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The Titanic Provenance Files – Collapsible A

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‘The Titanic Provenance Files: Collapsible A…’
(September 2026)

 

 

What happened to Titanic’s Collapsible A after the sinking?
Author and maritime researcher Mark Chirnside joins Damon Henrichs to follow the extraordinary provenance of one of Titanic’s most unusual lifeboats.
Collapsible A was never launched in the conventional sense. As Titanic disappeared beneath the Atlantic, the partially flooded boat floated free, with survivors struggling aboard. But its story did not end on the morning of April 15, 1912.
Nearly a month later, the White Star liner Oceanic encountered the abandoned boat drifting in the Atlantic, with bodies still aboard. Her crew investigated the grim discovery, recovered personal effects, buried the dead at sea, and brought Collapsible A aboard Oceanic..

Listen to the podcast here!

 

 

The Olympic-Hawke Collision: Precursor to the Titanic Disaster

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‘The Olympic-Hawke Collision: Precursor to the Titanic Disaster’
(September 2026)

 

 

Months before the Titanic disaster, her sister ship Olympic was involved in a collision with HMS Hawke. The incident created a storm of controversy in the popular press and, later, the courts. It was hotly debated as to which ship was at fault. At the time, it was a logistical nightmare for the White Star Line, who had to take Olympic out of service for weeks of repairs at the height of her first season. Press reports spoke about the ship’s safety: she had survived serious flooding, not only remaining afloat and stable but also returning to port under her own steam. It was argued she had proven herself ‘unsinkable’.

Many of the same individuals were involved, including Captain E. J. Smith, Chief Officer Henry Wilde and First Officer William Murdoch – all of whom lost their lives in the Titanic disaster. We hear from them as they testify in court, providing interesting insights into their actions.

 

 

 

Did You Know About the Electric Lighting in the Toilets?

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Did You Know About the Electric Lighting in the Toilets?

 

In August 1911, Cunard’s naval architect Leonard Peskett was onboard Olympic to check out the competition.  One of the details he noticed was the sanitary ware, supplied by Messrs. Doulton and ‘equal in quality and similar in design to…the Franconia, the only difference being that the wash basins are fitted in marble slabs and the WCs are flushed by lifting a lever handle instead of pushing a button’.

He also noted the automatic electric lighting in the ship’s public bathroom facilities:

The electric lights in the WCs are put on automatically by closing the door.  When the door is closing it presses on a button fitted in the architrave near the top hinge of the door, and puts on the light, the light going out immediately the door is opened.  For WCs this is considered to be better than a switch, as so many lights are left on when not required.

This innovative feature reduced unnecessary use of electricity, because the toilet cubicles were only illuminated when they were in use and the door was closed.  (The Holland America Line’s Willem Piek Jr., by contrast, criticised this as ‘not pleasant and, in my opinion, not conducive to cleanliness’ in December 1911.)

Peskett thought that the third class sanitary accommodation was ‘a little better than usual [sic] provided by White Star. The WCs are of the pedestal type with levers at [the] side for flushing’.  There seems to be a modern-day misconception, seen in some online forums and memes, that the third class toilets all flushed automatically because the White Star Line did not think passengers would know how to operate them.  As Peskett’s comments confirm, this was not the case.   

Further details in Olympic & Titanic: Triumph And Disaster ! 

 

Above: Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster is filled with little known anecdotes and details which flesh out our knowledge of these ships.

 

 

 

 

Titanic with Mark Chirnside – All American Travels

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Titanic with Mark Chirnside  – All American Travels

 

 

It was great to talk about Titanic.  This episode is the second of an intended trilogy, each one focusing on one of the three sister ships.  Watch it here!

She’s arguably the most famous ship of all time. Over 100 years after her sinking, people are still fascinated by this legendary vessel. Published author and historian Mark Chirnside joins me to talk about Titanic history in part two of a series on the Olympic class ocean liners!

 

 

Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – An In-Depth Conversation with Mark Chirnside Steam & Splendor Podcast

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Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – An In-Depth Conversation with Mark Chirnside

Steam & Splendor Podcast

 

 

 

Hosts Tad Fitch and J. Kent Layton welcome author and researcher Mark Chirnside back on the podcast to discuss his latest release, Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster.
In this episode, Mark reveals compelling new findings and stories that make this book a standout addition to maritime history. Whether you are new to the subject or a lifelong researcher, this detailed work offers fresh discoveries on nearly every page while recontextualizing the legacy of the Olympic-class ships.

The conversation also explores the evolving challenges facing maritime historians as the field increasingly transitions from print to digital and social media platforms.

 

 

 

Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Chapter 4

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Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Chapter 4

Chapter 4, ‘Forging Ahead’, explores the topic of speed and propelling machinery.

While it is well known that the White Star Line were not attempting to build the fastest liners afloat, they were nonetheless keen to make sure their new ships were competitive in speed and could provide a creditable express service.  We read previously unseen correspondence from J. Bruce Ismay, who had voiced fears back in September 1902 that the newly formed IMM combine had a shortage of fast ships:

We must not forget that the IMM Co. has only two steamers that are really capable of doing 20 knots regularly, and it seems to me those responsible for the future management of the company will have to carefully consider if it is not almost necessary to do something to improve their position in this respect

The move of White Star’s express service to Southampton from 1907 meant that they were competing significantly for continental first and second class traffic, in particular. Their competition included Norddeutscher Lloyd, whose ships ran at around 22 1/2 to 23 knots.  White Star intended to be somewhat slower but still competitive with that pace, while being significantly faster than intermediate services operated by the Hamburg America and Holland America Lines, which ran at around 17 to 18 knots.

