The Olympic Class Ships: Olympic, Titanic, Britannic

by Mark Chirnside

Sitting around a dining room table in 1907, the owners of the White Star Line discussed their competition to the newly-built Cunard liners, Lusitania and Mauretania. From that smoke-filled room came the first designs of three White Star superliners, Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic. Each ship was subtly different. Lessons learned from the service of Olympic were put into practice for Titanic. With the loss, on her maiden voyage, of Titanic, the hull design was radically changed for the third sister ship. The new double hull, however, did not prevent Britannic from sinking in less than an hour in the Aegean after she hit a German mine in 1916. Illustrated with many rare images of all three vessels, only one of which survived in regular service, this is the definitive history of the most famous sister ships of all time.

Genres: History

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the ultimate resource book on White Star Line's Olympic class ships. As such, it is a thorough research piece that examines the history and technical aspects of the three ocean liners that comprised this class--Olympic (in service 1911-1935), Titanic (1912), and Britannic (1915-1916). As a long-time fan of the great liners, Olympic in particular, I consider this an essential part of my library. It is my contention, one shared with the author, that Titanic cannot be put into proper perspective without examining her sister ships; therefore, I also recommend The Olympic Class Ships to those familiar only with the most famous of the trio.

The author immediately puts the ships' histories into context by examining their owners, the shipyard in which they were built, and the competing ships of the rival Cunard Line. We then are treated to details of the lives of each ship in turn--including technical information and remembrances of crew and passengers--but not necessarily in isolation. After all, the lives of the three ships were indeed intertwined, as history impacted each of the ships' designs at different points in time.

Mr. Chirnside's thorough research extends to the appendices. Aside from the expected chronologies, there is a wonderful analysis on Californian's role in the Titanic story, and--something I've rarely seen--a tribute to those who perished on Britannic, the only one of the three that did not see passenger service.

I was surprised to learn that the author was a University student. I look forward to reading his future works over what I suspect will be a very promising career.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved anything white star line related. My favorite book on the topic thus far.

[Hans-Petter Sandseth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, special for those interested in historic vessels.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and interesting.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

very informative and interesting...