Olympic was a survivor. She came through two major accidents, a near miss (a dent was discovered below her waterline from a torpedo that failed to detonate), and remains to this day and my knowledge, the only ship of her type to sink a U-boat in war. While it is sad that she wasn't able to escape scrapping, I prefer to think that her final act of service was providing work for the ship-breakers during an enormous economic crisis. She had what her sisters never got: a long successful career which ended with her sailing off into the sunset. Titanic sank due to a perfect storm of factors but she still beat the time she had been given before sinking. She allegedly had an hour and she held up for nearly three. Britannic was a victim of war. But I think Olympic's success was a win for all three of them.
Little known fact, most of the pictures of the Titanic are actually pictures of Olympic, photography was costly back then and White Star decided that since the Titanic and Olympic were practically identical they wouldn't photograph parts of her that were the same as Olympic, that's why she's my favourite, I came for the Titanic, but I fell in love with her older sister.
She's my favorite as well. And it's understandable why they would follow this process. Unfortunately, I think people taking/using Olympic photos and posting them as Titanic helped promote the dreaded "switch theory". And it wasn't just WSL using this tactic with the photos either, Titanic draws a lot more attention and it's more profitable to sell footage as being of Titanic.
The open promenade deck on Olympic is the main difference to Titanic's partly closed promenade deck. It's easy to spot the difference once you're aware of it.
I also came into the maritime history scene for Titanic, but instead of loving Olympic i love Britannic, the younger sister and arguably the one with the most striking design Edit: I love Olympic & Britannic equally now, & i also still adore Titanic. All three were beautiful ships.
That line "There was nothing Olympic could do to save her sister" hit hard. I had no idea that Olympic and her crew tried to reach Titanic before she went under, and the sense of failure the crew and passengers must have experienced was clear as day in the way you explained it.
@@morgan4574 that is what the U-boat got for trying to sink the RMS/HMS Olympic. I would have liked to have heard how the U-boat captain and crew explained the loss of their ship.
Actually, the Olympic was put into dry dock for extensive hull strengthening after the Titanic loss. The Britannic also had different expansion joints, the zone where the Titanic split. Andrews and Carlisle also wanted thicker plating which Ismay kiboshed. Olympic was found to have cracking around her rivets when drydocked for repairs to the propeller, a consequence of Ismay's changes.
@@stringpicker5468 annnnnnd “DIsmay” strikes again. Man. That guy should never have been a decision maker. I have a hard time thinking these decisions along with the ones he helped foster on that fateful night were his first blunders. **shaking my head**
This was one fantastic little documentary about the Olympic! If she was still afloat, she would be one of the "if not THE" most popular ships today. I'm simply thinking of her as a historic museum. What a treasure she would be today.
RMS Olympic is my favorite pre-war liner of all time. That both of her sisters met violent ends while she served for over three decades is poetically tragic. Thank you so much for the care and effort you put into making this video. It is a wonderful tribute to Old Reliable and her proud legacy.
I've always liked Olympic. All three were elegant ships, but while Titanic got itself sunk by an iceberg on its maiden voyage, and Britannic failed to survive the Great War, Olympic had a magnificent career, sinking many other vessels.
I can't help but feel that Olympic was happy to sail with her passengers, but had ALOT of rage built up. Rage that she took out on the U-Boat that dared try to take her out.
Parts of her still live on, The White Swan Inn, Alnwick Northumberland, England has The Olympic Suite. Which is made up of parts of the first class lounge, the D deck banister from the Grand Staircase, the Aft First Class Staircase, and the revolving door from the liner's restaurant.
To your point at the end of the video, the fact it took 2 hours 40 minutes for titanic to sink is a testament to her construction and design. Most vessels of her time would have lasted about an hour.
Actually Pirie's first comment was: Why did she sink so fast on being told. The reason was a flawed design of watertight compartments, poor steel which was aggravated by the change of thickness ordered by Ismay. Notice that they rebuilt the Olympic's hull. The design was flawed.
@@BigOldBoats Yes but she broke in half and not in the way shown in Cameron's movie. This was likely due to unzipping at the expansion joint which was radically changed on the Britannic.
One of the finest ships to cross the Atlantic in my opinion. I was wondering if you were going to do a video on the Olympic. Ashame she no longer exist I understand why she was scrapped but could you imagine if the Olympic was still around today what a sight it would be.
My great grandfather served on the Olympic and I still have his original seaman’s discharge book with the stamp of the Olympic, next to that his the signature of captain Haddock! Crazy to think that something he held in his hands is in my sideboard..
Considering she was in such good condition when she was scrapped, can you imagine how valued she would be today preserved as a near identical copy of her infamous sister?
The Titanic and her sister ship's were modern marvels of their day and as the narrator of this video stated she simply had an accident that was unrecoverable even for ship's of today. Mr. Narrator I agree with you 100%!
I remember reading that Mauritania was famed for having a soul, one wonders if anyone thought that about Olympic too. Whenever reading about her there’s a real sense of a ship with personality.
When I wanted to start my collection of oceanliner models there was only one choice for the first one. RMS Olympic. My favorite by far, she had such an interesting and colorful career it's a true shame the the one that gets remembered now days is the Titanic because Olympic lived up to the hype and remains one of if not the best to have ever sailed.
This is very accurate. Despite what the movies may say, it actually was the Olympic that received the initial recognition for being the most luxurious liner ever made at that time, not the Titanic, which was the second in production order. And most of the time, whenever you see pictures of the "Titanic", you're actually seeing pictures of the Olympic, due to to fact that the Titanic wasn't afloat long enough to have a lot of pictures taken of her.
@@papadave3084 Probably referring to the Titanic/Olympic switch theory, which is mainly that the crash with Olympic and HMS Hawke cost White Star too much money, so they switched Olympic with Titanic. This theory has been proven false by two things: The number 401 being found at Titanic’s wreck, and the small design differences between the two ships
Seeing the grand staircase in pieces during scrapping put a knot in my heart. Sad that the ship had to go because of the changing economy. I bet she had many more years of life left.
Hell it'd have still probably been doing something or other had they not scrapped it and had put anything into preservation. Sadly they didn't think like that in the 1930s. If USS Texas can be saved and restored (albeit at great cost), Olympic could've been, too. It had only been laid down a few years prior to Texas. They could've even pulled an MV Stockholm (now MV Astoria, threatened by scrapping unfortunately) and refit it for pleasure cruises. Though, I can't imagine how threatening Olympic with diesel engines would have been to submarines all around the world.
When she was being broken up, they said she was in absolutely fine condition and that her engines still looked nearly new, only one engine mounting plate on the keel was cracked. Rust and corrosion were absolutely minimal and her structure was absolutely sound. Her former rival Mauritania was in much worse condition than the Olympic
This is your best video yet, IMHO… you could have told this story a dozen different ways, but tying it in with the Titanic at the very beginning in such a quiet and haunting way, with just that Morse code, and then posting it around the anniversary of that event, was a brilliant and poignant way to honor one while celebrating the other…. Bravo! :)
@@BigOldBoats hi just found your wonderful channel! I have an idea for a future video topic, if you’re interested: what exactly are the ACTUAL historic photos of the genuine Titanic? it’s something I can never seem to figure out on my own. We all know most of the old photos showing all the Titanic’s features were in reality Olympic. But what - if any - are actually of the genuine Titanic? And NOT recycled Olympic photos? I’ve tried to figure this out off and on over the years, and can’t find a list. Would love to hear your insight/findings. Thank you!!
This was one of the most, if not the most powerful video you've done to date, from beginning to end. Not much I really need to say about Olympic, as you got straight to the point on her story. You are spot on, however, with your final thoughts about the Olympic-class liners. Titanic and Britannic were simply very unlucky, but Olympic exemplified what would have been.
Olympic is my Number One Ocean Liner for how Reliable she was as a Troopship, Her long and Amazing Career, and how she fought for her Country, Company, and Sisters. She is indeed the Old Reliable, even in her twilight years. Titanic is my symbolic icon for ships in particular, so she is everywhere.
Wow. The Olympic was a beautiful ship So sad that she was not kept as a museum ship. Especially as she was almost identical to her sister shop Titanic.
The main reasons why she was eventually scraped was because of her ageing design, cost at the time due to the great depression, and the merger of white star line and Cunard line in 1934. RMS Olympic and Titanic were not like modern cruise ship being primary designed to carry immigrants to north America. for example most of her 2nd and 3rd class accommodations were cramped and didn't have private bathrooms. Instead 2nd class and 3rd class had public restrooms with two bath tubs for each class. The only accommodations that were private were 1st class. Times changed with a majority of passengers wanting private accommodations in what would become tourist class and eventually cruise ships. Immigration to the US dried up after the 1924 immigration act and with the great depression white star line was nearing bankruptcy trying to operate ships . It didn't help that they lost a great deal of ships in ww1. Because of the great depression , white star line was forced to merge with their competitor Cunard line which had a majority share because they had more ships. Cunard had say in the fate of Olympic preferring to use her to generate jobs for workers by scrapping her and focusing on other projects like finishing the construction of RMS Queen Mary.
The Olympic holds a really close spot to my heart, Because my great grandparents actually migrated to the us on her in the mid 20s, And they only told us recently. My great grandfather actually showed me his collection where he had several artifacts i'm sure he could sell for a good buck. Pretty cool to know that my great grandfather had a sense of style when it came to ships, Especially because he sailed on one of the most famous ones. 10 / 10 video, Great work!
Olympic is my favourite liner of all time. Beautiful proportions and clean lines. She's the pick of the 3 Olympic class because her design is more pure. Sure, closing in the A deck promenade was clearly the best thing to do from a practical perspective. But it messed up the lines from a visual perspective.
I'm gonna have to give it to many of the Italian liners from the 50s and 60s. They had graceful proportions, with more attractive surfacing and details.
There were other reasons too. The addition of lifeboats along the whole boat deck reduced the open promenade space. So it was better option to leave A deck promenade as open.
Thanks for this one, Olympic was my favorite ships since I found out she existed. I kind of feel like any video of these 3 sisters should at least mention Violet Jessop at least briefly :) Apart from that an amazing video as usual, really enjoyed watching / listening!
What a superb and fascinating documentary on Titanic's little known sister. I've always said the Olympic had a far more interesting life. Top marks! Keep them coming, I really enjoy this channel and the amount of research you must do.
Having never been interested in ships before, I'm loving the way you tell these stories. Also your music choices in this one were spot on, and I like that you don't sensationalise, you just give a balanced account.
Bradley, this really is a great video and tribute to a magnificent class of ships. I am still returning to it over a year later. If you decide to make any of your “director’s commentary” versions of your older videos, please make one on this video!
I was somehow already able to watch the video, i only saw afterwards that it would not premiere until later. sorry! I loved it though, i love Olympic and i completely agree with your views on her and Titanic.
As a middle child myself, I say that the Olympic should have been the second ship: hardworking, loyal, and introverted. The Titanic should have been the first born: doing nothing but still gets all the attention! Titanic! Titanic! Titanic!
Lol well, if Titanic never sank, the roles would be reversed. Both hardworking vessels (and of course Britannic), but it'd be Olympic that would get all the attention.
Naw you got it all wrong. The Britannic and Titanic should have been switched. The first born is the hardworking and loyal one, the second born is the one that gets ignored, and the third born is the one that gets all the attention.
What’s insane is how your opening description almost made me cry! Describing it as a sister trying to save its sibling only to fall short just hit me… amazing story telling!
Like you I love the RMS Olympic, and yes she proved that the unfortunate Titanic & Britannic were victims of circumstance. Another excellent movie, your enthusiasm for these Big Boats really comes across, well done Ps Olympic was finally broken up at Inverkeithing, just a few miles from here, to the North of Edinburgh, I think about her every time I pass the yard on the train 🏴
Something metaphorical in how the Olympic and Mauretania met the same death in the scrapyard together at the same time, after previously having been built to best her.
Truly a beautiful and touching tribute. As I'm sure a fair lot of us have been, I was familiar with Titanic first, having fallen in love with her beauty and haunting tragedy at 7 years old. Yet, later, I learned about Olympic and that proud, lovely lady of the sea has claimed a large place firmly in my heart. I feel something deep and intense regarding her, and like you, could talk about her for a thousand-odd hours. There is almost an emotional human-type quality to her story. A "family" of three sisters. The middle sister meets unspeakable tragedy, calling out to a sibling in her final hours yet, had Olympic even arrived in time, she'd have been shunned, being identical in appearance. The youngest sister "perishes" via an act of war, leaving only one member of the "family" behind who has a life fraught with pride and sorrows in its own way (cue Nantucket Lightship). In the end she overcomes everything except her age and lack of popularity in a changing time - her only crime. Now we have lost her 80-odd years ago and the tragedies of Titanic (less so, Britannic) have overshadowed her. Yet, like human dramas, isn't that often true? The sorrows and losses are burnished by time and successes can become foggy, for they lack a pull upon the heartstrings. I imagine Olympic's life being like that of a courageous woman though. With head held high, she went to her death with grace and beauty.
Wow. These are the moments that make you proud that RUclips exists. To find a channel like yours and just start bingeing your content on this subject is amazing. Made more amazing by your expertly crafted documentary style stories, amazing music selection, and just riveting attention to detail (no ship 🚢 pun intended 😂) keep up this amazing channel and I’ll be sure to share with any of my audience looking to learn about the history of these amazing big old boats! 👏
The image 4:30 shows how design was done before computers, lots of manhours and tons of paper. This was a great watch, lots of information, great B&W footage and still photos and great narration. Top notch work here.
I've been binging on your videos for a couple of days now, and am saddened that I was born much too late to have been a part of the golden age of cruise ships. The people who created these ships made floating works of art. Attention was paid to even the smallest of details. I've been on a couple of cruises over the years, but what passes for an ocean experience nowadays, is nothing more than a pale shadow of earlier glory days. Thank-you for introducing me to the world of big, beautiful old ships. I didn't know I was very interested in them, and now I can't stop watching.
It’s worth noting that purpose-built cruise ships back then…weren’t really much of a thing. These ships were ocean liners. They were forms of transportation, luxuriously outfitted to make transatlantic crossings more pleasant, as opposed to vacationing or other non-essential transportation uses. As a result, they were designs were drastically different *(and arguably far superior)* when compared to that of actual cruise ships :)
Don’t be sad, you’re a lot safer these days. Plus cruises are lame. Stuck on a boat? Mehhh. Not a vacation in my experienced opinion. But to each his own.
