Britannic: Patroness of the Mediterranean

The Britannic was destined to be the more famous RMS Titanic's sister ship, serving the North Atlantic passenger route as the most luxurious and safe of the Olympic-class liners! But it wasn't to be.....

WWI saw the Britannic converted to a hospital ship while still under constructions. Serving as the HMHS Britannic, she struck a sea-mine in the Mediterranean sea and sunk.

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The aft gantry davits were never completed on the HMHS Britannic, but had they been completed, they would have held a vast number of lifeboats - freeing up the boat decks for passenger enjoyment. ⠀

A look at one the Engine Order Telegraphs used to control the HMHS Britannic. The handles can be moved to send orders down to the engine room, with separate controls for the port and starboard steam engines. There's also a display indicating the RPM of each engine.

Looking over the Britannic's boat deck at dusk.

The green lights running the length of the HMHS Britannic were one of the two ways it could be identified as a hospital ship at night time - together with its light up red crosses.

Looking forward from the aft of the ship, the HMHS Britannic looks very busy! With it's Welin davits, gantry davits, cargo cranes, funnels masts, ventilation and more - there's lots needed to keep a ship that size ticking!

The Britannic's swimming pool as it could have been: despite the reduction in space following the added safety features to the Britannic, the swimming pool aboard the RMS Britannic was planned to be the most impressive of the Olympic-class liners.

The HMHS Britannic on a clear and calm morning.

The lifeboats of the Britannic! THe HMHS Britannic had 3 types of lifeboats: wooden, collapsibles, and cutters. In this shot, we can see the rows of wooden lifeboats loaded onto the Welin davits ready to be launched, with a collapsible lifeboats next to each davit in reserve.

The boat deck of the HMHS Britannic, showing off 2 of the ship's impressive funnels! Visible just to the left of the funnel is the compass tower: a small tower raised above the deck of the ship to allow for more accurate readings of the compass housed there.

The HMHS Britannic in the Mediterranean dusk!

HMHS Britannic at anchor having launched one of its two motorboats, seen in the sea to the Britannic's starboard side.

There were several changes planned to the Britannic's swimming pool compared to the Olympic and Titanic. The walkway on one side was removed to make way for the double hull, and marble walls and other ornate furnishings were added.⠀
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The swimming pool was not repurposed in the Britannic's conversion to a hospital ship, but most of the furnishings were significantly stripped back. ⠀

The sun setting between the lifeboats of the HMHS Britannic. ⠀

This would have been a more familiar sight for the Britannic - the Mediterranean sun glaring down from above!

A sight the Britannic never got see: the northern lights. After completion as a hospital ship, she served in the Mediterranean sea, and sank before completing her hospital ship service.

The green running lights along the deck certainly make for an unusual atmosphere on the deck of the Britannic at night!

HMHS Britannic at night

HMHS Britannic at night, showing off its illuminated red crosses and green running lights identifying it as a hospital ship.

Almost listing at 90 degrees as the aft of the Britannic takes its final plunge beneath the waves.

Britannic developing a heavy list to starboard as the bow slips beneath the waves.

Lowering the lifeboats.

HMHS Britannic under anchor at sea.

Nothing much to say about this one - just a shot of the bow of the Britannic in her White Star Line livery. ⠀

An aft view of the Britannic in her White Star Line livery. In this shot you can see how only 3 of the funnels have smoke coming from them - the forth funnel (the aftmost one) was a dummy, with only limited functionality.⠀

With a propeller port and starboard, as well as one in the middle, the triple-screw configuration of the Olympic liners was unusual in a time where most ships just had 2. Three notices were placed around the aft of the ship reminding nearby boats to use caution as the ship had 3 propellers.⠀

The new electric gantry davits that were fitted to the Britannic could store multiple lifeboats, meaning the boat deck could really be opened up to provide more space and better views for the enjoyment of first class passengers.⠀
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However, the Britannic was converted to a hospital ship and it went to sea with a mixture of gantry and Welin davits, with lifeboats lining the boat deck.⠀

Following the lessons learned in safety and luxury from her sister ships RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic, the Britannic was intended to be completed as the most luxurious passenger liner on the seas. Here's how she would have looked had she gone into service as the passenger liner RMS Britannic. ⠀
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She was being fitted out with her internal furnishings when, in November 1915, she was requisitioned by the British Admiralty as a hospital ship, and she was repainted into the green and white hospital ship livery.⠀

The Britannic had awnings fore and aft of the superstructure, which could be deployed to offer additional protection from the elements. In this night time shot, the forward Well Deck is covered by one of the awnings.

