Sailed on Iberia in 1968. Had two fires and numerous malfunctions. My Father said at the time she had the strangest roll of any ship he had been on. I turned five on her on the way to the States and the captain let me steer her very briefly as a present. Great memory 55 years on. Great videos and content.
Another unlucky thing about Britannic, since it was wartime, the water tight doors were ordered to stay closed at all times, except for when the firemen were changing shifts for about 15 minutes. Well, the mine happened to go off during that time, and since the doors were all open, water flooded quicker. Out of all the times for the mine to strike, it happened when the shift change was happening. How unlucky!
Additionally was the captain's decision to attempt beaching her on Kea island. Had the captain come to a complete stop, it's likely that the ship would have settled and not sunk up to the open portholes. And then there's the fact that the ship ran through that channel *ONLY ONE WEEK after another liner hit a mine and sank there* (the Burdigala - which had been converted into a troop transport - lies roughly two nautical miles away from the Britannic 75 meters below the surface... both liners hit a mine laid by the same submarine, U-73). Why on earth would you run your ship through the same narrow channel that a week prior had sunk another ship?
One bit of GOOD LUCK (I just thought of)... was the fact that the ship was on its way to pick up as many as 3,000 wounded patients from the island of Lemnos (the staging areas for the wounded). So, the only people onboard were the officers, doctors, the nursing staff, and of course, the crew... which had a lot to do with why the Britannic suffered only 30 casualties (and most of those came from the unfortunate boats that were pulled into the still moving propellers, when their lifeboat officers panicked and - against the captain's orders - launched their boats anyway).
AND there's one more thing: the explosion twisted the hull just a tiny bit but enough to prevent the doors from closing. May be a silly thought but when sailing through dangerous waters, the firemen should've been taking the long way (across the upper decks, above the bulkheads) to and from their shifts. Scotland Road, at least.
@@thebonesaw..4634 it's because the captain of the Britannic did not know that the other ship was sunk by a mine. The crew on the stricken vessel thought they were torpedoed because they noticed a periscope off in the distance. So everyone else thought it was a torpedo so they didn't send mine sweepers in that area to look for mines. That's why Britannic was, once again, unlucky af :/
Something worth mentioning about the Great Eastern is that the damage that she took from the uncharted rock was even more extensive than that which sank the Titanic. It was thanks to her double bottom that the extent was only realised once she had been dry- docked. Truely a ship decades ahead of its time.
That's the thing about Great Eastern, It may have been "the laughing stock of the nautical community" but it was so damn strong the thing was literally designed to beach itself for repairs cause no dry dock in the world could hold it.
True, but the Titanic would have survived that same collision that the Great Eastern suffered. Titanic also had a double bottom. Sadly it didn't have a double HULL, so when the iceberg it it from the SIDE, there wasn't a "second layer" to block the water.
She also survived the storm that sank the Royal Charter (1859-the Royal Charter Gale), albeit within the incomplete Holyhead harbour, by careful management of her screw and paddles amid the floating debris and force 11 (yes!) winds.
She laid the first two fully functional transatlantic telegraph cables in 1866 (fishing up the lost 1865 cable) and as such really was *instrumental/pivotal* to rapid communication between Europe and America and later other continents.
I also would love a video of the Great Eastern. Did you know it’s mast is the flagpole for Liverpool Football Club at Anfield? The team was Everton at the time before they moved
I had a very funny experience with my seven year old grandson who is mad about the Titanic and other ships that have sunk. I taught him about the Britannic and that it was Titanic's sister. When he asked how it sank, I told him that it was either by a mine or a torpedo. When I had finished telling him, I asked him by way of revision, what had sunk the Britannic. His answer, (remember, he's only seven) "a mine or a potato". I have never laughed so much. We still chuckle about it even now.
Britannic also happened to hit the mine during the ship’s morning crew change (something a lot of people don’t seem to know about) which was done each day from 8:00am-8:15am, one of two 15-minute intervals when the watertight doors were opened (the ship hit the mine at 8:12am). Following the explosion the watertight doors were jammed in the open position due to the ship’s frame being slightly warped by the blast. This in addition to the open portholes as well as the fact she was still moving at high speeds all contributed towards the sinking and forced additional water in making her sink even faster. Very unlucky.
True, but imagine how fortunate it was that they had not picked up any patients yet. The wounded were waiting for them on the island of Lemnos to the north, so the Britannic only had the officers, crew, doctors and nursing staff aboard. That's why there were only 30 casualties (and most of those were killed when their lifeboats were launched early by panicked lifeboat crews, who disobeyed the captain's orders... and their lifeboat was pulled into the still spinning propellers, chopping the occupants to bits). Imagine the casualty numbers if they had been trying to get 3,300 infirmed patients into the lifeboats instead of doctors, nurses, and crew members.
Good point. I've often wondered whether the stokers could have used the escape ladders to change shift. Kind of a pain to get in and out of the boiler rooms that way, but at least the doors could have stayed shut.
Achille Lauro is also worth mentioning. Her construction was halted by bombing raids in the second world war, she was hijacked in 1985, she collided with 2 other ships and she caught fire 4 times, the last of which sunk her.
A lovely ship. I travelled on her twice, in 1967, from Wellington to Southampton and back again. She had only recently been acquired by Flotta Lauro and completely refitted in the latest 1960s decor. She had been converted from four classes to two classes and Tourist Class was the old second, third and fourth classes combined and also shared some of the first class facilities, such as the Chapel and the Cinema. The crew were mainly from Naples and most knew each other. They were very proud of their new ship and standards of service were high. In those days, safety standards were very high. One of the crew walked around the whole ship every hour, with a sort of large pocket watch. He would stop at intervals at little brass boxes with glass doors and a key inside. He would open the box, take out the key and put it into one of the numbered holes on the recorder he was carrying. This register that he had visited that part of the ship. I asked him, one day, what he was looking for. “Vapor” he replied, which is Italian for smoke - signs of fire.
The fact that the Great Eastern has a ship-kill record that’s better than a lot of Naval vessels boggles the mind and she wasn’t even trying to hurt anyone.
The Great Eastern was so unlucky that an entire mythos spread about a curse - even during her life it was claimed 'rapping' could be heard from the ghosts of riveters who'd accidentally been sealed into one of the voids of the ship. This tale followed the Great Eastern to the breakers yard and it was said that the skeleton of said riveter(s) was located (it was also said that the remains were those of a pay clerk from Scott-Russell shipyard who'd vanished with a 'substantial' amount of the wages - it was claimed he was murdered and sealed below decks). Such myths are completely unfounded and without evidence - the discovery of remains would be mentioned in the breakers logs & local papers - and there is nothing.
I've never bought into the myth of workers being sealed into the double hull of the Great Eastern. I mean really, riveters don't work THAT fast! Especially in the 1850's when it all had to be done by hand.
@@rrice1705 One thing I try to remember concerning conspiracy theorys is the bigger a conspiracy is the harder it is to keep a lid on it. As Ben Franklin onces said: "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead!"
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Joseph Bazalgette, Augustus Pugin three of the great engineers ahead of their time. Mike another great watch of maritime history, your information presented and narration are spot on. Funny how the IBERIA had such bad luck, I feel for the captains that were assigned to her down through the years.
