RMS Titanic

Arguably the most famous ocean liner of all time, the Titanic sank on her maiden voyage. After being described as ‘practically unsinkable’ by the press, she fell beneath the waves in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.

Nearly 1,000 miles short of her final destination, New York, the Titanic took just 2 hours and 40 minutes to sink. Out of 1,316 passengers and 885 crew, an incredible 1,517 lives were tragically lost.

The Titanic was famed for its luxurious accommodation and being a pinnacle of first class travel, but it wasn’t all glamour. In fact, the ‘RMS’ actually stands for Royal Mail Ship - the prefix H.M.S. being solely reserved for British war ships.

Sea Mail
The Titanic was equal in length to four Boeing 747 jumbo jets parked end to end. Her primary function was to ship mail between Britain and the US in the days before airmail. She also carried second and third class passengers, as well as consignments of cargo. Around half of its 46,000 tonnes was dedicated to passengers.

Construction started on the Titanic in March 1909, with the riveting together of the first of the Ship’s steel plates. A little over two years later, the Titanic’s empty hull was launched and another year of outfitting continued. On 10th April 1912, the Titanic left Southampton, England, for her first trip to New York.

The Titanic was owned and operated by the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company – widely known from the emblem on the company’s flag as the White Star line. The company was eventually bought by the famous American industrialist, J.P. Morgan.

Essentially, this meant that though the Titanic was crewed by British staff and sailed under the Union Jack, it was ultimately under American Ownership.