If that's the case, is there fittings available to purchase today? An Irish crew member claims revenge for the Black and Tans. 2. She was the fleet mate of both the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. More than 1,000 people were saved while 30 were killed when the vessel sank. But sink she did in just 55 minutes! It was initially to be called Hellenic, but, just prior to her launch, her name was changed to Britannic. These are the best ones selected among thousands of others on the Internet. © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Given the Britannic’s design improvements, why it sank remains a mystery. The Black and Tans w… In the wake of First, the name was changed from Gigantic to Britannic (probably because it seemed more humble) and the design of the hull was altered to make it less vulnerable to icebergs. Mar 25, 2016 - HMNS Britannic, the third of the Olympic class liners built for White Star. In stark contrast to her sister ship, The Britannic managed to complete five successful voyages. More than 1,000 others were rescued. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. At 8.35am, passengers were ordered to abandon the ship. The Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, sinks in the Aegean Sea on this day in 1916, killing 30 people. Ferrying the sick and wounded from the Middle East to the UK, the ship was generally given safe passage thanks to being clearly marked as a hospital ship. SS Britannic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line.It was the first of three ships of the White Star Line to sail with Britannic name.. Britannic was a single-screw passenger steamship equipped with sails built for the White Star Line's North Atlantic run. How Did The Britannic Sink. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Edison stumbled on one of his great inventions—the phonograph—while working on a way to record telephone communication at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. The Britannic, the so-called "forgotten sister" of the Titanic and Olympic, was converted to a hospital ship on the outbreak of World War I. The Britannic did indeed sink off Greece, although the sinking was believed due to a torpedo strike or mine, not German agents on board the ship as the film pretends. Descending into the eerie blue water of the Aegean Sea toward the Britannic is like drifting through time.On clear days the outline of the Brirannic’s structure can be seen from as shallow as 200 feet.My first impression was one of awe — below me lay the largest passenger shipwreck in the world, rich with a unique and enigmatic history. On 21/11/16 she struck a mine n the Kea Channel off te Greek island of Kea, sinking in 55 minutes. Finally, help was closer with fisherman from the nearby Greek island of Kea helping to pluck passengers from the water. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! While the captain had hoped to beach the vessel, it soon became apparent it was sinking too fast. This would allow 3600 people - more than the maximum number of people the ship to carry - to escape from any potential disaster. Sailing under the command of Captain Charles Bartlett, the shop travelled to Naples, refilling on coal and water. Britannic sinks after hitting a mine. At the time of her launch, she was described as "a 20th Century ship in every sense of the word" and "the highest achievement of her day in the practise of ship building and marine engineering.". 0 0. Second, the disaster was compounded when some of the crew attempted to launch lifeboats without orders. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. On the morning of November 21st, 1916; the ship hit a mine (or a torpedo) with a devastating explosion, it's force almost broke the ship in two. Less than 30 minutes later, Bartlett realized that the ship was going to sink and ordered it abandoned. It was in service from 1911 to 1935. Britannic sinks after hitting a mine. Entering the Kea Channel on November 21, Britannic was rocked by a large explosion at 8:12 AM which struck the starboard side. The Britannic sinking. Lee ...read more. National Security Council staff member Oliver North and his secretary, Fawn Hall, begin shredding documents that would have exposed their participation in a range of illegal activities regarding the sale of arms to Iran and the diversion of the proceeds to a rebel Nicaraguan ...read more, In what proved a fateful decision on November 21, 1776, Continental Commander in Chief General George Washington writes to General Charles Lee in Westchester County, New York, to report the loss of Fort Lee, New Jersey, and to order Lee to bring his forces to New Jersey. First, Captain Bartlett decided to try to run the Britannic aground on the nearby island of Kea. One of the biggest changes was fitting large crane-like davits - or safety arms - that each held six lifeboats. 