The Britannic had several modifications made by the White Star Line after the disaster of the Titanic in 1912, the first modification the ships owners made was in its name. It was still in the planning stages at the time of the famous liner sinking in the North Atlantic with such heavy losses. The original name was to be the ‘Gigantic’ but they chose the more humble name of Britannic instead. The hulls design was altered to make it less vulnerable to icebergs. Another major improvement was in ensuring there was a sufficient number of lifeboats on board, that was a major flaw in the Titanic when it sank.

At almost 50,000 tons it was the largest ship in the world at the time of its launch in 1914, it was quickly requisitioned by the British government to operate as a hospital ship during the First World War. The Britannic then sailed on five successful missions bringing wounded troops back to Britain from various locations around the world.

On the day of its sinking the ship was close to the Gulf of Athens when it was rocked by a giant and violent explosion. All the watertight doors were ordered closed and a distress signal was then sent out. The result of the blast meant six of the ship compartments were under water, a more serious situation than the Titanic had suffered. Still the ship should however have been able to stay afloat despite this damage.

The captain attempted to run the ship aground close to a nearby island, this should have been successful but the ships nursing staff had earlier opened the ships port holes to air the wards of the sick. As the listing ship turned water then poured in through the open port holes. Another problem was when some of the crew began launching the lifeboats before the order was given. The ship was still moving at speed hoping to make the shallower water. The lifeboats launched prematurely were sucked into the ships propellers killing anyone unfortunate to have been onboard.

Last than 30 minutes later the captain ordered the ship to be abandoned realizing it would sink before they arrived in the shallower water. The lifeboats were launched and almost 1,100 of those on board made it safely off the ship, most of the casualties were from the prematurely launched lifeboats that went into the propellers. The ship sank less than an hour after the initial explosion. In 1976 the wreck was found by Jacques Cousteau, it was lying on its side in some 400 feet of water. The exact cause of the explosion remains a mystery, although it is believed to have been caused by a mine.

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