I like the photo of isambard Brunel wearing his top hat standing in front of the massive chain. I wish more pictures, diagrams & information on this vessel existed. I enjoyed this & every presentation you give.
I, too have very fond memories of Iberia - In the mid 1950s as a young lad, crazy about ships and boats, my family (Mum, Dad, Myself & Sister) went on 3 Mediterranean cruises - First on Arcadia and then two on Iberia, sailing from Southampton for each voyage - While both ships were similar in most respects (the differences in each well explained in the video) my favourite was always Iberia - I much preferred her funnel for one thing, much nicer and more elegant than Arcadia's domed one - So a very happy fortnight spent on Arcadia and two on Iberia - Happily, none of the kind of mishaps explained in the video happened during my two voyages on Iberia - So sad to read about her mishaps elsewhere in the world during her history - She was a really lovely ship and I still, some 70 years later, have very fond memories of her...
Interesting - naturally I was aware of steel being much stronger than iron, but had never heard that it is actually lighter as well. Learn something new every time I visit your channel!
The lightness would be from the reduction in the amount of metal required, due to the increased strength. Steel's density varies depending on the alloy used, but it isn't very different to iron as far as I understand.
I have been researching the Guion Line recently because it is the line that took my great great grandmother’s family to America from britain after they came from Sweden. It is nice that it is mentioned in this video! Also for anyone curious the ship was the Minnesota
I think you did rather underestimate the Great Eastern's success as a cable layer in the hands of Brunel's friend Daniel Gooch who siezed the opportunity when she became available at such a low cost. Not only could she carry all the cable needed but the stability due to her great size allowed her to carefully grapple for and retrieve lost broken cables in the middle of the Atlantic.
I remain still amazed that given the depth of water, no GPS or wireless, and only grapples and marker buoys, they found the cable ends, hoisted them up and spliced them on board.
She did have a remarkable career as a cable layer - and the story of completing the cable and then going to retrieve the previously broken one is amazing!
The Himalaya rings a definite bell with me. A passenger on one of her voyages to Australia was Arthur C Clarke, who completed one of his first novels 'The City And The Stars' en route.
Iberia's story reminds me of the Shaw, Savill and Albion Line's SS Northern Star. She entered service in 1962 but struggled with mechanical issues throughout her service life. Poor maintenance meant things only got worse over the years, then the oil crisis happened and so the SSA Line decided to put her up for sale. No other company wanted to buy her and so in 1975, just 13 years after launch, she went to the scrapyard.
Another great video Mike, very interesting! I agree, Britannic was a very unlucky ship, and what a shame she ran afoul of circumstance. I have read though, that the decision to widen the ship over Olympic/Titanic was made before she was laid down in November of 1911. I think it had something to do with steadiness when lightly loaded in heavy seas due to experience with Olympic. It had nothing to do with the inner skin. I think it was noted maritime author Mark Chirnside - who specializes in White Star liners - who documented that. Keep these great videos coming!!
One fact however makes the Britannic very, very lucky: The wounded were still waiting for them on the island of Lemnos to the north, so the Britannic only had the officers, crew, doctors and nursing staff aboard. That's why there were only 30 casualties (and most of those were killed when their lifeboats were launched early by panicked lifeboat crews, who disobeyed the captain's orders... and their lifeboat was pulled into the still spinning propellers, chopping the occupants to bits). Imagine the casualty numbers if they had been trying to get 3,300 infirmed patients into the lifeboats instead of doctors, nurses, and crew members.
Hey my friend Mike! Just a quick thank you for making one of the best ship channels (and in terms of overall quality one of the best produced channels of any type on YT). I look forward to each new video!
Iberia's story reminds me of something sailing story writer Tristan Jones once said. There's ships that sail beautifully and do anything you want them to do, and then there's ships that you can just tell never wanted to be built. Cranky, poor sailers that have one mishap after another and for no apparant reason. And they usually don't last to long before they're off to the scrappers.
Awesome video Mike! Since I've started watching you a year ago, I've learnt so much! Your art is so beautifully gorgeous I've never known such an amazing artist like you. Keep up the good work! ❤
The world really was not ready for the Great Eastern, its so sad that Britannic never got the chance to be the passenger liner she was designed to be and that 2 of the 3 White Star ships sank, really great video
Writing as a professional mariner generally not prone to superstition, my personal feeling is that some ships are just unlucky. The goes for some sailors, generally known as a "Jonah." The story of the loss of the long liner, "Andrea Gale" immortalized in the book and later movie "The Perfect Storm" has an interesting side note. According to the story, one of the would-be crew members drove with his father from his home in Middleboro, in southern Massachusetts, up to Gloucester to join the crew for the trip. He got out of the car, took a good look at the boat and reportedly said something to his father to the effect of, "l don't feel right about this...." turned around and returned home. His gut instinct saved his life. On the other hand, l've ignored that same feeling myself and l'm still here. Although my premonitions were often partly correct in that we had serious problems, we always managed to stay afloat. The marvels of modern technology notwithstanding, with all other things being equal, a fast ship is always better than a slower one because its voyages are completed more quickly, with relatively less time spent at sea. Nothing will ever change the fact that the open ocean will always be a dangerous place, which is why the concept of going on a "cruise ship" just to be at sea, strikes many professional mariners as an utterly ridiculous concept. That would still be true even if modern cruise ships were anything less than obscenely ugly and unseaworthy in the eyes of any classically trained mariner. As for Brunel, he might've lived a little longer if he's taken one of those disgusting looking, undoubtedly soggy, stogies out of his mouth seen in every widely extant photo of him.
My feelings exactly. If ever I (in another universe went on a cruise) it would be something like the Uganda and not those vast floating things that do not even resemble ships.
Wow I think the Great Eastern is just this big clumsy extraordinary thing. What a behemoth, stepping on toes left and right. I love it, possibly one of my favorite ships now. Just subscribed to your channel your content is amazing.
Honestly expecting to see Olympic in this video, but I suppose Britannic had the worse luck, given that it never served it's original purpose, and sank before it could. Great video, Mike! I've been a Titanorak for years, and now I work in Titanic Belfast. Your videos have given me some knowledge that I can pass to people I meet while working. Keep it up! ❤
I'm a barber... it's amazing how many people have a fascination with the Titanic. Mike provides me with hours of factoids and stories about the Titanic, her sisters and the myriad of other beautiful (and sometimes not-so-beautiful) ships of history.
Olympic had some collisions (hms hawke and the Nantucket lighthouse ship, and it did sink one german sub too by ramming.), but it was called ”old reliable” during the WW1, and had a successfull courier as a troop transport and after the war as a transatlantic liner during 20`s. After the black friday there were less passengers and newer ships took over. But, overall, very good courier.
Thank you for addressing the Britannic's inherenet seaworthiness, particuarly the fact (which I'm always trying to make) that she probably would have sailed through Titanic's collision with nary a scratch! Mechanically, she was the ship that Titanic was meant to be, and it was through pure mismanagement at all levels that she never got the career she deserved. I would also point out tht the 30 people who went down with her is one HELL of a lot less than Titanic's losses, and that, if I heard correctly, they got virtually everyone else off of her in about 15 minutes, a testament to her improved evacuation capabilities. It's lucky that one of MY favorite ships, the MV Britannic, proved to be as seaworthy and reliable as she later was, taking up the name and redeeming it so well.