The second way of spotting a hospital ship at night is the large red cross - illuminated with dozens of lightbulbs. There was a light-up red cross front and aft, on both sides of the ship - making it hard to miss!⠀

These green running lights ran the length of the Britannic's superstructure and aft - on both port and starboard sides of the ship. ⠀
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During the daytime, the distinctive white and green (with red crosses) livery identified the ship as a hospital ship, but at night, it could not be guaranteed this livery would be seen. These lights were one of two methods by which a hospital ship could be easily identified at night.⠀

Looking down the boat deck of the HMHS Britannic at night, with the lights from the Grand Staircase illuminating the lifeboats. On the davits are the 'fixed' wooden lifeboats, while the collapsible lifeboats sit on the deck. ⠀

The bridge of the HMHS Britannic at night: with its 5 engine order telegraphs used to control the ship. On the far right (out of shot) and the far left are the main Engine Order Telegraphs, controlling the engines. In the middle is the Emergency Engine Order Telegraph, used to control the engines if the main telegraphs fail. The other two order telegraphs are used to receive communications from the Aft Manoeuvring Bridge.⠀

The HMHS Britannic, illuminated by her night lights and the Aurora Borealis above! ⠀

One of the wards aboard the HMHS Britannic lit up at night. Originally planned as a luxurious passenger liner, the Britannic was converted during construction into a hospital ship to help the British war wounded during World War 1. ⠀
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She fulfilled this role from December 1915 to her sinking in November 1916, making 5 trips to the continent and back.⠀

The HMHS Britannic under a starry, night sky. I'd like to take a little moment to welcome all of the people that have followed my social media accounts over the past couple of weeks. I didn't expect this little Britannic series to have blown up the way it has!⠀
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I do play and make content on a variety of games, so I hope you all enjoy all my gaming content - it's good to have you aboard!⠀

From hitting the mine, to disappearing beneath the waves, the HMHS Britannic sank in around 55 minutes. ⠀
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The 3 factors for why it sank so fast were:⠀
1. The sheer scale of the damage caused by the explosion.⠀
2. Open portholes throughout the ship giving water more routes to flood the ship. ⠀
3. The forward motion of the ship pushing the bow underwater⠀
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Despite sinking in a third of the time it took the Titanic to sink, just 30 people lost their lives in the sinking of the Britannic.⠀

As the angle of the Britannic increased as she sank, crashing sounds could be heard from within the ship as machinery came loose and tumbled throughout the ship.⠀

As the Britannic started her plunge, Captain Bartlett had been assured that everyone still alive had made it off the ship. Actually, one of the ship's quartermasters was still on board. ⠀
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With the radio destroyed, no-one knew how long they would be stuck on the lifeboats for, so one quartermaster went beneath decks to get bread for the lifeboat. He came out to find the ship deserted, and the bridge underwater. Discarding the bread, he threw himself over the side of the Britannic and swam to safety. ⠀

Just as the HMHS Britannic began her final plunge beneath the waves, one final lifeboat launched from the starboard side. Narrowly missing being struck by the collapsing funnel, Captain Bartlett and Assistant Commander Dyke swam to this lifeboat, where they resumed organising the lifeboats.

The third class promenade (you can see its square windows just at the waterline) was the place where the last few men aboard the Britannic jumped into the water. ⠀
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Right until the last minute, the crew was still trying to reach Kea - and this meant that firemen and engineers were still below deck. When the call came to abandon ship, they ran up the third class staircase and jumped overboard from the third class promenade.⠀

In the final minutes of the sinking, the aft of the Britannic soared out of the water, leaving its propellers and the ship's rudder clearly visible.⠀
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The HMHS Britannic had 3 bronze propeller. The outboard propellers had 3 blades, while the central propeller (powered by the steam turbine) had 4. ⠀
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At 882 ft long, the Britannic sank in just 400ft of water, meaning the bow of ship stuck the sea floor before she was entirely underwater. The aft of the ship moved in a corkscrewing motion, as the list continued to increase and she began to capsize. ⠀

As the HMHS Britannic sank, the angle of the ship increased to the point that the supporting guy-ropes could not support the weight of the funnel, and it collapsed into the sea.

