101 years ago, on November 21, 1916, the largest ship in the history of world wars of the 20th century, the Britannic, was sunk. The giant, whose length was 270 meters, sank in the Mediterranean Sea near Greece. Ironically, it was the twin brother of the infamous Titanic.
FIRST WAS A "GIANT"
When the Titanic crashed, at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast there was already "item 433" - its brother "Giant". But the construction of the ship had to be suspended: it was necessary to make changes to the project that would increase the ship's buoyancy in the event of a hole. Several more watertight bulkheads were mounted on the liner, the number of lifeboats was increased, and most importantly, double sides were designed.
In addition, superstitious shipowners from the White Star Line (WSL) out of harm's way changed the name of the ship, keeping in mind the ancient myths, according to which all the titans and giants died. So "Giant" became "Britannica". Under this name, the steamer was launched from the slipways at the beginning of 1914. It was an even more luxurious and comfortable vessel than its predecessors, the older brother Olympic and the middle Titanic. Charles Bartlett became the captain of the Britannica. A few months later, the First World War began, and the little brother was "drafted" (or, simply put, requisitioned from the WSL company) into His Majesty's fleet, turning into a huge floating hospital with a crew of 675 people. It was now called His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic. Green stripes and large red crosses were painted on its white sides.
OPERATION "EVACUATION"
It should be noted here that while Russian troops were fighting the Germans, Austrians, Hungarians and Bulgarians in the fields of East Prussia, Galicia, Poland and the Turks in Transcaucasia, Russia’s allies in the Entente - England and France - rushed to seize the most “delicious” pieces of the pie. In particular, they landed in Gallipoli, trying to establish control over the strategic Dardanelles strait, leading from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
Promotional video:
But the Turks, together with the Germans, successfully opposed the Entente corps in the Dardanelles operation and pretty much beat the British and French. It was there, in the Mediterranean Sea, that the hastily converted into a hospital ship Britannic was sent to pick up and deliver to Great Britain a huge number of wounded British.
The Britannic coped with his first assignment brilliantly. At the end of December 1915, he went to the Greek island of Lemnos, where soldiers were waiting for him, and arrived at the site exactly for the New Year. He took the wounded and the sick on board and headed for his native shores.
Although the refitting of the ship was done in a hurry, it was done wisely: all the passengers - and the Britannic's cabins accommodated more than 3,000 people - felt comfortable on board.
The wounded occupied all the passenger cabins, with the exception of the cabins on the second deck, where the nurses, paramedics, doctors and other nursing staff were located - a total of about 450 people.
The first-class living room on the upper deck was turned into an operating room. And the former first-class dining room has been converted into a recovery room.
The holds were loaded to capacity with medical supplies, surgical instruments, necessary equipment and medicines. And in one of the distant hold rooms, a place for a morgue was arranged.
RECOVER AGAIN
Within three months, the Britannic took the sick and wounded from the hospital base on Lemnos three times. It should be noted that during the Dardanelles operation, over 52,000 British soldiers were wounded (and more than 21,000 were lost killed). And, of course, even such a huge floating hospital would not have been able to cope with their evacuation if other ships had not come to its aid. Then the fighting stopped, and “His Majesty's hospital ship, the Britannic, was no longer needed. In order not to spend money on its maintenance, the Admiralty excluded it from the fleet and returned it to its owner, the WSL company.
In 1916, Germany invited the Entente countries to conclude peace. It would seem that the story of the hospital ship should have ended there. But the Allies in the Entente rejected this peace proposal. And the battles broke out with renewed vigor. The number of wounded soldiers and officers immediately increased. The Admiralty again needed the Britannic, and in the summer of 1916 it requisitioned it again. And in September, the hospital ship once again sailed from the English shores, heading for the Mediterranean.
A month later, "Britannic", for the fifth time successfully descended to the Greek islands for a party of wounded, was preparing to get up for a scheduled inspection and repair. But the battles did not subside, so they had to forget about prevention: just a few days after the arrival of the giant steamer in England, the naval command in a hurry sent the ship back to the Mediterranean Sea. On November 12, 1916, the Britannic embarked on her sixth - fatal voyage.
MYSTERIOUS EXPLOSIONS
During the First World War, hundreds of ships and warships sailed back and forth past the Greek islands. Knowing this, the Germans put several sea mines on the busiest sea route - in the area of Kea Island. On one of them, like "Titanic" on an iceberg, "Britannic" and ran into the morning of November 21. At 8:12 am, the Britannic shook perceptibly. And almost immediately, there was another muffled explosion.
