The Evolution of the White Star Line Fleet

we've heard of so many different white star line ships that it seems hard to keep all the names straight for many it seems like an infinite list of ships with several we've never heard of in addition to the countless we already know about to give proper definition to the white star fleet we've made this video of a straight through and complete chronology of the white star liners at least as complete as we can manage while the white star line was founded in 1845 and owned ships prior to 1870 when thomas ismae rebooted the company records are scant and the list is too long to explain every ship prior to 1870. as seen on shawsevilleships.org white starline owned or chartered literally hundreds of vessels in this 25 year period maybe we'll tackle it in the future probably not for simplicity we will only address ships owned or chartered by the white star line after the is may reboot and before the cunard white star merger in the 1930s over the span of 64 years we'll see 89 ships many with recurring names and name changes there is a wikipedia article that lists these ships and seems to be very reliable given the ease of access for our audience and the popularity of this page this will be the basis for the video the chronology represented in this video is based on the years they served the white star line and not necessarily the year the ship was built for example the ss vaderland was built in 1900 but we presented in this list in 1914 which is when the white star line acquired her this video history is also meant to be a companion documentary to the other video on our youtube channel detailing the history of the white star line as a company the oceanic built in 1870 by harlan and wolfe she was the first deliberate instance of a white star liner being named with the traditional ic at the end though a revolutionary ship and highly successful she was outclassed by 1874 and she was chartered off to the occidental and oriental steamship company with whom the white star line was developing an intimate relationship with oceanic collided with the city of chester in 1888 sinking her and the oceanic was scrapped in 1896 the atlantic a near-exact copy of the oceanic atlantic was built in 1871. she served less than two years with the white star line before crashing on the rocks of halifax nova scotia in 1873 with the loss of around 550 souls this was the worst disaster for the north atlantic until 1898 and the worst disaster for the white star line until the titanic in 1912. the baltic baltic was another near identical copy of the oceanic being the third of the oceanic class completed in 1871 she won the blue ribbon for fastest eastbound crossing which she held for two years she rescued survivors from the assyria in a storm but was sold to the holland america line in 1889 and renamed the veen dom the baltic sank in a collision in 1898 the republic the republic was the fourth of the oceanic class and built in 1871 in 1872 the republic pioneered the first company route to chile in south america but with the second generation of white star liners in 1874 the republic was put on standby for around 15 years when it was finally sold to the holland america line then eventually to an italian company after the 1908 massina earthquake the ship served as temporary housing for refugees and was scrapped in 1910 the adriatic this ship was the fifth of the oceanic class and completed in 1872 it was one of the first ships to have gas lights instead of oil lamps but the method of implementation was fraught with errors in 1874 she crashed into cunard's parthia and in 1875 she crashed into a sailing ship called columbus in 1876 she sank the harvest queen in fact a ship that was once chartered by the early white star line killing all on board and finally in 1878 she rammed and sank the ga pike adriatic was scrapped in 1899 the celtic the celtic was the final ship of the oceanic class and completed in 1872 she was originally to be called the arctic but the name was changed after consideration was given to another shipwreck of that name in 1887 she collided with the rms britannic a later white star liner which we haven't explored yet and both limped into new york harbor together in 1893 she was sold to the thing vala line and scrapped in 1898 the asiatic the asiatic and her sister the tropic both from 1871 were outliers in the beginning of the white star line fleet they were not built by harlan and wolf and they were designed as cargo ships for the southern routes to south america and southern asia the asiatic was sold off to the african steamship company to raise funds after the loss of the atlantic in 1873. the asiatic was the oldest of the white star line ships to survive into the 1900s the tropic the tropic was the sister of the asiatic with the same intentions and routes as her sister and was also sold off after the wreck of the atlantic she was sold to a spanish company and later scrapped in 1894. the traffic the traffic was a tender built by harlan and wolf in 1872 not to be confused with the later traffic the sister of the nomadic built in 1911 for service in shareberg the first traffic was meant for use in the liverpool harbors she was sold in 1896 and then converted to a barge after the first world war she was sunk during a raid in the second world war then re-floated serving until 1955. with 82 years of service the traffic had perhaps the longest career of any white star line ship traffic was also the smallest white star liner ever even smaller than the chartered clipper ships of the original white star line the belgic the belgic was a cargo ship built originally for the bibi line but purchased during construction by the white star line for south american service with her first voyage being in april 1873 only two weeks after the wreck of the atlantic in 1875 she was chartered out to the occidental and oriental steamship company along with her sister the gaelic and the oceanic she wrecked in 1884 the gaelic the gaelic built in 1873 served alongside her sister the belgic and sold to the occidental and oriental in 1875 she was wrecked salvaged and scrapped all in 1896. so the britannic the first britannic built in 1874 was essentially an upscaled