Titanic's Tragic Twin

Britannic was a legendary ship.  Bigger, stronger and safer than her more famous sister Titanic.  Experts believe if Britannic had struck the same iceberg that sunk Titanic she would have fulfilled the great claim of ‘unsinkability’ and remained afloat.  Yet she never saw service as a passenger liner.  Her destiny was overtaken by the outbreak of World War One and she was conscripted into service as a hospital ship.  It was on this mission, heading for the sixth time into the Aegean Sea to pick up servicemen injured in the fighting in the Middle Easter Theatre, that an explosion near the bow caused her eventual sinking.

Britannic had struck a mine, laid by a German submarine, which holed her near the bow.  As the water rushed in doors, meant to seal the corridors workmen used to move between water-tight compartments failed to close.  No one is yet sure why this happened.  It may be the signal was never sent from the bridge or was but never made it to the men below.  It may have been the men below, in panic, failed to heed the command or they may well have carried out their duties but the doors where jammed due to buckling in the metal post-explosion.  Until we are granted access to penetrate deep inside the wreck to investigate we’ll never know.  Had these doors closed Britannic would have survived this attack so much improved was she over Titanic.

And she sits there now, in almost pristine condition 120 metres below the surface.  She was re-discovered and first dived by a team led by Jacques Cousteau in 1975 and since then has captivated divers.  I first read about the exploration in 1998 when the first British led project was launched and have continued to watch as other underwater explorers have carried out further expeditions.  Since then it has become one of the most sought after wreck for technical divers to visit in the world and has been on my top-to-dive list for 18 years.