OTD February 26th. 1914 Launching of the HMHS Britannic

On February 26th. 1914, the ship HMHS Britannic was launched.
This vessel was a part of the fleet of the White Star Line and a
sister ship of the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic.


On this link, you can see a very interesting youtube movie about the 
HMHS Britannic.

Building

The Keel of the HMHS Britannic was laid on November 30th. 1911 at the
Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

Due to the Titanic disaster, which took place on April 15th. 1912,
the launching of HMHS Britannic was postponed. First some improvements
of the ship were needed.

Duty

Initially the HMHS Britannic served for Transatlantic service between
New York and Southampton.

World War I

In 1914, World War I broke out and in 1915 the vessel was needed for
the war. The HMHS Britannic left Belfast on December 11th. 1915.
Later it arrived in Liverpool where she was commissioned as
His Majesty's hospital Ship.

Last Voyage

On November 21st. 1916, near Kea (Greek Island), a loud explosion
shook the ship. The HMHS Britannic hit a mine or was hit by a Torpedo.

A SOS signal was sent out, but the force of the explosion had broken the
aerial wires slung between the ship mast.

Later the HMHS Britannic rolled over. There were 1,065 people on board:
673 crew;
315 Royal Army Medical Corps.
77 nurses.
In total 1,035 people survived this disaster.

The HMHS Britannic was one of the largest ships, lost during World War I.




Pictures: 
1/ HMHS Britannic - Source: Wikipedia
2/ HMHS Britannic and the HMHS Galeka - Source: Wikipedia

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