In November 1916, World War I was still raging and a British passenger liner converted into a hospital ship made its sixth consecutive voyage from Southampton to the Eastern Mediterranean to transport British wounded. But it wasn’t just any ship, but the majestic “Britannic”, sister ship of the “Titanic” and the “Olympic”.
The ship belonged to the White Star Lines company, which, after the fatal wreck of the “Titanic”, took care to make various structural changes to the ships of the same class in order to make them safer. The Britannic was intended to be the company’s most luxurious ocean liner, competing with the SS Imperator, SS Vaterland and RMS Aquitania. Facilities for first and second class passengers were increased: each cabin had its own bathroom (something the Titanic did not have), while the grand staircase leading from the deck to the inside of the ship was even grander than that of its sister ships, with luxurious wood paneling – in fact, the builders’ plans included a decorative church organ. Also, the construction of a room for the passengers’ children to play, smoking rooms, reading rooms, etc., was foreseen.
The Britannic was launched in 1914 and construction was completed on 12 December 1915. Less than two weeks later, after being commissioned by the British Royal Navy, she was converted into a floating hospital with Charles Alfred Bartlett in command. It was painted white with red crosses on either side and a green stripe. 3,309 beds were placed inside it, while the common rooms of the upper decks were converted into rooms for the wounded. The cabins on the second deck were used as rooms for the doctors. The first class dining room and banqueting room were converted into operating rooms.
When she set sail, the “Bretanicus” accommodated 101 nurses, 336 petty officers, 52 officers and had a crew of 675 people. On 12 November 1916, after five successful voyages to the Dardanelles, she departed Southampton bound for Lemnos to pick up wounded. After a storm that stuck the ship for a few days in Naples, in the early hours of November 21st, it was passing the Tainaro and heading for the Strait of Kea.
At 08:12 AM, however, an explosion rocked the ship and the crew, numbering 1,066 people. Many on the other side of the ship thought that the “Britain” had collided with a smaller ship, but in reality it had “fallen” on one of the 12 mines that had been laid by the German submarine U-73 commanded by Gustaf Sis.
They soon began the procedures to abandon ship. Despite the instructions of Captain Bartlett, who was still trying to steer the ship ashore, crew members threw the first two lifeboats overboard before they were given the order to do so. Unfortunately, the Britannic’s propeller blew them away, destroying them and killing all their passengers.
Despite the captain’s efforts, the ship was sinking at great speed and would not make it to land. By 08:50, most of those on board the Britannic had used 35 lifeboats and had managed to leave the ship safely. Shortly after 09:00, Bartlett and the senior officers also abandoned ship. At 09:07, 55 minutes after the explosion, the “British” was fully submerged.
Fishermen from Kea helped about 150 of the survivors, picking them up in their boats and giving them first aid on the island, while two British ships also came to pick up about 835 people. In total, of the 1,066 passengers, only 30 lost their lives, a number infinitely smaller than that of the “Titanic” losses.
The wreck of the “Bretaniko” was discovered in 1975 by Jacques-Yves Cousteau at a depth of 122 meters. It is the largest almost intact passenger ship located at the bottom of the sea and can be visited by professionals or experienced divers. In 1996 it was bought by Simon Mills, a historian specializing in maritime history. However, for the Ephorate of Marine Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture, the wreck of the “Bretanikos” is an archaeological site.
Column Editor: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poimenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
