32 Facts About The Olympic

RMS Olympic was a British ocean liner and the lead ship of the White Star Line's trio of Olympic-class liners.

The Olympic had a career spanning 24 years from 1911 to 1935, in contrast to her short-lived sister ships, Titanic and Britannic.

The Olympic returned to civilian service after the war, and served successfully as an ocean liner throughout the 1920s and into the first half of the 1930s, although increased competition, and the slump in trade during the Great Depression after 1930, made her operation increasingly unprofitable.

The Olympic was withdrawn from service and sold for scrap in 1935; demolition was completed in 1937.

At this point the first ship – which was later to become The Olympic – had no name, but was referred to simply as "Number 400", as it was Harland and Wolff's four hundredth hull.

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Construction of The Olympic began three months before Titanic to ease pressures on the shipyard.

The Olympic was designed as a luxury ship; Titanic's passenger facilities, fittings, deck plans and technical facilities were largely identical to The Olympic, although with some small variations.

The Olympic had a cleaner, sleeker look than other ships of the day: rather than fitting her with bulky exterior air vents, Harland and Wolff used smaller air vents with electric fans, with a "dummy" fourth funnel used for additional ventilation.

The Olympic consumed 650 tons of coal per 24 hours with an average speed of 21.

Additionally, the B-Deck First-Class promenade decks installed on The Olympic had proven to be scarcely used because of the already ample promenade space on A-Deck.

The Olympic then left Belfast bound for Liverpool, her port of registration, on 31 May 1911.

The Olympic's arrival generated enthusiasm from her crew and newspapers.

The Olympic settled slightly by the stern, but in spite of the damage was able to return to Southampton under her own power; no one was killed or seriously injured.

However, the fact that Olympic endured such a serious collision and stayed afloat, appeared to vindicate the design of the Olympic-class liners and reinforced their "unsinkable" reputation.

The number of lifeboats carried by The Olympic was increased from twenty to sixty-eight, and extra davits were installed along the boat deck to accommodate them.

The Olympic initially remained in commercial service under Captain Herbert James Haddock.

The Olympic made several more trooping journeys to the Mediterranean until early 1916, when the Gallipoli Campaign was abandoned.

Almost immediately afterwards The Olympic struck the submarine just aft of her conning tower with her port propeller slicing through U-103's pressure hull.

The Olympic did not stop to pick up survivors, but continued on to Cherbourg.

The Olympic returned to Southampton with at least two hull plates dented and her prow twisted to one side, but not breached.

The Olympic's captain was knighted in 1919 for "valuable services in connection with the transport of troops".

The Olympic emerged from refit with an increased tonnage of 46,439, allowing her to retain her claim to the title of largest British built liner afloat, although the Cunard Lines Aquitania was slightly longer.

The Olympic transported a record 38,000 passengers during 1921, which proved to be the peak year of her career.

One of the attractions of The Olympic was the fact that she was nearly identical to Titanic, and many passengers sailed on The Olympic as a way of vicariously experiencing the voyage of her sister ship.

On 22 March 1924, The Olympic was involved in another collision with a ship, this time at New York.

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At first it appeared that The Olympic had sustained only minor damage, but it was later revealed that her sternpost had been fractured, necessitating the replacement of her entire stern frame.

On 18 November 1929, as The Olympic was travelling westbound near to Titanics last known position, the ship suddenly started to vibrate violently, and the vibrations continued for two minutes.

The Olympic had averaged around 1,000 passengers per journey until 1930, but this declined by more than half by 1932.

The captain was very sorry it happened but said The Olympic reacted very quickly lowering boats to rescue the crew, which was confirmed by an injured crewman.

The Olympic was withdrawn from the transatlantic service, and left New York for the last time on 5 April 1935, returning to Britain to be laid up in Southampton.

On 11 October 1935, The Olympic left Southampton for the last time and arrived in Jarrow two days later.

The fittings from The Olympic were auctioned off over ten days in November 1935 at the Palmers Works in Jarrow, the billiard hall opened in 1936.