MV Britannic: The Last White Star Liner
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ค. 2024
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The MV Britannic, launched on August 6th, 1929, was a modest vessel that went on to become a passenger favorite. She generated significant profit for the struggling White Star Line and stayed a favorite long after the Cunard White Star merger. The MV Britannic would end up the last liner to sail under the White Star Line flag and livery as the legendary shipping empire receded into memory.
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Video:
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Music sourced from Epidemic Sound
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:57 Chapter 1: IMM a White Star Liner
7:51 Chapter 2: Perfect Timing
11:12 Chapter 3: An Unlikely Asset
14:00 Chapter 4: The Odd Couple
16:44 Chapter 5: The Golden Years
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During registration use the code FIRE to get for free:
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Can you make a documentary about the RMS Lusitania?
I don’t have a computer
Now only for the died have her for good.
World of Warships is based in Russia
Pretty soon you are not going to be able to buy premium ships
Are we going to see the Normandie video again?
I really wish Oceanic III would have been built.. she would easily have been one of the best known superliners of the era alongside Normandie, etc.
I agree in my opinion it looks better than the normandie
I wish Titanic never sunk to
If WWII was a little more obvious to the british government, they prob would have funded both queen mary AND oceanic III.
It would have been great. So sad that it was not to be. I think that WSL had easily the most beautiful ships afloat. I mean the Queen Mary is lovely, even if I don't care for Art Deco. But WSL ships had lovely lines.
@@randomrazr Neville Chamberlain had the Munich document in his hand - "peace in our time", signed by AH in 1938, so naturally the Brits were complacent.
My father told me that he and his family had a trip booked on the Britannic, but the ship was removed from service and they ended up on a Cunard ship instead.
I am deeply saddened that I was not alive during the era of these great ships. I would have enjoyed being a passenger aboard one of them...just as my mother's parents were "'passengers" aboard the Mauretania in the summer of 1923.
The trade of of not being drafted seems worth missing the golden age of ships.
Agreed, I would’ve loved to have sailed on the Aquitania, Berengaria, or Majestic.
You'd have to be rich to travel on any ocean liner. It wasn't something the ordinary public could afford.
Oceanic III would have been magnificent. She could have been a very popular liner throughout the 1930s to 1960s she might have even survived to the 21st century if she had been built.
It would have been really incredible.
@@BigOldBoats yeah you're not very incredible right now, but had oceanic 3 been built, hooo baby
She really was beautiful, the Olympic class were the most handsome ships and it’s so interesting to see the later White Star ships were too, unique.
The walking vents at 6:46 are a really nice touch :)
One of my all time favorite clips :)
Reminds me of the spies from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
It gave me a chuckle
When the vents are sus
@@engineerskalinera ‘did that vent just walk?’
From inside one of the vents: ‘uhh… no’
superb storytelling about the last days of the White Star Line and the wonderful MV Britannic. My uncle took the less fortunate Georgic to Burma during WW2 and in 1952 my dad took her from Liverpool to Montreal. He said there were no hints, let alone any remnant, of her of her pre-war plush. She was a tired old Belfast girl taking a 21 year old Belfast lad to Uni in far away Canada. great work *Big Old Boats*!
Andrew my grandad came back from burma when the war finished on the Brittanic from what he used to tell me ...i allways wondered what her interiors were like before and after the war as Usualy when they took liners for the war efort as troop ships OBV all the fine fittings / furniture was taken out and put in storage (sometimes never to be used again sadly) as you said this is a great vid! im a bit of an ocean liner / cruise ship fan of the golden days of transatlantic travel and theother liners that did uk to australia ect! ....im not too keen on the mega cruis ships of today ....i do cruise but i have done a lot of the older style ships that Thompson/tui/ marella had ...mostly built in the 80s but still had the classic stepped down deck layout at the back with pools ..and defo no rollercoasters, zip lines, mini golf, surf boards or climbing frames ect sadly now due to covid hitting many of these older shuips that may have had a few years left in em have gone or are waiting to go to the scrappers now 😢
Seeing the success of Britannic and Georgic, it makes me wonder about those 'what ifs' had White Star Line somehow been able to complete Oceanic III and have it sailing well ahead of Cunard's Queen Mary.
