Britannic (ship, 1930)
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The Britannic with her sister ship Georgic was the last ship that the White Star Line built. In 1934 the White Star Line merged with the Cunard Line to form the Cunard-White Star. This brought the ship to the Cunard Line . The last former White Star ships Britannic and Georgic kept the colors of the White Star Line, even under Cunard's direction, as the final recognition until they were decommissioned.
Regular scheduled services
- Liverpool - New York
- London - New York
Ship life
Before World War II
The White Star Line's liner service from Liverpool to New York was operated by the Adriatic , Baltic , Cedric and the Celtic in the twenties . However, these four ships entered service at the beginning of the 20th century; that is, they were almost 30 years old. Although very popular, these ships had to be replaced and the Britannic was commissioned as the first ship of a new generation. A few years later her sister, Georgic, followed suit . Both could also be used on cruises .
The Britannic's test run went smoothly, as did the maiden voyage to New York, on which the ports of Belfast and Glasgow were called. High speed was not required because it was not an express service, but at 18 knots it was comfortable to travel and she still had some speed in reserve.
The North Atlantic service was now operated with four ships, the Britannic and the steamers Baltic , Cedric and Adriatic . In the dull winter months, they mostly went on cruises.
In June 1932 the sister ship Georgic was added and at the same time the Cedric disappeared for scrapping. About a year later, the Baltic went the same way. From now on, the two new ships and the old Adriatic commuted on the North Atlantic route. With the merger of Cunard and White Star, the Adriatic was also decommissioned and sold for scrapping. Both ships now performed their service together with the ships of the Cunard Line .
In 1935 both moved to London as their port of departure. They were the largest ships that sailed the Thames at that time . Until the outbreak of war they operated the route London - New York, with Le Havre and Southampton being called.
Military service
In view of the imminent outbreak of war, the Britannic was commandeered by the Royal Navy on August 27, 1939 after her return from New York . The ship was ordered to Southampton and converted to transport troops. A few days later the ship went to Glasgow to pick up British Indian Army and naval officers who were then transported to Bombay. From here the ship returned to England and resumed its commercial service.
On August 23, 1940, the Britannic was requisitioned again for military service. It was converted as a troop transport and was initially able to accommodate 3,000 soldiers, later to 5,000. The war service took the ship to various theaters of war. So she brought z. B. American troops into the Mediterranean for the Sicily invasion. The most important task she fulfilled that year, however, was the transport of troops across the Atlantic, and in 1944 alone she carried around 20,000 soldiers there. At the end of the war she had approx. Transported 180,000 people and covered a distance of 367,000 nautical miles .
After the war
After the end of the war, soldiers were brought back home with the Britannic , and in 1947 the ship was discharged from naval service. She went to the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast for a thorough overhaul .
The living quarters for the passengers and crew were completely renewed, and when she left the shipyard, the makeover was hardly noticeable from the outside. But almost everything inside the ship was new.
She went back to the North Atlantic Service from Liverpool to New York and on the side on a cruise. The passenger accommodations were divided into two categories. It was still painted in the colors of the old White Star Line. It was a noble gesture by its current owners, as the White Star Line name was practically non-existent in the shipping world in 1947.
On her first post-war voyage, the Britannic left Liverpool on May 22, 1948 and called at Cobh before New York . For more than ten years she provided the North Atlantic Service, with winter cruises increasingly proving to be a good source of income for the shipping company.
On June 1, 1950, she collided with the American freighter Pioneer Land on the Ambrose Canal , with only minor damage to property. In January 1953 and again in 1955 she went on extensive Mediterranean cruises, each lasting almost two months.
Towards the end of the 1950s, however, the machines began to cause problems. The Britannic still had its first diesel engines , which were now obsolete. The long life of these diesel engines speaks for their good design, because there have never been any major difficulties with them.
The Britannic was 30 years old when she finished her last voyage from New York on December 4, 1960 in Liverpool. It was decommissioned and then scrapped in Inverkeithing .