The development of reciprocating engines and the newer turbine technology is covered in some detail, including the adoption of the ‘combination’ propelling machinery which was ultimately chosen for their new liners.  This included Harland & Wolff’s alliance with John Brown & Co. so that the Belfast shipyard could subcontract manufacturing of the turbine engines to their Scottish rival, until their engine works in Belfast had been developed further.  We see the results of ‘combination’ propelling machinery on other ships and the benefits observed, including lower fuel consumption (and a corresponding reduction in running costs).

One of the topics which is not discussed as frequently is the subject of propeller design.  At the time these ships were being designed and constructed, shipbuilders of the period were constantly experimenting with different propeller configurations to obtain the best results including reduced vibration and improved efficiency.  We see this in the case of Cunard’s Lusitania and Mauretania in their early years of service, but Harland & Wolff also had access to the insights of turbine specialist Stephen Pigott, who was working for John Brown & Co. (Lusitania‘s builders).  This is illustrated by a notebook from his papers, which was originally drawn to my attention by Joao Goncalves, and includes a comparison of different centre propeller configurations for Olympic and Titanic.

We also learn about the differences between ‘combination’ propelling machinery and how it worked astern, compared to an all-turbine arrangement.  A turbine driven steamship required astern turbines to run astern.  It is not widely appreciated that the lack of astern turbines on all four shafts on Lusitania and Mauretania caused operational difficulties, including that the remaining two propellers were still slowly moving ahead for some time after the two astern turbines had been activated on the two other propeller shafts. 

Achieving a service speed of 21 knots with plenty of power in reserve was a significant achievement. The number of crew in Olympic‘s engine department trebled compared to the number required on Celtic (1901) and stood only ten percent below the number required on Mauretania.  In fact, the number of engineers in the engine department on Olympic actually exceeded their counterparts on her Cunard rival…

 

 

 

Olympic with Mark Chirnside – All American Travels

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Olympic with Mark Chirnside  – All American Travels

 

 

It was great to talk to James about Olympic‘s career.  This episode is the first of an intended trilogy, each one focusing on one of the three sister ships.  Watch it here!

She was Titanic’s older sister, and the lead ship of her class. She also had one of the most storied careers (civilian and military) of any ocean liner. Published author and historian Mark Chirnside joins me to discuss Olympic in part one of a three part series about the Olympic class ships!

 

Did You Know? Olympic & Titanic’s Rudders

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Did You Know?   Olympic & Titanic‘s Rudders

 

Late in November 1908, Harland & Wolff placed their order for both rudders with the Darlington Forge Company Ltd. The rudders were intended to be identical with each ship’s rudder weighing about 101 tons. Each was to be made from Siemen’s Martin mild cast steel, however the shipbuilder specified stringent material and workmanship standards that had to be met. These standards are not always fully understood or appreciated.

The rudder castings needed to have a tensile strength (the ultimate strength that the material could take before breaking) of ’28 to 35 tons per square inch’ with an elastic limit (the greatest stress the material could take without permanent deformation) 45 per cent of the tensile strength. The material also needed to be bent ‘through an angle of 60 to 80 degrees without fracture’ when ‘cold’. Test pieces needed to be tested in the presence of a Lloyd’s representative as well as one from Harland & Wolff ‘if we so require’. They also required the Lloyd’s representative to certify the test results.

Olympic’s rudder was due for delivery by January 1910 and Titanic’s by July 1910. They also required a guarantee against the ‘material and workmanship’ which would be valid for twelve months from the date of each ship starting on her maiden voyage.

When Harland & Wolff ordered the rudders for the Royal Mail Steam Packet company’s new cargo ships Berbice and Balantia the following month, the order specified merely that their rudders had to be made about of the same material and certified by Lloyd’s classification society.

Further details can be found in Olympic & Titanic: Triumph And Disaster.

 

Above: Olympic enters the water for the first time.  The rudder was installed prior to launch and was supported in place as a special precaution.  (The American Marine Engineer, 1910)

 

 

 

 

Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Chapter 3

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Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Chapter 3

 

Chapter 3, ‘Unsinkable’, explores topics related to safety and sea and ship design.

We start by looking at the context in the decades prior to 1912.  Many modern liners were claimed to be ‘practically unsinkable’ or similar, due to their watertight bulkheads.  There are several examples of ships being late to port and their owners reassuring the public in the meantime that their passengers and crew would be safe.

There are several examples of earlier liners built without watertight doors.  Practical reality forced shipowners and shipbuilders to cut open the watertight bulkheads and fit watertight doors retrospectively.  We also see the views of naval architects such as Leonard Peskett and Edward Wilding and how they thought  watertight doors were essential in the machinery compartments of large North Atlantic passenger steamers.

The design specifications of White Star’s new ships are covered at length, including exploring the standard of watertight subdivision on other contemporary ships.  Harland & Wolff went above and beyond the design requirements and exceeded contemporary standards by a significant margin.  We see that the watertight subdivision was improved during the design process (with an increase in the number of compartments).  An assessment of the strength of the watertight bulkheads showed them very favourably.

We examine the pros and cons of Olympic‘s watertight subdivision compared to Mauretania‘s.  Safety statistics for the preceding two decades show that, statistically, the North Atlantic route had been very safe historically.  We read about Thomas Henry Ismay’s efforts to improve safety and the use of the North and Southern routes to avoid ice.

The history of safety legislation is explored, including discussions in the 1880s about lifeboat requirements.  Sir Digby Murray, professional member of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade, had even argued that:

I do not think you are going to save life by increasing the boats; I think it must be done by the subdivision of the ships. If you really want to save life that is the only way of doing it, and in that case a smaller number of boats would suffice.

We track the history of lifeboat requirements and how shipping lines were preparing, by 1911-12, for a future where more lifeboats would be obligatory.  This included the use of a new type of davit on Olympic and her sister to accommodate more boats, if needed, and an increase in the number of lifeboats by adding four semi-collapsibles.  The approach is to place the new White Star ships in context with competitors, including previously unpublished and little known information.  (We also see an example of Harland & Wolff pushing back against another shipping line’s query about the need to improve the lifeboat provision on a new passenger liner.)