At this moment, the nursing staff was just having breakfast. A slight panic arose in the cabin. However, the senior officer said there was no cause for alarm. But when the Britannic began to sink to the starboard side, also heading into the water, Captain Charles Bartlett clearly understood that his vessel had no chance. At first, the captain thought that the hospital was torpedoed by a German submarine, and therefore immediately ordered to close the watertight bulkheads. But it was reported from the hold that this was impossible: the nasal bulkheads had been broken through by explosions. In addition, the same explosion damaged the main fire pit, and sea water rushed through it into all compartments, unexpectedly flooding the boiler room.
The situation was aggravated by the fact that all other watertight bulkheads, which, according to the instructions, were to be battened down during the movement of the Britannica, for some reason remained uncovered. And now the gigantic pressure of the water did not allow them to be blocked. Moreover, during breakfast, the nurses, out of habit, opened almost all the windows to ventilate the premises of the floating hospital in the morning. And, sinking more and more into the sea, the ship scooped the seawater like a sieve.
DEATH "PRODUCT No. 433"
The experienced captain ordered the radio operator to broadcast an SOS radio signal every minute and urgently begin a rescue operation. Fortunately, there were enough boats, and there was practically no panic. Partly because, never reaching the hospital base on Lemnos, the Britannic did not manage to take on board the wounded.
However, several of the stewards and sailors on the ship lost their nerves. And they, not listening to anyone, without orders from their senior ranks, rushed to lower the lifeboat. The vessel had not yet had time to stop the course and was going forward, developing a speed of 20 knots - 36 km / h. Therefore, the boat instantly scooped up full boards of water and capsized.
Sinking more and more nose and starboard, "Britannic" very soon sank so deep that the stern rose out of the water, revealing huge propellers still rotating at a decent speed. And into these gigantic millstones, as if in a terrible meat grinder, unexpectedly two boats launched from the ship, full of people, who immediately began to chop them into pieces with screws, fell into these giant millstones. Only splinters remained of the boats themselves. The sad result is 20 dead and several wounded.
At exactly 9:07 am the agony of the gigantic colossus came to an end: the Britannic "fell" to the starboard side and disappeared under water in a matter of seconds. In the belly of the huge ship, 10 hold sailors remained, who simply did not have time to get to the upper deck and went with the steamer into the depths of the sea.
Despite these casualties, on the whole, the evacuation of the Britannic's crew and medical personnel went smoothly, without haste and panic - they were picked up by the ships that came to the rescue. And the rescue of people from the younger brother of the Titanic was considered not only successful, but exemplary: out of 1134 crew members and medical personnel, only 30 people died. The rest escaped safely.
KUSTO VERSION
For a long time, it was believed that the Britannic ran into one of the German mines. Over time, it even became known that they were installed by the U-33 submarine, commanded by Gustav Zyss.
However, the speed with which the Britannic sank was suspicious. After all, even his brother "Titanic", having ripped almost the entire bottom against an iceberg, was in agony for 2 hours and 40 minutes. And his younger brother - to increase the buoyancy of which they worked specifically - remained afloat for only 55 minutes. Therefore, alternative hypotheses of the death of "Britannica", of course, were expressed.
One of those who were interested in the fate of the ship was the famous explorer of the depths of the sea, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. And in 1975 he went on an expedition, dreaming of finding a sunken ship. He succeeded.
A year later, Cousteau and his team were able to examine the Britannic in detail. Having descended to the bottom, they found not one or two, but several holes in the hull! Having thoroughly examined the rusted hull of the giant and the nature of the damage on it, Cousteau reasonably suggested that weapons were transported on board the Britannic.
Apparently, some in the British Admiralty considered that the status of a hospital ship gives him the right to immunity. And thus he framed the innocent people who worked on the ship. Most likely, German intelligence found out about the illegal cargo on the floating hospital. Her agents boarded the Britannic when he entered a port to replenish coal supplies, and carried an explosive device onto the superliner, hiding it in the hold. According to Cousteau, it just worked at Kea Island. Then the coal suspension detonated and the very second explosion sounded …
Of course, not everyone agrees with Cousteau's hypothesis. However, the numerous holes in the Britannic's hull cast doubt on the official version too. If anyone knows the truth, it is the British Admiralty. But this department knows how to keep secrets.
Vitaly KARYUKOV