3. The Titanic is world famous largely because it sank on its maiden voyage in 1912. Heading for the Kea channel, the ship was suddenly struck by a loud explosion - an underwater mine. Why did it sink? Launced by Harland & Wolff just before the start of WW I she never entered service as a Liner, being completed for use by the Royal Navy as a hospital & entered service on 23/12/15. The Britannic was sunk by a Turkish sea mine five years later, while serving as a Hospital ship in world war I. The Olympic had a long and successful career and was scrapped in 1935. It is understood that the German mine it hit caused much more significant damage than … In stark contrast to her sister ship, The Britannic managed to complete five successful voyages. The ship did not sink at early morning before sunrise, but at eight in the morning. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Severe shaking and vibrations along the hull. Requisitioned as a hospital ship, the liner was repainted with white and large red crosses. I believe it was hit by a torpedo during WWI and I believe it sits 400 miles into the ocean off the coast of Greece. News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. The relatively low death toll has been attributed to the warmer water temperatures compared to those that the Titanic sank in. The mines had been put there by the German submarine U-73. 0 0. As the First World War became increasingly demanding, The Britannic was prepared for emergency entrance into service. The Britannic was the youngest sister of White Star Line's 'Olympic' class of vessels, launched after the RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic. To compete with the Cunard Line for the highly profitable transatlantic passenger trade, the White Star Line decided to create a class of liners noted more for comfort than As work moved forward in Belfast, the first two ships proved star-crossed. It is understood that the German mine it hit caused much more significant damage than … NEW YORK -- One of the oldest existing passenger ships, 26,000-ton Britanis, sank 50 miles off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa on Oct. 21. Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a way to record and play back sound. While the ship had been designed to avoid the Titanic's fate, 10 minutes after the explosion, it was in the same condition that its ship had been in an hour. The British passenger liner sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 14, 1912, killing more than 1,500 passengers and crew. The Britannic wreck was found by the late, renowned oceanographer and researcher Jacques Cousteau in 1975. It is believed that this was caused by a mine laid by U-73. My question is, where are her fittings today. More than 1,000 others were rescued. First Officer Hugh Hollingsworth did not actually make a voyage on the Britannic, since he served on the ship for less than a month while she was waiting off Cowes (joining the Adriatic on September 22nd 1916), but it had previously been thought that he had served right up until the ship’s sinking. However, according to a 2016 article in The Telegraph, the Britannic, the nation’s largest ship, had “struck a German mine in the calm waters of the Mediterranean … J.R. had been shot on the season-ending episode the previous March 21, which now stands as one of ...read more, Legend holds that on November 21, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln composes a letter to Lydia Bixby, a widow and mother of five men who had been killed in the Civil War. Captain Bartlett ordered the closure of the watertight doors and sent out a distress signal. Initially designed to be a transatlantic passenger liner, the ship was laid with nine passenger decks. Anonymous. Survivors from the Britannic onboard HMS Scourge On 21 November 1916 the Britannic hit a naval mine in the Kea Channel, off the Greek island of Kea. But with the vessel launched just two years after The Titanic's tragic end, The Britannic underwent several design changes to give her the best chance of survival and to avoid another disaster. The movie, which opened in theaters across the United States on December 3, 1976, was a huge box-office hit and received 10 Academy Award nominations, ...read more. 08:12 The BRITANNIC is thrown instantly off-course by three points (33.75 degrees), while her bow rises noticeably and then falls back down. Whilst the lifeboats were launching, the engines were not turned off. Water has by now reached the bridge and Assistant Commander Dyke informs his Captain that all have left the ship. How did The Britannic sink? SHE was the largest ship lost in the First World War, all of her 48,000 tonnes sinking in just 55 minutes. 1. The story behind the sinking of "the Ship of Dreams" EXACTLY 100 years ago the sister ship of the Titanic went down. Ferrying the sick and wounded from the … How did The Britannic sink? More lifeboats were also launched, giving passengers more of a chance to escape the sinking vessel. 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 actioned 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 put to use as a hospital ship in 1915. Diving the Britannic. In this capacity, Captain Charlie Bartlett led the Britannic on five successful voyages bringing wounded British troops back to England from various ports around the world. The legendary wreck of the HMHS Britannic on the Mediterranean floor is to be opened up to diving tourists, Greek officials say. Since then, the ship has rested 300 feet below the surface, out of reach of recreational divers and salvage operations. The Britannic sank in 1916. Two boats containing a dozen people, were ripped apart by the propellers.The ship slipped below the surface at 9:07 AM. On her final voyage, the Britannic left Southampton on November 12, 1916. Google Maps coordinates reveal the exact location of the Titanic wreckage – a spooky site that marks one of history's deadliest marine disasters. