Titanic & her sisters Olympic & Britannic. Tom McCluskie, Michael Sharp & Leo Marriott. 1998.

At the end of the twentieth century, nearly 80 years after her demise, the Titanic is the most notorious ship ever to have taken to the sea. Her tragic story has fascinated every generation from the time even before he sinking, that every Victorian schoolboy could recite her colossal dimensions by heart. Most recently, James Cameron’s movie  Titanic, has grossed in excess of $1.8 billion, making it the biggest blockbuster-buster ever - n indication of the extent to which she continues to capture the imagination of people worldwide.

It is less widely known that she was the second of three vessels known as the ‘Olympic’ class. Her sisters were the Olympic and the Britannic. Together these were the largest an most luxurious liners of their time., their sheer size giving an overwhelming feeling of safety and security. This was backed by the best traditions of British shipbuilding and the latest techniques of design and construction. However, only ones them, Olympic was to have a full career and Britannic, just a year after entering service and despite many modifications to further enhance safety after Titanic’s loss, sank after hitting a mine in a chilling echo of her sister’s fate.