She likely would have been a favorite of many. I think she would have saved White Star Line.
@@crazyguy_1233 It' very possible that had Oceanic III been built and put into service, she would've easily given WSL a huge boost to its reputation. If WSL and H&W not gotten into the squabbling over what exact power plant for her to use, gotten her built before the Great Depression and before that the scandals that rocked the company due to Lord Kylsant's malfeasance in siphoning off funds. With Queen Mary still to be launched and with Oceanic breaking speed records left and right as well as being longer and more massive than French Line's Normandie as well as faster, would've just kept WSL hanging on through the Depression. Assuming Cunard and WSL were still forced into a merger, having modern Oceanic along with Britannic (possibly Georgic), Olympic, Majestic, ect. might've allowed WSL to edge out Cunard as the majority partner or at least be equal enough to prevent their ships from being scrapped so quickly.
@@Nowhereman10 I agree. Who knows maybe Oceanic would be in Long beach instead of Queen Mary if she had been completed. She would have dominated the 30s 40s and 50s heck maybe even the 60s. White Star Line would have survived into the 21st century maybe instead of Queen Mary 2 we would have Oceanic 4. It's crazy just how much would have changed if Oceanic had been completed. White Star Line would probably be the most popular ocean liner and cruise company if they survived into this age.
Didn’t know the mv britannic had been so helpful. Amazing video.
It's a common thing in life: it's the big poster guys who get all the attention, yet just as important, if not more important, are the little guys who make up the base of the big ones' success. The unsung heroes in other words. :)
I never really paid much attention to the MV Britannic but as I explore the story of her now she was the 'golden pride' and the last of her kind of the White Star Line. Back in 2009 when I first discovered her on Wikipedia, I always liked the sort of Olympic-Class inspired bow. Its like the White Star Line wanted to give it a last push to reintroduce the Olympic-Class bow for the final time in a modern age. It is such a shame that she was never preserved as a hotel like the Queen Mary was.
A nifty old ship, in retrospect. For all of the talk about ships as being grand "ladies," the MV Britannic seems to have been an understated gentleman of a vessel: sober and efficient in concept, tasteful without ostentation, graciously welcoming to all, and dutiful in long service. If ships were indeed people, we could use a few more guys who took a lesson from the MV Britannic.
Plus, not flammable like the French everyone gushes over
That has to be one of the most tenuous ways to moan ever!
Britannic maintained the forward box structure that WSL favors while Georgic obtained the forward rounded structure from Oceanic.
I sailed from the UK home on her as a kid in 1957 - she was Grand! But more than that, she invoked a spirit that even at the time was missing on other liners of the time
I read somewhere that MV Britannic was being escorted in late May 1941 by the HMS Ark Royal and a Renown class battlecruiser when it's escorts were redirected to hunt the KMS Bismarck.
Little known due to the popularity of other ships, the Britannic was a great ship.
I love art deco, but it was a real crime that they "updated" her interiors like that. It looked better before the refit.
While I say she looked good with both of them, I gotta agree. Maybe if the Georgic was never bombed, or even if she fully recovered, then that one would've gotten those new upgrades whereas Britannic would've kept her original appearance. Maybe with a few changes here and there.
@@Kaidhicksii I'm fine with art deco. I mean the Queen Mary looks great, I just look at the images of the before and after of the Britannic here and can't help but feel that the spaces were really meant for the original decor, and that they didn't devote enough of the budget to making the new art deco interiors as nice as they could have been.
MV Britannic is certainly in my Top 10 favorite ocean liners by now.
My father sailed on Brittanic as a teenager and told great stories about crossing the Atlantic.
I too sailed on the brittanic as a 17 year old deck boy on her very last trip.from Liverpool to new York think it was around 1960 and still.have my seaman's pay off book which would state the exact date.will have to find it and confirm the dates.
I love all your videos, but this one was really fantastic. She was a great ship, even if she gets eclipsed by the bigger ones.
Thank you!
I didn't know much about MV Britannic, a very sweet tribute video to her story, as well as the legacy of WSL.
The take on J Bruce Ismay's actual role within, and after the Titanic sinking was appreciated. Still many people like to think of him the way he was portrayed in the movies and in the newspapers at the time, and who could blame most people for thinking those are accurate. Great video, as always
Well done, Bradley! Great research and photos/videos!