Contrary to popular misconception, even smaller liners did not carry ‘boats for all’.  The chapter closes by putting forward the wider context.  We see how quickly things were moving by 1911-12, including Cunard’s decision to provide ‘boats for all’ on their new Aquitania.  Even so, professionals agreed that the best way to preserve life was either to avoid danger entirely or to ensure that watertight subdivision could keep a damaged ship afloat…

 

 

 

 

 

FAQ: Olympic’s Maiden Voyage Time & Average Speed

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FAQ: What Was Olympic‘s Maiden Voyage Time & Average Speed?

I thought that Olympic completed her maiden voyage in five days sixteen hours and forty- two minutes, averaging 21.17 knots. Why do you give different figures (after 2006)?

When Olympic completed her maiden voyage in June 1911, the time taken for the transatlantic leg was given as five days sixteen hours and forty-two minutes. This appeared in press reports and the log card issued to passengers. Given the distance of 2,894 nautical miles, the average speed came to 21.17 knots. However, unknown to anyone at the time, there was an error of 100 minutes in the calculation. The departure time from Daunt’s Rock, after leaving Ireland, and the arrival time at the Ambrose Lightship, approaching New York, could both be confirmed.  They showed that the voyage had taken five days fifteen hours and two minutes. This meant that the average speed was actually 21.43 knots.

The incorrect figures were included in the earlier print runs of The ‘Olympic’ Class Ships: Olympic, Titanic & Britannic and RMS Olympic: Titanic’s Sister, as the mistake was not known. Mark Chirnside and Sam Halpern discovered the mistake in 2006.  Their research was outlined in an article published in early 2007. This article appeared in the Titanic International Society’s Voyage journal, and subsequently online at Encyclopedia-Titanica: ‘Olympic and Titanic: Maiden Voyage Mysteries’ (external link).  Since then, the books have been revised and the mistake corrected.  (It is interesting to note that someone at the White Star Line had apparently discovered the error at some point after June 1911, because the corrected duration was provided by the company in the 1930s.  However, all modern literature had relied on the headline data reported in June 1911.)

 

 

FAQ: Olympic & Aquitania – The Largest British Liner?

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FAQ: Was Aquitania Larger than Olympic?

Didn’t Olympic lose the title of the largest British liner to Aquitania, in 1914?

The generally accepted standard for measuring if one liner is larger than another is to use gross registered tonnage, which is a measure of enclosed space (and not weight, as the term implies). On this measurement, Olympic was the largest liner in the world in 1911, at 45,324 gross tons; after the 1913 refit, her size increased to 46,358 gross tons. By that time, with the German HAPAG liner Imperator (later to become Berengaria) exceeding 52,000 tons, Olympic lost her right to the title of the largest liner in the world but remained the largest British liner.

Although Aquitania’s size was projected at 47,000 gross tons in 1913, when she entered service in 1914 she was measured at 45,647 gross tons. This was higher than Olympic’s gross tonnage in 1911, but – given that Olympic’s size had increased to 46,358 gross tons in 1913 – Aquitania was smaller. While both liners’ gross tonnage figures varied throughout their careers, Aquitania’s never surpassed Olympic’s. (When Britannic was in service in 1915-16, she was the largest British liner at 48,158 gross tons.)

In terms of length, Aquitania was marginally longer than Olympic; and her width was several feet greater. By that standard, Aquitania would have appeared slightly larger to the keen observer if the two liners were ever side by side, and Cunard did claim on occasion that Aquitania was the largest British liner. However, on the more comprehensive measurement of gross tonnage then Olympic was always larger, and after the war White Star also pointed out that she was the largest triple-screw steamer in the world.

 

 

The Yacht-Like Olympic

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The Yacht-Like Olympic

 

As [Olympic] lay abreast the stage yesterday the general opinion among the many thousands of sightseers who thronged both banks of the river was that the Mersey had never borne a ship of more beautiful proportions or more graceful lines. So exceedingly well balanced are the proportions of the vessel that at first glance her vast bulk is hardly realised; indeed it is impossible for the eye to form any complete vision of the tremendous size of the vessel without comparison; that is until some other vessel becomes dwarfed by her vicinity.

The Journal of Commerce describes Olympic‘s visit to Liverpool, June 1911

 

 

There were many compliments about Olympic‘s profile when she entered service in 1911, but she also won favourable reviews for the way she handled.  On more than one occasion, mariners commented positively on how she steered, likening her to a ‘catboat’ and a ‘yacht’.   

‘She steers like a catboat. I went onboard from […] the pilot boat, at half past two this morning off the lightship, and we were anchored in Quarantine an hour later. She handled beautifully’.

Pilot J. J. Adler, New York Harbour Pilot, June 1911.

‘Does the Olympic steer well?’

‘Very well.’

Captain Edward J. Smith, Olympic’s commander, November 1911.

‘We all observed the marvellous rapidity with which this prodigious ship turned from side to side, answering to its steering gear like a yacht answering to the tiller’.

Account of manoeuvres in May 1912, published in The American Marine Engineer, June 1912. 

‘…she came out along the Turbot Bank like a small yacht would, and answered her helm just like a yacht’.

Captain James Tobin, who commanded mail tenders at Queenstown over four decades, describing one of Olympic’s visits to the port

These quotes are among many nuggets of information in Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster.  (Thanks to Mike Poirier.)

 

 

 

Mauretania Revenue & Profit Analysis 1910

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Mauretania Revenue & Profit Analysis 1910

 

A new article of mine, ‘Mauretania Revenue & Profit Analysis 1910′ (external link) has been published on Encyclopedia Titanica.

