HMHS Britannic

For other White Star liners with this name, see SS Britannic (1874) and MV Britannic (1929).
"RMS Britannic" redirects here. Not to be confused with RMS Britannia.

His Majesty's Hospital Ship (HMHS) Britannic
History
United Kingdom
NameHMHS Britannic
Owner White Star Line
OperatorUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Royal Navy
Port of registryLiverpool, United Kingdom
Ordered1911
BuilderHarland and Wolff, Belfast
Yard number433[1]
Laid down30 November 1911
Launched26 February 1914
Completed12 December 1915
In service23 December 1915
Out of service21 November 1916
FateSank after striking a mine set by SM U-73 on 21 November 1916 near Kea in the Aegean Sea 37°42′05″N 24°17′02″E / 37.70139°N 24.28389°E / 37.70139; 24.28389
General characteristics
Class and typeOlympic-class ocean liner
Tonnage48,158 gross register tons
Displacement53,200 tons
Length882 ft 9 in (269.1 m) overall
Beam94 ft (28.7 m)
Height175 ft (53 m) from the keel to the top of the funnels
Draught34 ft 7 in (10.5 m)
Depth64 ft 6 in (19.7 m)
Decks9 passenger decks
Installed power
  • 24 double-ended, 5 single-ended (coal-fired) boilers[2]
  • Two four-cylinder triple-expansion reciprocating engines, each producing 16,000 hp (12,000 kW) for outboard wing propellers, one low-pressure turbine producing 18,000 hp (13,000 kW) for the centre propeller
  • Total 50,000 hp (37,000 kW)
Propulsion
  • Two bronze triple-blade outboard wing propellers
  • One bronze quadruple-blade central propeller
Speed
  • 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) (service)
  • 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) (maximum)
Capacity3,309

HMHS Britannic (originally to be the RMS Britannic) (/brɪˈtænɪk/) was the third and final vessel of the White Star Line's Olympic class of steamships and the second White Star ship to bear the name Britannic. She was the youngest sister of the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. She was operated as a hospital ship from 1915 until her sinking near the Greek island of Kea, in the Aegean Sea, in November 1916. At the time she was the largest hospital ship in the world.[not verified in body]

Britannic was launched just before the start of the First World War. She was designed to be the safest of the three ships with design changes made during construction due to lessons learned from the sinking of the Titanic. She was laid up at her builders, Harland and Wolff, in Belfast for many months before being requisitioned as a hospital ship. In 1915 and 1916 she served between the United Kingdom and the Dardanelles.

On the morning of 21 November 1916 she hit a naval mine of the Imperial German Navy near the Greek island of Kea and sank 55 minutes later, killing 30 people. There were 1,066 people on board; the 1,036 survivors were rescued from the water and lifeboats. Britannic was the largest ship lost in the First World War.[3]

After the First World War, the White Star Line was compensated for the loss of Britannic by the award of SS Bismarck as part of postwar reparations; she entered service as RMS Majestic.

The wreck was located and explored by Jacques Cousteau in 1975. The vessel is the largest intact passenger ship on the seabed in the world.[4] It was bought in 1996 and is currently owned by Simon Mills, a maritime historian.

  1. ^ Lynch (2012), p. 161.
  2. ^ "HMHS Britannic (1914) Builder Data". MaritimeQuest. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
  3. ^ Vladisavljevic, Brana. "Titanic's sister ship Britannic could become a diving attraction in Greece". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  4. ^ Chirnside 2011, p. 275.