So the titanic naturally got me into liners, but once I learnt of the Olympic, that’s when I became enthralled with her, such a great and sad story, over the years I’ve collected pieces of her, a little piece of history
I just found this amazing video. Been a Titanic nerd for years but she brought me to her sisters. I love the way you narrated this. And how eerie that Olympic vibrated over her sister’s final resting place.
Thanks for this. Olympic is my absolute favourite. I always thought it was such a shame that she was scrapped when she was, and hearing that she was in fantastic shape at the time makes it even more painful. She should have had a much longer career...
This was incredibly well done! Such rare photos and footage. I've been obsessed with Titanic and Olympic for over 35 years, since I was a kid, and I have not seen much of this footage/photos before. I wish the Olympic had been saved also, but unfortunately, she was decommissioned long before the obsession with Titanic began.
What all of the movies about the Titanic always completely miss (get wrong) is that before the Titanic's horrible, and infamous disaster, RMS Olympic was by far the most well-known and emphasized ship (being the flag ship of the "Olympic-Class" liners). The Titanic had a few extra added and refined features that the Olympic didn't have (such as a partially enclosed A deck, extra carpets in the various first class rooms, etc). What I'm trying to say is that in an actual, authentic movie about the Titanic, the passengers and crew of the Titanic would not have talked about the Titanic as the one and only ship of its kind. Instead they would be talking a lot about the newest addition (RMS Titanic) of the "Unsinkable" Olympic-Class ships, and how she (Titanic) compared with the Olympic. I've known about this history of Titanic's older sister (and flag ship of the "Unsinkable" Olympic-Class liners) ever since I was a kid in the late 1980s, and that's what drives me the most insane about all of the movies that were ever done on Titanic ("Titanic" 1953, "A Night To Remember" 1958, "SOS Titanic" 1979, and of course James Cameron's "Titanic" 1997), is this total lack of any mention about the more well-known and emphasized Olympic at the time, which makes all of these movies about Titanic completely false in the context that the Titanic was actually really perceived and emphasized by the masses at the time.
To be fair, you need to look at what makes the most compelling story. While history buffs like us would appreciate the Olympic being mentioned, many filmgoers would be taken aback about them just raving about how great this lesser known ship is. Lesser known to the audience, of course. Would be like if the ford v Ferrari film spent more time diving into the backstory of Bandini. Would have made the story more historically accurate, but less compelling to most audiences.
Thank you so much for this fabulous video! The three sisters were amazing ships and I have long been fascinated by them. I love your channel and appreciate the care you take in making your videos. Please, feel free to talk for a few more hours about Olympic!
It’s so amazing how identical the two ships were. I couldn’t tell the difference between the two if you asked me to. The story of the titanic overshadowed the Olympic. I’m happy I got to learn more about her
You can imagine what it would be like to be onboard a ship, hearing one of the sister ships was going down, specially if said ships were quite beloved by many. Brings to mind the loss of HMS Barham, one of 5 Queen Elizabeth class Super Dreadnought Battleships. Although the most popular of the 5 was HMS Warspite, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant were second and 3rd, the 3 getting modernization before the other 2, Barham and Malaya. November 25th, 1941, Barham, Queen Elizabeth, and Valiant were among the many warships escorting a convoy, Warspite absent due to having emergency repairs near Pearl Harbour... also being quite a long ways away. From what Warspite had gone through, and the other sister ships during the Battle Of Jutland in the first world war, the 5 Queen's were seen as unsinkable, some of the strongest ships on the seas. However, that day after spotting a German U-boat near the convoy, the destroyers were sent to intercept the U-boat before it got in range of the convoy. The German U-boat seeing the destroyers charging in their direction, fired all torpedo tubes without a target to simply empty them so they can make an emergency dive to avoid being damaged or destroyed. The torpedoes passed the Destroyers, posing no threat to them, however, the torpedoes fired without a target, found one... HMS Barham. The Torpedo belt on Barham wasn't like the upgraded torpedo belt on Warspite, Valiant and Queen Elizabeth, as her refit which would have given her the better upgrades and rebuilt super structure was only a few months away. The torpedoes ripped open several holes in the port side of Barham, leaving no chance at all of saving her. She slowed to a halt as she started listing to port, Valiant and Queen Elizabeth made hard turns to starboard in an attempt to try and aid Barham, but she was going down fast, and one crew member onboard Valiant captured Barham's final moments, which if you just look up Barham here on youtube, you can't miss it. All ships of the convoy steered clear of Barham as she turned and began listing to port. The destroyers turned back after Barham was hit, mainly because the U-boat had already got away. Valiant stayed near Barham to try and rescue those who got off the ship, but keeping enough distance from her just in case, which would prove to be a good idea. It took only 4 minutes for the massive dreadnought, from being hit, to rolling to port 90 degrees, submerging most of her super structure, with most of the crew standing on the starboard side, when an even more devastating thing happened. One of the rear magazines for the main 15inch guns detonated, obliterating a good portion of the ship only a moment after rolling to port 90 degrees, instantly killing over half her crew. Valiant and Queen Elizabeth had watched her sister ship go down fast, and witnessed the massive explosion that ended so many lives in an instant. One of the 5 queens was gone. The news of the loss of Barham was delayed as long as possible, as losing a ship like her would devastate navy moral, losing one of the 5 greatest battleships of the Royal Navy... To think she was only a short time away from being refitted, upgrades and changes that could have saved her if it wasn't for the delays and not seen as that important as Warspite and Queen Elizabeth were favoured over the other 3, Valiant being the last to be modernized, and Malaya remained in escort duty in less dangerous waters, where her aging hull and outdated equipment and such were not a main concern. Of course those who witnessed Barham's destruction were devastated, but were ordered not to speak of it publicly until after her fate was made public. Ironically, Barham is the last of the queens still to exist, as Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, and Malaya were scrapped after the war, and Warspite, despite public outcry, was decided also to be scrapped a few years later. Warspite did however prove she still had plenty of fight left in her, breaking free of the ships towing her to be scrapped, sailing on her own until running aground at Prussia Cove, where she got very much stuck in the thick and sticky mud of the shallow water. Impossible to pull her out, she was scrapped on the spot, taking 3 years to do so, and costing more money then it would have to simply keep her. That leaves Barham, even though not in one piece, laying somewhere at the bottom of the mediterranean sea, still yet to be discovered. Even the loss of HMS Hood to Bismark wasn't kept as secret as Barham's sinking, as the 5 Queen Elizabeth Class Super Dreadnoughts were beloved by many.
I went on the Celebrity Cruise Millennium ship for the Olympic dining experience. Seeing that classic dining room, eating with waiters dressed in 1912 white tie and tails and being served food with silver cover trays was so much fun.
Thank you for all the information you offer on this channel. There's a special place in my heart for the Olympic, and I've learned a lot about other vessels as a result of your work.
I so badly wish Olympic was still around today. How amazing would that be. I sometimes daydream of visiting this amazing and beautiful time period of one of a kind ocean liners that completely outmatch the modern cheap designs of today's ships.