What a wonderfully affectionate little film. I crossed to Montreal in 1963 on the Franconia, one of Cunard's smaller ships. I remember sea sickness!
How bad was the sea sickness on the north Atlantic crossing on the big ships? I had someone who crossed over from holland around 1960 tell me that because of it they would never do it again.
@@dodge-ut6ti I was 5 and thought it would never end. It was grim. The last day I was OK. A bit too late! I actually live on a boat now so I'm always afloat!
@@hughwalker5628 Must have been scary for a 5 year old?
@@dodge-ut6ti not scared. Just miserable!
It's a shame that the White Star Line disappeared just like that. Comparing Cunard's and White Star's ships, at least White Star's come up as more beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, I don't know why that wasn't taken into account when both companies merged.
The Olympic Class Liners really got dealt a tough hand.
The period from her return to commercial service in May 1948 and for the next 9 or 10 years were undoubtedly the best years of Britannic’s life.
Thanks for this! Highly informative and well researched. A unique treasure on TH-cam 😊✌️
One of my favorite movies that I used to watch with my Dad as a kid was "Juggernaut", which took place on a fictionalized refitted MV Britannic.
Your documentaries are so well made and accurate.
I could watch these all day. So informative and relaxing.
Very interesting video, well documented and narrated. Great job !
My personal favorite ship for all the reasons mentioned in this video and more. A major inspiration for my work.
If the great depression and eventual merger with Cunard hadn't happened the material used for Britannic and Georgic would have been used for the Oceanic.
Oceanic would have saved White Star Line.
Entertaining and informative, Britannic III is a favourite of mine and I’m glad she got a well put together video.
A new Big Old Boats video: just what I needed to kick this day off. I initially didn't give much attention to the Britannic and the Georgic when compared to White Star's previous greats and the new superliners of the Golden Age. However, I have over time grown to love both of them, and that love for Britannic has only grown even more so after yet another spectacular job you've done. The only critique I have to give is that there is no actual proof that the remains of the Oceanic were implemented into Britannic, let alone turned into Georgic. It very well could've been, yet at the same time it could've just as easily been turned into a Rolls Royce or thrown out altogether. Source: www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/community/threads/oceanic-iii.25732/
I often wonder what she would have been named had the Olympic-class liner Britannic never sunk, assuming that one remained in service similar to Aquitania. My best guess would be the Republic - similar nationalism to Britannic - but Belgic was also an affectionate, personal choice by me that would've kept her name similar to what it was. Another thought that many of us in the liner community can't help but ask is what would've happened if Oceanic III was also completed. No doubt she, along with the two smaller motor vessels would've left White Star in a much better financial position. How much so is a different question altogether, and I'm not going to get into the complications of alternate timelines right now.
She really was a last hurrah for White Star, and while the company most certainly did not go out in a blaze of glory, they did go out with dignity, and Britannic most certainly helped with that. A quick screw you to the fraud Kylsant for screwing them over, and also to Cunard for eventually shutting them down in what I definitely believe was an effort to get rid of their biggest competitor for good.
Thank you for the kind words, really appreciate the support and glad you're enjoying the videos!
A British liner named Republic? Never!
Thanks.
I enjoyed your narration, POV and music.
I truly enjoyed learning about this lovely vessel. I had never heard of her. The only Britannic I knew of was the third sister of Titanic and Olympic, and was sadly lost during World War I.
Love this video. So little is done on these last two liners. You’re so right about White Star being synonymous with disaster instead of innovation, change, reliability. Olympic exemplified it and Britannic and Georgic perfected it. I hate to use the term bad luck, but Titanic, Britannic 14, and Georgic suffered from it. Greed and poor business decisions helped its demise. But they were all beautiful ships and even Cunard, in the late 90s and early 00’s highlighted “White Star” service.
It's great to see your channel go from strength to strength. Kudos to you!
Thank you so much!
@@BigOldBoats It would be great to see the 'P&O' line or its predecessor Orient line. I loved the 'Canberra', 'Oriana', 'Iberia', 'Orion' etc.
In my deepest heart and soul I resist the homogeneity of globalization. So, of course I prefer the Rafaelo.
