HMHS Britannic

HMHS Britannic was the third and final vessel of the White Star Line's Olympic-class of ocean liners and the second White Star ship to bear the name Britannic. She was the younger sister of RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. She operated as a hospital ship from 1915 until her sinking near the Greek island of Kea, in the Aegean Sea in November 1916. At the time Britannic was the largest hospital ship in the world, and the largest vessel built in Ireland.

Britannic was launched on 26 February 1914, months before the start of the First World War. The ship was designed to be the safest of the three ships with design changes made during construction due to lessons learned from the sinking of the Titanic. Britannic was laid up at her builders, Harland & Wolff, in Belfast, for many months before being requisitioned by the British government to be operated as a hospital ship. In 1915 and 1916 she operated between the United Kingdom and the Dardanelles.

On the morning of 21 November 1916, Britannic struck an Imperial German naval mine near the Greek island of Kea and sank 55 minutes later, killing 30 of 1,066 people on board; the 1,036 survivors were later rescued from the water and from lifeboats. Britannic was the largest ship lost in the First World War. After the War, the White Star Line was compensated for the loss of Britannic by the award of SS Bismarck as part of postwar reparations; she entered service as RMS Majestic. The wreck of the Britannic was located and explored by Jacques Cousteau in 1975. The vessel is the largest intact passenger ship on the seabed in the world. The wreck was bought in 1996 and is currently owned by Simon Mills, a maritime historian.