Ismay screen

[Matthew O'Brien]

Does anyone know why a so called "Ismay Screen" was never installed on the Olympic? I have never quite understood why White Star would neglect to do some, partially because it was worthwhile for them to make their passengers happy by making hte promenade more sheltered, but also because they had installed them on the other two liners of the same class.


Thanks,

Matt

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I don't know if a reason was ever given, but there are all kinds of possibilities. They may well have wanted the ships to look different. They may never have gotten around to it, although I think it likelier that they may not have wanted something so similar to the Titanic that it would remind people of the ship.

I could be wrong though.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Dan Cherry]

One of the possibilities I have heard over the years is that 1) to enclose the forward promenade would make Olympic look too much like Titanic and 2) with the addition of lifeboats the length of the boat deck, the desire was still there for the Line to provide an unobstructed view of the ocean. Therefore, A-deck remained as it was, and this would also provide an easy evacuation point in the event Olympic needed to be abandoned. An open promenade deck would permit loading of lifeboats without small windows to have to be cranked down and crawled through - a time eater when time might be short.
As for the forward promenade enclosed on Britannic, the lifeboat gantry system seemed to have been an improvement over the Olympic and therefore this feature could be incorporated.
However, this is just one of many possibilities and is not based on any documentation.

Dan C.

 

[Yuri Singleton]

I wonder why Olympic was never made to look more like Britannic? Not just the Ismay screen, but the lifeboat system, or the added levels on the stern. If Britannic was such an improved version of that steamer class, then why did Olympic remain so unchanged?

Yuri

 

[Mark Chirnside]

Considering Britannic's additional greater width and her being designed for the davits during construction, Olympic's metacentric height may have been unacceptable with such a lifeboat arrangement if it had been fitted.

Best,

Mark.

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

After the Titanic's sinking, Olympic had a large number of lifeboats added. This had taken up a lot of the boat deck space, as you can see:

So, A deck on Olympic became the main deck for lifeboat loading and lowering, so it was impractical to enclose it, as the same problems may be encountered with opening the windows, as were on Titanic.

Olympic's B deck was enclosed, and gave ample promenade space in enclosed surroundings during rough weather. Titanic's B deck was taken up by suites and cabins as was very similar on Britannic, so an enclosed screen on the promenade deck was needed on those ships. The new davits on Britannic had allowed for the possibility to close off A deck partially.

Regards,

Daniel.

 

[Yuri Singleton]

Daniel, I have to ask, where do you get all those wonderful pictures?

It sounds to me like the Titanic, Olympic, and Britannic may have been sisters, but each was definitely unique in own way. The differences were way beyond decorative, or cosmetic. Each ship was stucturally different from the others.

So what may have been envisioned as three very similar sister ships, turned out to be three very different cousins.

Yuri

 

[Nigel Bryant]

Daniel,

Execellent photograph! Do you know what year that photo was taken?

Regards,

Nigel

 

[Adam Leet]

One thing to remember, Daniel, is that Olympic's B-deck ended up similar to Titanic's, in that cabins, private promenades, and the restaurant were installed later in her career. Don't quote me on when this happened, though.


Adam

 

[Dave Hudson]

Adam,

Olympic's B Deck suites were much different from Titanic's. Titanic had her suites amidships with regular staterooms forward. Olympic had her suites all the way forward. The private promenades were never added and the restaurant expanion/cafe only took up a minimal amount of promenade space. This meant that the long promenade amidships remained.

This was somewhat opposite on Britannic. She basically had the same layout as Titanic as far as the amidships suites, but she had a short B Deck promenade forward.

I've said forward and amidships and promenade so many times that I'm confusing myself. Does this make any sense?

David

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Nigel, the photo is from 1920. I think it was taken aboard Olympic at Southampton, I have no idea what month or date. There's also two photos taken in the Olympic's 3rd class dining room, and you can see the tables set up and menus on the tables, but I can't make out the date on the menu or any of the items listed.

I think it may have been impractical to keep the ships identical (in terms of layout). Every one of them offered something new and a little different. Olympic was the original ship and offered plenty of promenade space, whilst Titanic offered luxurious suites, Britannic too offered luxurious suites, as well as promenades and more luxury, some features such as the Cafe Parisien were not found on Britannic.

Regarding Olympic's promenade space, whilst in 1911 and 1912, you could walk all the way around A and B decks, after the 1913 refit, the extended restaurant and Cafe Parisien were installed. The rest of the B deck promenade was all there. In 1928 the forward modern suites were installed, however, you still had the length of the promenade on the port and starboard side along the staircase foyer and the B deck suites. So, there was still plenty of enclosed promenade space left.

Daniel.