I'm from a flying family, combat and commercial and have never wanted to cross oceans in a ship. That being said, the beauty of the great liners brings tears to my eyes. (So do the Spitfire, Constellation, and Warthog).
I so appreciate your covering overlooked history so well. There are masses of people who never consider that virtually everything they eat, drink, wear, drive, watch history on, etc, have at least components that have crossed half the globe on ships.
I also love freight trains, the best way to move bulk goods from wheat to coal across land. And I got to chase a freight train on my mule who did it just like in the movies, just to see if she could, without a stunt coordinator! Thrilling. Too bad I can't chase ships. I would, even at 73!
If I ever tire of ships, I'll switch to watching trains. Thanks again. You're doing a great job.❤
Just wanted to say I really appreciate your use of the most authentic picture of J.P. Morgan in these videos. It's a nice touch.
These pieces are superb!
Bravo! Brilliant video. Impeccably researched. Big thumbs-up!
Much appreciated! Glad you enjoyed!
I would also say that in more modern years, the White Star Line has come to be remembered positively overall. There was triumph (RMS Olympic) and tragedy (RMS Titanic). There was grand prestige (RMS Majestic) and there was simple beauty (MV Britannic). The company may have been lost, more or less, with the merger with Cunard Line to create the Cunard White Star Line, but, in the end there is one White Star ship that exists to this day: the tender S.S. Nomadic. Ultimately, the White Star Line did go down in history and is remembered to this day, even on modern day Cunard ships who specifically offer passengers White Star service as a nod to their most worthy historical rival and business partner. So when the White Star Line is looked back on today, in this light, it's seen as a success story despite its mistakes (and nobody's perfect). The White Star Line gave a really good show and did well both in life and memory.
Wonderful video, as always!! Thank you 💙
Thank you! :)
Oh wow this has brightened my day by millions!
7:38 Her keel was laid down on April 14....
Call me superstitious but I wouldn't start the building of a new ship on that day, especially since it wasn't that many years after Titanic's sinking...
The fact about her forward funnel being false and actually used as a smoking room was great 😂
I enjoyed this Video. These ships were it seems to me medium sized Ocean Liners. Not as big as the Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth. Very Practical and very well suited to what they were doing. Thank You for the research that went into this Video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
A great video, a wonderful tribute to a beautiful ship. I'd love to see videos on the Cedric and Cunard's Scythia - my grandmothers each immigrated to the US from Ireland on them.
Another well thought out presentation. Thanks for the visuals. ...
You just made my day brother! Always a good day when you put a video out! Keep up the awesome work man!
So glad to hear you're enjoying them, thank you!
I cannot believe this. This is only the second time this has happened to me in all my 58 years. I pressed the like button and it turned from 1.7k to 1.8k.
You're my hero
It's amazing how this Line stuck it out until the 1920s
Very nice video, as always. Well thought out, well written, well researched AND well produced! Thank you for all your hard work. Suggestions: SS Santa Rosa/Emerald and SS Hamburg for future videos. Lesser ships than some of the more popular and larger liners, but the Hamburg was rather unique and the Santa Rosa was a Gibbs ship along with her sister the Santa Paula. The Santa Rosa lived two lives, as the Rosa and as the Emerald. I used to visit her and photograph her as she sat rusting in Baltimore for years before she became the Emerald.
Thank you!
I love your videos man, they've got such class to them.
Glad you enjoy them, thank you!
I agree. White star lines have always had beautifully designed ships, especially the olympic class ships
Great video. Your hard work really shines on this one.
Thank you!
Really, really interesting. Thanks for posting. 👍
Again, this was an amazing video
So if the Britannic took cruises to the Mediterranean Sea, there’s a possibility that the Britannic, sailed near the Britannic 🤯
Did great on this one
so excited to hear the great exploits of the Britannica. nice video
I’m excited to watch this when I get back.
I sailed on this ship roundtrip 1956 from to New York to Liverpool and then again one way New York to Liverpool in 1960 my mother sailed lots of time on this ship how she loved it !!!
Mighty interesting. Thank you.
