Russell D. Wild
Guest
It appears (according to the "Shipbuilder" magazine) that Britannic had additional provisions for the removal of foul air from the interior of the ship, and injection of new/warm air, when compared to the system provided on her sisters. The magazine states, among other things, that she provided 1500 "louvres" (sliding inlets/outlets for air) at various points, fed by trunks along the side of the ship at each deck level. The question is, how exactly was air passed along these trunks, and where was the equipment to do this? I now think I have the answer to these questions, presented below. The main pieces of kit to this were these inconspicuous looking boxes, seen on the boat deck:
Image 1
I have heard people say in the past, and must admit I was one of them, that these boxes probably held lifesaving equipment or other supplies. To dispell this, consider the following points:
a) They have no apparent openings or hinges which you would expect from such a box
b) if they were storage boxes, and therefore not a "part of the ship" as such, why aren't they lashed to the deck?
c) if they contain life saving or other vital equipment, why are most of them in innaccessible locations? (see below).
What they *do* have are several characteristics which resemble devices for prviding air conditioning:
a) They have around 8 vertical "slits" in each side.
b) They are securely held to the deck by four "legs", suggesting they are heavy machinery.
c) They appear to have some sort of connection to the deck below, such as a duct or flue.
d) One photograph (see below) appears to show a connection - possibly electrical - going into one of the boxes.
There is therefore considerable evidence to suggest that the boxes in question were part of the improved ventilation system on Britannic, which provided something very similar to modern air-conditioning.
Below are several images I prepared, to show more features of this equipment:
Image 2
The image above shows the location of two of the units, as well as something else - a "louvred skylight". There appears to be two of these on the raised roof, and people have suggested they are skyligths. This is easily dispelled when you consider that skylights generally allow the inlet of light into a room - these particular "skylights" possess no such ability because they do not have any areas of glass. What they *do* have are 4 vertical columns of slits, which again would be idea for inletting/outletting air from the lounge below. I would guess that there was some sort of grill or slat in the roof below, which could be opened or closed as necessary.
Image 3
This image above illustates some of the points I made above, as well as showing the location of two more units. Note that the unit on the lounge roof here is not the same one as in the photo above.
Image 4
The image above shows the location of three more units, as well as showing one of the "louvred skylights" more clearly. The box unit at the right seems to be incomplete, or maybe it was of a smaller design than the others.
Image 5
This image better illustrated the location of the unit on the 1st Class Gymnasium roof.
Image 6
Likewise this image shows the location of the unit on the Tank Room roof.
Image 7
This image shows the proposed conduit which would power the unit.
There is clear photographic evidence, then, to suggest the existence of a complex air ventilation system on Britannic, with air injection/extraction units in the following locations:
1) One on the aft edge of the 1st Class Gynasium Roof
2) Three on the 1st Class Lounge raised roof - one over the forward port bay window, one over the aft starboard bay window and one in the forward starboard corner (near the recessed area where Titanic had a bench).
3) One on the roof of the #3 Funnel Deckhouse - over the deck chair room on the port side.
4) Two on the roof of the Tank Room - one in each forward corner.
5) Two "louvre skylights" on the 1st Class Lounge raised roof, flanking the dome raised area. The port one seems to be more inboard.
There is possible evidence of other units/louvres in other places although I won't post anything about those until I have more evidence.
Please let me know what you think.
Regards,
Russell
Image 1
I have heard people say in the past, and must admit I was one of them, that these boxes probably held lifesaving equipment or other supplies. To dispell this, consider the following points:
a) They have no apparent openings or hinges which you would expect from such a box
b) if they were storage boxes, and therefore not a "part of the ship" as such, why aren't they lashed to the deck?
c) if they contain life saving or other vital equipment, why are most of them in innaccessible locations? (see below).
What they *do* have are several characteristics which resemble devices for prviding air conditioning:
a) They have around 8 vertical "slits" in each side.
b) They are securely held to the deck by four "legs", suggesting they are heavy machinery.
c) They appear to have some sort of connection to the deck below, such as a duct or flue.
d) One photograph (see below) appears to show a connection - possibly electrical - going into one of the boxes.
There is therefore considerable evidence to suggest that the boxes in question were part of the improved ventilation system on Britannic, which provided something very similar to modern air-conditioning.
Below are several images I prepared, to show more features of this equipment:
Image 2
The image above shows the location of two of the units, as well as something else - a "louvred skylight". There appears to be two of these on the raised roof, and people have suggested they are skyligths. This is easily dispelled when you consider that skylights generally allow the inlet of light into a room - these particular "skylights" possess no such ability because they do not have any areas of glass. What they *do* have are 4 vertical columns of slits, which again would be idea for inletting/outletting air from the lounge below. I would guess that there was some sort of grill or slat in the roof below, which could be opened or closed as necessary.
Image 3
This image above illustates some of the points I made above, as well as showing the location of two more units. Note that the unit on the lounge roof here is not the same one as in the photo above.
Image 4
The image above shows the location of three more units, as well as showing one of the "louvred skylights" more clearly. The box unit at the right seems to be incomplete, or maybe it was of a smaller design than the others.
Image 5
This image better illustrated the location of the unit on the 1st Class Gymnasium roof.
Image 6
Likewise this image shows the location of the unit on the Tank Room roof.
Image 7
This image shows the proposed conduit which would power the unit.
There is clear photographic evidence, then, to suggest the existence of a complex air ventilation system on Britannic, with air injection/extraction units in the following locations:
1) One on the aft edge of the 1st Class Gynasium Roof
2) Three on the 1st Class Lounge raised roof - one over the forward port bay window, one over the aft starboard bay window and one in the forward starboard corner (near the recessed area where Titanic had a bench).
3) One on the roof of the #3 Funnel Deckhouse - over the deck chair room on the port side.
4) Two on the roof of the Tank Room - one in each forward corner.
5) Two "louvre skylights" on the 1st Class Lounge raised roof, flanking the dome raised area. The port one seems to be more inboard.
There is possible evidence of other units/louvres in other places although I won't post anything about those until I have more evidence.
Please let me know what you think.
Regards,
Russell
