Saturday, January 21, 2012

HMHS Britannic












HMHS Britannic was the final vessel in the White Star Line’s Olympic class of liners, her sisters being the Olympic and the Titanic. She embodied all the safety features her doomed sister lacked, and was completed too late to go into commercial service as the Great War had erupted. She was fitted out as a hospital ship, and is seen here near Mudros from the deck of one of her consorts, HMS Lord Nelson. About a month later she hit a German mine and sank in 55 minutes, less than half the time it took for the Titanic to sink, in spite of all the structural modifications to make her more safe. 24 preventable deaths occurred when lowered lifeboats were sucked into her still rotating propellers. She had the unfortunate reputation of being the largest of any vessel sunk in World War 1, and ended without making a single penny for her owners. 

 Acrylic on canvas 72cm x 93cm

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