and upgraded version of the oceanic class it captured the blue ribbon for both west and eastbound voyage she was hugely successful and as seen as almost as innovative as the oceanic a few years prior in 1887 she was involved in the crash with the celtic and limped into new york harbor in 1899 she served as a troop ship for the royal navy in the boer war and was scrapped in 1903 the germanic completed alongside her sister the britannic in 1874 germanic would have a long and colorful career capturing the blue ribbon twice and surviving both world wars in 1899 she sank at her new york pier from heavy snow and ice but was refloated she was sold to the ottoman empire serving as a troop ship sank and re-floated in 1950 she became a floating hotel similar to the queen mary in long beach but this lasted less than a year her service of 75 years made her likely the longest serving ocean liner after cunard's parthia and second longest functioning ship built for the white star line after the first traffic the arabic the arabic was a combination cargo passenger liner completed in 1881 and was the white star line's first steel hulled ship in 1882 she was chartered out to the occidental and oriental and then sold to the holland america line in 1890 she was scrapped in 1901 the coptic the coptic was completed in 1881 and was also chartered out to the l o in 1897 cinematographer frederick blechninden filmed the liner for thomas edison's company making it perhaps one of the first ocean liners ever filmed in 1911 it was sold off to the oriental steamship company and then scrapped in 1926. the doric sister of the coptic she was completed in 1883 she serviced new zealand and was transferred to the o and o to serve between san francisco and hong kong in 1906 she was sold to the pacific male steamship company the leading competitor of the l l and renamed the asia in 1911 the doric ran aground off china and was then looted and burned by locals geez the ionic sister of the doric the ionic was finished in 1883 and immediately chartered out to one of white starline's partners the new zealand shipping company in 1900 she was charted out by the spanish government to bring home spanish troops after the spanish-american war later that year she was sold to the aberdeen line and then scrapped in 1906 the belgic ii in 1885 the second belgic was built the belgic was one of the first ships to have electrical lighting and was immediately chartered out to the o and o steamship company she suffered a collision with another liner the ulysses and on another occasion ran aground but she continued service until sold to the atlantic transport line and then requisitioned for the boer war after which she was scrapped in 1903 the gaelic ii the gaelic completed in 1885 was nearly identical to her sister the belgic and the two of them shared names with the white star line's two cargo ships from the previous decade the gaelic was chartered to the o and l before being sold to the pacific steamship company in 1905 and then scrapped in 1907. the kufic the kufic completed in 1888 served the white star line between liverpool and new york for eight years before being chartered to the spanish shipping company during the cuban revolution in the 1890s she served the white star line for another three years and then was sold to the dominion line in 1901 she wrecked in 1919 killing all 40 crew on board the runic the runic completed in 1889 and sister of the kufic served a very long and colorful career she was designed as a livestock carrier and in 1895 sold and resold in 1899 and then once more in 1912 when she became a norwegian whaling ship and renamed the emo she was chartered by the belgian relief commission in 1917 and route to new york city to pick up american relief supplies she stopped in halifax to be inspected in halifax she collided with a french ship the mont blanc which was carrying a large amount of ammunition for the war the mont blanc ignited and 17 minutes later exploded obliterating the city of halifax in the largest man-made explosion up to this date the emo was thrown ashore but was later salvaged and repaired in 1920 she was renamed the govneren and in 1921 after her helmsman supposedly passed out drunk the ship grounded in the falkland islands where she still sits wrecked [Music] the teutonic the teutonic was built in 1889 and was the first white star liner without square rigged sails teutonic and her sister majestic were the first ships to gain the same prestige since the britannic had 15 years earlier so the teutonic can be seen as the beginning of the third generation of white starliners she participated in the 1889 spit head naval review where she was toured by kaiser wilhelm ii where she was the inspiration for germany to build the kaiser class a few years later teutonic captured the blue ribbon and later became britain's first armored merchant cruiser she was a highly successful liner her voyage is often completely sold out like many other white star liners she was used as a transport during the boer war in 1901 she was hit by a rogue wave which crashed over the ship and took the lookouts clean out of the nest when the olympic was launched the teutonic was no longer needed and was transferred to the dominion line in world war one she became a merchant cruiser once more and in 1916 was armed with six inch guns to protect the convoys she was finally scrapped in 1921 the majestic the majestic the younger sister of the teutonic was completed in 1889 as well and also captured the blue ribbon captain e.j smith later the captain of the titanic commanded the majestic for nine years during which time smith and the majestic served together in the boer war charles lighthaller also of the titanic served on the majestic under captain smith similar to the olympic replacing the teutonic the titanic replaced the majestic in 1912 but this replacement was short-lived as the titanic sank on her maiden voyage in 1913 she rescued survivors from the sinking schooner goron and then was scrapped in 1914 the nomadic not to be confused with the second nomanic a tender for the olympic class in 1911 which still exists today the first nomadic was built in 1891 as a livestock carrier until serving as a troop ship in