HMHS Britannic - The "Forgotten Sister" - BlackHawk Mines Corp

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HMHS Britannic - The "Forgotten Sister" -
BlackHawk Mines Corp

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  britannic-the-forgotten-sister-blackhawk-mines-cor
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• The Olympic and Titanic have been built. The HMHS
  (His Majesty's Hospital Ship) Britannic was the
  third " wonder ship" to be built. Originally, the
  ship was to be named " Gigantic ", but due to the
  loss of the Titanic, her name was changed to
  Britannic. The White Star Line knew if they were
  to keep ahead in the race across the Atlantic the
  new liner would have to be more magnificent than
  her older sisters.
• Due to the sinking of the Titanic, large scale
  alterations would have to be made to her design.
  She could not sink in under 3 hours. She must
  carry enough lifeboats to accommodate every
  passenger and crew member.
• Britannic was being constructed in 1913. Her
  structure ran 852 feet (longer than the Olympic).
  She was fitted with a double skin hull. It ran
  for the full length of the boiler and engine room
  compartments.

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• An extra bulkhead was added to make 17
  compartments and five of them were extended to
  the Bridge deck some 40 foot above the waterline.
  These modifications should in theory prevent her
  from sinking in under three hours.
• The boiler room and engine rooms were more or
  less identical to the Olympic except that
  Britannic turbine engines could generate18,000
  horse power. The engines were not built by John
  Brown Co as in the case for Olympic but were
  built by Harland Wolff.
• Her stern would differ from the Olympics because
  the aft shelter deck was enclosed so that the
  third class passengers could enjoy a covered area
  of exterior deck. The third class smoking room
  was placed above their general room giving the
  impression that the stern was much bigger.

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• Another striking difference was the layout of the
  lifeboats. She was designed to carry 48 open
  lifeboats. Forty-six of them would be 34 foot
  long (making them the largest lifeboats ever
  placed on a ship before). Two of the 46 would be
  motor propelled and would carry wireless sets for
  communications. The other two were 26 foot
  cutters placed at both sides of the bridge.
• Essentially, the interior of the ship would not
  differ from the Olympic and Titanic. The builders
  added extra delights throughout the ship for
  every class. The second class were given a
  gymnasium and many of her private room were
  fitted with private bathrooms.

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• On the 26th February 1914 the Britannic was ready
  for launching. The weather was grim but the
  officials plodded on. At 11.10 a.m. a rocket
  signalled the commencement of the ceremony and
  the workforce removed the blocks keeping the hull
  from slipping into the water. At 11.15 with the
  help of 20 tonnes of tallow, train oil and soft
  soap she moved down the slipway. She took 81
  seconds to stand afloat in the water.
• Following the successful launch she was towed to
  the Abercon Basin to start her fitting. She was
  pulled by the tugs " Herculaneum ",
  " Huskisson ", " Hornby ", "Alexandra " and the
  " Hercules ".

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• The British press were in favour of the ship and
  described her as " a twentieth Century ship in
  every sense of the word " and " the highest
  achievement of her day in the practise of ship
  building and marine engineering ".
• Hundreds of workmen commenced the task of fitting
  her out. Electricians, plumbers and carpenters
  all played a crucial part. To the White Star
  Line, progress was too slow and poor. On the 2nd
  July 1914 they announced that Britannic would not
  be ready for her maiden voyage until early spring
  1915. Amongst the reason for delay was finance.
  Harland and Wolff was owed 585,000 from the IMM
  which would have made all the difference to the
  progress if the money could have been used on the
  ship. The financial problem was so great that
  Britannic was not completed but left for nearly a
  whole year.