HMHS BRITANNIC: A Life Unlived (December 1915)

BRITANNIC was the third and last OLYMPIC-class ocean liner. Her keel was laid 30 November 1911 at the Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Northern Ireland as Yard Number 433. Unlike her elder sisters -- the famous OLYMPIC & TITANIC -- she is a bit of an enigma. We'll never get to see her as the Royal Mail Ship that White Star envisioned. We instead know only the hospital ship that emerged from Harland & Wolff in 1915. Even so it is clear that White Star was determined to make her one of the finest ships afloat. Her passenger accommodation was to have improved upon that of her sisters in many ways. Among the changes planned were private bathrooms for all 1st class cabins, a lavishly decorated swimming pool, an organ for the forward grand staircase, and last but not least a sophisticated lifeboat arrangement featuring gantry type davits. It would have been fascinating to see how she fared against Cunard's AQUITANIA and BERENGARIA after the war. Sadly we will never know. It is cruel that neither TITANIC nor BRITANNIC would complete a voyage in passenger service. The city of New York would never bear witness to their graceful lines and elegant proportions. Despite this BRITANNIC still served her country faithfully in the role of a hospital ship. That wartime livery did not diminish her beauty. She was the last and largest of the OLYMPIC Class liners.

*HMHS -- His Majesty's Hospital Ship (King George V of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India)