the boer war and then transferred to the dominion line in 1903 then to the leyland line in 1921 being scrapped in 1926 the tuarek the tuarek was the sister of the first nomadic and completed in 1891 running the white star line service between liverpool and portland maine in 1903 she was transferred to the dominion line along with her sister the nomadic and then to the leyland line in 1921 serving three years longer than her older sister and was scrapped in 1929 the magnetic the magnetic built in 1891 is often overlooked in the history of the white star line she served as a tender in liverpool and was the personal tender of the teutonic during the spit head review and in 1911 was photographed alongside the olympic and the titanic in belfast she was sold in 1932 and then scrapped in 1935 after having served as a tender a tug and a riverboat cruiser [Music] the neuronic the neuronic is considered one of the great mysteries of the white star line built in 1892 she was a livestock passenger combination and in 1893 disappeared with all hands two lifeboats were later found as well as up to four notes in bottles claiming that they were in a blinding snowstorm and had hit an iceberg some doubt the authenticity of the bottles the wreck has never been found the bovick the bovick sister of the neuronic was also completed in 1892 as a livestock and passenger carrier but later converted to being exclusively for passengers in the first world war still serving as a passenger ship she was nearly sunk by the same u-boat that sank white star line's second arabic and was subsequently stalked by the yubo before it escaped in 1917 and 1918 she entered military service and was sold to the leyland line in 1922 only to be scrapped six years later in 1928. the gothic the gothic was completed in 1893 and served between london and new zealand suffering a fire in 1906. she was transferred to the red star line in 1911 and then back to the white star line in 1913 and then again back to the red star line in 1915 and then once more back to the white star line in 1921 she crashed in 1924 and was scrapped in 1925 the civic the civic was completed in 1894 and worked as a cargo ship and in 1908 was transferred to the australian service she was one of the first british liners to test out the suez canal but kept getting grounded she was converted into a decoy for the battle cruiser hms queen mary in the early part of the first world war and then later became an oil ship after the war she continued work as an oil ship for a petroleum company until she was scrapped in 1933 the pontic in 1894 the white star line also welcomed the pontic to their fleet she was a tender in liverpool and in 1919 was sold off to a towing company in 1925 she was sold and converted to a coal and sand carrier and scrapped in 1930 [Music] the georgic in 1895 the white star line introduced the georgic to replace the lost neuronic the georgic was also a cargo ship and so far the largest white star line ship to date as well as the largest cargo ship in the world at the time the size made her a bit unwieldy and she suffered no less than six collisions by the outbreak of the first world war in 1916 she was intercepted by the german merchant raider mirva who stopped her took aboard her entire crew and then scuttled her with all 1200 horses still on board the delphic completed in mid-1897 the white star line sent her on two test voyages before she entered service in october servicing between london and new zealand shortly after she became a troop ship for the boer war and re-entered civilian service afterward for most of the first world war the ship continued passenger service dodging torpedoes on at least one occasion in 1917 the ship was requisitioned and shortly after was torpedoed and sunk by the uc 72 off sicily killing five people the simrac the simrack was completed in 1897 and was by far the largest white star liner to date with 13 000 tons she was also the first white star liner where emphasis was taken off of speed and placed onto passenger comfort she was originally designed as a cargo ship but the plan was changed during construction the ship itself wasn't immensely successful but the concept of comfort over speed was solid the simrick was transferred to the liverpool to boston route for nine years it served as a troop ship in both the boer war and the first world war and in 1916 was torpedoed three times by the same u-boat that sank the lusitania the ship sank the following day with five casualties the afric built in 1898 was the first of the white star line's jubilee class of five steamers designed for the australian round named the jubilee class in honor of the diamond jubilee of queen victoria the afric was designed with special emphasis on refrigerated cargo in order to provide australia with shipments of meat its civilian career was relatively uneventful but it served in both the boer war and the first world war finally being torpedoed and sunk off cornwall the medic of 1899 was the second of the jubilee class although spelled as medic it's pronounced as medic for some reason almost immediately in its career it participated in the boer war by transporting troops in 1907 it collided with a tanker but was later repaired once more the medic entered military service but this time for the first world war which she survived in 1928 she was sold off and renamed the hectoria and converted into a whaling ship she was even used in antarctic expeditions where some geographical features in the region were named after her she was requisitioned in the second world war and torpedoed in 1942 it sank with only one death the perzic built in 1899 was the third of the jubilee class the boer war was raging as the ship began her career and right away was pressed into service transporting soldiers to the front and wounded back on her first voyage the ship's rudder broke and it was stranded until a replacement arrived she rescued survivors from the flaming medura in the year 1900 and withstood a torpedo strike in the first world war in 1927 she was scrapped in the netherlands the oceanic two the oceanic or the second oceanic is the first legendary white starliner we've seen in a decade interrupting the jubilee class the oceanic first