After more than 90 years of debate a discovery made at the bottom of the Aegean Sea could finally prove once and for all how the Titanic’s sister ship met her fate.
Built in Belfast’s Harland and Wolff shipyard following the Titanic disaster, Britannic was lauded as even more ‘unsinkable’ than her more famous sister acquiring many added safety features.
She was the largest moving man-made object on earth when she was launched in 1914 – even larger than Titanic. However both ships not only shared the same shipyard and the same design but as fate would have it, the same destiny.
A BBC Newsline special In the Shadow of Titanic, on Sunday November 23, will bring viewers spectacular underwater footage of Britannic in her final resting place. BBC Newsline reporter Mike McKimm, who journeyed to the bottom of the Atlantic to film Titanic in 2005, accompanies a Greek scientific dive to the wreck to search for evidence as to how she sank.
During the expedition, remote cameras scanning the floor of the sea in the proximity of the Britannic filmed the rusted shell of a German mine – the first time a mine has ever been found there – evidence which could prove once and for all the long-held belief that she was sunk by a mine and not by a torpedo on November 21, 1916.
Mike, who joins a unique and exclusive group of people who have been to the wreck sites of both the Titanic and Britannic, is given the opportunity to travel to the site on board the Greek research vessel, the Aegaeo, and dive 400ft to the bottom of the Aegean Sea in a submersible.
Viewers will be able to see how the once magnificent ship now lies on her side. Her bow is broken and the entire wreck is covered in sea life - a rich and vibrant man made reef.
Britannic was built by Harland and Wolff for the White Star Line as the third of three great ocean liners – Titanic, Britannic and Olympic – to carry passengers across the Atlantic in unrivalled opulence.
But she never carried a single fare-paying passenger or crossed the Atlantic once. Instead she became a hospital ship to bring home wounded Allied soldiers from the Eastern Front.
“Britannic shares so many similarities with Titanic. It really is a remarkable story”, said Mike. “Titanic captured the fascination of the public with the huge loss of life and her ‘unsinkable’ tag but Britannic, supposed to be the ultimate ocean liner, having learnt many lessons from what happened to Titanic, ended up forgotten with no such emotional attachment.
“But viewers will be able to see this great ship as she is today - the size really is breathtaking with propellers that dwarf our tiny sub and the anchor weighing tons. And it was a fascinating journey for me being able to compare my earlier expedition to the Titanic to this one.
"It is said that more people have been to the moon than have had the chance to visit both wreck sites so I’m privileged to have had this opportunity. In the programme, I hope I can give viewers an insight into the journey of this great ship from the docks in Belfast to the bottom of the sea off the coast of Greece.”
BBC Newsline is also interested in hearing from anyone with a connection to the Britannic – perhaps in the form of old pictures, memorabilia or even a family connection.
Viewers can contact the programme by phone on 0370 4111 630 by text at 63399 (text the word ‘NEWSLINE’ followed by your message) or by email or visit the BBC Newsline website.
The BBC Newsline Special: In the Shadow of Titanic is on BBC One Northern Ireland on Sunday November 23 at 4.25pm.