Britannic facts for kids
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His Majesty's Hospital Ship (HMHS) Britannic
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 United Kingdom |
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| Name | HMHS Britannic |
| Owner |  White Star Line |
| Operator |  Royal Navy |
| Port of registry |  Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Builder | Harland and Wolff, Belfast |
| Yard number | 433 |
| Laid down | 30 November 1911 |
| Launched | 26 February 1914 |
| Completed | 12 December 1915 |
| In service | 23 December 1915 (hospital ship) |
| Out of service | 21 November 1916 |
| Fate | Sank after hitting a mine on 21 November 1916 near Kea in the Aegean Sea |
| Status | Wrecked |
| Notes | Largest ocean liner ever sunk |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Olympic-class ocean liner |
| Tonnage | 48,158 gross register tons |
| Displacement | 53,200 tons |
| Length | 882 ft 9 in (269.06 m) |
| Beam | 94 ft (28.7 m) |
| Height | 175 ft (53 m) from the keel to the top of the funnels |
| Draught | 34 ft 7 in (10.5 m) |
| Depth | 64 ft 6 in |
| Decks | 9 passenger decks |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Capacity | 3309 |
The Britannic was a British passenger ship. The ship was also used as a war ship and a Royal Mail steamer. The Britannic was finished on 26 February 1914, for the White Star Line. It was a sister ship to the Olympic and the Titanic. The building of the ship was held up when the Titanic sunk, and extra safety items were added to the Britannic.
Contents
World War I
The start of World War I meant the ship was not used for passenger work. It was set up as a hospital ship with 3,300 beds. She sailed to Mudros on the 23 December 1915, to pick up wounded soldiers from Gallipoli. She continued as a hospital ship until 1916 when it was turned back into a Royal Mail and passenger ship. Before this latest change was carried out, the ship was called back into war service and went back to Mudros.
Sunk
On 21 November 1916 the Britannic hit a naval mine in the Zea Channel, off the Greek island of Kea. The mines had been put there by the German submarine U-73. A huge explosion tore a hole in the side of the ship which sunk one hour later. The ship which was carrying 1,125 people, and nearly all were saved. Two lifeboats were struck by the ship's propellers and 30 people were killed.
The German newspapers claimed that the ship had been sunk by a torpedo because it might have been carrying soldiers. The captain of the U-73 said this was not true, he had only been laying the naval mines.
Images for kids
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Artist's conception of Britannic in her intended White Star livery
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Britannic with HMHS Galeka, taking onboard the wounded at Mudros
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The channel between Kea (left) and Makronisos; Britannic sank closer to Kea
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Britannic in the shipyard before her launch
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See also
In Spanish: Britannic para niños