You're videos are an absolute joy to watch mate ! Incredible narrating and knowledge! Excellent video! Olympic needs more love as it was a brilliant old liner! Olympic class liners are the best looking ships of all time IMO.
My maternal grandparents travelled on the Olympic, my granddmother was pregnant with my uncle George, who was born in Milwaukee, USA They travelled from Southampton to New York. It was amazing to see the interiors, knowing the grandparents I never knew, had travelled in that wonderful luxury, and I now saw what they saw. Thank you very much.❤
I would say at least ONE of the three sisters did fulfill their goal of having a "normal" service life of 25 years as was probably common at the time. I think it would have been rather tragic had all three been lost to incidents and the fact that the Olympic survived WW1 was quite impressive (although had she been around long enough for WW2 that may have been a bit different due to the sheer size of WW2).
I rewatch this video at least once if not twice a month because i love hearing you talk about what is probably my favorite liner. Thanks for all the great vids!
My Number 1 Liner. Olympic is Awesome, Fighting for Both her Sisters, serving her Country, and Having a Very Long and Successful Career. Amazing Video Pal, you deserve way extra Likes.
I love this ship. Have at least 3 enhanced photographs of her on my wall. A 4th waiting to go up. I'm surprised we haven't gotten an HBO or Netflix series on her yet. 25 years of star studded history you don't even need a script. In my opinion she is the cleanest looking of the class and I adore her. Amazing vid thank you for sharing👍
Its always made me happy that one of the sisters had a successful career. It would have been amazing had all three survived. Mishap and war prevented that. But...one can always dream.
I of course understand how costly these vessels were, but I find it tragic that this ship was scrapped. Gone are the times when we built great marvels and conquered the world.
Just listened to this video 2x. Sooooo well done and a true homage to the ship and indeed the trio and Harland and Wolff. Titanic was truly a victim of bad luck and terribly unfortunate circumstances and Britannic due to carelessness. Imagine if the trio survived unscathed? 3 very solidly and thoughtfully constructed liners, that no doubt could have sailed into and through WWII
Olympic was awesome, I wish more people knew about her. It's so true what you said about the misconceptions of Titanic being easily proven wrong when you look at her near identical sister - Olympic rammed and sank a frigging u-boat, she was tough! It's sad that her sisters were lost so early and that of the Olympic class she was the only one to actually make it to New York.
To me and I think Ken Marschall, the Olympic looked majestic with its open promenade deck, whereas the Titanic seemed a little more 'cozy' with her prom deck partially covered because of bow spray.
Instead of taking high risks to visit the Titanic shipwreck at a 3800 meters depth, people should have rather had the opportunity to visit her brilliant sister which won the competition in durability and time resistance, the Olympic ship!
Olympic class liners are so well proportioned. Looks streamline and powerful. Last of the "analog" - reciprocating big ocean liners. Interesting how loud was engine sound on board. If I were able to sail on it, engine room would be my favorite place. And I think that 21 knots is optimal speed for transatlantic journey, no need to rush, take your time and enjoy your stay on comfortable vessel. With higher speeds it would be too windy to spend time on open deck.
24:15 That has ALWAYS been one of my all-time favorite pictures of Olympic. My other favorite was a video of her White Star Line gold stripe ending at her nameplate in the 1930s italic font "Olympic". She was not just an absolutely beautiful ship, but she was reliable, sturdy, and loved the world over. I only wish that someone would've snatched her up for use as a museum ship or a floating hotel as we ALL know that she would've been WAY more popular than the Queen Mary in her post career due to her connection with her sister Titanic.
A very good book about Olympic is "Racing Through The Night: Olympic's Attempt to Reach Titanic" by Wade Sisson. A heartbreaking read. Probably one of the most thorough books about her.
Fun Fact: the original captain of the Olympic later became captain of the Titanic and the original captain of the Titanic later became captain of the Olympic.
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Olympic was a survivor. She came through two major accidents, a near miss (a dent was discovered below her waterline from a torpedo that failed to detonate), and remains to this day and my knowledge, the only ship of her type to sink a U-boat in war. While it is sad that she wasn't able to escape scrapping, I prefer to think that her final act of service was providing work for the ship-breakers during an enormous economic crisis. She had what her sisters never got: a long successful career which ended with her sailing off into the sunset. Titanic sank due to a perfect storm of factors but she still beat the time she had been given before sinking. She allegedly had an hour and she held up for nearly three. Britannic was a victim of war. But I think Olympic's success was a win for all three of them.
olympic 1 u-boats 0
Little known fact, most of the pictures of the Titanic are actually pictures of Olympic, photography was costly back then and White Star decided that since the Titanic and Olympic were practically identical they wouldn't photograph parts of her that were the same as Olympic, that's why she's my favourite, I came for the Titanic, but I fell in love with her older sister.
She's my favorite as well. And it's understandable why they would follow this process.
Unfortunately, I think people taking/using Olympic photos and posting them as Titanic helped promote the dreaded "switch theory". And it wasn't just WSL using this tactic with the photos either, Titanic draws a lot more attention and it's more profitable to sell footage as being of Titanic.
The open promenade deck on Olympic is the main difference to Titanic's partly closed promenade deck.
It's easy to spot the difference once you're aware of it.
if they use the "unsinkable" advertisement with Olympic's picture, it is correct in some kind of way
Falling in love with the older sister? That's a tale as old as time right there homie g.
I also came into the maritime history scene for Titanic, but instead of loving Olympic i love Britannic, the younger sister and arguably the one with the most striking design
Edit: I love Olympic & Britannic equally now, & i also still adore Titanic. All three were beautiful ships.
That line "There was nothing Olympic could do to save her sister" hit hard. I had no idea that Olympic and her crew tried to reach Titanic before she went under, and the sense of failure the crew and passengers must have experienced was clear as day in the way you explained it.
Same. I'm a twin sister and it hit me hard too. And I never knew Olympic sank a damn U-boat that's so metal
It had me choking up, caught me off guard. the visceral nature of saving a sibling, or a loved one...hard to contend with
@@morgan4574 that is what the U-boat got for trying to sink the RMS/HMS Olympic. I would have liked to have heard how the U-boat captain and crew explained the loss of their ship.
HMTS Olympic.
What About Her Sisters?
The Olympic proves the soundness of the Andrews' design. Her sisters both met sad fates but the Olympic remains a huge achievement.
technically her structure was designed by Alexander Carlisle
And also, technically, the design is flawed.
@@iMattC all designs are flawed
Actually, the Olympic was put into dry dock for extensive hull strengthening after the Titanic loss. The Britannic also had different expansion joints, the zone where the Titanic split. Andrews and Carlisle also wanted thicker plating which Ismay kiboshed. Olympic was found to have cracking around her rivets when drydocked for repairs to the propeller, a consequence of Ismay's changes.
@@stringpicker5468 annnnnnd “DIsmay” strikes again. Man. That guy should never have been a decision maker. I have a hard time thinking these decisions along with the ones he helped foster on that fateful night were his first blunders. **shaking my head**
This was one fantastic little documentary about the Olympic! If she was still afloat, she would be one of the "if not THE" most popular ships today. I'm simply thinking of her as a historic museum. What a treasure she would be today.
It probably would have been converted into a floating casino.