sailed in 1899 she was the first ship in history to be larger than the great eastern in length she was a wildly successful liner and well designed all around though the crew could never comfortably run her at full speed due to vibrations she suffered collisions rough storms mutinies and nearly gave into a fire on a ship moored next to her but she pushed through all of them in 1912 the titanic sailed past her on its departure in southampton she even witnessed the new york incident first hand a month after the titanic disaster she found titanic's infamous collapsible lifeboat a containing three dead bodies in 1914 while serving in the first world war and crewed by many of titanic's surviving officers including titanic's second officer charles lighthaller and officer david blair titanic's original third officer who was reassigned she grounded on a reef and was lost without fatality being the first allied ship lost in the war the runic ii back to the jubilee class the fourth ship built was launched in 1900 she had a relatively uneventful career serving the first world war without major incident aside from a collision without fatality in 1930 she was sold and converted to a whaling ship she was sailing to antarctica in 1940 as part of a convoy when she was torpedoed and sunk with two deaths the suvic the fifth and final installment of the jubilee class is the suvik the beginning of her career went by without comment but in 1907 she became stuck on the rocks off cornwall and was subject to a very unique salvage operation only her bow was stuck and the rest of her body was undamaged salvers decided to close the watertight doors and cut the entire bow off i should say blow it off as they used explosives to do so she was towed to southampton and a replacement bow was towed in from belfast after a successful reconstruction she continued her career through the first world war and was sold off in 1920. in the second world war she was stranded in neutral sweden her crew along with several other ships made a daring attempt to escape sweden and break through the nazi-controlled waters but the germans caught up with them rather than let her be captured her crew scuttled her [Music] the celtic two the celtic was made from the scraps of the planned sister ship to the oceanic 2 the olympic built in 1901 and the largest ship in the world at the time and the first ship larger than the great eastern in terms of tonnage the celtic is the first of a class of ships that will be known as the big four during the war she was first an armed merchant ship and then converted to a troop ship she suffered both a mine strike and a torpedo attack with fatalities and damage on both occasions but the ship was repaired both times in 1928 she was stuck off of the rocks of cove ireland formerly queenstown her passengers and crew were saved but a few men died in the salvage efforts the ship was a total loss [Music] the athenic simultaneous to the construction of the big four harland and wolff was hard at work building three sister ships for the new zealand route of the white star line the first of which was the rms athenic these were the first ships ordered by the white star line after the acquisition by the american group the international mercantile marine company or imm in the first world war she was a troop ship and afterwards sold as a whaling ship in world war ii she was captured by the germans and was finally scrapped in 1968. the corinthic the corinthic was the second of the athenic class of new zealand liners and the first white star liner launched in 1902 she served as a troop ship in the war and in the 1920s rescued survivors from a wrecked schooner off of newfoundland she was scrapped in 1931. the ioniq ii the ioniq is the third and final ship of the athenic class and launched in 1902 she was the first ship on the new zealand route to be equipped with marconi wireless while serving as a troop ship in the war she was almost destroyed by a torpedo having narrowly dodged it by 15 yards she was still in service when the white star line merged with the cunard line but was quickly sold off she was scrapped in 1936 the cedric the big four were being built parallel to the athena class the second was launched in 1902 and sailed in 1903. she stole the title of largest ship in the world from her older sister the celtic in 1912 she was sitting in new york at the time of the titanic disaster and she was ordered to delay her departure until the carpathia arrived with survivors in order to carry her crew back though she never did since many of them were subpoenaed for court inquiries in the war she sank two ships and collisions and after the war she crashed into cunard scythia in cove she was scrapped near edinburgh in 1932. the victorian here's a ship you never heard of built by harlan and wolf for the layland line this cattle carrier was charted by the white star line in 1903 and then went back to the leyland line service she was renamed the ss russian in 1914 to avoid confusion with alan line's ss victorian the russian was lost in a torpedo attack in 1916. the armenian just as with the victorian the armenian was built in 1895 and charted for cargo services for the white star line in 1903 she was lost in 1915 to a torpedo attack just like her sister the arabic ii the arabic was built in 1902 for the atlantic transport line as the minnewaska but she was transferred to the white star line and renamed the arabic she served the transatlantic route until the first world war when she was sunk by u-24 after the submarine believed the arabic was trying to ram her the arabic was a neutral ship carrying passengers and sparked outrage in the press much like the lusitania incidents later in the war the romanic the romanic was originally built under the name ss new england in 1898 by harlan and wolf for the dominion line alongside two other ships that will be folded into the white star line in 1903 she was sold to the allen line and named the scandinavian she served as a troop ship in the first world war and was scrapped in 1923 the republic too the republic is a well-known white star liner among historians but is somewhat forgotten by the public although click bait lists often rank her as one of the most famous