LostLiners.com - RMS Olympic

Olympic's life was not without it's problems. Very early in her career she was involved in a collision with a small British naval cruiser, H.M.S. Hawke. On September 20th, 1911 Olympic was leaving Southampton Water just after noon. She turned into Spithead, between the Isle of Wright and the mainland. This stretch of water lead to the English channel and her first port of call, Cherbourg in France.

At the same time, the small warship was rounding Egypt Point of the Isle of Wright, entering the same channel on a converging course. No one is quite sure exactly what happened next, although it is heavily debated. As Hawke's bow came abreast of Olympic's aft starboard quarter, the small cruise was drawn, seemingly helplessly, into the side of the massive White Star liner. The reinforced bow of the warship punctured Olympic's hull above and below the waterline. The small ship nearly capsized as Olympic dragged her down the channel, spinning her like a top when she finally tore loose.

Olympic, although her damage was considerable, was never in any danger of sinking and no one on either ship was injured. Hawke's bow was crumpled but she was able to limp back to port for repairs. The pictures at left show Hawke before and and after the incident.

In March 1912, Olympic struck an uncharted underwater obstruction and dropped a propellor. She was returned to Harland & Wolff again where one of Titanic's blades was removed and fitted on Olympic. This was the last time the two sisters would ever be seen together. A month later Titanic sailed on her maiden voyage.

Following the loss of her sister ship, Olympic was not immediately withdrawn from service as many people think. When Titanic went down, Olympic was outbound from New York, headed for Southampton. She was more than 500 miles away when she received the distress call but poured on steam and made best possible speed anyway. She was waved off the next morning at Bruce Ismay's request, not wishing for Titanic's survivors to see a duplicate of the ship that had sank only hours earlier.

Upon her return to Southampton, she was fitted with 24 additional collapsible boats and readied for her next voyage. Her stokers refused to board, citing the high loss of life among the stokers on Titanic. They refused to sail until enough wooden lifeboats were installed. Once the inquiry into the disaster was convened, Olympic was withdrawn from service for a 6 month refit that included extending her double bottom up the sides of the ship and capping off her watertight compartments.

Olympic's final dark moment came on May 15, 1934. Flying under the new Cunard-White Star flag, she rammed the Nantucket lightship in heavy fog. Seven members of the lightship's crew were lost. Her owners, forced together by the Great Depression (and the British government), decided that the old liner had outlived her usefulness. In March of 1935, RMS Olympic made her last crossing to New York. Upon her return to England, she was decommissioned and sold for scrap...