Maybe, but Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth didn’t fair too well for those museums, and they were classic and famous ships as well.
@@mindyschocolate But her connection to Titanic would have made all the difference.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Swan_Hotel,_Alnwick
@@OllieRamone *could, it could have made all the difference.
My favourite ship of all time. Wish she was still here.
RMS Olympic is my favorite pre-war liner of all time. That both of her sisters met violent ends while she served for over three decades is poetically tragic. Thank you so much for the care and effort you put into making this video. It is a wonderful tribute to Old Reliable and her proud legacy.
Thank you! I'm glad I could do Old Reliable proud.
I've always liked Olympic. All three were elegant ships, but while Titanic got itself sunk by an iceberg on its maiden voyage, and Britannic failed to survive the Great War, Olympic had a magnificent career, sinking many other vessels.
The people at the breaker's yard said Olympic's hull was in really good shape when she was scrapped :o
I can't help but feel that Olympic was happy to sail with her passengers, but had ALOT of rage built up. Rage that she took out on the U-Boat that dared try to take her out.
Parts of her still live on, The White Swan Inn, Alnwick Northumberland, England has The Olympic Suite. Which is made up of parts of the first class lounge, the D deck banister from the Grand Staircase, the Aft First Class Staircase, and the revolving door from the liner's restaurant.
Oh nice! Another reason to visit Northumberland :)
To your point at the end of the video, the fact it took 2 hours 40 minutes for titanic to sink is a testament to her construction and design. Most vessels of her time would have lasted about an hour.
Absolutely. She also never capsized during the sinking, which saved many lives.
Awesome video! Thank you!
Actually Pirie's first comment was: Why did she sink so fast on being told. The reason was a flawed design of watertight compartments, poor steel which was aggravated by the change of thickness ordered by Ismay. Notice that they rebuilt the Olympic's hull. The design was flawed.
@@BigOldBoats Yes but she broke in half and not in the way shown in Cameron's movie. This was likely due to unzipping at the expansion joint which was radically changed on the Britannic.
@@BigOldBoats if she have many lifeboats maybe the death toll has been lessen since 2hrs and 40mins was enough to save almost all passenger
One of the finest ships to cross the Atlantic in my opinion. I was wondering if you were going to do a video on the Olympic. Ashame she no longer exist I understand why she was scrapped but could you imagine if the Olympic was still around today what a sight it would be.
Yes
The Olympic is sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic it sank on April 15th, 1912
@@shaunoneil4705 no lol
She would be one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world after the discovery of her sister
@@shaunoneil4705 Er, that’s Titanic.
My great grandfather served on the Olympic and I still have his original seaman’s discharge book with the stamp of the Olympic, next to that his the signature of captain Haddock! Crazy to think that something he held in his hands is in my sideboard..
Considering she was in such good condition when she was scrapped, can you imagine how valued she would be today preserved as a near identical copy of her infamous sister?
The Titanic and her sister ship's were modern marvels of their day and as the narrator of this video stated she simply had an accident that was unrecoverable even for ship's of today. Mr. Narrator I agree with you 100%!
I remember reading that Mauritania was famed for having a soul, one wonders if anyone thought that about Olympic too. Whenever reading about her there’s a real sense of a ship with personality.
President Franklin D Roosevelt said that about Mauretania
I find that with pretty much all of the great liners I read about.
Aquataina also had one
Wdym by that
Dude you think a ship has a soul? Lol how stupid can you get?
Miss Old Reliable will always be my favorite ocean liner. She was a phenomenal ship. Still makes me sad how few know about her and her legacy.
When I wanted to start my collection of oceanliner models there was only one choice for the first one. RMS Olympic. My favorite by far, she had such an interesting and colorful career it's a true shame the the one that gets remembered now days is the Titanic because Olympic lived up to the hype and remains one of if not the best to have ever sailed.
Yeah, except The Olympic is the ship that sunk on April 15th, 1912 and the ship that sailed until 1934 was The Titanic
@@shaunoneil4705 prove it
@@shaunoneil4705 Ah, yes, the ol' "let's commit insurance fraud so we can lose money" scheme.
@@shaunoneil4705 Riiiiiiiiiiiight.
which scale are they
This is very accurate. Despite what the movies may say, it actually was the Olympic that received the initial recognition for being the most luxurious liner ever made at that time, not the Titanic, which was the second in production order.
And most of the time, whenever you see pictures of the "Titanic", you're actually seeing pictures of the Olympic, due to to fact that the Titanic wasn't afloat long enough to have a lot of pictures taken of her.
Absolutely. Up until April 14th, 1912, the Titanic was known as just a copy of the Olympic.
@expattaffy1 which help to bolster conspiracy theories...
@@stevem.1853 Conspiracy theories? Like what, for example?
~Cheers, from Michigan
@@papadave3084 there's all sorts of crazy stuff going around, like some conspiracy involving J P Morgan, ship switching and pretty much anything else.
@@papadave3084 Probably referring to the Titanic/Olympic switch theory, which is mainly that the crash with Olympic and HMS Hawke cost White Star too much money, so they switched Olympic with Titanic. This theory has been proven false by two things: The number 401 being found at Titanic’s wreck, and the small design differences between the two ships
Seeing the grand staircase in pieces during scrapping put a knot in my heart. Sad that the ship had to go because of the changing economy. I bet she had many more years of life left.
Hell it'd have still probably been doing something or other had they not scrapped it and had put anything into preservation. Sadly they didn't think like that in the 1930s.
If USS Texas can be saved and restored (albeit at great cost), Olympic could've been, too. It had only been laid down a few years prior to Texas.
They could've even pulled an MV Stockholm (now MV Astoria, threatened by scrapping unfortunately) and refit it for pleasure cruises.
Though, I can't imagine how threatening Olympic with diesel engines would have been to submarines all around the world.
When she was being broken up, they said she was in absolutely fine condition and that her engines still looked nearly new, only one engine mounting plate on the keel was cracked. Rust and corrosion were absolutely minimal and her structure was absolutely sound. Her former rival Mauritania was in much worse condition than the Olympic
The way you finished off the Olympic's story, and how beautifully and proudly you spoke of her....that gave me real chills. Thank you!
This is your best video yet, IMHO… you could have told this story a dozen different ways, but tying it in with the Titanic at the very beginning in such a quiet and haunting way, with just that Morse code, and then posting it around the anniversary of that event, was a brilliant and poignant way to honor one while celebrating the other…. Bravo! :)
Thank you so much! I tried to come at it from a slightly different perspective so I'm glad that came across :)
@@BigOldBoats hi just found your wonderful channel!
I have an idea for a future video topic, if you’re interested: what exactly are the ACTUAL historic photos of the genuine Titanic?
it’s something I can never seem to figure out on my own. We all know most of the old photos showing all the Titanic’s features were in reality Olympic. But what - if any - are actually of the genuine Titanic? And NOT recycled Olympic photos?
I’ve tried to figure this out off and on over the years, and can’t find a list. Would love to hear your insight/findings. Thank you!!
This was one of the most, if not the most powerful video you've done to date, from beginning to end. Not much I really need to say about Olympic, as you got straight to the point on her story. You are spot on, however, with your final thoughts about the Olympic-class liners. Titanic and Britannic were simply very unlucky, but Olympic exemplified what would have been.