shipwrecks in history built for the dominion line alongside the critic romanic and the canopic under the name columbus she operated seasonally on the mediterranean route in the summer an atlantic route in the winter she earned the nickname the millionaire ship thanks to her luxurious and spacious first-class accommodations in 1909 she was struck by the ss florida off of nantucket three people were killed on each ship and eventually the republic would sink from the damage thanks to marconi operator jack bins the republic was quickly able to call the rms baltic for help and all lives were saved aside from those lost in the initial collision this incident bolstered the public's trust in the safety of shipping a trust that would set them up for disaster in the titanic sinking three years later the republic is rumored to have a massive wealth of gold in her wreck and was the subject of the history channel tv show billion dollar wreck the wreck is privately owned but her hold is inaccessible to date the canopic the canopic was built as the commonwealth by harland and wolfe for the dominion line and transferred to the white star line in 1903. she served in the first world war and was scrapped in 1925 the cretic the critic was originally built as the hannoverian for the leyland line and then moved to the dominion line in 1903 she was transferred to the white star line and ran the atlantic route until the first world war and after serving as a troop ship served in the mediterranean rounds she switched back to the leyland line and was chartered by the red star line before being broken up in 1929. the kufic ii the kufic was originally built in 1895 for the west india and pacific steamship company under the name ss american in 1904 she became a white star liner and her name was changed to kufic she served the australian routes alongside her sister the tropic and the white star line's jubilee class she served in the war and was scrapped in 1932. the tropic too like her sister she was built as the ss european for the west india pacific steamship company and transferred to the white star line in 1904 where she served the australian rams she crashed a few times and served in the war being sold in 1923 to an italian company and then scrapped in 1933. the baltic too a lot of ships were acquired during the construction of the big four all as a result of imm's purchase of the white star line baltic was the third at the big four and became the largest ship in the world built in 1903 and sailing in 1904 she was under the command of titanic's future captain e.j smith she rescued survivors from the wreck of the republic in 1909 and received titanic's distress calls in 1912. she tried to help but was too far away during the war she evacuated neutral americans from war-torn europe in 1929 she rescued more survivors from a sinking schooner it seems she spent most of her career being a total bro to the other ships on the atlantic she was scrapped in 1933. the gallic not the gaelic but the gallic was a paddle wheel steamer built in birkenhead in 1894 she served as a tender for the white star line in sherberg but was quickly rendered too small for the increasing number of white star line passengers to replace her white starline commissioned two tenders the nomadic and the traffic which we will get to shortly she was scrapped in 1913. the adriatic ii the final ship of the big four the adriatic was built in 1906 and sailing in 1907. unlike her older sisters she was not large enough to claim the title of largest ship in the world being launched the same day as cunard's massive rms mauritania adriatic was a groundbreaking ship and luxury however being the first ship in the world with a swimming pool and a turkish bath she also was the first ship to use the southampton docks after they were rebuilt in 1907. she ran the atlantic route and carried some of titanic survivors back to england in 1912. in the war she was a troop ship and after an uneventful career she was scrapped in 1935. here's an odd man out in the white star line fleet the sailing ship mersey named after the river mersey in liverpool this ship was built in 1894 and acquired by the white star line in 1908 as part of their training program on which the company's officers and crew would master their ocean-going skills several of titanic's officers gained experience aboard this sailing vessel and in 1918 she became the first sailing ship to be equipped with a radio the white star line sold her around 1915 and she was scrapped in 1923 the laurentic she was originally ordered by the dominion line but transferred to the white star line during construction being their first ship to enter the company's canadian passenger service she began service in 1909 and suffered storm damage the same year she was known for her speed in 1910 murder holly crippen fled england on board the ss montrose the police raced the montrose on board the laurentic beating the ship and waiting for the murderer on the other side of the sea in the first world war while carrying a special cargo she struck a mine and sank with the loss of 354 people the megantic sister to the lorentick she was ordered by the dominion line and transferred to the white star line in construction she entered service in 1909 and like her sister was also involved in the arrest of murderer harley crippen bringing him back to britain in custody she dodged attacks in the first world war and was scrapped in 1933 the zeolandic the zealandic entered service in 1911 and served the new zealand route and helped a bit during the first world war she was purchased in the 1920s and in the second world war was disguised as an aircraft carrier to act as a decoy she became struck on rocks and was torpedoed as she was trying to be re-floated the nomadic two the nomadic was built as a tender for the white star lines olympic class which was now in construction launched in 1911 she not only served the olympic and titanic but many other ships in shareberg including the queen mary the normandy queen elizabeth and any other ship needing tender service she assisted in the evacuation of sherberg and made her way back to france after the second world war in 1974 she was moved to the sane river in paris and acted