It seems to be a common claim that the large transatlantic express liners such as Cunard’s Mauretania or White Star’s Olympic made the bulk of their profit from third class passengers. The available evidence does not support this conclusion.

This detailed analysis of Mauretania‘s financial data in 1910 demonstrates that first class revenues accounted for 59 percent of the total.  Even allowing for the fact that a first class passenger enjoyed a higher standard of service and cost more to look after – the average *profit* per first class passenger was more than the average *revenue* of a third class passenger, even on the most cautious assumptions.

The number of third class passengers was 89 percent higher than the number of first class passengers, but it is not mathematically possible for them to have contributed more profit than first class, because the cost of the average third class ticket was simply not high enough.

It was first published in the Titanic International Society’s Voyage March 2026: Pages 78-79. 

 

Above: Cunard’s formidable Mauretania.  (Author’s collection)

 

 

Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Chapter 2

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Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Chapter 2

If you have reached the end of Chapter 1, you’ll have seen the background leading up to the decision to proceed with the new ships and the record of their order on 30 April 1907.

Chapter 2, ‘Yard Numbers 400 and 401’, explores the nature of the relationship between White Star and Harland & Wolff.  They effectively outsourced their ship design to the shipbuilder, whereas other companies – such as Cunard – designed their ships ‘in house’ and went out to competitive tender from different shipyards.  We come to understand more about Lord Pirrie, Alexander Carlisle, Thomas Andrews and Edward Wilding, both through biography and their roles at Harland & Wolff as they related to the new ships.  They were keeping an eye on the competition, including the observation that the lavatory pans on Lusitania were too shallow (a rather unfortunate problem when the ship was rolling!).  Thomas Andrews also drew a comparison, pointing out that the stability of the new White Star liners would be much greater than the Cunarders.

Press reports soon begin to appear about the new ships, with a wide variation in levels of accuracy.  Cunard tried to work out the key details before they had been publicly announced (a highlight of the chapter is a previously unpublished drawing which apparently represented their ‘best guess’ of the new White Star ships’ design).  Meanwhile, their size grew significantly as Harland & Wolff worked through the detail and the various design concepts.  The earliest known estimate of size put them at about 38,000 gross tons, which eventually grew to over 45,000 – more than doubling the margin of size over Mauretania!  By July 1908, design work had progressed far enough for the White Star Line to approve the proposed ‘Design “D”‘ concept which finalised all the fundamental details including the ships’ dimensions.  (Many smaller details changed or remained to be worked out.)

We track all the preparations that Harland & Wolff had to make throughout the late summer and autumn of 1908, as the shipyard and engine works were ordered to proceed with all the practical details of construction.  This included placing numerous orders for materials and component parts with subcontractors, such as the stern frame castings and propeller boss arms.  Unusually, the orders for the enormous rudders contained particular specifications for quality of material and manufacture, including ultimate tensile strength of the material and its elastic limit.

One of the subjects that is not often covered is the close degree of cooperation between the various shipping lines’ technical staff, such as the marine superintendents. We follow a conference between major shipping lines which the White Star Line hosted in Liverpool during August 1910.

The White Star Line and Harland & Wolff had to cope with exacting demands from the postal authorities.  Their new ships would be Royal Mail Steamers and, as such, the post office facilities and accommodation needed to be satisfactory.  They spent more than a year going back and forth with the postal authorities to make sure the plans met requirements.  One extraordinary request was that the post office accommodation be placed on the lower promenade (B-deck).  White Star argued that this was simply not possible:

it is really impossible in a passenger steamer to put accommodation of this nature upon the upper decks, as it would interfere seriously with the earning power of such costly vessels

They reassured them that post office accommodation could be provided on a lower deck as well as being very well ventilated and comfortable.  The original proposal for the post office accommodation to be placed towards the stern was also changed so that the facilities were at the bow.

We see some of the health and safety challenges common to all shipyards of the period.  There were unfortunately a number of incidents and fatalities at Harland & Wolff.  Incidents of theft were also recorded.  One worker was caught stealing paintbrushes from the shipyard and pawning them.  Another man, who was not even employed by Harland & Wolff, was caught stealing workers’ food.  Their morning supplies had been vanishing daily for a number of consecutive days, naturally causing a lot of concern: the men were ‘getting wild’ and angry about it.  All these details, great and small, shed light on what it was like at the Belfast shipyard as construction progressed…

 

 

 

Titanic Myths Busted – Club Paranormal (Truth Be Told)

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Titanic Myths Busted: The Mistakes,The Myths & TheTruth    Mark Chirnside – Club Paranormal (Truth Be Told)

 

 

 

 

What really happened the night the Titanic struck the iceberg—and how much of what we think we know is actually wrong? In this gripping episode of Truth Be Told, Tony welcomes renowned maritime historian Mark Chirnside from the UK to break down the myths, misconceptions, and overlooked truths surrounding one of history’s most infamous disasters. From the critical minutes after impact to the mistakes and decisions that sealed Titanic’s fate, Mark dives deep into the real timeline of events—and why the story is far more complex than Hollywood ever showed us. They explore the role of Captain Smith, First Officer Murdoch, and the controversial legacy of J. Bruce Ismay, while also uncovering the truth behind conspiracy theories, communication failures, and the ship’s so-called “unsinkable” design. Plus—did Titanic really have a chance to survive? And what about that age-old debate… could Jack have fit on the door? This episode separates fact from fiction and reveals why, over a century later, Titanic still captivates the world—and what we’re still learning today.

 

 

 

On A Sea of Glass & Part-Time Explorer 114th Anniversary Titanic Livestream 2026 replay

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On A Sea of Glass & Part-Time Explorer 114th Anniversary Titanic Livestream 2026 – replay available on YouTube

 

The On A Sea of Glass and Part-Time Explorer 114th Anniversary Titanic Livestream, which was broadcast on Thomas Lynskey’s Part-Time Explorer channel on YouTube, is available to replay.

