The Official Ocean Liner Thread.

[Resurgam]

So whatever reason (not wanting to arrive Tues night, SI, ASB) Captain Smith orders Titanic down to 20knots about 10pm on that Sunday.

What effect would her slower speed have had on the collision? How much extra time would that give the helm or indeed lookouts before to avoid the berg or change the impact?

Paging @Resurgam

Your tag didn't work.

Anyway, going that slowly would probably prevent the collision, between the iceberg drifting and having more time to react. But you still need to see it, so all the other issues apply.

Don't forget she's still sailing into quite the heavy ice field as well...

 

[Ogrebear]

Well this is good news:

Repairs On The Queen Mary Have Finally Begun

Crews have started removing the ships original lifeboats which have been affecting the ship's structure

jalopnik.com

 

[Ogrebear]

So let's say Titanic slowed down but still hit the Berg - she has three confirmed damaged compartments only but is still taking on water.

Do they put passengers off in boats and send SOS or does Captain Smith, Andrews etc wait to see if Titanic will 'settle' and float enough to risk limping to Halifax?

Pinging @Resurgam but also interesting in everyone's thoughts.

 

[Resurgam]

Pinging @Resurgam but also interesting in everyone's thoughts.

Hmmm. Well, I think it depends on a number of factors not specified...
* Why is Titanic going slower,
* When did the iceberg get seen,
* And the big one - which compartments are damaged?

Let's just say the berg has a spur that is broken off during the collision, so only three compartments are holed. Those would be the forepeak and the forward two holds. Not critical spots, assuming the flooding is contained. If the damage is further aft, you get into boilers rooms which is more problematic. Either way, the ship should be fine. She was designed to stay afloat with the first four compartments flooding, and only three have been damaged.

What the crew does depends on a lot of factors that aren't really here - where is the damage, how bad, can it be repaired on board, etc. That also influences if Smith orders an evacuation. But I could see him sending out an SOS for assistance.

 

[Ogrebear]

Controversial video….

 

[PrinceofApathy]

If I could afford to live on an ocean liner, I absolutely would.

 

[Simon]

This seems as good a place as any to ask, but we’re there any other comparable ships that could take the place of the RMS Lusitania to be sunk during the Great War? Not RMS Mauretania or RMS Auitania, ideally a White Star ship but other Cunard ships are also acceptable. Thanks.

 

[Ogrebear]

German show called 1899 coming out on Netflix.

Interestingly, the YouTube trailer page says: "A visually stunning Odyssee where nothing is as it seems. The makers of the internationally acclaimed series “Dark”, take us to the year "1899" aboard the Kerberos. What is lost will be found."

So is the ship that finds the 4 funneller the Kerberos and the missing one the Prometheus?

The sets do not look like the Queen Mary was used.

 

[Ogrebear]

The four funneller in 1899 very much looks like a 1906-1914 Crunarder to me rather than a German ship of that time period.

 

[ghappy1000]

Also, in a neutral US in WW1 (which still results in an Entente victory by 1918 or 1919 without Russia fighting to the end), there is the possibility that the German merchant and naval ships interned in US ports are not seized by the US nor kept by a defeated Germany and its successor states and are ceded to Britain instead. In this case, Britain gains the SS Vaterland (possibly instead of Homeric), the SS George Washington, the 3 Kaiser class ocean liners left and at least a few other ocean liners in US ports. How will the ocean liners be distributed under such circumstances?

And even if a neutral US in WW1 still acquires German ocean liners and other Central Power ships interned in its ports (due to seizure by US, sale by the Central Powers or surrender to US), the ships including the liners will still be missing years of no longer needed in WW1 timeframe US military service as naval ships before joining the US civilian merchant fleet or US Navy.

 

[Ogrebear]

This seems as good a place as any to ask, but we’re there any other comparable ships that could take the place of the RMS Lusitania to be sunk during the Great War? Not RMS Mauretania or RMS Auitania, ideally a White Star ship but other Cunard ships are also acceptable. Thanks.