as a restaurant at the foot of the eiffel tower in 2006 being the only remaining white star liner afloat she was purchased by northern irish interests and moved back to belfast where she was restored as a museum ship opening in 2012 she's still there where visitors can explore her and walk in the footsteps of her countless passengers including those who boarded the titanic through her in 1912. the traffic too the traffic was built alongside the nomadic with the intentions of serving as an olympic class tender in shareberg primarily for third class and baggage she served as a minesweeper in the first world war during the second world war the french scuttled her in order to prevent the germans from using her but the germans refloated her and armed her for defense her destruction is a gray area some say she was scrapped by the germans others say that she was sunk by the allies in any case she did not survive the second world war the olympic we all know the rms olympic but in 1911 she was the largest ship in the world by far she was involved in several collisions including a deliberate ramming of a u-boat in the first world war she served many successful years and was scrapped in 1935. the belgic three the belgic is wedged in between the olympic and the titanic in this chronology the belgic was a small ship built in camden new jersey and owned by the red star line and originally named the samland she served with the white star line only for a year or two before being sent back to the red star line she was scrapped in 1931 the titanic we all know the story of the titanic as well finished in 1912 she sailed only one voyage and was lost after striking an iceberg with 1496 casualties her story shocked the world and continues to do so to this day and is more than likely the reason why you are watching our videos the ceramic ceramic was constructed for the white star line by harlan and wolfe and was completed in 1913. she was the largest ship to serve the liverpool australia route until 1923. ceramic was requisitioned during the first world war as a troop ship for the first australian imperial force during which time she narrowly survived a number of torpedo attacks while sailing near the canary islands she was chased by a surfaced u-boat for a full 40 minutes which she outran while firing on her attacker during service in the second world war she survived a collision with a cargo ship but ultimately met a tragic fate in december 1942 ceramic was torpedoed five times by a german u-boat she sank in the middle of a heavy storm and of the 656 people on board only one survived the vaderland launched in 1900 by the red star line as a passenger ship the ss fodderland like many of the aforementioned ships was converted to a troop ship at the beginning of the first world war the fatherland is not to be confused with the foterland later known as the ss leviathan during her military service and now being operated by white star dominion line she was renamed the southland as the dutch name fodderland was thought to be too german sounding the southland was torpedoed twice the first incident killed 40 of her men but she was repaired and returned to service in june 1917 she was struck again off the coast of ireland and this time she sank with four lives lost the lapland the next chip in our white star line chronology was another charter from the red star line the ss lapland she was launched in 1908 as a passenger ship the most notable event in the life of the lapland was when in the aftermath of the sinking of the titanic she was hired by the white star line to return surviving titanic crew members to england following their investigations in the united states the lapland was requisitioned as a troop ship during the war and after the war now sailing under the white star line flag she returned to her role as a passenger ship in 1920 she resumed service for the red star line and in 1933 was sold to japanese owners who scrapped her a year later the britannic 2. we all know about the rms britannic though for most of her exploits she was most often referred to as the hmhs britannic launched in 1914 she was the third of the olympic class and completed as a hospital ship for use in the first world war she participated in the evacuation of the dardanelles and struck a mine in 1916 with the loss of around 30 men having never once served a commercial voyage she remains the largest passenger shipwreck on the sea floor the belgic four another ship under construction at harlan and wolf at the time that was commandeered for the war effort was the massive liner called the civic when the war came calling she was hastily finished as a cargo ship instead of as a liner and renamed the belgic there's a pattern of white starline using the name belgic for their cargo ships we are now on the fourth and final belgic she served as a cargo and troop carrier and was converted back to an ocean liner in 1921 being handed over to the white star line's dutch partner the red star line and renamed the belgian land albert einstein sailed aboard her when he found out hitler had become chancellor of germany and einstein vowed never to return home again titanic and britannic survivor violet jessup also sailed two world cruises on her in the 1920s the belgian land was sold and scrapped in 1936 the justicia sister of the belgium and originally to be named the staten dom the justicia was also pressed into service in the first world war before her construction was complete she was first handed to the cunard line hence the suffix ia at the end but because of cruise shortages the ship was transferred to the white star line white star line easily stalked her with a crew since they had just lost the britannic and assigned the displaced personnel from that in 1918 the justicia was sailing from belfast to new york when she was torpedoed the watertight doors were quickly closed preventing a sinking a second third and even a fourth torpedo were fired into the liner still putting up a fight the limping ship tried to beat herself with the help of tugboats the following day and still limping the justicia was found by a second u-boat which fired two additional torpedoes into her this finally finished her off and she rolled over and