Having stayed in the bridge until the very end, there was nothing more could be done to save the Britannic. Captain Bartlett sounded the ship's horn with two long blasts to alert all remaining persons to abandon ship.⠀
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Captain Bartlett and Assistant Commander Dyke then simply walked into the water and swam to a nearby lifeboat.⠀

With it's glass windows keeping the elements at bay, parts of the A-deck and B-Deck promenades were converted into wards. The Britannic was on its way to pick up casualties from WW1, so thankfully, these wards were empty as they filled with water. ⠀

With water rising rapidly, more and more of the Britannic became inaccessible. Thankfully, due swift actions by those aboard, and the increased safety features of the ship, few of the ship's compliment remained aboard.

The engines, still on full power trying to reach Kea, were pushing the bow of the Britannic deeper under water. Once the forecastle had submerged, the rate of sinking rapidly increased: the Britannic had began it's final plunge. ⠀

With just a few lifeboats left on the starboard side (the list was too severe to launch port-side lifeboats), Captain Bartlett ordered the Britannic's engines to be started again - in a final ditch attempt to beach the ship on the Greek island of Kea and prevent it sinking.

As the water started coming over the deck, just a few lifeboats remained on the starboard side of the ship. The Britannic only launched around two-thirds of its lifeboats as it sank - but with 36 lifeboats afloat in the water, this was more than enough for everyone.⠀
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For comparison, only 22 of Titanic's lifeboats remained afloat.⠀

The huge gantry davits were a safety feature added to the Britannic following the lessons learned from the sinking of the RMS Titanic. These electric powered cranes could store many lifeboats underneath them, and were large enough to 'lean over' the ship and use lifeboats on the opposite side. ⠀

At 8:35am, once the engines were ordered stopped, Captain Bartlett called for the lifeboats to put into the water and to stay close to the boat, ready to pick up anyone in the water. ⠀
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With the starboard list increasing it became difficult to launch the boats from the davits on the port side, so most of the lifeboats launched were launched from the starboard side.

The first lifeboat to shredded by Britannic's propellers went almost unnoticed by the bridge crew. It was only several minutes later, with two more lifeboats in the water on the port side, that the captain became aware of the situation and called for the engines to be stopped. ⠀
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The propellers slowed and stopped - but not before a second lifeboat was cut apart by the blades. Most of the people who died in the sinking of the HMHS Britannic, died when these two lifeboats were torn apart by the propellers. The crew managed to stop the engines as a third boat was heading straight for them.

The order to prepare the lifeboats came quite quickly after the Britannic hit the mine. Captain Bartlett specifically ordered the lifeboats be loaded, but not actually launched into the water. ⠀
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With the ship's list increasing, some crew chose to put their lifeboats into the water without waiting for instructions. With the bow heavy in the water, the ship's propellers had risen to the surface, and lifeboats launched on the port side were pulled into the propeller. ⠀

How the Britannic could have been... The Britannic never saw service in its intended White Star Line. Before construction and fitting could be completed, she was converted to serve in WW1 as a hospital ship. Britannic: Patroness of the Mediterranean lets us explore the ship as it could have been as the passenger liner RMS Britannic.⠀

The HMHS Britannic underway. Smoke only came out the first 3 funnels, connected to the 6 boiler rooms. The 4th funnel was a fake and wasn't connected to the boiler rooms (but did have some ventilation), but was built for aesthetic purposes. ⠀
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The largest liners of White Star Line's competitor, Cunard, had 4 funnels, so it was believed that only having 3 funnels would give the impression ships were under powered vs the Cunard ships.

The massive damaged sustained by the HMHS Britannic when the mine exploded caused the ship to list starboard and rapidly by the bow. Around 10 minutes after the explosion, the Britannic was in a similar state as the Titanic was, over an hour after it started sinking!⠀

Lifeboats over the starboard side: with the bow of the Britannic filling rapidly with water, the order to start filling the lifeboats came pretty quickly after the initial explosion. Only 4 years after the sinking of the Titanic, the crew wanted to be ready for anything.⠀

The HMHS Britannic underway beneath sunny skies on the morning of the 21st of November 1916. Little did anyone on board know that in less than an hour, the ship would slip out of sight beneath the waves.

Exploring the sinking of the HMHS Britannic in first person was a very interesting way of of reliving that historical moment. The stunning presentation of the ship in Britannic: Patroness of the Mediterranean left me with quite a few screenshots, so over the coming week or so, I'll share some of my favourites! ⠀

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