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White Star Line

The Birth of White Star Line

White Star Line was created in 1845 by an intrepid pair, John Pilkington and Henry Wilson. the line began with clipper ships that would run the UK-Australia run. But after the company began to suffer losses, they quickly concentrated their efforts to the NY-Liverpool run. It was too late for the company by that time though, and they quickly descended into bankruptcy. But the company and trademark was purchased by Thomas Ismay, and the "new White Star Line" began again. And this time it would go very differently. Almost immediately White Star struck a deal with Harland and Wolff, where White Star would be financed by H&W, but White Star would only build ships with Harland and Wolff. They Immediately began building a set of revolutionary ships, the Oceanic Class, consisting of the Oceanic, Atlantic, Baltic, Republic, and Adriatic, all fairly similar in size and design. The line would go on to be at the forefront in size and luxury for the next several decades, Building a second Oceanic, and the Olympic Class trio.

SS Oceanic, Circa 1870's

The Old White Star Line

Now, when I say "the old White Star Line" I'm referring to the original company created by John Pilkington and Henry Wilson, before the company went bankrupt and was subsequently purchased by Thomas Ismay. This first incarnation of the company began with chartered wooden sailing ships, the Tayleur, Blue Jacket, White Star, Red Jacket, Ellen, Ben Nevis, Emma, Mermaid and Iowa. These ships were rudimentary, and the vessel on which high hopes were placed, the RMS Tayleur, struck rocks and sank on her maiden voyage (remind you of anything?) Anyway, the company would build bigger and bigger sailing ships, before operating their first steamship, the Royal Standard. However, the company suffered major financial blows, and descended into bankruptcy.

The clipper ship Red Jacket

The 1900's

By the dawn of the 20th century, the good old White Star Line had proven themselves as a company. They had built groundbreaking vessels, and milked the lucrative transatlantic trade as much as possible. But Cunard Line, had taken the stage, with the Lusitania, and Mauritania. White Star intended to take it back, and they would, but not in the way they planned to (that's called foreshadowing!) They would respond with the Olympic Class trio of liners, but I think we all know how that story ends.

The Olympic Class Liners

Finally! The moment I know you've all been waiting for, where we get to discuss the UNBELIEVABLE IRONY of the Olympic Class trio. Most of you probably already know everything I'm about to tell you, but at least we can all have a good laugh (and maybe you'll learn something new!)

Olympic Class Liner Profiles

Olympic

The first of the Olympic Class liners, the Olympic known as the "old reliable" had a very long and eventful career both in wartime, and civilian service. She made thousands of crossings, survived a world war, and underwent a massive refit in which her grand staircase was painted avocado green!

Titanic

The most famous sister by far, her story needs no explanation. Built second in the trio, after Olympic, she was longer by just a few inches and therefore got all the credit for being "The largest ship in the world!" Although, in advertising, the two would simply be marketed as "The Biggest steamers in the world," sharing the title.

Britannic

The last of the olympic class liners to be built, she was requisitioned for wartime during construction, and later in wartime service, struck a mine, sinking without ever carrying a paying passenger. her iconic hospital ship paint scheme and hydraulic lifeboat davits set her apart drastically from her sisters.

A Story of Titanic Proportions!

Now, the story of the Olympic Class liners, is... well... to put it simply, it's quite intense (and don't even get me started on the irony). So let's begin. Our tale starts in 1907, when J. Bruce Ismay, and William J. Pirrie had a brilliant idea. NDL had built a set of huge liners, Cunard had built a set of huge liners, why shouldn't they do the same to compete?! And so they ordered 3 huge liners. The first of these ships, the Olympic, began construction in 1908, and her sister, Titanic, in 1909. They would be constructed side by side, and in 1911 the Olympic set sail on her maiden voyage. Which would be a rousing success! The Olympic captured the eyes of the public, and people flocked to see Olympic arrive in New York for the very first time. Titanic, by this point, was almost ready to set sail, and everyone was excited to have the 2 sisters sailing together. As Titanic prepared for her maiden voyage though, White Star's luck, began to turn. The Olympic suffered a collision with HMS Hawke, filling one of her compartments. The damage would be costly, and little did White Star know, their genius plan was about to go horribly, horribly wrong.

1912, Titanic's maiden voyage. Crowds flocked to see the ship off, people waving handkerchiefs at their loved ones setting sail on the Titanic. (A quick side note here: At this point Olympic was still the main focus of the public. The Titanic setting sail was just a side bonus.) And so the massive liner set off, sailing toward the horizon, as families waved, not knowing that they would never see their loved ones again. April 14, 1912. It's a still night out on the atlantic, but something seems off. Suddenly the lookouts cry out in dark, "ICEBERG! RIGHT AHEAD!" The men at the bridge scramble to turn the ship. "HARD A STARBOARD!" one shouts. The vessel begins to turn, the great bow swinging to port, but it's not far enough. The crew members hope, and pray that their ship somehow misses the berg, but it's too late. The Titanic is doomed.

April 16, 1912, two days later. Titanic has gone down on her maiden voyage. A classic for White Star Line (remember what happened to RMS Tayleur?) Over 1500 are dead, and business tanks. Their safety record is destroyed. On the bright side, they collected over 5 million US dollars of insurance, so... party? NO! The company is still struggling, and their getting sued by passenger families left and right. And just as things really started getting bad, WWI hits! The Britannic, what they thought would be their saving grace, is requisitioned before she's even finished the fitting-out process. Spoiler alert, she sinks before the war ends.

All in all, the Olympic Class liners went really, really badly for White Star, and they would never recover completely from their immense losses, during the careers of these perhaps not-so-great liners (except Olympic! She did great! But her sisters... maybe less great.)

Merger with Cunard

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