Thank you so much for the kind words, as always. Really appreciate it! And couldn't agree more, Olympic proves what could have been.
Olympic is my Number One Ocean Liner for how Reliable she was as a Troopship, Her long and Amazing Career, and how she fought for her Country, Company, and Sisters. She is indeed the Old Reliable, even in her twilight years. Titanic is my symbolic icon for ships in particular, so she is everywhere.
Wow. The Olympic was a beautiful ship
So sad that she was not kept as a museum ship. Especially as she was almost identical to her sister shop Titanic.
Yeah, it's really too bad she wasn't saved.
The main reasons why she was eventually scraped was because of her ageing design, cost at the time due to the great depression, and the merger of white star line and Cunard line in 1934. RMS Olympic and Titanic were not like modern cruise ship being primary designed to carry immigrants to north America. for example most of her 2nd and 3rd class accommodations were cramped and didn't have private bathrooms. Instead 2nd class and 3rd class had public restrooms with two bath tubs for each class. The only accommodations that were private were 1st class. Times changed with a majority of passengers wanting private accommodations in what would become tourist class and eventually cruise ships. Immigration to the US dried up after the 1924 immigration act and with the great depression white star line was nearing bankruptcy trying to operate ships . It didn't help that they lost a great deal of ships in ww1. Because of the great depression , white star line was forced to merge with their competitor Cunard line which had a majority share because they had more ships. Cunard had say in the fate of Olympic preferring to use her to generate jobs for workers by scrapping her and focusing on other projects like finishing the construction of RMS Queen Mary.
What About Her Sisters?
Same with Warspite.
The Olympic holds a really close spot to my heart, Because my great grandparents actually migrated to the us on her in the mid 20s, And they only told us recently. My great grandfather actually showed me his collection where he had several artifacts i'm sure he could sell for a good buck. Pretty cool to know that my great grandfather had a sense of style when it came to ships, Especially because he sailed on one of the most famous ones.
10 / 10 video, Great work!
I thought I knew a lot about the trio, but I'm blown away by how much new information I learned from this video. Seriously well done!!
Thank you!!
Olympic my beloved
Olympic is my favourite liner of all time. Beautiful proportions and clean lines. She's the pick of the 3 Olympic class because her design is more pure. Sure, closing in the A deck promenade was clearly the best thing to do from a practical perspective. But it messed up the lines from a visual perspective.
I'm gonna have to give it to many of the Italian liners from the 50s and 60s. They had graceful proportions, with more attractive surfacing and details.
There were other reasons too. The addition of lifeboats along the whole boat deck reduced the open promenade space. So it was better option to leave A deck promenade as open.
Thanks for this one, Olympic was my favorite ships since I found out she existed. I kind of feel like any video of these 3 sisters should at least mention Violet Jessop at least briefly :) Apart from that an amazing video as usual, really enjoyed watching / listening!
Thank you! And so true. I was probably trying a bit too hard to keep this one from getting too long.
The titanic and brittanic are currently the last two remaining examples.
What a superb and fascinating documentary on Titanic's little known sister. I've always said the Olympic had a far more interesting life. Top marks! Keep them coming, I really enjoy this channel and the amount of research you must do.
Thank you so much for watching! Glad you're enjoying
I loved your passion on this one, it was exciting and educational.
Having never been interested in ships before, I'm loving the way you tell these stories. Also your music choices in this one were spot on, and I like that you don't sensationalise, you just give a balanced account.
You still are one of the best ship commentary channels.
I greatly appreciate that you give the dimensions and square footage of these spaces. It makes comparison much easier to grasp.
Really enjoyed this one, nice to see how successful the Olympic was.....Beautiful vessel!!
Bradley, this really is a great video and tribute to a magnificent class of ships. I am still returning to it over a year later. If you decide to make any of your “director’s commentary” versions of your older videos, please make one on this video!
😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
I was somehow already able to watch the video, i only saw afterwards that it would not premiere until later. sorry! I loved it though, i love Olympic and i completely agree with your views on her and Titanic.
The mysteries of RUclips... Glad you enjoyed it! :)
As a middle child myself, I say that the Olympic should have been the second ship: hardworking, loyal, and introverted. The Titanic should have been the first born: doing nothing but still gets all the attention! Titanic! Titanic! Titanic!
Lol well, if Titanic never sank, the roles would be reversed. Both hardworking vessels (and of course Britannic), but it'd be Olympic that would get all the attention.
@@Kaidhicksii yes, so true!
Naw you got it all wrong. The Britannic and Titanic should have been switched. The first born is the hardworking and loyal one, the second born is the one that gets ignored, and the third born is the one that gets all the attention.
Bro’s obviously got some parent sibling issues😂
All sister's should get attention I agree.
What’s insane is how your opening description almost made me cry! Describing it as a sister trying to save its sibling only to fall short just hit me… amazing story telling!
Like you I love the RMS Olympic, and yes she proved that the unfortunate Titanic & Britannic were victims of circumstance. Another excellent movie, your enthusiasm for these Big Boats really comes across, well done Ps Olympic was finally broken up at Inverkeithing, just a few miles from here, to the North of Edinburgh, I think about her every time I pass the yard on the train 🏴
Something metaphorical in how the Olympic and Mauretania met the same death in the scrapyard together at the same time, after previously having been built to best her.
Truly a beautiful and touching tribute. As I'm sure a fair lot of us have been, I was familiar with Titanic first, having fallen in love with her beauty and haunting tragedy at 7 years old. Yet, later, I learned about Olympic and that proud, lovely lady of the sea has claimed a large place firmly in my heart. I feel something deep and intense regarding her, and like you, could talk about her for a thousand-odd hours. There is almost an emotional human-type quality to her story. A "family" of three sisters. The middle sister meets unspeakable tragedy, calling out to a sibling in her final hours yet, had Olympic even arrived in time, she'd have been shunned, being identical in appearance. The youngest sister "perishes" via an act of war, leaving only one member of the "family" behind who has a life fraught with pride and sorrows in its own way (cue Nantucket Lightship). In the end she overcomes everything except her age and lack of popularity in a changing time - her only crime. Now we have lost her 80-odd years ago and the tragedies of Titanic (less so, Britannic) have overshadowed her. Yet, like human dramas, isn't that often true? The sorrows and losses are burnished by time and successes can become foggy, for they lack a pull upon the heartstrings. I imagine Olympic's life being like that of a courageous woman though. With head held high, she went to her death with grace and beauty.
What a way with words you have. Very touching 💜
You should try being a writer.
Bravo! A grand lady that deserves to be remembered as one of the best!!!
Wow. These are the moments that make you proud that RUclips exists. To find a channel like yours and just start bingeing your content on this subject is amazing. Made more amazing by your expertly crafted documentary style stories, amazing music selection, and just riveting attention to detail (no ship 🚢 pun intended 😂) keep up this amazing channel and I’ll be sure to share with any of my audience looking to learn about the history of these amazing big old boats! 👏
Thank you so much for the kind words! It means so much to hear and I really appreciate it :)
Ok bro calm down.
Titanic interested me. I was stoked when I found out about Olympic. What a beautiful ship and holds number one for me.
Thankyou for the video.