SS Kaiser Friedrich is another City of Rome-esque example of a liner built by a shipbuilder (Schichau) with a normally excellent reputation that simply didn’t work, failing by a wide margin to meet the contract specified speed. Originally, Norddeutscher Lloyd intended her as an express liner running mate to the four-stacker Kaiser Wilhelm der Große, but they ended up refusing delivery. She was intended for 22 knots, but the maiden voyage was around 16 and months of work back at Schichau only got her up to 19-20. She was evidently much more of a restrained (and less garish) interior than her running mate, but just didn’t work. Then she ended up in French service and was sunk by the same minefield that bagged Britannic. Naming a ship Blücher is also a surefire way to get it sunk. Two cruisers and several sailing merchant ships sank, along with a disastrous boiler explosion in a corvette in the German navy of the same name. The only ship I can think of to survive was NDL’s SS Blücher, which may have done so only because it was interned in WWI and renamed. Clearly, the eponymous Field Marshal von Blücher used up all the luck associated with the name!
Hello Mike, fellow Aussie here, I would love to see some kind of video on HMY Britannia, I know its not an ocean liner but it is in my opinion one of the most elegant ships from history, I think it could make for an interesting video:)
The flagpole at Anfield, home of Liverpool football club is one of the masts from the Great Eastern. The GE was broken up on the Mersey close to Birkenhead and some of the keel is still there!
Fascinating stories! The Great Eastern was probably just too much too soon, a product of the unbridled ambition of Brunel. It’s also fair to say that the immense problems & headaches it heaped upon him right from the start (construction, launch, running etc) materially contributed to his early death. Sailors are (or were) a superstitious lot, and once a ship had earned a reputation as being ‘jinxed’ it rarely managed to shake it off. HMS Prince of Wales was just such a ship, and even before it came into service in 1941, had already gained that reputation. She had a less than distinguished service record (and a fairly short one too) being the only one of her class to be sunk during the war. It would be hard to attribute that to her reputation as an ‘unlucky’ ship, but it’s a strange coincidence nonetheless…
For your next ship redesign, it would be great to see the great eastern modernized Into a screw driven only vessel. Possibly with1870s or later style super structure added
I would love to see what a refit might have looked like. I've also wondered wether she would have had more luck if the original twin screw (which would have made her the first) design had been kept instead of the paddles (there was no way at the time to get the ship to the desired speed on one prop at time). Then again, a lot of her success as a cable layer was due to that unique layout (more specifically the maneuverability a skilled crew could get out of it).
Hi Mike, really enjoyed this episode and in particular the SS Iberia focus. When I went to sea as an officer cadet, Iberia had well and truly paid off and her sister SS Arcadia was completing her final service; a series of cruises from Sydney and Brisbane. Arcadia was in deed a very happy ship albeit she was very tired. The two ships were close in design with Arcadia having a Clyde Bank dome funnel whereas Iberia had a Thornycroft coaming funnel. Iberia’s Promenade deck extended all the way to the stern which was not the case on Arcadia. One aspect you may not be aware of was that both ships had different bunker capacity. At service speed Arcadia was a nine day vessel whereas Iberia was seven days. This affected Iberia’s stability especially as more fuel was consumed. So much so that zinc ingots were loaded into the lower holds. Her unreliability, stability issues and lack of range I suggest was the reason for her early demise. Towards the end some boiler parts were supplied to SS Orcades from Iberia a six year older ship. Not sure her troubles could be attributed to Harland and Wolff as the yard was retained by P&O to build the TEV Canberra which had a long life. Thank you again.
Mr. Brady. I find that you're narrative style superb. The the clarity and your enunciation is very Good. Plus the attention to detail in the ways you Convey the practical with drama is Fantastic. Thank you.
4:26 Oh to have had the luck to occupy one of those stern cabins that opened directly onto the deck! I too love the Iberia but then I'm fond of the old P&O line. I was lucky enough in 1969-70 of going onboard P&O's RMS Himalaya when my grandmother sailed on her. I was allowed to roam the ship before departure and it started my obsession with ships. I also like the 2 inter-war-1930s 'Straths', RMS Strathaird and RMS Strathnaver. They were nicknamed "The Beautiful White Sisters". I liked their 'horizontal ventilation slates' beneath the funnel for some strange reason and those same cabins at the stern again!
i would wanna see a full video on the great eastern i watched a short documentary about it when i was young and i was totslly captivated by both it and the titanic the great eastern helped spark my interest in ocean liners
Whenever i see a new video of yours i havent seen before about shipwrecks my toes curl lolol. i love your videos so much, and you have relit my interests in ships. :3
Fascinating! enjoyed it. Really head shaking stuff, especially the Iberia. One wonders if any of these ships had had a name change, at any point. You know the superstitions of the sea....
A very gruesome note on Britannic is those 30 that died did so in one of the most horrific ways imaginable. None died from the mine strike but with the ship flooding quickly the captain ordered the life boats be readied but did not give the order to launch them. He was making a desperate attempt to beach Britannic but she was starting to list to starboard and he realized he couldn't save her and stopped the engines. However some crew on the port side feared the list would increase too much and launched 2 lifeboats against orders. At this point the port propeller wasn't fully underwater anymore and was still turning. It sucked both lifeboats in and minced them and all people aboard them. After seeing this the crew wisely refrained from launching any more until the engines stopped and the captain actually gave the order to launch them.
Very interesting video thanks. I travelled on the Iberia for 5 weeks in 1965 (England-Australia via Suez Canal). It was absolutely wonderful. Also travelled on Oronsay (Melbourne-USA) in 1964 and Queen Mary 1964 (New York-Britain). Such wonderful memories on beautiful ships.
Hi Mike I started my career with P&O as a catering boy on The Arcadia in 1971 then The Oronsay and did the maiden voyage on The Spirit of London The start of the new cruise era. I’m sure you know how that became famous. Really enjoy your videos and have fond memories of Cruising from Sydney down to Fiji spending a lot of time in Kings Cross when at circular Quay. Thanks Tony
at 09:45 you mention RMS Titanic, but the poster shows RMS Olympic. The upper promenade deck goes all the way to the front, however that was only the case for RMS Olympic ;-) Great video by the way 😀
Fabulous video. I love the look of the Iberia, that is just the sort of ship design I admire. I am not so keen on the modern skyscraper ships! What a joy the ships of those days were! Thank you for the video!