It was a great experience to participate as a guest alongside L. A. Beadles, George Behe, Don Lynch, Parks Stephenson, Tad Fitch, J. Kent Layton and Bill Wormstedt.  As always, Thomas Lynskey did a fantastic job hosting us.  We also need to give a shout out to the animators and wider HFX Studios team for all the vital support behind the scenes.

 

Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Chapter 1

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Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Chapter 1

 

The first copies of Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster will be landing on readers’ doormats over the coming weeks!

It is an enormous book 416 pages in length (excluding the colour section) and so it is divided into three main parts.  The first part opens with Chapter 1, ‘The North Atlantic Run’ (34 pages), which examines the early history of the modern White Star Line from its purchase by Thomas Henry Ismay.  It is a remarkable story of a newcomer’s success on the highly competitive North Atlantic route.  We trace the basic details of the company’s early history as it orders a new fleet of ships exclusively from the Belfast shipbuilder Harland & Wolff, which competitors scramble to match.  Although the company’s policy turned to focus on comfort rather than speed in later years, data for 1872 shows their fleet’s average crossing times as being significantly less than their older, long established rival Cunard.

The Atlantic disaster was the first serious blot on the company’s record and involved a heavy loss of life.  We see Thomas Henry Ismay and his company making strenuous efforts to clear themselves from the charge that the ship had left port without sufficient coal.  The heartbreaking conclusion is that she had plenty of coal onboard when Captain Williams took the fateful decision to divert to Halifax.  This was based on erroneous information from his Chief Engineer, whose figures substantially under-represented the amount of coal onboard.  The diversion was the first in a chain of events that led to his command being wrecked on the rocks.  What emerges from the disaster is the impression of a strong, well-built ship which was lost through poor navigational practices and extraordinary complacency.

White Star survived the calamity and continued to grow.  There was even a suggestion in the late 1870s of a merger with Cunard.  We follow the company becoming immensely prosperous even though it faced tough economic times and see J. Bruce Ismay join the management in the early 1890s, followed by Harold Sanderson in 1895.  Cunard’s annual reports for this period read like a tale of woe and contrast with the White Star Line’s financial strength.  We see that White Star was not alone in experiencing ill-fortune: Cunard experienced a number of shipwrecks in the late 1880s. J. Bruce Ismay’s previously unpublished comments about the loss of Norddeutscher Lloyd’s Elba in 1895 illustrate that he was well aware of the potential risks in a shipowner’s business, perhaps even more so after the baffling loss of Naronic in 1893.

The increasing competition from German Lines and the move to a policy of comfort rather than speed are covered in some detail. Comments from White Star and Cunard personnel show clearly the benefits of larger, slower ships such as the ‘Big Four’ from the point of view of their seakeeping qualities and the financial results they generated.

The acquisition of a controlling interest in the White Star Line by IMM illustrates how keen the American combine was to get its hands on the shipping line.  There were many critics of the move and plenty of concern that British interests were being sold out to a foreign country.  These prompted comments from Lord Pirrie to a newspaper reporter in 1902:  

The first is the interests of the country – and I wish, by the way, you would invent some comprehensive word which would, unlike Briton, include Irishmen – my second is in shipbuilding, and my third in shipowning. In which of these capacities could I possibly be an assenting party to a scheme which threatened injury to Imperial interests and ruin to British shipbuilders and shipowners?

J. Bruce Ismay’s own discussions about the combine’s future show his shrewd eye for detail as a businessman.  We see him considering exactly the sort of strategic questions essential to IMM’s future, including consideration in 1902 of making Southampton the terminal for the fast passenger and mail service to New York – something which has particular relevance to the decision to order Olympic and Titanic five years later.  He looks at issues such as the amount of debt the combine will have (a prescient question considering its later history) and how they can make it run more efficiently, such as using bulk purchasing of coal supplies to try and negotiate better prices.

The details of the White Star Line’s relationship with Harland & Wolff and the growth of the shipbuilder in the late 1880s are covered, ending with the expansion of the shipyard’s facilities which enabled the new large ships to be built.  We then see Cunard’s perspective competing against the White Star Line through little-known correspondence from company management.  By 1902, Cunard was in dire need of capital and felt paralysed against its competition (White Star and the major German Lines):

The result was that if the Government did nothing, the Company must face either absorption or annihilation.

State support from the British government saved Cunard but left White Star with a choice of how to respond to both their principal British competitor and continental lines including HAL, HAPAG and Norddeutscher Lloyd. Their decision to move their express service to Southampton in 1907 leads into the strategic rationale for Olympic and Titanic.  No shipping company could realistically match the speed of Cunard’s new Lusitania or Mauretania.  It was simply not feasible economically.  White Star’s strategic choice was to opt for new ships which would nonetheless be competitive from a speed point of view, as well as providing more luxury and comfort for passengers – with a particular eye on the continental passenger traffic they were now competing more directly for. 

How they and Harland & Wolff went about meeting those objectives that is covered in Chapter 2…  

 

 

 

 

Edward Wilding’s Hawke Collision Testimony

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Edward Wilding’s Hawke Collision Testimony

Edward Wilding had probably been looking forward to 17 April 1912.

It was expected that Titanic would have docked in New York on the conclusion of a successful maiden voyage.  Perhaps he was anticipating news from Thomas Andrews concerning any of the observations he had made about the new ship’s progress.  (A year earlier, Andrews had made 56 notes concerning Olympic’s maiden voyage.)