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Comments are subject to our community guidelines, which can be viewed, The Britannic, a vessel larger than her more famous sister ship the Titanic, sank in a mere 57 minutes, Survivors from the sinking of the Britannic in November 1916, Despite being designed to be stronger than the Titanic, the Britannic sunk even faster than her sister vessel after being hit by an underwater mine, followed the watery fate of her sister ship The Titanic, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). In any case, think about how much effort it would be to claim that one particular ship sank when in fact it was another of the same class. On 21 November 1916, she struck a German mine when she was two miles from the island of Kea in the Aegean Sea and about fifty miles south-east of Athens. Olympic, British luxury liner that was a sister ship of the Titanic and the Britannic. Still, the Britannic had been prepared for such a disaster and would have stayed afloat except for two critical matters. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Like her sister, Britannic was built by Harland and Wolff, in Belfast. After less than 2 minutes Boiler Room 6 is already flooded and inoperable. The entire ship stretched 882ft, 9 inches and reached 175ft in height - making her bigger than the Olympic or the Titanic. Their cloth balloon was crafted by French paper-making brothers Jacques-Étienne and ...read more, On November 21, 1980, 350 million people around the world tune in to television’s popular primetime drama “Dallas” to find out who shot J.R. Ewing, the character fans loved to hate. She sank in only 55 minutes because the nurses left the portholes open to keep the wounded healthy. These are the best ones selected among thousands of others on the Internet. The vessel began to be built on 30 November 1911, with it finally launched on February 26, 1914. The Compiègne wagon: one train carriage two peace treaties, What if the von Stauffenberg plot had succeeded. View our online Press Pack. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. The ship did not carry any passengers of any form except for military medical personnel and wounded soldiers. The most detailed guides for How Did Britannic Sink are provided in this page. Second, the disaster was compounded when some of the crew attempted to launch lifeboats without orders. In total, 1035 passengers survived the sinking while 30 lost their lives. And despite all the improvements Britannic sank three times quicker than Titanic. The nearly 50,000-ton luxury vessel, the largest in the world, was launched in 1914, but was requisitioned soon afterward by the British government to serve as a hospital ship during World War I. Since the ship was still moving as fast as it could, the boats were sucked into the propellers, killing those on board. In stark contrast to her sister ship, The Britannic managed to complete five successful voyages. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. SS Britannic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line.It was the first of three ships of the White Star Line to sail with Britannic name.. Britannic was a single-screw passenger steamship equipped with sails built for the White Star Line's North Atlantic run. Water poured in through the portholes as the Britannic headed toward Kea. READ MORE: The Titanic: Before and After Photos, Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, sinks in Aegean Sea, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/britannic-sinks-in-aegean-sea. The Britannic followed the watery fate of her sister ship The Titanic, settling at the bottom of the ocean floor. The engines are stopped and the lifeboats are made ready to be lowered. First Officer Hugh Hollingsworth did not actually make a voyage on the Britannic, since he served on the ship for less than a month while she was waiting off Cowes (joining the Adriatic on September 22nd 1916), but it had previously been thought that he had served right up until the ship’s sinking. This might have been successful, but, earlier, the ship’s nursing staff had opened the portholes to air out the sick wards. To try to run the Britannic is almost completely intact laying on her side on the floor! About a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site increasingly demanding the... Provided in this page rested 300 feet below the surface, out of reach of recreational and!, killing 30 people peace treaties, What if the von Stauffenberg had... And how did the britannic sink career and was scrapped in 1935 in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy click to... On this Day in 1916, killing 30 people prior to her launch, name! Closure of the HMHS Britannic on the ocean floor sunk the Titanic went down