I'd say the Great Eastern was the ship to be on, when something hit the fan, the ship still made it to safety, That hurricane may have thrown the people onboard about, but unlike a number of the other ships caught in that storm, she was able to return to port, the gash in her side was larger than that that put Titanic on the bottom, but barely slowed the ship down, and I don't want to know what would happen to a lesser ship when one of their boilers would explode, well not counting the other ships that Brunnel designed. Also on the Britanic, many of the people who died, died when the crew members, against orders, abandoned ship, lowering the lifeboats while the ship was still steaming ahead, causing them to be drawn into the still turning screws
Stuff like this just amazes me. Ships…I’ve always thought…have a soul of their own. Good, bad…indifferent…regardless…they have a soul. I firmly believe that soul is built upon the designer and the the people actually building her. *call me crazy* It wouldn’t be the first time. 😆 Ships are called “vessels” for a reason. We…us humans…are vessels as well. We take in info…things…experiences…from our environment. It starts at birth. I personally believe it is the same with ships. They take on info…things…and yes, experiences during the “birth”. Great vid! Thank you! 😎👍❤
Another great video - I did not know the stories of the City of Rome or Iberia well, thank you! Britannic to me is one of the great wartime liner losses, up there with Normandie. And the Great Eastern is always an interesting story, a white elephant who never found a proper role. And was SO big she was not surpassed in length/size until Oceanic and Celtic!
Thank you, Mike, for this interesting video. I, with my family, emigrated from England to Australia on the Himalaya in 1961. The journey took 3 1/2 weeks and it started my love of ships. The only dramas on board were sea sickness.
the troubles that Great Eastern had in port would again in a way be reflected in a different way in the far future from it. When airports had to figure out how to handle the 747.
Britannic is one my favourite ships. One of the safest afloat and taken out by user error. If the nurses insisted on keeping the portholes open surely part of the disaster procedure should have been to close the portholes. Better still, while in dangerous waters, don't leave them open in the first place (as per orders).
As always, another very well done and informative video!!! Thank you, Mr. Brady and I truly look forward to watching your next video. I appreciate your attention to detail and how well you present historical information.
If the Great Eastern was such an unprecedented mammoth of maritime travel, I wouldn't be surprised if a substantial part of her problems were that various crew just weren't able to stear and navigate one that big, and no one wanted to admit it. Obviously mechanical failures have to play a big part too, but the learning curve is always a challenge when tech advances in leaps rather than steps.
The workhorses of P&O were undoubtedly the "Strath" boats. Strathaird, Strathnaver, Strathmore, Stratheden. All were wonderfully reliable and gave great service ...
Some things in life are just purely JINXED 🤷♂️ I love the history lessons I would never know about if I didn't watch these videos. Great Stuff Michael 👍 Always!! ✌️
I wonder how far along the refit of the Britannic back into an ocean liner was. I can imagine the workers pulling out their hair in frustration when they are told to pull out all those luxury items that they just had reinstalled after pulling them off the first time about a year or so ago.
White Star Line when Britannic was requisitioned: "Wonderful, let's get this wonderful ship built up again, it will be great and beautiful." Navy office comes back, "Uh about that..." White Star: "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO"
Seeing these makes me really glad the ship I was stationed on (USS Wasp from 2014 to 2019) didn't go the same way... because she had a whole myriad of issues, even after being outfitted with the latest in tech. Hell, she was in the shipyards for a very long time and when it was time for her first underway after all that time, 3 hours before we even left the pier, we hear on the 1MC "Fire, fire, fire, this is not a drill". I looked at a buddy of mine and said "Wow, we haven't even left port and we're already on fire. We're off to a great start." Couple years later, on a 6 month deployment, ship started to sink while we were in Middle Eastern territory and took 5 days to stop the incoming water. So, to this day, I thank whatever deity that is out there that nothing too serious happened to that ship. From what I hear, still sailing today. Just really hope she doesn't go the same way as her predecessors.
You should do a video for Willie D. Porter one day. On a flipside you have Yukikaze that was so lucky to the point there was a joke that she steals like from ships she was escorting in WW2.
You should include the cruiseferry/cruiseship Sally Albatross in a potential part 2. She was caught on fire in 1990 while in drydock and was deemed a total loss but was rebuilt to a cruiseship and ran aground in 1994 and almost sank. After that she has collided with an oil-tanker, crushed gangways in a harbour.
My husband is a very knowledgeable and skilled person whose hobby is learning new skills and educating himself on random topics. When o was talking about the Kursk last night he was shocked. I usually listen to true crime. He’s very glad I’ve moved on from that and now learning about ships, subs, diving, etc. I told him about your channel and another one I watch that’s similar to yours.
I'd love to see more about the old P&O line. Oriana, Fairchild, Fairstar, PP, Canberra etc etc, my friend. 🎶 *_"Take me away, lovely lady, oh yeah...yeah, take me away, to paradise..."_* 🎶
My daughter asked me recently about italian liners. Without a flinch i said her that italians ships were maybe not the best, but surely the best looking.This has nothing to do with me being an italian, but rather with their look. This IMHO applies to RM warships too.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Sailed on Iberia in 1968. Had two fires and numerous malfunctions. My Father said at the time she had the strangest roll of any ship he had been on. I turned five on her on the way to the States and the captain let me steer her very briefly as a present. Great memory 55 years on. Great videos and content.
Woah that's cool, remind sme of when my uncle let me sit on his lap and move the steering wheel, whilst the car was moving. A very fond memory of mine
Another unlucky thing about Britannic, since it was wartime, the water tight doors were ordered to stay closed at all times, except for when the firemen were changing shifts for about 15 minutes. Well, the mine happened to go off during that time, and since the doors were all open, water flooded quicker. Out of all the times for the mine to strike, it happened when the shift change was happening. How unlucky!
Additionally was the captain's decision to attempt beaching her on Kea island. Had the captain come to a complete stop, it's likely that the ship would have settled and not sunk up to the open portholes. And then there's the fact that the ship ran through that channel *ONLY ONE WEEK after another liner hit a mine and sank there* (the Burdigala - which had been converted into a troop transport - lies roughly two nautical miles away from the Britannic 75 meters below the surface... both liners hit a mine laid by the same submarine, U-73). Why on earth would you run your ship through the same narrow channel that a week prior had sunk another ship?
One bit of GOOD LUCK (I just thought of)... was the fact that the ship was on its way to pick up as many as 3,000 wounded patients from the island of Lemnos (the staging areas for the wounded). So, the only people onboard were the officers, doctors, the nursing staff, and of course, the crew... which had a lot to do with why the Britannic suffered only 30 casualties (and most of those came from the unfortunate boats that were pulled into the still moving propellers, when their lifeboat officers panicked and - against the captain's orders - launched their boats anyway).
AND there's one more thing: the explosion twisted the hull just a tiny bit but enough to prevent the doors from closing. May be a silly thought but when sailing through dangerous waters, the firemen should've been taking the long way (across the upper decks, above the bulkheads) to and from their shifts. Scotland Road, at least.
and ONE MORE THING! .... actually i don't have anything additional just wanted to extend the thread
@@thebonesaw..4634 it's because the captain of the Britannic did not know that the other ship was sunk by a mine. The crew on the stricken vessel thought they were torpedoed because they noticed a periscope off in the distance. So everyone else thought it was a torpedo so they didn't send mine sweepers in that area to look for mines. That's why Britannic was, once again, unlucky af :/
Something worth mentioning about the Great Eastern is that the damage that she took from the uncharted rock was even more extensive than that which sank the Titanic. It was thanks to her double bottom that the extent was only realised once she had been dry- docked.
Truely a ship decades ahead of its time.
That's the thing about Great Eastern, It may have been "the laughing stock of the nautical community" but it was so damn strong the thing was literally designed to beach itself for repairs cause no dry dock in the world could hold it.
