1918: The Titanic’s Sister Ship That Sank a German U-Boat – RMS Olympic

Maritime History Documentary on the RMS Olympic: What do you do when a German submarine surfaces right in front of your troopship carrying 4,000 American soldiers? Captain Bertram Hayes gave the order: Full speed ahead. Ram her. This is the maritime history of White Star Line's RMS Olympic - Titanic's sister ship that refused to sink, survived ramming a World War 1 U-boat, and became the only merchant vessel to deliberately sink an enemy warship in combat. Stand with me in her actual first-class lounge at the White Swan Hotel, Alnwick...

 

Maritime History Documentary on the RMS Olympic: What do you do when a German submarine surfaces right in front of your troopship carrying 4,000 American soldiers? Captain Bertram Hayes gave the order: Full speed ahead. Ram her. This is the maritime history of White Star Line’s RMS Olympic – Titanic’s sister ship that refused to sink, survived ramming a World War 1 U-boat, and became the only merchant vessel to deliberately sink an enemy warship in combat. Stand with me in her actual first-class lounge at the White Swan Hotel, Alnwick…

 

In this episode:

  • When Olympic launched in 1910, she was the largest moving object on Earth – how did she compare to Hadrian’s Wall?
  • The 1911 HMS Hawke collision that nearly sank her… and ended up saving Titanic’s passengers
  • Violet Jessop and Arthur Priest – the two crew members who survived Olympic’s collision, Titanic’s sinking, and HMHS Britannic going down
  • Olympic’s transformation into HMT Olympic – troopship, dazzle camouflage, and “Old Reliable”
  • May 12, 1918: The day Captain Bertram Hayes rammed and sank German submarine U-103
  • How Olympic carried 200,000 troops across U-boat waters and earned a knighthood for her captain
  • Why this legendary ship ended up scrapped in Jarrow… and how you can still touch her today

 

Secret Bonus Facts for the Most Awesome Viewers Who Got Lost in the Description:

  1. The White Swan Hotel in Alnwick still serves afternoon tea in Olympic’s original first-class lounge – you can literally sit where Edwardian passengers once sipped champagne. It’s very nice.
  2. Olympic’s dazzle-camouflage pattern was designed to confuse U-boat periscope rangefinders – she looked like she was traveling in a different direction at different speeds.
  3. Olympic’s conversion from coal to oil in the 1920s made her more efficient than newer liners – she remained profitable throughout the Depression

 

You’ve scrolled too far. But since you’re here: Olympic completed 257 round trips across the Atlantic in peacetime. Titanic managed one. Britannic? She never carried a paying passenger – requisitioned as a hospital ship before her maiden commercial voyage, then sunk by a mine in the Aegean. Three sisters, three very different fates. Watch our other videos for more Untold History.