The image 4:30 shows how design was done before computers, lots of manhours and tons of paper. This was a great watch, lots of information, great B&W footage and still photos and great narration. Top notch work here.
It's incredible the amount of work that went into these liners. Thank you so much for the kind words!
@@BigOldBoats Well earned.....
This has been the only RUclips video that made me cry
Thank you! Me too, I'd be at that museum every day!
I've been binging on your videos for a couple of days now, and am saddened that I was born much too late to have been a part of the golden age of cruise ships.
The people who created these ships made floating works of art. Attention was paid to even the smallest of details.
I've been on a couple of cruises over the years, but what passes for an ocean experience nowadays, is nothing more than a pale shadow of earlier glory days.
Thank-you for introducing me to the world of big, beautiful old ships. I didn't know I was very interested in them, and now I can't stop watching.
It’s worth noting that purpose-built cruise ships back then…weren’t really much of a thing.
These ships were ocean liners. They were forms of transportation, luxuriously outfitted to make transatlantic crossings more pleasant, as opposed to vacationing or other non-essential transportation uses. As a result, they were designs were drastically different *(and arguably far superior)* when compared to that of actual cruise ships :)
Don’t be sad, you’re a lot safer these days. Plus cruises are lame. Stuck on a boat? Mehhh. Not a vacation in my experienced opinion. But to each his own.
Love your content & presentation.
So the titanic naturally got me into liners, but once I learnt of the Olympic, that’s when I became enthralled with her, such a great and sad story, over the years I’ve collected pieces of her, a little piece of history
I just found this amazing video. Been a Titanic nerd for years but she brought me to her sisters. I love the way you narrated this. And how eerie that Olympic vibrated over her sister’s final resting place.
I've been reading about the great transatlantic ocean liners my whole life. I feel like I could teach a class on them. You hit every note. Well done.
Thanks for this. Olympic is my absolute favourite. I always thought it was such a shame that she was scrapped when she was, and hearing that she was in fantastic shape at the time makes it even more painful. She should have had a much longer career...
This was incredibly well done! Such rare photos and footage. I've been obsessed with Titanic and Olympic for over 35 years, since I was a kid, and I have not seen much of this footage/photos before.
I wish the Olympic had been saved also, but unfortunately, she was decommissioned long before the obsession with Titanic began.
What all of the movies about the Titanic always completely miss (get wrong) is that before the Titanic's horrible, and infamous disaster, RMS Olympic was by far the most well-known and emphasized ship (being the flag ship of the "Olympic-Class" liners). The Titanic had a few extra added and refined features that the Olympic didn't have (such as a partially enclosed A deck, extra carpets in the various first class rooms, etc).
What I'm trying to say is that in an actual, authentic movie about the Titanic, the passengers and crew of the Titanic would not have talked about the Titanic as the one and only ship of its kind. Instead they would be talking a lot about the newest addition (RMS Titanic) of the "Unsinkable" Olympic-Class ships, and how she (Titanic) compared with the Olympic.
I've known about this history of Titanic's older sister (and flag ship of the "Unsinkable" Olympic-Class liners) ever since I was a kid in the late 1980s, and that's what drives me the most insane about all of the movies that were ever done on Titanic ("Titanic" 1953, "A Night To Remember" 1958, "SOS Titanic" 1979, and of course James Cameron's "Titanic" 1997), is this total lack of any mention about the more well-known and emphasized Olympic at the time, which makes all of these movies about Titanic completely false in the context that the Titanic was actually really perceived and emphasized by the masses at the time.
So true. I love a lot of those movies but there's some major Olympic erasing in all of them.
To be fair, you need to look at what makes the most compelling story. While history buffs like us would appreciate the Olympic being mentioned, many filmgoers would be taken aback about them just raving about how great this lesser known ship is. Lesser known to the audience, of course. Would be like if the ford v Ferrari film spent more time diving into the backstory of Bandini. Would have made the story more historically accurate, but less compelling to most audiences.
Titanic was the larger and it did have media coverage but you right that olympic was the famous ship before the disaster
Rip Titanic and olympic
This video is actually genuinely underated and damm ❤😂😢
Thank you so much for this fabulous video! The three sisters were amazing ships and I have long been fascinated by them. I love your channel and appreciate the care you take in making your videos. Please, feel free to talk for a few more hours about Olympic!
Thank you so much!
It’s so amazing how identical the two ships were. I couldn’t tell the difference between the two if you asked me to. The story of the titanic overshadowed the Olympic. I’m happy I got to learn more about her
My two favorite ships of all time, Olympic and the Titanic
Olympic: The real ship that deserved the “Unsinkable” moniker.
You can imagine what it would be like to be onboard a ship, hearing one of the sister ships was going down, specially if said ships were quite beloved by many.
Brings to mind the loss of HMS Barham, one of 5 Queen Elizabeth class Super Dreadnought Battleships. Although the most popular of the 5 was HMS Warspite, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant were second and 3rd, the 3 getting modernization before the other 2, Barham and Malaya.
November 25th, 1941, Barham, Queen Elizabeth, and Valiant were among the many warships escorting a convoy, Warspite absent due to having emergency repairs near Pearl Harbour... also being quite a long ways away. From what Warspite had gone through, and the other sister ships during the Battle Of Jutland in the first world war, the 5 Queen's were seen as unsinkable, some of the strongest ships on the seas. However, that day after spotting a German U-boat near the convoy, the destroyers were sent to intercept the U-boat before it got in range of the convoy. The German U-boat seeing the destroyers charging in their direction, fired all torpedo tubes without a target to simply empty them so they can make an emergency dive to avoid being damaged or destroyed.
The torpedoes passed the Destroyers, posing no threat to them, however, the torpedoes fired without a target, found one... HMS Barham. The Torpedo belt on Barham wasn't like the upgraded torpedo belt on Warspite, Valiant and Queen Elizabeth, as her refit which would have given her the better upgrades and rebuilt super structure was only a few months away. The torpedoes ripped open several holes in the port side of Barham, leaving no chance at all of saving her. She slowed to a halt as she started listing to port, Valiant and Queen Elizabeth made hard turns to starboard in an attempt to try and aid Barham, but she was going down fast, and one crew member onboard Valiant captured Barham's final moments, which if you just look up Barham here on youtube, you can't miss it.
All ships of the convoy steered clear of Barham as she turned and began listing to port. The destroyers turned back after Barham was hit, mainly because the U-boat had already got away. Valiant stayed near Barham to try and rescue those who got off the ship, but keeping enough distance from her just in case, which would prove to be a good idea. It took only 4 minutes for the massive dreadnought, from being hit, to rolling to port 90 degrees, submerging most of her super structure, with most of the crew standing on the starboard side, when an even more devastating thing happened. One of the rear magazines for the main 15inch guns detonated, obliterating a good portion of the ship only a moment after rolling to port 90 degrees, instantly killing over half her crew. Valiant and Queen Elizabeth had watched her sister ship go down fast, and witnessed the massive explosion that ended so many lives in an instant. One of the 5 queens was gone.