@@wyz8339 it wasn't "designed" to beach itself for repairs. it just so happened there was no dry dock in which it could be repaired at.
True, but the Titanic would have survived that same collision that the Great Eastern suffered. Titanic also had a double bottom. Sadly it didn't have a double HULL, so when the iceberg it it from the SIDE, there wasn't a "second layer" to block the water.
The ship also had some remarkable water-tight subdivision for her time, which played a part in saving her after colliding with the uncharted rock.
She also survived the storm that sank the Royal Charter (1859-the Royal Charter Gale), albeit within the incomplete Holyhead harbour, by careful management of her screw and paddles amid the floating debris and force 11 (yes!) winds.
The Great Eastern really deserves it's own video. The largest ship in the world for 40 years?? What a fascinating story.
She laid the first two fully functional transatlantic telegraph cables in 1866 (fishing up the lost 1865 cable) and as such really was *instrumental/pivotal* to rapid communication between Europe and America and later other continents.
Yeah, I hear him bring it up pretty frequently, I'd love to know the full story!
Would love to see that.
I also would love a video of the Great Eastern. Did you know it’s mast is the flagpole for Liverpool Football Club at Anfield? The team was Everton at the time before they moved
Although unlucky, it's nice to see someone giving the Great Eastern some sympathy. The world really wasn't ready for ships that big.
I had a very funny experience with my seven year old grandson who is mad about the Titanic and other ships that have sunk. I taught him about the Britannic and that it was Titanic's sister. When he asked how it sank, I told him that it was either by a mine or a torpedo. When I had finished telling him, I asked him by way of revision, what had sunk the Britannic. His answer, (remember, he's only seven) "a mine or a potato". I have never laughed so much. We still chuckle about it even now.
That is so cute 😂
Torpedo, potato!
You say torpetto, I say torpatto.
😂😂😂
Britannic also happened to hit the mine during the ship’s morning crew change (something a lot of people don’t seem to know about) which was done each day from 8:00am-8:15am, one of two 15-minute intervals when the watertight doors were opened (the ship hit the mine at 8:12am). Following the explosion the watertight doors were jammed in the open position due to the ship’s frame being slightly warped by the blast. This in addition to the open portholes as well as the fact she was still moving at high speeds all contributed towards the sinking and forced additional water in making her sink even faster. Very unlucky.
True, but imagine how fortunate it was that they had not picked up any patients yet. The wounded were waiting for them on the island of Lemnos to the north, so the Britannic only had the officers, crew, doctors and nursing staff aboard. That's why there were only 30 casualties (and most of those were killed when their lifeboats were launched early by panicked lifeboat crews, who disobeyed the captain's orders... and their lifeboat was pulled into the still spinning propellers, chopping the occupants to bits). Imagine the casualty numbers if they had been trying to get 3,300 infirmed patients into the lifeboats instead of doctors, nurses, and crew members.
Good point. I've often wondered whether the stokers could have used the escape ladders to change shift. Kind of a pain to get in and out of the boiler rooms that way, but at least the doors could have stayed shut.
@@thebonesaw..4634 And imagine trying to get 3,300 people evacuated in the 55 minutes it took Britannic to sink......
Achille Lauro is also worth mentioning. Her construction was halted by bombing raids in the second world war, she was hijacked in 1985, she collided with 2 other ships and she caught fire 4 times, the last of which sunk her.
Wasn't there a Silja line ship that caught fire like 5 times too?
A lovely ship. I travelled on her twice, in 1967, from Wellington to Southampton and back again. She had only recently been acquired by Flotta Lauro and completely refitted in the latest 1960s decor. She had been converted from four classes to two classes and Tourist Class was the old second, third and fourth classes combined and also shared some of the first class facilities, such as the Chapel and the Cinema. The crew were mainly from Naples and most knew each other. They were very proud of their new ship and standards of service were high. In those days, safety standards were very high. One of the crew walked around the whole ship every hour, with a sort of large pocket watch. He would stop at intervals at little brass boxes with glass doors and a key inside. He would open the box, take out the key and put it into one of the numbered holes on the recorder he was carrying. This register that he had visited that part of the ship. I asked him, one day, what he was looking for. “Vapor” he replied, which is Italian for smoke - signs of fire.
The fact that the Great Eastern has a ship-kill record that’s better than a lot of Naval vessels boggles the mind and she wasn’t even trying to hurt anyone.
There is a reason it was proposed to turn her into a "ram ship", without any modifications.
I laughed at what you said, and then thought about it; doesn't that mean The Great Eastern sank more ships than Dreadnought?
The Great Eastern was so unlucky that an entire mythos spread about a curse - even during her life it was claimed 'rapping' could be heard from the ghosts of riveters who'd accidentally been sealed into one of the voids of the ship. This tale followed the Great Eastern to the breakers yard and it was said that the skeleton of said riveter(s) was located (it was also said that the remains were those of a pay clerk from Scott-Russell shipyard who'd vanished with a 'substantial' amount of the wages - it was claimed he was murdered and sealed below decks). Such myths are completely unfounded and without evidence - the discovery of remains would be mentioned in the breakers logs & local papers - and there is nothing.
I've never bought into the myth of workers being sealed into the double hull of the Great Eastern. I mean really, riveters don't work THAT fast! Especially in the 1850's when it all had to be done by hand.
Yea, those stories are absurd, but if there's one thing I've learned about people is that they love conspiracy theories of all sorts.
@@rrice1705 One thing I try to remember concerning conspiracy theorys is the bigger a conspiracy is the harder it is to keep a lid on it.
As Ben Franklin onces said: "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead!"
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 *flerfing intensifies*
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 Funny, but when I read that, why did the Clintons suddenly spring to mind? ;))
Thanks!
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Joseph Bazalgette, Augustus Pugin three of the great engineers ahead of their time. Mike another great watch of maritime history, your information presented and narration are spot on. Funny how the IBERIA had such bad luck, I feel for the captains that were assigned to her down through the years.
I like the photo of isambard Brunel wearing his top hat standing in front of the massive chain. I wish more pictures, diagrams & information on this vessel existed. I enjoyed this & every presentation you give.
Thanks for including the Great Eastern in this video. It's a ship that's always fascinated me despite its hard luck.
That steam pipe explosion would have destroyed any other vessel.
I'm glad you focused on some other ships rather than just Titanic
Love the Iberia, such a gorgeous P&O liner; my second favourite after Chusan. The ill-fated Magdalena would make a good study video Mike :)
She was meant to be in this video! I had to cut her for time :( i’ll cover the story soon though!
@@OceanlinerDesigns then that explains why it's only 4, and not 5.
I, too have very fond memories of Iberia - In the mid 1950s as a young lad, crazy about ships and boats, my family (Mum, Dad, Myself & Sister) went on 3 Mediterranean cruises - First on Arcadia and then two on Iberia, sailing from Southampton for each voyage - While both ships were similar in most respects (the differences in each well explained in the video) my favourite was always Iberia - I much preferred her funnel for one thing, much nicer and more elegant than Arcadia's domed one - So a very happy fortnight spent on Arcadia and two on Iberia - Happily, none of the kind of mishaps explained in the video happened during my two voyages on Iberia - So sad to read about her mishaps elsewhere in the world during her history - She was a really lovely ship and I still, some 70 years later, have very fond memories of her...