This may sound crazy to some but MV Britannic is high up on the list of ships I wish I could’ve sailed on. She maybe was never as glamorous as some of the express liners but she certainly had a certain charisma about her that comes through this great video! ❤
I crossed on her from the UK in the summer of 1957 = and she was everything the video shows!!! I was 10 and had gone to the UK with my aunt to visit family. This was our return voyage. There was a "magic" about her!!
@@leemcdonough2499 That’s amazing, thank you for sharing that, it must have been a really cool time!
The MV United States was also a ship 🚢 I'd like to have sailed on
@@jessebechtold2973 She was grand! We had crossed on the Queen Elizabeth = but even she didn't seem to have the "mystic"
I never knew there was a second White Star liner named Britannic, cool video!
Actually the 3rd. Titanic's sister the HMHS Britannic was the 2nd. The 1st SS Britannic was launched in 1874
Its gonna be a blast!
If the Oceanic was built and survived the war she would be very popular and loved along with her little sisters Britannic and Georgic and the flagships of the Cunard White Star fleet Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, the three largest,fastest and most beautiful ships in the world in one united fleet, by the way I'm very love videos like this !!❤
White Star might have been the majority holder if that happened. We would have known White Star Cunard.
In my opinion Queen Mary and all old Cunard ships are ugly.
@@Biervor4 agree...they looked old with those funnels (style)
Nice video!! I love it! However M.V. Britannic wasn’t the last ship built for White Star Line! M.V. Britannic’s running mate M.V. Georgic was the last ship built for White Star and Georgic is the closest to what Oceanic III might of been
I'm sure you've seen the whole video by now but in case you didn't, what he meant was that Britannic ultimately ended up being the last ship to serve in the fleet. You are right that Georgic was the last one built, but she went to the scrappers before Britannic did.
Fantastic video… but this is the first time I’ve ever seen an air vent walk like in the cartoons. It blows my mind that this was based on reality.
I don’t know why, but when I saw 6:45 for the first time, I nearly died laughing XD
This is gonna be good. I can tell. I've always wanted to learn more about the last white star liners
Nice, I am sick today, but this made me feel a bit better
After the 1947 refit, MV Britannic’s actual passenger capacity was 993; 429 in first class and 564 in tourist class.
In her final 1960 season, her passenger count was reconfigured once again to 977 passengers; 369 in first class and 608 in tourist class.
Beautiful Ship !
Home run. Well done.
My grandfather sailed to England during WWII on the Britannic for the Normandy build up.
21:29 freaking awesome pan
In regards to the Cunard White Star Line, the company became Cunard Line again in 1949, on paper, with the purchase of the White Star's stock. However, in practice, the company was still affectionately known and still referred to as the Cunard White Star Line. The twin house flags were still flown out of respect, as long as there was still at least one White Star ship in the fleet (This being the MV Britannic). The company became Cunard Line again in practice in 1961 with the retirement and loss of MV Britannic, the last White Star Liner.
man u deserve more subscribers then even. i do. beatifully done documentary.
Thank you!
My grandfather came back to Britain after the war on the MV GEORGIC and they put on a play and georgic
The lo-fi beats are perfect
6:47 This looks so funny
I had a friend who worked on the Cunard Line in the mid 1960's in NYC.
I spent 5.5 years working in the tour department of the RMS Queen Mary. The romance and luxury of that time will never be matched.
I wish Britannic was preserved. She would have been a nice fit for Ship Enthusiasts being the last surviving White Star Ocean Liner.
That would be awesome if White Star was around today offering trans Atlantic cruises and everything else the other legacy lines are doing, like Cunard and Holland America Line 😎
Love this
@ 16:35. HAARLAND and Wolf shipyard is in Belfast not Liverpool 🇬🇧
The White Star Line had dumped a lot of tonnage right before the merger. I saw another TH-camr that said if they hadn't done that they would have been the senior partner.
Beautiful ship
White star line still exist within Cunard so it's not gone Cunard still has it in it
The brittanic was the last white star liner, before leaving the SS nomadic the last white star line vessel afloat.
things i never knew. thank you
3:19 HMHS stands for "his/her majesty's *hospital* ship, which the Britannic was turned into for WW1
I remember seeing her a few times when I was a young seaman.
Great video!
👍👍👍👊😎
I love these videos
Thank you!
I love the 1st music theme so much❤❤ that I couldnt pay attention to the rest of the video and everyting what was said😅