Adriatic & Amerika: Myth & Reality
The order to proceed with Adriatic‘s construction was given on 23 August 1902. Her keel was laid by Harland & Wolff about three months later but the order was then suspended on 19 January 1903. (The engine works were not ordered to resume work on her propelling machinery until July 1905.) Meanwhile, construction continued at a slow pace on her hull. The double bottom was not fully framed until 1 July 1903, several months later than might have been expected. In consequence of the suspension of the order and subsequent pace of construction, Adriatic entered service almost three years after Baltic, even though they were only laid down five months apart!
Above: Construction Chronology of Celtic, Cedric, Baltic & Adriatic. (The ‘Big Four’ of the White Star Fleet: Celtic, Cedric, Baltic & Adriatic)
It has been suggested that HAPAG’s Amerika, completed by Harland & Wolff in 1905, utilised the hull originally intended for Adriatic. There is no basis for this claim. Baltic was not launched until November 1903, by which time the work on framing Adriatic‘s hull was well advanced. Amerika was then laid down on the slipway vacated by Baltic. (She was shorter and slightly narrower than both Baltic and Adriatic.)
Nonetheless, Amerika introduced a significant number of features for her first class passengers. In the context of increasing competition on the North Atlantic, White Star made sure that Adriatic‘s passenger accommodation would be improved significantly compared to her older sister ships.
Read all the details in The ‘Big Four’ of the White Star Fleet: Celtic, Cedric, Baltic & Adriatic!
