Exploring the Wreckage of the Britannic (the Titanic’s Sister Ship) and Discovering Why It Sunk in 50 Minutes

Exploring the Wreckage of the Britannic (the Titanic’s Sister Ship) and Discovering Why It Sunk in 50 Minutes

The RMS Titanic is history’s most famous shipwreck, but it wasn’t the only ship of its kind. The White Star Line built two other nearly identical vessels: The RMS Olympic and Britannic. The Olympic carried passengers until 1935 and can be visited today. The Brittanic sank only four years after her sister ship the Titanic off the Greek island of Kea in the Aegean Sea like due to striking a German mine while serving as a hospital ship during World War One. It sank in only 55 minutes (compared to 160 minutes for the Titanic) but only 30 of the 1066 passengers due to better lifeboat procedures, warmer waters, and being closer to land.

What

While the wreck of the Titanic is 2 miles below the surface and rapidly deteriorating, the Britannic is much more accessible (only 400ft down) and remains largely intact. It’s in “shallow” enough waters that divers can reach it, although submersibles do most of the investigation work. What can the ship tell us about the sinking of the Titanic, the lives of its passengers in the early 20th century, and whether something nefarious happened that caused it to sink, as some claim (like German sabotage).

These are the questions that today’s guest, Simon Mills, tried to answer when bought the wreck of the Britannic in 1996. He is a maritime historian who has coordinated multiple expeditions into the underwater wreckage and most recently finished extensive internal surveys in 2021 and 2023. He’s also the author of the new book Inside the Britannic which is the sum of decades of work covering every inch of the ship. We discuss exactly how this ship sunk, what happened during the frantic 50 minutes of its sinking, what happened to the survivors, and other unanswered mysteries.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(1074)

America’s First Crime Boss Was Female Immigrant-Turned-Criminal Mastermind

America’s First Crime Boss Was Female Immigrant-Turned-Criminal Mastermind

In 1850, an impoverished twenty-five-year-old named Fredericka Mandelbaum came to New York in steerage and worked as a peddler on the streets of Lower Manhattan. By the 1870s she was a fixture of high...

1 Elo 202443min

The War Under No-Man’s Land: Military Mining and Tunnel Combat in World War One

The War Under No-Man’s Land: Military Mining and Tunnel Combat in World War One

Beneath the trench warfare of World War One existed an entirely separate war underground: battles in the mines and dugouts between the Great Powers. In 1914–17, the underground war was a product of st...

30 Heinä 202445min

Eisenhower’s Logistics and Diplomatic Nightmare: Planning and Executing D-Day

Eisenhower’s Logistics and Diplomatic Nightmare: Planning and Executing D-Day

In the months leading up to D-Day, Eisenhower’s attention was in relentless demand, whether he was negotiating, rallying troops, or solving crises from his headquarters in Bushy Park, London. He proje...

25 Heinä 20241h 1min

53 Days on Starvation Island: How The US Marines Fought on Guadalcanal While Completely Surrounded

53 Days on Starvation Island: How The US Marines Fought on Guadalcanal While Completely Surrounded

On August 20, 1942, twelve Marine dive-bombers and nineteen Marine fighters landed at Guadalcanal. Their mission: defeat the Japanese navy and prevent it from sending more men and supplies to "Starvat...

23 Heinä 202459min

Taiwan’s 100-Year Rise From Japanese Colony to Monopoly Producer of Microchips

Taiwan’s 100-Year Rise From Japanese Colony to Monopoly Producer of Microchips

When global supply chains were shut down in 2020 and messily rebooted after COVID lockdowns ceased, one island nation emerged as the most important player in getting critical components to factories a...

18 Heinä 202443min

When States Rights Were Emancipatory and Federalism was Restrictive: The Interbellum Constitution of 1812-1865

When States Rights Were Emancipatory and Federalism was Restrictive: The Interbellum Constitution of 1812-1865

Today, the words “federalism” and “originalism” are bandied about in the news almost daily, but to get at the underpinnings of these modern interpretations of constitutional law, it is essential to lo...

16 Heinä 202448min

Is America Going Through a Late Roman Moment of Its Own?

Is America Going Through a Late Roman Moment of Its Own?

Every citizen of every state for the last two thousand years has compared his nation to Rome at some point. Americans considered Geroge Washington their Cincinnatus for taking on supreme power and giv...

11 Heinä 202446min

How Five Castaways Survived After Being Left for Dead on the Falklands in 1812

How Five Castaways Survived After Being Left for Dead on the Falklands in 1812

Charles H. Barnard, captain of the American sealing brig Nanina, had only the best of intentions. His aim was to ensure the survival of the people under his care. On June 11, 1813, Barnard and four ot...

9 Heinä 202444min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
i-dont-like-mondays
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
rss-nikotellen
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
aikalisa
rss-murhan-anatomia
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-haudattu
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
isani-on-terapeuttiville
taskula-trishin