Britannic (I)
Owner: Oceanic Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. (White Star Line)
Ship Details
Details
Vessel Type: Passenger ship
Official No: 69368
Builder: Harland & Wolff Ltd, Queen's Island, Belfast
Yard No: 83
Laid down: 1873
Launched: 3 February 1874
Handed over: 6 June 1874
Port & Date of Registry: Liverpool, 2 June 1874
Managing Owner & Address: Thomas H. Ismay, 10 Water Street, Liverpool
Description
Number of Decks: 3
Number of Masts: 4
Rigged: Barque
Stern: Elliptical
Build: Clencher
Framework & Description of Vessel: Iron
Number of Bulkheads: 8 (and 1 partial)
Number of water ballast tanks: n/r
Dimensions
Length: 455.0 feet
Breadth: 45.6 feet
Depth: 33.7 feet
Gross Registered Tonnage: 5,004.26 tons
Machinery
Engine Builder: Maudslay, Sons & Field, Westminster Road, Lambeth, London
Engine Type: Compound inverted direct acting surface condensing
Cylinders: 2 X 48; 2 X 83 inches
Stroke: 60 inches
Nominal Horse Power: 760
Boilers
Description: Elliptical multi-tubular
Number: 8
Iron or Steel: Iron
Pressure when loaded: 70 lbs
Screw: Single
Speed: 17¼ knots
Signal Letters: M. W. S. T.
NOTES
Many innovative features were incorporated into the design of Britannic. The most outstanding of these was her adjustable screw propeller shaft. After leaving port, when the vessel entered deep water, the aft section of the propeller shaft was lowered, allowing it to run in smooth undisturbed water thus increasing, in theory, the performance of the vessel. In practice severe vibration and constant breakdowns meant that after several voyages Britannic was sent back to her builders for conversion to the standard design incorporated in her sister Germanic (Yard No. 85).
