My Report on Olympic

[Trent Pheifer]

Hey everyone,

I have a couple of questions about the Olympic as I start a report on her.

My starting outline is:

Construction
Early Life
HMS Hawke Collision
1912/13 refit
Later Life
1919/20 refit
Collision with lightship
Scrapped

Did I miss any MAIN points? This is very basic, and just where I am going to start my research.

Also, does any one have any copies NYT or any other paper with article on Olympic? I am having a little bit of a hard time finding tons of information. I think I am going to buy Simon Mills book. Is it a good read?

Oh and one more question...in your opinion, should I do my report on Olympic's whole life or just one aspect? It seems if I do it on the whole ship, I will have too much information. But if I only do it on one aspect, I will not have enough. Thanks for any help you can provide me.

-Trent

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Simon Mills book is excellant. At 64 pages it's not large, but it's packed with a lot of subtantive information.

 

[Mark Baber]

Did I miss any MAIN points?

Olympic's war service is a large part of her history and a fascinating topic in and of itself. In addition to Mills' book, the war years are covered in some length in Commodore Hayes' extremely egocentric but eminently readable autobiography Hull Down.

Also, does any one have any copies NYT or any other paper with article on Olympic?

Oh, I have a few. I'm not sure, though, whether it's a few dozen or a few score. (I don't think it's up to a few hundred yet, but I haven't counted recently.)

;-)

I think I am going to buy Simon Mills book. Is it a good read?

Quite. Mike's appraisal of it is right on the mark.

Where will you be doing your research, Trent? That will determine what resources you may have at your disposal and the related question of what the scope of your paper should be.

 

[Trent Pheifer]

Thanks Mike and Mark,

I think I will order that book soon.

Ohh wow Mark you have that many articles on the Olympic!! Wow!

I had totally forgotten about the war era of Olympic, thanks for reminding me.

I will be doing the research here in Ohio. I wish I could travel to England and do the research!

Thanks for the help guys.

-Trent

 

[Mark Chirnside]

Hi Trent!

I heartily second the recommendations for Mills' Olympic book, it's the best out there at the moment. A few minor errors, but generally a very accurate and informative work.

Perhaps the 1912 mutiny deserves some mention?

Kindest regards,

Mark.

 

[Mark Baber]

it's the best out there at the moment.

Hmmm...an interestingly qualified endorsement.

;-)

Perhaps the 1912 mutiny deserves some mention?

If it does, the NYT articles describing it appear here. And, if anyone's interested, the NYT articles about Olympic's June 1911 maiden voyage appear here.

 

[Mark Chirnside]

Hi!

Hmmm...an interestingly qualified endorsement.

You could say that, sir!

I think Simon did a very good job, especially considering that Britannic is his prime interest. There is a 1998 German biography of the ship, as Wolfgang Abratis once went to pains to point out, yet sadly my German is extremely poor so I have not read it. Can any German members give an opinion?

Thanks for posting the links for Trent. Your transcription efforts have done wonders for the accessibility of these articles.

Best regards,

Mark.

 

[Trent Pheifer]

Thank you Mark and Mark,

Mark C I look forward to you book...I can't wait much longer!

Mark B...Wow transcribing those must have taken some time! They are an amazing read..I recently found an article about a death on the Olympic the day the Titanic set sail...I am half way through transcribing it..I get bored after a few paragraphs lol.

Thank you both for all your help!

-Trent

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Trent,

That death was of a gambler. There were about 16 that made it to the UK in late March 1912 and all booked passage to return via White Star Line. Ten of them returned on the Olympic (April 3) one of whom died April 10. Six of them were going to take Titanic but eventually only 3 did. The remaining 3 sailed on the Celtic from Liverpool shortly after Titanic sailed. As I said, all were gamblers and planned to make a killing.

For a much fuller story on the gambler who died (and the gamblers in general), try to get a hold of George Behe's 1982 gambler Commutator article. I still don't have the Commutator but I'm this close.

Regards,

Daniel.

 

[Trent Pheifer]

Hey Daniel,

Just got back to this thread after some time. Thanks for the info on the gamblers, I did not realize how many came over and that the ones on Olympic were in a way related to those on Titanic.

My report is now 7,000 words, it's for Dan Butlers WSL Scholarship.

I had two quick questions on manuvers in the HMS Hawke Collision and Olympic sinking U-103...I have heard about 6 different variations of each.


I have a map of the area that the HMS Hawke incident took place. So the Olympic continued straight and was heading through the Spithead Channel. Where did the Hawke come from was she steaming between the mainland and the Isle of Wright? What was each of there paths? Who was going faster? Was it the Hawkes port side that crashed into the Olympics starboard? I have heard way too many conflicting reports on the paths of the ships.

And the U-Boat incident, What were the chain of events? Did the U-boat not see Olympic until she started firing at her? Where was the U-boat in relation to Olympic?

Sorry for so many questions, any little bit of information you could give me would be great. I was just having a hard time getting a mental image of what happened exactly.

Thanks
-Trent

PS I found an excellent article in the New York Times about the Natucket Lightship accident. I hope to transcribe them and put them on the board...I have never read such a detailed account of it.

 

[Trent Pheifer]

Nevermind, I found the correct information!

Thanks,
-Trent