Olympic Class Ocean Liner
The Olympic-class ocean liners were a trio of ocean liners built by the Harland & Wolff shipyard for the White Star Line in the early 20th century. They were Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. Although the three were the largest, most luxurious and above all safest of their time, two were lost early in their careers: Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic, and Britannic sank on 21 November 1916, after hitting a mine laid by the German minelayer submarine U79 in a barrier off Kea during World War I. Olympic, the eldest sister and namesake of the class, had a long and illustrious career; she continued in service until she was laid up and scrapped in 1935, alongside Cunard's RMS Mauretania.
Although two of the three vessels did not have successful careers, they are among the most famous ocean liners ever built. Decorative elements of Olympic were purchased to adorn many places (and even a cruise ship, Celebrity Millennium). Titanic's story has been adapted into many films and books, and Britannic has also inspired a movie of the same name.
Read more about Olympic Class Ocean Liner: Origin and Construction, Specification, Features
Famous quotes containing the words olympic, class and/or ocean:
“Like Olympic medals and tennis trophies, all they signified was that the owner had done something of no benefit to anyone more capably than everyone else.”
—Joseph Heller (b. 1923)
“Class is rarely talked about in the United States; nowhere is there a more intense silence about the reality of class differences than in educational settings.”
—bell hooks (b. c. 1955)
“The frost was on the village roofs as white as ocean foam;
The good red fires were burning bright in every ‘longshore home;
The windows sparkled clear, and the chimneys volleyed out;
And I vow we sniffed the victuals as the vessel went about.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)