Unfortunately, two of these doors malfunctioned it is not known exactly which ones, but the two that remained open allowed water to progress through Britannic's superstructure, contributing greatly to the acceleration of the sinking.Īgainst Captain Charles Alfred Bartlett's orders, nurses left the nursing suite portholes open in the E deck nursing suits, and they remained open over the course of Britannic's sinking, which essentially allowed water to pour into the nursing suite cabins. Shortly after the collision with the mine, attempts to close the watertight doors were nearly a complete success. On the morning of November 21, 1916, Britannic was sailing in the Kea Channel when an explosion by a mine rocked the ship after a collision at approximately 8:12 A.M. She was sent to the Britannic never saw passenger service. Britannic was launched just before the start of the First World War in 1914 and was laid up at her builders in Belfast for many months before finally being put to use as a hospital ship after being requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1915. Titanic which sank on April 14-15, 1912 after hitting an iceberg. Britannic was one of the Olympic-class ocean liners of White Star Line, with her sisters being the R.M.S. Britannic, as she appeared in her hospital livery.