Interesting - naturally I was aware of steel being much stronger than iron, but had never heard that it is actually lighter as well. Learn something new every time I visit your channel!
The lightness would be from the reduction in the amount of metal required, due to the increased strength. Steel's density varies depending on the alloy used, but it isn't very different to iron as far as I understand.
@@alex_ob1 ah, yeah that makes sense. Thanks.
@@alex_ob1it’s less dense per cubic cm as well. Iron dense af
@@DoctorProph3t significantly?
@@alex_ob1 depends on the context. In a tool, not really, in a ship, tremendous.
I have been researching the Guion Line recently because it is the line that took my great great grandmother’s family to America from britain after they came from Sweden. It is nice that it is mentioned in this video! Also for anyone curious the ship was the Minnesota
I think you did rather underestimate the Great Eastern's success as a cable layer in the hands of Brunel's friend Daniel Gooch who siezed the opportunity when she became available at such a low cost. Not only could she carry all the cable needed but the stability due to her great size allowed her to carefully grapple for and retrieve lost broken cables in the middle of the Atlantic.
I remain still amazed that given the depth of water, no GPS or wireless, and only grapples and marker buoys, they found the cable ends, hoisted them up and spliced them on board.
She did have a remarkable career as a cable layer - and the story of completing the cable and then going to retrieve the previously broken one is amazing!
The Himalaya rings a definite bell with me. A passenger on one of her voyages to Australia was Arthur C Clarke, who completed one of his first novels 'The City And The Stars' en route.
Iberia's story reminds me of the Shaw, Savill and Albion Line's SS Northern Star. She entered service in 1962 but struggled with mechanical issues throughout her service life. Poor maintenance meant things only got worse over the years, then the oil crisis happened and so the SSA Line decided to put her up for sale. No other company wanted to buy her and so in 1975, just 13 years after launch, she went to the scrapyard.
Another great video Mike, very interesting! I agree, Britannic was a very unlucky ship, and what a shame she ran afoul of circumstance. I have read though, that the decision to widen the ship over Olympic/Titanic was made before she was laid down in November of 1911. I think it had something to do with steadiness when lightly loaded in heavy seas due to experience with Olympic. It had nothing to do with the inner skin. I think it was noted maritime author Mark Chirnside - who specializes in White Star liners - who documented that. Keep these great videos coming!!
One fact however makes the Britannic very, very lucky: The wounded were still waiting for them on the island of Lemnos to the north, so the Britannic only had the officers, crew, doctors and nursing staff aboard. That's why there were only 30 casualties (and most of those were killed when their lifeboats were launched early by panicked lifeboat crews, who disobeyed the captain's orders... and their lifeboat was pulled into the still spinning propellers, chopping the occupants to bits). Imagine the casualty numbers if they had been trying to get 3,300 infirmed patients into the lifeboats instead of doctors, nurses, and crew members.
Hey my friend Mike! Just a quick thank you for making one of the best ship channels (and in terms of overall quality one of the best produced channels of any type on YT). I look forward to each new video!
Iberia's story reminds me of something sailing story writer Tristan Jones once said. There's ships that sail beautifully and do anything you want them to do, and then there's ships that you can just tell never wanted to be built. Cranky, poor sailers that have one mishap after another and for no apparant reason. And they usually don't last to long before they're off to the scrappers.
Awesome video Mike! Since I've started watching you a year ago, I've learnt so much! Your art is so beautifully gorgeous I've never known such an amazing artist like you. Keep up the good work! ❤
The world really was not ready for the Great Eastern, its so sad that Britannic never got the chance to be the passenger liner she was designed to be and that 2 of the 3 White Star ships sank, really great video
Yupp only 1 of 3 Olympic class liners ever COMPLETED a commercial voyage. One got half way and the other never even got the chance
Writing as a professional mariner generally not prone to superstition, my personal feeling is that some ships are just unlucky. The goes for some sailors, generally known as a "Jonah."
The story of the loss of the long liner, "Andrea Gale" immortalized in the book and later movie "The Perfect Storm" has an interesting side note. According to the story, one of the would-be crew members drove with his father from his home in Middleboro, in southern Massachusetts, up to Gloucester to join the crew for the trip. He got out of the car, took a good look at the boat and reportedly said something to his father to the effect of, "l don't feel right about this...." turned around and returned home. His gut instinct saved his life. On the other hand, l've ignored that same feeling myself and l'm still here. Although my premonitions were often partly correct in that we had serious problems, we always managed to stay afloat.
The marvels of modern technology notwithstanding, with all other things being equal, a fast ship is always better than a slower one because its voyages are completed more quickly, with relatively less time spent at sea. Nothing will ever change the fact that the open ocean will always be a dangerous place, which is why the concept of going on a "cruise ship" just to be at sea, strikes many professional mariners as an utterly ridiculous concept. That would still be true even if modern cruise ships were anything less than obscenely ugly and unseaworthy in the eyes of any classically trained mariner.
As for Brunel, he might've lived a little longer if he's taken one of those disgusting looking, undoubtedly soggy, stogies out of his mouth seen in every widely extant photo of him.
My feelings exactly. If ever I (in another universe went on a cruise) it would be something like the Uganda and not those vast floating things that do not even resemble ships.
@@johnjephcote7636 Exactly.
Wow I think the Great Eastern is just this big clumsy extraordinary thing. What a behemoth, stepping on toes left and right. I love it, possibly one of my favorite ships now. Just subscribed to your channel your content is amazing.
Honestly expecting to see Olympic in this video, but I suppose Britannic had the worse luck, given that it never served it's original purpose, and sank before it could. Great video, Mike! I've been a Titanorak for years, and now I work in Titanic Belfast. Your videos have given me some knowledge that I can pass to people I meet while working. Keep it up! ❤
Olympic had a great life.
I'm a barber... it's amazing how many people have a fascination with the Titanic. Mike provides me with hours of factoids and stories about the Titanic, her sisters and the myriad of other beautiful (and sometimes not-so-beautiful) ships of history.
@@mike.4277 1934, 1911: *A r e y o u s u r e a b o u t t h a t*
Olympic was actually very lucky, the luckiest of her class.
Olympic had some collisions (hms hawke and the Nantucket lighthouse ship, and it did sink one german sub too by ramming.), but it was called ”old reliable” during the WW1, and had a successfull courier as a troop transport and after the war as a transatlantic liner during 20`s. After the black friday there were less passengers and newer ships took over. But, overall, very good courier.
The additional 1.5 feet in beam for Britannic compared to Olympic & Titanic was planned before the loss of Titanic. Nice video!
Thank you for addressing the Britannic's inherenet seaworthiness, particuarly the fact (which I'm always trying to make) that she probably would have sailed through Titanic's collision with nary a scratch! Mechanically, she was the ship that Titanic was meant to be, and it was through pure mismanagement at all levels that she never got the career she deserved.
I would also point out tht the 30 people who went down with her is one HELL of a lot less than Titanic's losses, and that, if I heard correctly, they got virtually everyone else off of her in about 15 minutes, a testament to her improved evacuation capabilities.
