Photo: Olympic and Titanic (right) in Belfast.
Ships of the "Olympic" class - "Olympic", "Titanic" and "Britannic" were created by engineers of the British shipbuilding company "Harland & Wolf" by order of "White Star Line". The vessels were conceived as competitors to the Lusitania and Mauritania, which belonged to the rival company Cunard Line
The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a catastrophe that still haunts the minds of people from all over the world - the sinking of the Titanic ship.
On April 14, 1912, on its maiden voyage, this luxurious giant cruise ship collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank after 2 hours and 40 minutes. Of the 2208 people on board, only 704 survived. The world was in shock.
His predecessor, the ship "Olympic", was not lucky either, although the tragedy was not so large-scale. On one of her maiden voyages, the liner collided with the cruiser Hawk. As a result of the accident, no one was injured, but the "Olympic" stood for a whole year for repairs, and its captain was accused of negligence and disregard for the rules of navigation.
While designing the third passenger liner of this series, originally named Gigantic, the engineers tried to take into account all the weaknesses of its predecessors - Olympic and Titanic - revealed by the tragedies. The creators of the new ship made it so that the Giant could stay afloat in the event of damage that became fatal for the Titanic.
In addition to the new design features of the Gigantic, five more lifeboats were added to it. Moreover, even if the ship tilted dangerously and there was a threat of sinking, nothing should have prevented people from boarding the boats.
I also wanted to improve the finishing of the ship: to do much more for the first-class reception room of the Gigantika than on the Olympic and Titanic. The restaurant and smoking room were also expanded, and even planned to install an organ on the main staircase.
On February 26, 1914, this huge three-screw ship was launched. But he never managed to get on the Southampton - New York line, for which he was built: the First World War began. The luxury liner was immediately requisitioned by the British Admiralty, which ordered it to be renamed Britannic and converted into a hospital ship.
The gorgeous, expensive cruise ship interiors became dorms and operating theaters. The first class reception and dining room served as an intensive care unit. The rest of the premises became hospital wards for wounded soldiers and sailors, up to three thousand of whom the ship could take on board. The most luxurious cabins of the Britannica have become the private offices of doctors. To protect against possible attacks, a green stripe and six red crosses were applied to the ship's hull, emphasizing the medical and humanitarian purpose of the ship.
In November 1915, the giant 275-meter floating hospital was enlisted in the fleet, and the Britannic went to the Mediterranean. During the war, the liner made five successful voyages to the Aegean Sea and the Balkans, from where it took out 15 thousand soldiers of the British Empire. But the sixth flight was fatal.
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On November 12, 1916, the Britannic sailed for the Mediterranean to the island of Moudros once again to take on board a new batch of wounded British soldiers. On the morning of November 17, I entered the port of Naples and continued heading east.
The disaster happened on November 21, 1916 at 8:12 am. The Britannic was already in the Aegean when an explosion of great force shook it, followed by another, more powerful one. He literally tore apart the port side of the ship in several places. The nurses and attendants ran out onto the deck, interrupting their breakfast. It turns out that the liner ran into a mine placed by the German submarine U-73. Because of the holes received, the ship heeled, and the situation worsened by the minute.
Captain Charles Alfred Bartlett immediately realized the gravity of the situation and ordered the sealed bulkhead doors to be closed and all boats ready for launching.
The four compartments of the ship were rapidly filling with water; boiler rooms were flooded. The situation was aggravated by the open windows of the lower decks during the explosion: through them water penetrated into the Britannic. The captain believed to the last that the liner would be able to reach Kea Island and run aground. It would be a salvation. But the nose of the Britannic was sinking deeper and deeper, at the same time the ship tilted to starboard. It became clear that the miracle would not happen. Having received the distress signals, four ships went to the aid of the liner at once.
On the very same "Britannica" evacuation was in full swing. After a while, the huge propellers of the ship appeared from the water, continuing their rotation - and then a new misfortune occurred. Two boats were sucked into a whirlpool and cut into pieces with a screw. Seeing this, the captain ordered the propellers to stop immediately.
Soon the sea drama reached its climax: the giant ship staggered and began to rapidly tumble to the starboard side. Huge chimneys collapsed. Another minute - and the liner disappeared forever into the black abyss of the Aegean Sea. An hour later, four ships approached the crash site. 1036 of the 1066 people on board the Britannic were rescued. The question of where exactly it rests has been of interest to many people for a long time. In 1975, the legendary explorer of the deep sea, Jacques Yves Cousteau, gave the answer to the riddle. After three days of searching, underwater radar on his ship Calypso found the Britannic's hull at a depth of 120 meters.
After the expedition of the famous French oceanographer, divers descended there 68 more times. They raised hundreds of artifacts to the surface, which are now exhibited in many museums around the world.
The captain, thanks to whose correct actions many lives were saved, continued his career, ended the war, retired and died on February 15, 1945 at the age of 76.