Why pick on White Star like that?

 

[Simon]

Why pick on White Star like that?

Because, whilst it might be influenced by Cunard having effectively survived and thus leaving up more concrete information to work with, they seem in the best position to prosper with a little nudging in the right direction. I still need a Lusitania-type incident so White Star it is.

 

[Ogrebear]

Because, whilst it might be influenced by Cunard having effectively survived and thus leaving up more concrete information to work with, they seem in the best position to prosper with a little nudging in the right direction. I still need a Lusitania-type incident so White Star it is.

Would not be difficult to sink another ship- there where plenty around at the time e.g. Empress of Britain, France, Arlanza, Alcantara, Calgarian, Orduna, Orbita, Tuscania, Laconia, Rochambeau, etc

Also there is loads of info on White Star about, it would not take much to have them survive.

 

[HerbertVonKarajan]

Granted now this is my (most likely) shit take on it all. The reason why it looks like a Cunarder is namely due to the time period. It is literally 1899, and while no ship other than the oceanic was truly large in size at that time, due to the scale necessary for the script, a large ship closer to the time period is necessary... Hence the reason why it looks so much like a Cunarder.

However, unlike a Cunarder, it seems to take more influence from the Olympic class closer to the stern, especially with the design of the deckhouse aft of the ship and her stern itself, which almost looks like a scaled down Olympic Class stern.

 

[Ogrebear]

Granted now this is my (most likely) shit take on it all. The reason why it looks like a Cunarder is namely due to the time period. It is literally 1899, and while no ship other than the oceanic was truly large in size at that time, due to the scale necessary for the script, a large ship closer to the time period is necessary... Hence the reason why it looks so much like a Cunarder.

However, unlike a Cunarder, it seems to take more influence from the Olympic class closer to the stern, especially with the design of the deckhouse aft of the ship and her stern itself, which almost looks like a scaled down Olympic Class stern.

Yeah, I think they where trying to evoke a mix of the Lusitania/Mauritania and Olympic Class designs rather than the German liners that existed in 1899 like SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.

 

[Ogrebear]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1579946470543077376

Great thread!

 

[Ogrebear]

What do you think might have happened if it had been HMHS Aquitania that hit the mine instead of HMHS Britannic?

Would Aquitania have survived the blast?
If she had sunk what effect on Cunard?
With Britannic surviving the war does White Star survive as a company with two of its Olympic class around?

 

[Ogrebear]

Is it me or did Aquitania really need a forecastle to balance that design?

 

[Ogrebear]

Interesting to see the design lineage in the White Star fleet as well as the size comparisons.

 

[Hood]

What do you think might have happened if it had been HMHS Aquitania that hit the mine instead of HMHS Britannic?

Would Aquitania have survived the blast?
If she had sunk what effect on Cunard?
With Britannic surviving the war does White Star survive as a company with two of its Olympic class around?

1. Unlikely if it is the same circumstances, ie open watertight doors+warping from the explosion
2. They are down two big ships, they may end up with Bismarck? Otherwise, they will probably have to accept a smaller ship ala Homeric, which will hit their profit margins somewhat
3. Yes if they get Majestic too, otherwise possibly even worse if Cunard has two of Ballin's trio rather than one. They may build Oceanic III early in such a scenario in order to compete, because otherwise Cunard has three ships that can keep to the schedule, two of which are larger and more luxurious than the Olympic class, even if Olympic is brought up more on par with Britannic where they can. Do they survive in the long term? Hard to say, probably not if Kylsant takes over. He had some decent ideas but he was basically draining the company's profits to prop up his conglomerate, mainly made up of ageing ships. the late 20s was the wrong time to be trying something like that. On the upside, if they have an earlier Oceanic she'll be finished so perhaps.
If they limp along with Olympic, Britannic and Homeric you end up with a similar situation to otl I would think.