It's lucky that one of MY favorite ships, the MV Britannic, proved to be as seaworthy and reliable as she later was, taking up the name and redeeming it so well.
SS Kaiser Friedrich is another City of Rome-esque example of a liner built by a shipbuilder (Schichau) with a normally excellent reputation that simply didn’t work, failing by a wide margin to meet the contract specified speed. Originally, Norddeutscher Lloyd intended her as an express liner running mate to the four-stacker Kaiser Wilhelm der Große, but they ended up refusing delivery. She was intended for 22 knots, but the maiden voyage was around 16 and months of work back at Schichau only got her up to 19-20. She was evidently much more of a restrained (and less garish) interior than her running mate, but just didn’t work. Then she ended up in French service and was sunk by the same minefield that bagged Britannic.
Naming a ship Blücher is also a surefire way to get it sunk. Two cruisers and several sailing merchant ships sank, along with a disastrous boiler explosion in a corvette in the German navy of the same name. The only ship I can think of to survive was NDL’s SS Blücher, which may have done so only because it was interned in WWI and renamed. Clearly, the eponymous Field Marshal von Blücher used up all the luck associated with the name!
Or he at some point pissed off a powerful sea spirit and they are still holding a grudge.
Happy to more info on the Great Eastern. I've always been fascinated her story.
Hello Mike, fellow Aussie here, I would love to see some kind of video on HMY Britannia, I know its not an ocean liner but it is in my opinion one of the most elegant ships from history, I think it could make for an interesting video:)
The flagpole at Anfield, home of Liverpool football club is one of the masts from the Great Eastern. The GE was broken up on the Mersey close to Birkenhead and some of the keel is still there!
Fascinating stories!
The Great Eastern was probably just too much too soon, a product of the unbridled ambition of Brunel. It’s also fair to say that the immense problems & headaches it heaped upon him right from the start (construction, launch, running etc) materially contributed to his early death.
Sailors are (or were) a superstitious lot, and once a ship had earned a reputation as being ‘jinxed’ it rarely managed to shake it off. HMS Prince of Wales was just such a ship, and even before it came into service in 1941, had already gained that reputation.
She had a less than distinguished service record (and a fairly short one too) being the only one of her class to be sunk during the war.
It would be hard to attribute that to her reputation as an ‘unlucky’ ship, but it’s a strange coincidence nonetheless…
This channel is my new favourite thing. I’m not ashamed to admit I find it really relaxing learning about ships and shit. 10/10 *chefs kiss*
Me too! Mr. Brady is our friend 😊
For your next ship redesign, it would be great to see the great eastern modernized Into a screw driven only vessel. Possibly with1870s or later style super structure added
I would love to see what a refit might have looked like. I've also wondered wether she would have had more luck if the original twin screw (which would have made her the first) design had been kept instead of the paddles (there was no way at the time to get the ship to the desired speed on one prop at time). Then again, a lot of her success as a cable layer was due to that unique layout (more specifically the maneuverability a skilled crew could get out of it).
Hi Mike, really enjoyed this episode and in particular the SS Iberia focus. When I went to sea as an officer cadet, Iberia had well and truly paid off and her sister SS Arcadia was completing her final service; a series of cruises from Sydney and Brisbane. Arcadia was in deed a very happy ship albeit she was very tired. The two ships were close in design with Arcadia having a Clyde Bank dome funnel whereas Iberia had a Thornycroft coaming funnel. Iberia’s Promenade deck extended all the way to the stern which was not the case on Arcadia. One aspect you may not be aware of was that both ships had different bunker capacity. At service speed Arcadia was a nine day vessel whereas Iberia was seven days. This affected Iberia’s stability especially as more fuel was consumed. So much so that zinc ingots were loaded into the lower holds. Her unreliability, stability issues and lack of range I suggest was the reason for her early demise. Towards the end some boiler parts were supplied to SS Orcades from Iberia a six year older ship. Not sure her troubles could be attributed to Harland and Wolff as the yard was retained by P&O to build the TEV Canberra which had a long life. Thank you again.
Mr. Brady.
I find that you're narrative style superb.
The the clarity and your enunciation is very Good.
Plus the attention to detail in the ways you Convey
the practical with drama is Fantastic.
Thank you.
4:26 Oh to have had the luck to occupy one of those stern cabins that opened directly onto the deck! I too love the Iberia but then I'm fond of the old P&O line. I was lucky enough in 1969-70 of going onboard P&O's RMS Himalaya when my grandmother sailed on her. I was allowed to roam the ship before departure and it started my obsession with ships. I also like the 2 inter-war-1930s 'Straths', RMS Strathaird and RMS Strathnaver. They were nicknamed "The Beautiful White Sisters". I liked their 'horizontal ventilation slates' beneath the funnel for some strange reason and those same cabins at the stern again!
i would wanna see a full video on the great eastern
i watched a short documentary about it when i was young and i was totslly captivated by both it and the titanic
the great eastern helped spark my interest in ocean liners
Whenever i see a new video of yours i havent seen before about shipwrecks my toes curl lolol. i love your videos so much, and you have relit my interests in ships. :3
You are made for this, mate. Excellent channel!
I'm glad to see the Great Eastern getting some love. Just an amazing run of bad luck!
Fascinating! enjoyed it.
Really head shaking stuff, especially the Iberia.
One wonders if any of these ships had had a name change, at any point. You know the superstitions of the sea....
Poor Great Eastern, it had an interesting design at least. Great work Oceanliner Designs.
A very gruesome note on Britannic is those 30 that died did so in one of the most horrific ways imaginable.
None died from the mine strike but with the ship flooding quickly the captain ordered the life boats be readied but did not give the order to launch them. He was making a desperate attempt to beach Britannic but she was starting to list to starboard and he realized he couldn't save her and stopped the engines.
However some crew on the port side feared the list would increase too much and launched 2 lifeboats against orders. At this point the port propeller wasn't fully underwater anymore and was still turning. It sucked both lifeboats in and minced them and all people aboard them. After seeing this the crew wisely refrained from launching any more until the engines stopped and the captain actually gave the order to launch them.
I am so happy to see this channel getting more and more subscribers!
I just love escaping my daily grind by watching one of these videos 😊
Well, Thanks for the adhd rabbit hole. I'm about 13 videos into this channel and so far great content!
I’m glad you gave the eastern its deserved attention, very sad story really from start to her end
Very interesting video thanks. I travelled on the Iberia for 5 weeks in 1965 (England-Australia via Suez Canal). It was absolutely wonderful. Also travelled on Oronsay (Melbourne-USA) in 1964 and Queen Mary 1964 (New York-Britain). Such wonderful memories on beautiful ships.
Great information. I always enjoy learning mor rod bits about these bygone ships. Thank you
Hi Mike I started my career with P&O as a catering boy on The Arcadia in 1971 then The Oronsay and did the maiden voyage on The Spirit of London The start of the new cruise era. I’m sure you know how that became famous. Really enjoy your videos and have fond memories of Cruising from Sydney down to Fiji spending a lot of time in Kings Cross when at circular Quay. Thanks Tony
Have been following since you had 30k and now look! Nearly 200k!! Congrats mike🎉
at 09:45 you mention RMS Titanic, but the poster shows RMS Olympic. The upper promenade deck goes all the way to the front, however that was only the case for RMS Olympic ;-)
Great video by the way 😀
Fabulous video. I love the look of the Iberia, that is just the sort of ship design I admire. I am not so keen on the modern skyscraper ships! What a joy the ships of those days were! Thank you for the video!
