The Final Voyage of HMHS Britannic

Britannic Sailed Towards Her Destiny 97 Years Ago Today

The RMS Britannic, sister ship to RMS Titanic, was to have been a grand ocean liner.

Instead of setting out on a grand inaugural transatlantic voyage, she underwent serious changes, including a name change to HMHS Britannic.  The grand ship went to war as a hospital ship.

HMHS Britannic, By Soerfm [CC-BY-SA-3.0],
via Wikimedia Commons

She made five voyages from Southampton to the Mediterranean theater, bringing back sick and wounded soldiers each time.

On November 12, 1916, she embarked on what was to have been  her sixth round trip.

But fate awaited her, nine days away, before she could pick up another load of soldiers.  There is still some debate as to whether it was a torpedo or a mine that ripped the hole in her side on November 21, 1916,  but it swiftly took her to the bottom.  Of the 1,066 souls aboard, all but 30 were saved.

She was the second of the three Olympic class ships to go down.   It's a shame HMHS Britannic never survived the war.  I'm sure she would have been every bit as much a beloved ocean liner as the sister that did survive. To learn a bit more about these two lesser known ships, click here:  Titanic's Sisters - Britannic and Olympic.

By the way, I noticed today that a new book about Britannic is in the works. It's titled The Unseen Britannic: The Ship in Rare Illustrations.  The mere fact that the author is Simon Mills (a maritime historian with a particular interest in the Olympic class ships) was enough to grab my interest.  You can sign up to be notified when the book becomes available.

One Hundred Years Ago Today

Titanic's Sea Trials

Titanic's Sea Trials by spfino

 - Monday, April 2, 1912 -

 A century ago today, early in the morning, the RMS Titanic put out from Belfast for her Sea Trials.  After 12 hours of being put through her paces, she was pronounced sea worthy.
She sailed the same evening for Southampton, from which she would begin her maiden voyage just eight days later.  For that fateful maiden voyage, command was assumed by one of the most respected sea captains of the day,  Captain Edward John Smith.

Surely any of those involved had no suspicions of what lay ahead, or that, a century later, people the world over would still be fascinated with any and every little detail about the ship, her passengers, and her crew.

Kind of makes you wonder what events in our lifetimes will be so haunting to our descendents a century from now, doesn't it?  Of course, September 11th comes to mind.  But will there be anything else?  That's plenty, in my opinion. 

Related Articles:  Pictures of Titanic -  Books About Titanic for Kids

A Treat for Cruise History Lovers

I've been perusing a very interesting website this morning, and wanted to pass it along, in case there are others out there who might also enjoy. It's a real treat for anyone who enjoys maritime history.

It's Cruising the Past and has an amazing amount of information, including pictures and video about the great passenger ships that have sailed into history. The header of the site proclaims that it's an "Award Winning Cruise Ship, Ocean Liner, Travel, and social History Website."

Cruising the Past certainly has my vote, and if I had an award to give it, I would!