Here's what I heard from a very close friend of mine who has his Captains License....which for those of you in Internet land that don't know what that means....my friend is actually licensed to command the a ship the size of theTitanic.
The Titanic was out for sea trials when somehow it's propeller or it's rudder was damaged .....there apparently was not enough time to repair the Titanic and so, in haste, the name of the Britannic was replaced with the Titanic and readied for departure to America.....
Of course it is historic knowlege that the Britannic was quite a close copy of the Titanic and as such, it would have extremely difficult for anyone booked on the Titanic to notice the difference....who would have actually cared anyway ....the two were sister ships.....
My question is, does anyone know if this assertion is true ? or false ?
2007-11-08 15:08:17 · 15 answers · asked by Papillion 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Yes the Titanic was "damaged" while it was out on its sea trials but it was so minor it didn't matter. This statement is false because the actual Titanic did sail the Atlantic. Yes Titanic and Britannic were sister ships, but Britannic was noticeable smaller than Titanic and it was not totally equipped to sail when the Titanic was set to leave port. The only ship that could have possibly taken its place was the Olympic but she already had a scheduled voyage and booked passages and would not have been able to take Titanic's place.
2007-11-11 03:40:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure why it would matter if it was true, but it doesn't appear to be. The White Star Line built 3 ships for its Olympic Line: the Olympic, the Titanic and the Britannic (some assert this ship was supposed to be called the Gigantic but was changed after the Titanic disaster). The first ship, the Olympic, was completed in 1910 and launched in 1911. She survived WWI and two major accidents to be retired in 1935. The Olympic's first collision actually delayed completion of the Titanic. The Titanic, as we know, was completed in 1911 and sank on her maiden voyage in 1912.
The Britannic wasn't even launched until almost 2 full years after the Titanic sank. Britannic never served as a commercial passenger ship because she was requisitioned into military service and sank from hitting a mine. Even though the building of the three ships overlapped, the Britannic was not ready for service at the time the Titanic launched.
You might be interested to know that an alternative version of this myth is that the Olympic rather than the Titanic sunk. The Olympic was in fact at sea and received Titanic's distress signal, but was too far away to assist.
2007-11-09 04:40:05 · answer #2 · answered by Elizabethe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like a crazy conspiracy theory to me. The launching was a huge event, so I think someone would have noticed. If that were true, what happened to the real Titanic? Did that become the new Britannic? Is it still afloat? I'd have to go with the real Titanic is sitting at the bottom of the sea.
2007-11-08 15:13:06 · answer #3 · answered by Grick 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Elizabethe's answer is the most complete....
indeed Olympic was in service before Titanic, and lasted till 1935; Britannic was till being built and was extensively rebuilt before launch as a result of the Titanic
and as far as your friend goes....a license to command a ship the size of Titanic would be "Master, Any Gross Tonnage, Any Ocean".......you would have to have at least ten years in service on ships of that .or close to it.....size, and probably a degree from a Maritime College.
So unless your friend is 35-45 and has a degree from Mass Maritime and ten years at sea.....
now, a Captains License is a license given by the Coast Guard to command small ships, up to 200 tons ( Titanic was 45,000)...the most common Captains License is the "Six Pack" to command boats with no more than 6 passengers...the Minnow from Gilligan's Island...or a limited 50 or 100 ton.....your typical fishing party boat or dinner cruise or harbor tour boat.
So, consider the source....
2007-11-09 06:11:16 · answer #4 · answered by yankee_sailor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the titanic was actually the Olympic. there is film now of the so called titanic at the bottom of the sea, the problem is some of the letters have fallen off, and strangely there are letters underneath spelling Olympic. same amount of letters. all those people died in an insurance claim scam resulting in the murder of many people. look it up on you tube, there is a great documentary, with the underwater film proof at the end.
2015-02-08 08:32:28 · answer #5 · answered by Jeff 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Britannic wasn't finished yet. Olympic was already in service and was cosmetically different. Britannic was still being built when the titanic sunk. Major changes were made to Britannic to ensure it couldn't sink like the titanic did. Didn't matter , it sank anyway.
2007-11-08 15:39:23 · answer #6 · answered by old-bald-one 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
as ar as i know it was 3 sister ship titanic bitanic n tritanic one became a medical ship the other sunk in middle of the atlantic being the titanic this one and forgot what happened to the third
2007-11-08 15:12:38 · answer #7 · answered by van v 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm going with false do to departure dates and first class amenities along with other luxuries the sunken Titanic had.
2007-11-08 15:13:55 · answer #8 · answered by smooth_stalin 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have seen just about every History Channel program ever made on the subject, and never have I heard this. I would say that it is just a rumor, because I think that more people would know about it, had it been true.
2007-11-08 15:11:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
False.
2007-11-08 15:10:43 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