Running into this channel is a delight for me. Thank you, Mark.
The SS Great Eastern is still the best looking ship ever. Fun fact: Jules Verne visited America on board the Great Eastern in 1867.
I'd say the Great Eastern was the ship to be on, when something hit the fan, the ship still made it to safety, That hurricane may have thrown the people onboard about, but unlike a number of the other ships caught in that storm, she was able to return to port, the gash in her side was larger than that that put Titanic on the bottom, but barely slowed the ship down, and I don't want to know what would happen to a lesser ship when one of their boilers would explode, well not counting the other ships that Brunnel designed.
Also on the Britanic, many of the people who died, died when the crew members, against orders, abandoned ship, lowering the lifeboats while the ship was still steaming ahead, causing them to be drawn into the still turning screws
Stuff like this just amazes me.
Ships…I’ve always thought…have a soul of their own.
Good, bad…indifferent…regardless…they have a soul. I firmly believe that soul is built upon the designer and the the people actually building her.
*call me crazy*
It wouldn’t be the first time.
😆
Ships are called “vessels” for a reason.
We…us humans…are vessels as well. We take in info…things…experiences…from our environment. It starts at birth.
I personally believe it is the same with ships. They take on info…things…and yes, experiences during the “birth”.
Great vid!
Thank you!
😎👍❤
Another great video - I did not know the stories of the City of Rome or Iberia well, thank you! Britannic to me is one of the great wartime liner losses, up there with Normandie. And the Great Eastern is always an interesting story, a white elephant who never found a proper role. And was SO big she was not surpassed in length/size until Oceanic and Celtic!
Always enjoy the videos, you do your homework
You deserve to grow big with your work mate loving it and appreciate your efforts!!!
Thank you, Mike, for this interesting video. I, with my family, emigrated from England to Australia on the Himalaya in 1961. The journey took 3 1/2 weeks and it started my love of ships. The only dramas on board were sea sickness.
the troubles that Great Eastern had in port would again in a way be reflected in a different way in the far future from it. When airports had to figure out how to handle the 747.
Britannic is one my favourite ships. One of the safest afloat and taken out by user error. If the nurses insisted on keeping the portholes open surely part of the disaster procedure should have been to close the portholes. Better still, while in dangerous waters, don't leave them open in the first place (as per orders).
As always, another very well done and informative video!!! Thank you, Mr. Brady and I truly look forward to watching your next video. I appreciate your attention to detail and how well you present historical information.
Mike, you are a genius! You produce the best videos. I’m an old ship lover, and yet I learn a ton with each of your videos. Bravo!!!
Very interesting and well-produced. The Iberia was a real looker
If the Great Eastern was such an unprecedented mammoth of maritime travel, I wouldn't be surprised if a substantial part of her problems were that various crew just weren't able to stear and navigate one that big, and no one wanted to admit it. Obviously mechanical failures have to play a big part too, but the learning curve is always a challenge when tech advances in leaps rather than steps.
Wonderful report!
8:08 Portugal, that's my country, although i don't have any family members that remeber that scene, i can tell how pissed off the dock manager were😂
The workhorses of P&O were undoubtedly the "Strath" boats. Strathaird, Strathnaver, Strathmore, Stratheden. All were wonderfully reliable and gave great service ...
Absolutely love this Channel ...
Some things in life are just purely JINXED 🤷♂️ I love the history lessons I would never know about if I didn't watch these videos. Great Stuff Michael 👍 Always!! ✌️
I wonder how far along the refit of the Britannic back into an ocean liner was. I can imagine the workers pulling out their hair in frustration when they are told to pull out all those luxury items that they just had reinstalled after pulling them off the first time about a year or so ago.
These 4 stories shed light on the ocean liner industry, and what was expected by the public. Very insightful.
Another great one Mike! Easy on the eye and ear too mate 😉
Always fantastic. Learn so much.
White Star Line when Britannic was requisitioned: "Wonderful, let's get this wonderful ship built up again, it will be great and beautiful."
Navy office comes back, "Uh about that..."
White Star: "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO"
Seeing these makes me really glad the ship I was stationed on (USS Wasp from 2014 to 2019) didn't go the same way... because she had a whole myriad of issues, even after being outfitted with the latest in tech. Hell, she was in the shipyards for a very long time and when it was time for her first underway after all that time, 3 hours before we even left the pier, we hear on the 1MC "Fire, fire, fire, this is not a drill". I looked at a buddy of mine and said "Wow, we haven't even left port and we're already on fire. We're off to a great start." Couple years later, on a 6 month deployment, ship started to sink while we were in Middle Eastern territory and took 5 days to stop the incoming water. So, to this day, I thank whatever deity that is out there that nothing too serious happened to that ship. From what I hear, still sailing today. Just really hope she doesn't go the same way as her predecessors.
Another great, informative video. Thanks Mike
You should do a video for Willie D. Porter one day.
On a flipside you have Yukikaze that was so lucky to the point there was a joke that she steals like from ships she was escorting in WW2.
You should include the cruiseferry/cruiseship Sally Albatross in a potential part 2. She was caught on fire in 1990 while in drydock and was deemed a total loss but was rebuilt to a cruiseship and ran aground in 1994 and almost sank. After that she has collided with an oil-tanker, crushed gangways in a harbour.
Another stellar video as always!
I think Titanic was more of a freak accident rather than bad choices. Literally anything changes to the titanic story, she would never hit the iceberg
Love the channel, Mike!
My husband is a very knowledgeable and skilled person whose hobby is learning new skills and educating himself on random topics. When o was talking about the Kursk last night he was shocked. I usually listen to true crime. He’s very glad I’ve moved on from that and now learning about ships, subs, diving, etc. I told him about your channel and another one I watch that’s similar to yours.
I'd love to see more about the old P&O line. Oriana, Fairchild, Fairstar, PP, Canberra etc etc, my friend.
🎶 *_"Take me away, lovely lady, oh yeah...yeah, take me away, to paradise..."_* 🎶
Very early today, love ur videos! Keep going ‼️😍
Very interesting this video about the unlucky ships!
For anyone looking for extra information on SS Great Eastern, the channel Drachnifel has a video on her career!
Sally Abrtross ,first she burnted in Maarianhamina rebuilding and then almost sunken in Hanko and sunked in Creece.
Just missed out on working on Arcadia, ended up as an engineer on SS Nevasa.
Northern star was a fabulous ship to sail on. Real shame what happened to her!
Good and interesting about ships ! 😊👍 From Johan in Sweden
My daughter asked me recently about italian liners. Without a flinch i said her that italians ships were maybe not the best, but surely the best looking.This has nothing to do with me being an italian, but rather with their look. This IMHO applies to RM warships too.
My fascination with the Great Eastern started in grade school when I found an old book titled "The Great Iron Ship" great book tells the whole story.
late great uncle harry saw his time out on the chusan , he loved her , best wishes from wigan lancashire