sank with the loss of 16 crew a few photographs were taken as she went down the u124 her second attacker was sunk by british destroyers before it could get away the vedic the vedic was an easily forgotten white starliner built during the war as a troop ship and then serving as a canadian immigrant ship for the white star line until the 1930s she was one of the first ships that the newly formed cunard white star scrapped in 1934 the bardic harlan and wolf built several ships that were called war standard specifically called g-type these were meant specifically for use in the war but they were finished after the war ended white star line bought three of them for cheap to bolster their cargo fleet she served the atlantic route until mid-1919 when operations were handed over to the atlantic transport line and then returned to the white star line in 1920 for the australian route in 1924 she grounded in almost the exact same spot the suvik grounded in 1907. she was sold in 1925 and renamed four more times in 1941 during the second world war she was sunk by the german cruiser scharnhurst the gallic ii the gallic was the second of the g-type cargo ships bought by the white star line she served both the atlantic and australian routes and was sold to the clan line during the cunard white star merger she survived the second world war without incident and was scrapped in 1956 the mobile originally called the cleveland she was a hamburg america liner but handed over to the allies as war reparations at the end of the first world war as if the name cleveland wasn't american enough she was renamed the uss mobile in 1919 and then handed over to the united states lines and named back to the cleveland again in the 1920s she was chartered twice by the white star line she was scrapped in germany in 1933. the arabic three she was built in 1908 in germany under the name ss britain in the beginning of the war she laid mines but was seized by the norwegians for the duration of the war in 1919 she was handed to the p l and bought by the white star line in 1920 she was chartered a few times by the red star line and was broken up in the 1930s the homeric originally built in germany as the columbus she was handed over to the british as war reparations as the rms olympic lost all of her suitable running mates during the war or just before in the case of the titanic the homeric was assigned to the white star line to work with the olympic she wasn't even completed yet at the time of her handover so she was finished in germany under the supervision of harland and wolf agents work was slow since germans had no motivation to finish a liner only to hand it over to their former enemy she was slower than the olympic so had a hard time keeping schedule she was reassigned for recreational cruises in the 1920s after an unsuccessful attempt by her original german owners to buy her she was scrapped in 1936. the haverford the haverford was built in 1901 for the american line and named after the philadelphia suburb of haverford she served the american line for a while and then was used by the dominion line and red starline in the 1920s she was bought by the white star line and served as one of the only ships not to end with the ic suffix she also served white star line's less popular philadelphia rounds due to structural and electrical problems she was scrapped in 1925 the poland the poland was built for the atlantic transport line under the name manito and purchased by the red starline in 1921 and then transferred to the white star line in 1922. she was scrapped in 1925. the majestic two the majestic was built in germany in 1914 under the name bismarck no not the legendary nazi warship bismarck she was the third of the imperative class and the largest ship in the world until the completion of the ss normandy her completion was delayed through the first world war and handed over to britain on her completion in 1922. she was assigned to the white star line where she acted as the company's flagship she ran alongside the homeric and olympic on the atlantic route where she gained fame and notoriety as one of the most popular and luxurious liners afloat she was successful until the great depression when she was transferred to running cruises between new york and halifax she was united with her sister now named the berengia under cunard after cunard white star merger she was retired in 1936 and sold for scrap but hold on we're not done she was saved by the british government and used as a training vessel for another two or three years when she suffered a fire and sank the wreck was raised and scrapped in 1943. the majestic is the largest ship ever operated by the white star line the pittsburgh the pittsburgh was built from 1913 to 1920 for the american line but was acquired by the white star line and operated for three years when it was handed over to the red star line and renamed the penland she served as a troop ship in the second world war and was sunk by bombers in 1941 the doric ii the doric began service in 1923 and ran the canadian route in the atlantic until 1932 when she began working as a cruise liner in 1935 she sustained a collision and was brought back for repairs but upon arrival was deemed a total loss and scrapped the delphic 2. the delphic was the third of the type g cargo ships bought by the white star line though they bought her from the original buyers the atlantic transport line the white star line bought her to replace one of their previous type g's the bartik after it was damaged in 1924 alongside white star's other type g she was sold to the clan line in the 1930s and scrapped in 1948 the rms regina built by harland and wolf in 1917 was intended to be a commercial liner but was launched early and put into war service sporting only one funnel it appears that she was named after the canadian city regina as she was later on the canadian routes so while there's no record of her pronunciation we're going to assume she's pronounced the same as the canadian city at the war's end regina received her second funnel and was completed for commercial service under the dominion line she transferred to the white star line in 1925 where she served for four years before transferring to the red star