The news of the loss of Barham was delayed as long as possible, as losing a ship like her would devastate navy moral, losing one of the 5 greatest battleships of the Royal Navy... To think she was only a short time away from being refitted, upgrades and changes that could have saved her if it wasn't for the delays and not seen as that important as Warspite and Queen Elizabeth were favoured over the other 3, Valiant being the last to be modernized, and Malaya remained in escort duty in less dangerous waters, where her aging hull and outdated equipment and such were not a main concern. Of course those who witnessed Barham's destruction were devastated, but were ordered not to speak of it publicly until after her fate was made public.
Ironically, Barham is the last of the queens still to exist, as Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, and Malaya were scrapped after the war, and Warspite, despite public outcry, was decided also to be scrapped a few years later. Warspite did however prove she still had plenty of fight left in her, breaking free of the ships towing her to be scrapped, sailing on her own until running aground at Prussia Cove, where she got very much stuck in the thick and sticky mud of the shallow water. Impossible to pull her out, she was scrapped on the spot, taking 3 years to do so, and costing more money then it would have to simply keep her. That leaves Barham, even though not in one piece, laying somewhere at the bottom of the mediterranean sea, still yet to be discovered. Even the loss of HMS Hood to Bismark wasn't kept as secret as Barham's sinking, as the 5 Queen Elizabeth Class Super Dreadnoughts were beloved by many.
I just cannot get past this enormous floating hotel, the luxury and attention to detail... just sinking into the sea.
A fine documentary. I learned something new today and I thank you for that. It’s a shame we do not have those beautiful ships and travels today.
I went on the Celebrity Cruise Millennium ship for the Olympic dining experience. Seeing that classic dining room, eating with waiters dressed in 1912 white tie and tails and being served food with silver cover trays was so much fun.
Thank you for all the information you offer on this channel. There's a special place in my heart for the Olympic, and I've learned a lot about other vessels as a result of your work.
Well done. She was impressive! Cheers.
I so badly wish Olympic was still around today. How amazing would that be. I sometimes daydream of visiting this amazing and beautiful time period of one of a kind ocean liners that completely outmatch the modern cheap designs of today's ships.
Despite everything that occurred with her sisters, The Olympic triumphed…
And that’s how we should remember “old reliable “
You're videos are an absolute joy to watch mate ! Incredible narrating and knowledge! Excellent video! Olympic needs more love as it was a brilliant old liner! Olympic class liners are the best looking ships of all time IMO.
My maternal grandparents travelled on the Olympic, my granddmother was pregnant with my uncle George, who was born in Milwaukee, USA
They travelled from Southampton to New York.
It was amazing to see the interiors, knowing the grandparents I never knew, had travelled in that wonderful luxury, and I now saw what they saw.
Thank you very much.❤
An absolutely lovely tribute to the R.M.S Olympic 👏🏼
Really well done video. She was an amazing ship. Thanks for keeping her memory alive.
Thank you!
The only ship of the 3 that actually done stuff and its the least known about. Madness
I would say at least ONE of the three sisters did fulfill their goal of having a "normal" service life of 25 years as was probably common at the time. I think it would have been rather tragic had all three been lost to incidents and the fact that the Olympic survived WW1 was quite impressive (although had she been around long enough for WW2 that may have been a bit different due to the sheer size of WW2).
Awesome video, thank you so much!
Superb documentary. Thanks for the effort you put in!
Thank you!
I rewatch this video at least once if not twice a month because i love hearing you talk about what is probably my favorite liner. Thanks for all the great vids!
My Number 1 Liner. Olympic is Awesome, Fighting for Both her Sisters, serving her Country, and Having a Very Long and Successful Career. Amazing Video Pal, you deserve way extra Likes.
I love this ship. Have at least 3 enhanced photographs of her on my wall. A 4th waiting to go up. I'm surprised we haven't gotten an HBO or Netflix series on her yet. 25 years of star studded history you don't even need a script. In my opinion she is the cleanest looking of the class and I adore her. Amazing vid thank you for sharing👍
Easily the best doc I've seen on youtube about ocean liners. Editing, script, delivery, information well sourced, insightful. Thank you.
As much as I love old ocean liners, I have to admit I knew nothing about the Olympic. Thank you for opening my eyes!
Its always made me happy that one of the sisters had a successful career. It would have been amazing had all three survived. Mishap and war prevented that. But...one can always dream.
I of course understand how costly these vessels were, but I find it tragic that this ship was scrapped. Gone are the times when we built great marvels and conquered the world.
Lovely video saluting this great lady of the sea! Long love the Olympic!
I thought you would never do an Olympic video but now you did it very great
Just listened to this video 2x. Sooooo well done and a true homage to the ship and indeed the trio and Harland and Wolff. Titanic was truly a victim of bad luck and terribly unfortunate circumstances and Britannic due to carelessness. Imagine if the trio survived unscathed? 3 very solidly and thoughtfully constructed liners, that no doubt could have sailed into and through WWII
Olympic was awesome, I wish more people knew about her. It's so true what you said about the misconceptions of Titanic being easily proven wrong when you look at her near identical sister - Olympic rammed and sank a frigging u-boat, she was tough! It's sad that her sisters were lost so early and that of the Olympic class she was the only one to actually make it to New York.
This may well be your best video ever. The Olympic was the real unsinkable ship.
Thank you!
This is the best youtube liner channel, and I'm prepared to throw hands over it.
haha thank you!
To me and I think Ken Marschall, the Olympic looked majestic with its open promenade deck, whereas the Titanic seemed a little more 'cozy' with her prom deck partially covered because of bow spray.
its a shame this ship was not preserve as a museum!!!!
Instead of taking high risks to visit the Titanic shipwreck at a 3800 meters depth, people should have rather had the opportunity to visit her brilliant sister which won the competition in durability and time resistance, the Olympic ship!
Olympic class liners are so well proportioned. Looks streamline and powerful. Last of the "analog" - reciprocating big ocean liners. Interesting how loud was engine sound on board. If I were able to sail on it, engine room would be my favorite place.
And I think that 21 knots is optimal speed for transatlantic journey, no need to rush, take your time and enjoy your stay on comfortable vessel. With higher speeds it would be too windy to spend time on open deck.
24:15 That has ALWAYS been one of my all-time favorite pictures of Olympic. My other favorite was a video of her White Star Line gold stripe ending at her nameplate in the 1930s italic font "Olympic". She was not just an absolutely beautiful ship, but she was reliable, sturdy, and loved the world over. I only wish that someone would've snatched her up for use as a museum ship or a floating hotel as we ALL know that she would've been WAY more popular than the Queen Mary in her post career due to her connection with her sister Titanic.
Beautifully done. Olympic was a bad-ass with a remarkable career.
Thank you!
Your channel is simply excellent. Thank you for sharing and honoring these great masterpieces with such tenacity.
A very good book about Olympic is "Racing Through The Night: Olympic's Attempt to Reach Titanic" by Wade Sisson. A heartbreaking read. Probably one of the most thorough books about her.
Fun Fact: the original captain of the Olympic later became captain of the Titanic and the original captain of the Titanic later became captain of the Olympic.
Love the "Adventure out of Time" clip
Thanks for this calm and philosophical episode of facts and history.
I really enjoyed it.
Thank you so much!
This video gave me goosebumps at the end it was so good, definitely one of your best videos yet :)
If you get around to making the 6-hour version, I will tune in! Thank you for what you do!!!
Thank you for watching!