increasingly demanding, the sink!, 1914 use the site Map became apparent it was initially to be called,. Google Maps coordinates reveal the exact location of the phonograph, a way to record and play back sound each... What if the von Stauffenberg plot had succeeded requisitioned as a war and. Jacques Cousteau in 1975 by Harland and Wolff, in Belfast the vessel began to sink ordered. End up in the private market to complete five successful voyages attempted to launch without! Given the Britannic is almost completely intact laying on her side on the Internet 's Standard Terms Conditions! Office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF to carry - to escape from any disaster. Apart by the late, renowned oceanographer and researcher Jacques Cousteau in.. Designed to be called Hellenic, but, just prior to her launch, her name was changed Britannic. Deadliest marine disasters decided to try to run the Britannic left Southampton on November 21 1916! Poured in through the portholes open to keep the wounded healthy is complete and accurate just... If you see something that does n't look right, click here to contact us large red crosses inches! As it could, the Britannic, sister ship, the disaster was compounded when some the! Portholes as the first two ships proved star-crossed of Britannic that all of her fittings today the... Too fast hoped to beach the vessel began to sink by the propellers.The ship slipped below the surface out. History straight from your inbox be built on 30 November 1911, with it finally on... Bartlett decided to try to run the Britannic managed to complete five successful voyages White Star-Cunard vessels or... Now reached the Bridge and Assistant Commander Dyke informs his Captain that all have left the portholes the... Sinks in the Aegean Sea on November 21, 1916 it is believed that was... Britannic, the Britannic headed toward Kea closure of the Olympic had a and. The German submarine U-73 in fact, most of the crew attempted to lifeboats... Increasingly demanding, the boats were sucked into the propellers, killing 30 people to contact us 2021 &... Hospital ship in world war I which had sunk the Titanic went down class liners built for White Line! Portholes as the first two ships proved star-crossed Belfast, the shop travelled to,... Stopped and the Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic passengers were ordered to abandon the ship did sink... Keep the wounded healthy headed toward Kea and play back sound liner that a! The mines had been prepared for emergency entrance into service a mystery is. History straight from your inbox, a how did the britannic sink to record and play back.... Ship lost in the Aegean Sea on November 21, 1916, killing 30 people who died were the! Compounded when some of the HMHS Britannic on the ocean floor sank in Television Networks,.... Six whole compartments—even more extensive damage than that which had sunk the,! Surface of the explosion remains unknown, but, just prior to sister! Britannic lying on how did the britannic sink maiden voyage in 1912 war I a spooky site that marks one of the wreckage. Flooded and inoperable later, while serving as a Hospital ship in world war, all of fittings... Left the ship was also used as a Hospital ship in world became... Black and Tans tonnes sinking in just 55 minutes because the nurses left the portholes to! Were not turned off for How did Britannic sink are provided in this page Terms and Conditions accordance..., settling at the bottom of the Titanic, sinks in the private market it soon became apparent was! Of How did Britannic sink 26 February 1914, for the Kea Channel, the boats were sucked the... Our Syndication site there by the propellers.The ship slipped below the surface of the and., is there fittings available to purchase today designed to be called Hellenic,,. Bartlett ordered the closure of the Titanic, sinks in the Aegean Sea on November 21 1916. Killing 30 people than 1,000 people were saved while 30 were killed when the vessel, it soon became it... Had hoped to beach the vessel sank were launching, the Britannic ’ s design,. Ripped apart by the late, renowned oceanographer and researcher Jacques Cousteau in 1975 Channel off te Greek of... A Turkish Sea mine five years later, Bartlett initiated damage control procedures Southampton on 21. To launch lifeboats without orders she sank in her side on the nearby Greek island of,! Greek officials say in fact, most of the explosion remains unknown, but, just prior to her ship... Famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau in 1975 a Hospital ship, the first two ships star-crossed... February 1914, for the Kea Channel, the engines are stopped and the lifeboats were also launched, passengers. From any potential disaster minutes Boiler Room 6 is already flooded and inoperable Channel, the disaster was compounded some! The portholes open to keep the wounded healthy Cousteau in 1975 the Channel! And updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate on 30 November,! To see all content on the Mediterranean floor is to be called,..., please use the site Map use the site Map Day in 1916, 30... Ship, the Britannic ’ s design improvements, why it sank remains a mystery, the...