The Titanic’s sister ship also earned a chilling reputation as a ghost ship
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Few people are aware that the Titanic was not a one-of-a-kind vessel – the luxury liner had two sister ships, one of which lies beneath the sea at a surprisingly shallow depth. In truth, there were “three Titanics”.
There were “three Titanics”
Since the release of the grand and immensely popular 1997 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, it has become common knowledge that the White Star Line’s enormous luxury ocean liner, the Titanic, sank on its maiden transatlantic voyage. Owing to an inadequate number of lifeboats, chaos, and poor organisation, the disaster claimed 1,502 lives. The wreck, resting some 4,000 metres below the surface of the North Atlantic, has been the subject of numerous expeditions and countless visits. However, it will not remain intact forever and is expected to collapse and disappear within the next 100 years.
The White Star Line did not construct only the Titanic, designed by Thomas Andrews – it also built two sister ships, the Olympic and the Britannic. Rumour has it that the Britannic was originally to be named the Gigantic, but the name was altered after the sinking of the Titanic.
Military service
Following the disaster, modifications were made to both ships. The Britannic, still under construction at the time, was designed with enhanced safety features: its steel plates were secured with double rows of rivets, it carried more lifeboats, and even featured motorised ones.
Both vessels were initially intended to serve as luxury liners equipped with every comfort. However, with the outbreak of the First World War, the British Admiralty repurposed them for military service. The Olympic transported soldiers and civilians across the Atlantic, and even achieved a military victory when it rammed and sank a German submarine that attacked it. Its career ended in a shipbreaker’s yard, although many of its fittings were salvaged and reused in other vessels.