Instead, he was digesting the news that Titanic had foundered with a heavy loss of life, including his colleague Thomas Andrews and the other members of Harland & Wolff’s ‘guarantee group’.  There was little time to try and process the news before he found himself in court that day, testifying as part of the appeal hearings following the Olympic-Hawke collision.  The channel in the vicinity of the collision had been swept and wreckage from Hawke recovered.  The White Star Line were hoping to use its location as evidence pinpointing the location of the collision, as part of their appeal against the December 1911 verdict (which allocated blame to Olympic but absolved her of liability on the basis of the defence that she was compulsory pilotage when the collision occurred).

He was asked about the damage to Olympic and the collision repairs.  Harland & Wolff had sold the damaged hull plating to a scrapyard and ‘nearly all of it’ had subsequently been recovered for examination.

Wilding thought that the main wreckage now recovered from the bottom of the channel had fallen from Hawke ‘at the conclusion of the third cut, and just as the next blade [of Olympic’s starboard propeller] was beginning the fourth cut on the body of the Hawke’. His evidence emphasized the enormous stresses on Olympic’s structure and starboard engine as the collision occurred:

I find some difficulty in saying that it absolutely did jam, but there was no question that the plating, when the vessel arrived in Belfast, was driven hard in, and the frames doubled up inside by pressure of the fore foot on the boss plating, and that the boss plating and framing had been driven down on a big loose coupling which was beneath them, and that the [Olympic’s starboard] engine, in its effort to go round, or to continue going round, when the pressure came on it, had torn and done very considerable damage to the framing inside the structure of the Olympic; and it is quite in my mind conceivable – although, of course, it is not certain – that that was sufficient to bring up the engine momentarily. Then, as the pressure of the Hawke’s fore foot was lifted off by her movement over the big propeller casting, that the engine was sufficiently free to be enabled to go on again. I do not think many people who have not been there, realise the enormous power that there is got from the steam pressure in these engines; they move comparatively slowly even when at full power, and the power behind them is, I think I am correct in stating, larger than the power behind the biggest rolling mills in the world. That is, the biggest mills that are used anywhere for the rolling of steel plates, as distinct from the forging of armour plates; consequently, the power that is available for doing damage is enormous, so that it is almost impossible to say that the comparatively modest damage, such as the damage on the boss plating, did bring up the propeller. But, allowing for the fact that the weight of the Hawke, the whole weight of the forward end…, was sitting momentarily on the loose coupling, it is at least conceivable that it was brought up there… I may say that as far as we could tell – we made some estimate of it – the starboard engine of the Olympic, when running at 64 revolutions, was probably giving something like 12,000 horsepower…

Wilding faced a whole series of daunting tasks in those weeks. He would go on to give exhaustive information and testimony before the British Wreck Commissioner’s court, providing information about all the fundamental aspects of Titanic’s design…

 

 

 

 

Did You Know About John Andrews?

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Did You Know About John Andrews?

 

Northern Ireland’s first Prime Minister, Sir James Craig, served in the post from 1921-40.  He died in office. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was at war and it was felt that the next Prime Minister needed to be an ‘exceptional man’.  Historian Alvin Jackson told a BBC documentary that the new Prime Minister faced an ‘almost impossible job’.  Belfast was an important industrial city and an inevitable key target for the German Air Force.

Thomas Andrews’ brother John M. Andrews (1871-1956) was almost 70 years old.  As Labour Minister in the Government of Northern Ireland, he had ensured Northern Ireland had the same social benefits as in Great Britain.  He often deputised for Sir James.  Andrews’ grandson, Johnny Andrews, reflected that John M. Andrews was ‘the natural successor’ with a strong work ethic and attention to detail, who saw politics as a ‘duty’.

In this British Pathe film, John M. Andrews comments about the war against Hitler’s Germany and argues that ‘Ulster is key to the defence of Ireland…to make it neutral would mean handing over that key to Hitler.  A neutral Ulster is impossible…’:

 

 

 

 

 

Did You Know Who Used Olympic’s Turkish Baths?

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Did You Know Who Used Olympic‘s Turkish Baths?

 

The first class leisure facilities including the swimming pool, Turkish and electric baths on Olympic were heavily promoted by the White Star Line.  Adriatic (1907) had introduced a Turkish and electric bath complex with a plunge bath.  Their success and popularity encouraged the White Star Line to provide similar facilities on Olympic, including what was the first true swimming pool on an ocean liner.  Both ships had a gymnasium and Olympic also introduced a squash court.  Passengers travelling first class on Olympic had far more options to keep them occupied compared to ships a mere few years earlier.

However, data available from Olympic‘s first three round trip voyages to New York in the summer of 1911 shows a distinct gender divide in the number of female and male passengers who used these facilities:

 

Number of Passengers Gender Split
Swimming Pool (paid) Ladies (56) 7%
Gentlemen (785) 93%
Swimming Pool (free) Ladies (528) 24%
Gentlemen (1636) 76%
Turkish Baths Ladies (90) 20%
Gentlemen (358) 80%
Electric Baths Ladies (38) 51%
Gentlemen (37) 49%

 

The passengers using the swimming pool were 81% male (on a combined basis including both the paid and free uses of the pool) and those using the Turkish Baths were 80% male.  Only in the case of the Electric Baths, which were much less popular, were the numbers fairly evenly balanced with female passengers accounting for 51%.

A full gender breakdown of the total number of first class passengers carried during these three round trips is unavailable.  It may well be that there were more male passengers in first class, in general.  However it seems unlikely that this would be to the same extent of the 80/20 split in male/female passengers using the swimming pool and Turkish Baths.  All the indications are that these facilities were significantly more popular with male passengers.

 

 

 

 

Titanic In Popular Media: A Case Study (2012)

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Titanic in Popular Media: A Case Study (2012)

 

Naturally enough, there was a surge in interest around the one hundredth anniversary of Titanic‘s loss, just as there had been when her wreck was discovered in 1985 and after the release of the Cameron film in the late 1990s.  Unfortunately, many of the articles and books published in 2012 contained a number of errors.  Given the significant interest in the subject at the time, it’s particularly unfortunate that many of these errors probably found a large audience.