line where she was renamed the vesterland she served for the duration of the second world war under the red star line and subsequently the holland america line before finally being decommissioned and returned to the cunard white star line a number of efforts were made to refit or repurpose the old ship but to no avail and by 1947 she was sold for scrap the albertik the albertik was originally launched as the mansion by the nord deutscher lloyd line in 1920 and was immediately handed over to the british government as war reparations sold to the royal mail steam packet company and renamed the ohio she received her final title the albertik when she was transferred to the white star line in 1927 to serve on the trans-atlantic service in 1934 alberta was scrapped in osaka japan the calgaric the calgaric was built in 1918 by harlan and wolfe for the pacific steam navigation company under the name orca she was bought by the white star line in 1927 and renamed the calgaric for use on the canadian route alongside the albertik she served for cruises in the 1930s and was scrapped in 1935 after the merger with the cunard line the laurentic ii the laurentic is an oddball she seems to have been ordered early with construction paused for over five years and sold to the white star line at a very specific low budget almost a discount which is the only time in the entire white star harlan and wolf partnership this has happened she also was outdated right from the start still using coal after most modern ships had moved on to oil her service jumped between the mediterranean and the atlantic and sailed white star's halifax route she continued service after white star's merger with cunard and was part of the 1937 spit head coronation naval review in 1940 she responded to the distress call of a ship that was attacked by torpedoes when she herself was targeted she dodged the first torpedoes and then got into a skirmish with the u-boat attacker ultimately losing and sinking with 49 deaths [Music] the britannic three the britannic was meant as a replacement for the soon-to-be retired big four she was meant to be comparable in size but slower and more luxurious built in a very art deco style she was completed in 1929 she shined during the great depression thanks to her low operating costs after the cunard white star merger britannic and her younger sister the georgic along with the laurentic 2 were the only white star liners not sold or scrapped she served in the second world war and came out unscathed and continued service even after cunard bought out white star and returned to the cunard name in 1950 1955 after the retirement of the georgic she became the last functioning white star liner and was scrapped in 1961 replaced by cunards sylvania the georgic ii the georgic was the last ship built for the white star line prior to their cunard merger to accompany the britannic white starline planned to build the first super liner the 1000 foot oceanic three however due to the economy this idea was cancelled and the already started oceanic 3 was converted to a more economical ship and named the georgic launched in 1931 she was very art deco just as her older sister the britannic she was financially successful and survived through the cunard merger serving in the second world war shortly after the battleship bismarck was sunk the georgic was bombed and burned and began sinking in a rush to beach the burning ship she collided with another ship and twisted her stern at one point during all this she also suffered a massive explosion she was raised and sent back to harlan and wolf to be rebuilt as a troop ship after the war she was rebuilt again and operated by the cunard line as an immigrant ship she served as a troop ship during the korean war and retired in 1955 being scrapped in 1956 [Music] we've come a long way since the small liners of the oceanic class in the 1870s the olympic class alone was consuming the weight of an oceanic class liner and coal in a single one-way voyage now i know exactly what's on your mind you're wondering just how many of these ships sink white star line gets a bad reputation for having lost so many ships but this isn't truly a fair judgment on the company out of 89 ships 34 of them were lost in sinkings well that's more than one-third however that's not a very honest answer of those 34 nine of them were lost by the white star line during war time an additional 12 were lost during wartime by other companies losing a ship during wartime we can't really fault them for of the remaining 13 shipwrecks that were lost during peacetime eight of them were under the command of other companies after they had purchased these ships from the white star line in all honesty out of the 89 ships white star line only lost five due to peacetime disasters in chronological order the atlantic the neuronic the republic ii the titanic and the celtic ii 5 out of 89 ships is not a bad figure it's honestly quite impressive for such an innovative shipping company nonetheless the ships that they did lose have gone down in history as some of the most iconic disasters but it's important to remember for every disastrous liner that the white star line had there were successful and legendary liners to counter it for the titanic we had the olympic for the atlantic we had the oceanic for the neuronic we also had the jubilee class for the republic we had our sisters and for the celtic we had the rest of the big four 54 of their ships made it to scrapping of these 89 ships to have sailed at the white star line during her primary 64 years the only remaining vessel is the ss nomadic now a museum ship in belfast she's well worth to visit another ship today that could technically be argued to be a surviving white star liner is the queen mary in long beach california she was built in the 1930s under the cunard white star flag though queen mary is more famously known as a cunardur what is your favorite of these liners are there any you've never heard of before let us know in the comments below [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: Part-Time Explorer

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Length: 58min 59sec (3539 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 22 2021