24/11/2025
On this day, November 21 1916, HMHS Britannic, sister ship of RMS Titanic and RMS Olympic was shaken by an explosion caused by a naval mine near the Greek island of Kea and foundered only 55 minutes later, in 9:07, killing 30 people out of 1065.
At 08:12 on 21 November 1916, a loud explosion shook the ship. The cause, whether it was a torpedo from an enemy submarine or a mine, was not apparent. It would later be revealed that the mines were planted in the Kea Channel on 21 October 1916 by SM U-73 under the command of Gustav Sieß. Bartlett ordered the watertight doors closed, sent a distress signal, and ordered the crew to prepare the lifeboats.
By 08:45, the list was so great that even the gantry davits were now inoperable. Britannic capsized to starboard, and the funnels collapsed one by one as it rapidly sank. By the time the stern was out of the water, the bow had already slammed into the sea floor, as Britannic's length was greater than the depth of the water, causing major structural damage to the bow, before she slipped completely beneath the waves at 09:07, only 55 minutes after the explosion.
Violet Jessop (who was also one of the survivors of Britannic's sister-ship Titanic, and had also been on the Olympic, when she collided with HMS Hawke) described the last seconds;
"She dipped her head a little, then a little lower and still lower. All the deck machinery fell into the sea like a child's toys. Then she took a fearful plunge, her stern rearing hundreds of feet into the air until with a final roar, she disappeared into the depths, the noise of her going resounding through the water with undreamt-of violence...."
When the Britannic finally came to rest, she gained her title as the largest ship lost in the First World War.