An example of this is an article, ‘The Extraordinary Story of the White Star liner Titanic‘, which was published by the Scientific American on 4 April 2012.  Here is a short extract:

The master of the Titanic was the commodore of the White Star Line, Captain Edward John Smith. He had also been the first master of the Olympic and, therefore, had had a year’s familiarity with the flaws and qualities of the new White Star floating palaces. He learned that they responded slowly to their rudders, partially because one of the three propellers was positioned immediately behind the rudder. Thomas Andrews, designer of the ships, brought up this issue with Ismay, but the White Star president expressed his reluctance to delay the construction in order to refine the design. He reportedly commented that the only place these liners would have to maneuver quickly would be in port and that was what you had tugboats for.

Andrews wanted another change as well: a second row of lifeboats that could be launched as soon as the first set was in the water. The result would have been enough lifeboats for all the passengers and crew. Ismay protested that they already had more than the legally required number of lifeboats (16) and the extra boats simply would clutter up the beautiful open expanse of the upper deck, where first-class passengers would want to stroll. Hence, the Titanic sailed with 16 lifeboats

Although Smith was White Star’s senior captain in 1912, the title commodore was not formally in use at the time.  Therefore using it is somewhat misleading, but perhaps this is a relatively minor quibble.

More concerning is the claim that Smith had ‘learned that they responded slowly to their rudders, partially because one of the three propellers was positioned immediately behind the rudder’.  There is no evidence whatsoever to support this claim.  In 1911, Smith said actually said that Olympic steered ‘very well’.  Moreover, the fact that the rudder was behind the turbine-driven centre propeller was potentially a benefit when the propeller was in operation.  Experience with Olympic during her early years of service was that she was more manoeuvrable when the turbine was running!  (These subjects are covered in Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster. )

It follows from this that the claim ‘Thomas Andrews, designer of the ships, brought up this issue with Ismay’ is also incorrect. How, too, could construction be delayed ‘in order to refine the design’?  Olympic was in service from June 1911 and Titanic was already launched and outfitting at Belfast.  The question of refining the design in this sense is clearly not possible, because one ship was already in service and the hull and rudder arrangement of the second already complete. It is not as if they were both on the drawing board with the opportunity to change the design of their stern.  It also speaks volumes that their younger sister, not yet laid down, had exactly the same stern and rudder configuration.

There is no evidence Andrews ‘wanted another change as well: a second row of lifeboats’ or that ‘Ismay protested’. Quite the contrary. Nor would a second row of lifeboats have provided ‘enough lifeboats for all the passengers and crew’. Even if we make the generous assumption of a further 16 boats with a 65-person capacity, that would have provided 1,040 extra lifeboat seats.  Perhaps that might have been enough for the number of people onboard at the time of the disaster, but it was not enough for all the passengers and crew Titanic could carry.

The article also noted that ‘Titanic sailed with 16 boats’. In fact, she had 20 – comprising 14 standard lifeboats, two cutters and four semi-collapsible boats.

It is not the purpose of this blog post to single out this particular article or its author for criticism, but it does serve as a good case study of the danger of inaccurate information disseminated in secondary sources. It appeared in a well-regarded publication and was part of a series of articles published for the centennial.  Many people will, in all likelihood, have seen it and taken its claims at face value, but the study of history requires an interpretation and understanding of the past which is evidence-based.  

Above: One of many articles published for the centennial of the disaster, by William H. Flayhart (1944-2019).  (Scientific American, 2012)

 

 

 

Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Adding Some Colour

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Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Adding Some Colour!

 

History did not happen in black and white, even though we may sometimes visualise it that way through watching old movies or looking at pre-colour photographs.

I’m therefore very pleased that the book’s 416 black and white pages are supplemented by a 12 page colour section which includes stylish period advertising produced for the White Star Line; the ‘Design “D”‘ concept signed off in July 1908; key documents (including entries from one of Harland & Wolff’s series of five engineering notebooks related to Olympic and Titanic); blueprints and original plans; and modern recreations of both ships’ interiors.

 

      

Above: One of the colour section’s pages includes a stunning illustration of Olympic (left); another shows a comparison of Harland & Wolff plans and blueprints, produced as they formulated a scheme to expand Titanic‘s first class accommodation on B-deck (right).

 

The interior recreations include eleven interior images kindly supplied by Matt DeWinkeleer and the team at Titanic Honor & Glory, covering first, second and third class interior spaces modelled using the most up to date research (grand staircase image, below).  Three further interior recreations were kindly supplied by Giovanni Castro, including first class interior spaces showcasing comparisons between Olympic and Titanic (first class stateroom image, below).

 

                                                 

 

Many details seen in these images tie in to information included elsewhere in the book, such as the curved line at the base of the grand staircase’s bottom step on A-deck.  The book includes an account from the Holland America Line’s Willem Piek Jr., who commented on this feature and thought it might make passengers more careful when descending the stairs.

To learn more about Titanic: Honor & Glory’s work and see the stunning interior recreations, click on the logos below!

 

 

                               

 

To see Giovanni Castro’s work and and his incredible interior images, checkout his Instagram and Patreon:

 

                           

 

 

 

Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster Quotes

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Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Three Parts

 

The book contains seventeen chapters as well as seven appendices.  There is an incredible amount of information and so we decided that the book would work well divided into three parts, each containing between five and six chapters.

