Rms Olympic

The 'Olympic', the first of three enormous vessels, was first launched on October 20th, 1910. After final construction, she began her maiden voyage in June, 1911. Before the completion of the Titanic, she was the largest ship in the world and, later after the sinking of the Titanic, regained that title until the construction of the German ship Imperator.

Although not as lavish as the Titanic, the 'Olympic' was a model of craftsmanship and luxury. Although very closely matching, there were differences between the 'Olympic' and the Titanic. The promenade deck on the 'Olympic', for example, was fully open while the Titanic was fitted with windowed covers over 1/3 of the length of the promenade deck. The Titanic also had some extra luxurious suites on the B-Deck that the 'Olympic' lacked.

An incident between the 'Olympic' and a small 7,350 ton British cruiser named HMS 'Hawke' occurred while she was under the command of Captain Edward John Smith on September 20th, 1911.

Captain Edward John Smith and some of the crew of the 'Olympic'

Left to Right: William McMaster Murdoch, Charles A. Bartlett, Henry Tingle Wilde and Captain Edward John Smith

The 'Olympic' was coming around a bank (Bramble Bank) at a speed of around 19 knots when she encountered the 'Hawke'. According to sources at the time, the two ships were about 100 - 300 feet apart when the 'Hawke' was suddenly pulled towards the 'Olympic'. Unable to avoid a collision, the 'Hawke' speared itself into the starboard side of the 'Olympic' and caused serious damage.

The bow of the 'Hawke' was smashed and two gashes were left in the 'Olympic' - one below the water line and one above.

Fortunately, no one was killed and the two ships were able to make it back to port under their own power.

What caused this incident? It is most likely that the suction created by the larger ship 'Olympic' actually pulled the hapless 'Hawke' into her side.

After the Titanic disaster, the 'Olympic' was put back in dry dock at the Harland and Wolff Shipbuilding where she was refitted in order to make her safer. Extra life boats were added and her double bottom was extended giving her a 2 layered skin. This increased her tonnage from 40,000 to around 46,000 tonnes. In the spring of 1913 her refitting was finished and she was put back into service on the North Atlantic seaway.

The 'Olympic' had an impressive history of service. Just after the start of World War I, she rescued the crew of a British battleship called 'Audacious' which had struck a mine near the coast of Ireland. Shortly after this, in 1915, she was commisioned as a naval transport. Painted in dazzling colours with geometric shapes on a yellow background (which was supposed to confuse U-boat captains but the actual effectiveness of this technique has never been verified) she carried troops to the war front. During this service, which lasted for the entire war, she was attacked by U-boats four times but managed to survive. An interesting event occurred on May 12th, 1918 when, during the 'Olympic's' 22nd troop carrying voyage, she was attacked by the German U-boat 'U-103'. She narrowly avoided being torpedoed by quick evasive action and, amazingly, turned on the submarine and rammed it! Although only a glancing blow, the U-boat quickly sank but some of her crew managed to escape. They were later picked up by an American destroyer that happened to be passing by.

Even after the war the 'Olympic' continued her reliable record of service. During her lifetime she had transported 66,000 troops, 41,000 civilian passengers, and 12,000 members of a Chinese labor battalion, burning a total of 347,000 tonnes of coal and travelling 184,000 miles! She was given the nickname "Old Reliable", a name which she certainly lived up to.

In March of 1935, due to loss of business to newer vessels she had been berthed at Southampton's Pier 108 awaiting her final orders. Eventually she was sold, stripped and scrapped. She left Southampton for Jarrow and the breakers yard, after 24 years of service.

After being stripped of her fittings and superstructure in Palmers Yard at Jarrow on the Tyne, England, where she had arrived on October 13th, 1935, she was on September 19th, 1937 towed to Inverkeithing, Scotland, where her hull was demolished.

Paintings and interiors (such as panels) from the 'Olympic' were sold to various English pubs (the "White Swan Hotel" at Alnwick, England has several wood carvings) and estates where they can still be seen to this day.