Contrary to modern popular belief, Titanic was not a unique one-off ship. She was the second of an intended trio of superlative liners for the White Star Line's North Atlantic service. Sister ships Olympic 1911, Titanic 1912 and Britannic 1914 were built to compete with Cunard's express turbine liners Mauretania and Lusitania, completed in 1907.
They were 1½ times larger and designed to offer ultimate luxury in ocean travel, rather than compete in terms of the highest speed. The new White Star leviathans were designed to be the largest and most luxurious liners in the world.
As the lead ship, Olympic was the chief focus of attention at the time. In contrast there was rather less contemporary publicity for the second-off Titanic, although she was an improved version of Olympic. With her increased tonnage, Titanic at 46, 328 tons was the world's largest ship in 1912.
Britannic, the later and much modified third sister ship, was fitting out in Belfast when the First World War began in August 1914. She was completed as a hospital ship, but was sunk by a mine in 1916 and so never entered commercial service. Of the three great Belfast-built ships, only Olympic survived as a successful White Star liner, continuing in service until 1935.
The designs of Olympic and Titanic were approved in Belfast on 29 July 1908 by Bruce Ismay and other White Star directors. The general arrangement drawing reflects leading edge naval architecture, including the division of the hull into a series of virtually watertight compartments. Also apparent is the huge amount of space occupied by boilers and engines.
The 'dummy' fourth funnel is not connected to the coal-fired boilers, but positioned above the turbine room. Its purpose was to enhance the prestige and beauty of the ship.
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