Each part is introduced by its own section, differentiated by a black strip running down the page.  They are populated by quotes from the various chapters which give a flavour of the material. They have been chosen to support the narrative and are from material which is either rare or previously unpublished.  One example is a quote included in the introduction to Part 1, which is from William Watson, Cunard’s chairman, writing in April 1908.  He discussed a number of issues at that time and commented on recent press reports claiming (inaccurately) that the White Star Line were going to built a new 1,000-foot liner.  The potential implication he saw in such a large ship was that she would carry a very great number of passengers, leading him to ponder ‘where all the passengers are going to come from’.

 

 

In reality, the White Star Line opted to use the greater size of their new ships to increase the number of first and second class passengers, rather than third class.  What that meant was that they carried fewer passengers compared to what they might have done if third class had been prioritised.  Indeed, Olympic carried fewer passengers than some ships far smaller than her.

By January 1909, Cunard had a much better idea of the true scale of White Star’s new ships, as well as vessels under construction for Norddeutscher Lloyd.  Throughout 1909 and 1910, they followed developments closely and tried to understand what HAPAG, Norddeutscher Lloyd and White Star were planning. All of this effort helped underpin the design of their new Aquitania…

 

 

FAQ: Would It Have Been Inconvenient for Titanic to Arrive in New York on Tuesday?

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FAQ: Would It Have Been Inconvenient for Titanic to Arrive in New York on Tuesday?

 

Titanic never reached New York, but there has been a lot of discussion over the years about her projected arrival time.  All of the details of that debate are beyond the scope of this post.  Instead, it will focus on what we know about Olympic.

Information is available about the arrival times for six of Olympic‘s first eight westbound crossings in 1911-12.  These include:

Westbound Voyage 1: Arrival at Ambrose Channel Light Vessel 2.24 a.m. Wednesday 21 June 1911

Westbound Voyage 2: Arrival at Ambrose Channel Light Vessel 10.08 p.m. Tuesday 18 July 1911

Westbound Voyage 3: Arrival at Ambrose Channel Light Vessel 9.10 p.m. Tuesday 15 August 1911

Westbound Voyage 4: Arrival at Ambrose Channel Light Vessel 5.40 p.m. Tuesday 5 September 1911 

Westbound Voyage 7: Arrival at Ambrose Channel Light Vessel afternoon of Wednesday 17 January 1912

Westbound Voyage 8: Arrival at Ambrose Channel Light Vessel 9.37 p.m. Tuesday 13 February 1912.

What we can see from these six westbound crossings is that Olympic arrived at the Ambrose Channel Light Vessel on Tuesday evening on four out of six occasions.  In the case of her fourth westbound crossing, she docked in New York on the Tuesday evening as well as disembarked all her passengers.

On her maiden voyage, she arrived there less than two-and-a-half hours after midnight, but it is known she left Queenstown, Ireland, about three hours late and that she had been delayed about one-and-a-half hours during the crossing due to fog. In other words, it was those two delays which combined to prevent her arriving on Tuesday evening on that occasion.

The sixth westbound crossing was actually one of the slowest of Olympic‘s long career.  She averaged less than 19 knots, taking more than six days and six hours to complete the crossing due to horrendous weather conditions.

There is a question of how we define ‘arrival’.  When someone talks about arriving in New York, they might be referring to the arrival at the Ambrose Channel Light Vessel, which marked the end point of the transatlantic crossing, or, alternatively, the time the ship actually completed her docking. It is therefore important to be precise with our definitions.  The White Star Line reassured their passengers that, if the ship docked after 8 p.m., they had the option to remain onboard overnight and have breakfast in the morning, rather than disembark.  In other words, passengers were not inconvenienced in either case if they had based their plans on disembarking on Wednesday.  On the one occasion when she docked on Tuesday evening, the passengers were reported to be satisfied and without complaint, disembarking by about 11.30 p.m.

What is clear from the available data is that Olympic regularly arrived at the Ambrose Channel Light Vessel in New York on Tuesday evening and she also docked in New York on one occasion (when she was on the shorter northern track, which cut more than a hundred nautical miles off the voyage distance).  There is therefore no basis to state that any inconvenience would have been caused to her passengers if Titanic arrived in New York on Tuesday evening, because her older sister did so repeatedly in 1911-12. 

 

Olympic & Titanic: Triumph And Disaster Cover

 

 

Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Judging a Book by its Cover

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Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster – Judging a Book by its Cover

 

 

There is a cliche that you should not judge a book by its cover, but many people probably do exactly that!

Getting a book’s cover design correct is very important.  This includes not just the front, but the rear cover as well.  Imagery catches the eye.  The cover also needs to convey the content of the book.  The process is a collaborative effort between the author and the design team at the publisher.

The title of the book, Olympic & Titanic: Triumph and Disaster, is intended to draw the contrast between the first two of the three ‘Olympic‘ class ships.  A theme throughout is how similar these ships were from a design perspective and how their stories diverged so significantly.  It seemed appropriate that Olympic should be on the front cover, as the more successful of the two.  We see her depicted in a wonderful, sharp photograph as she sets out for New York.  Everything portends a long, successful career which is exactly what lay ahead of her.

To complete the comparison, Titanic found her place on the rear cover.  She represents the opposite of her successful sister – the ‘disaster’ in the final word of the book’s title. There are illustrations from 1912 depicting the sinking but I thought that a colour image would be a better representation and form a contrast with the black and grey colouring of the front cover.  It was a pleasure to work with Tom Lynskey and Levi Rourke from HFX Studios, who kindly permitted us to use an illustration from their most recent Titanic sinking animation.  As an added bonus, they had worked with the publisher before in providing imagery for other book covers, so were well acquainted with the process.   

 

I think the cover designer, Martin Latham, and the History Press team did an excellent job.  I feel the whole combination works well, with the blue lettering on the front cover, blue spine and dust jackets, and then the darker, blue sea extended down the rear cover to provide space for reviewer’s quotes. 

To learn more about HFX Studios’ work or watch their stunning YouTube documentaries, click on the logos below!