Monday, February 27, 2012

the White Star Line's 'Britannic' (1929)

RMS Britannic was the third White Star Line ship to bear the name. She was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast and launched on 6 August 1929, at the time the largest British-built motor liner. Like her running mate RMS Georgic, Britannic was powered by diesel engines propelling her at 25 knots and the two would be the only White Star motorships. She measured 26,943 gross tons and was 712 feet (217 metres) long with a beam of 82 ft (25 metres). Britannic had the "Motor Cabin Ship" style, which featured squat smokestacks and a sleek profile as well as the latest in interior Art Deco decor and furnishings. The people capacity was 1,553.

During WW2 Britannic was used as a troopship; she survived the war and made her final Liverpool-New York sailing, and the final transatlantic crossing by any White Star ship, in November 1960. The following month she went to the shipbreakers.

No comments: