with many other white star ships was deemed redundant outdated and not viable given the continued effects of the Great Depression Olympics furnishings and fittings were auctioned off and then Olympic herself was sold for scrap but Cunard white star met the moment appropriately Olympic a beloved ship full of memories and historical significance was given a proper send-off her former captain John Banks since retired was brought back to sailed the Olympic to the Breakers her final resting place [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: The Great Big Move

Views: 554,892

Keywords: ocean liner, olympic, titanic, white star line, white star, ship, atlantic, maritime, history, documentary, Cunard, lusitania, Mauretania, britannic, sinking, sink, sunk, transportation

Id: iMLNbcWXqVg

Length: 17min 38sec (1058 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 13 2020