RMS Olympic Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Built for the White Star Line Company, the S.S. Olympic (or RMS Olympic) was a sister-ship to the ill-fated Titanic and Britannic. Unlike her sisters, Olympic served a long and illustrious career (1911-1935), coming to be known as "Old Reliable".Olympic was built on the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was the first ship of the Olympic-class liners of the White Star Line Company built in that shipyard. With a gross tonnage of 45,324 (46,439 following repairs), she was 882 ft 9 in (269 m) long and could maintain a service speed of 21 knots (24mph).
One notable incident in the Olympic's record is a 1911 collision with a British warship, the HMS Hawke. Immediately following the collision, which left two compartments filled, the Olympic was able to limp back to Southampton for repairs. At the helm during this incident was captain E. J. Smith, who would famously perish at the helm of the Titanic less than a year later.
During World War I, the Olympic was converted into a troopship. On May 12, 1918, she rammed and sank a German U-boat, the only known sinking of a warship by a merchant vessel during World War I. In 1934, having resumed passenger service, she again struck a ship, this time the Nantucket Lightship, which broke apart and sank, killing 7 aboard the smaller ship.
In 1935, the Olympic was withdrawn from service and partially demolished at Jarrow, England. In 1937 she was towed to Inverkeithing, Scotland for final scrapping.
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