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Titanic's sister ship


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Old 06-12-2016, 16:57
Spruce
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Watched the first five minutes then gave up. Full of stupid errors; no mention of the fact that Titanic was the second ship of the class, after Olympic; standing in a dry dock and stating it was where Titanic and Britannic were built, they were built on slipways and launched in the traditional manner. I couldn't face more of this kind of rubbish.
Haven't watched yet but seemed strange calling it Titanic's tragic twin when there three ships in the Olympic class and RMS Olympic carried out her duties for about another 20 years.
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Old 06-12-2016, 17:18
Thine Wonk
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I turned off, it was pretty dull compared to other programmes which told the story better. I found the cheap production quality and too many interviews offputting.
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Old 06-12-2016, 17:24
Ess_Bee
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Was it a doco about the subject or just more facetime for Kate Humble?
....who is not wearing well! (miaow) Still prefer her in Springwatch though.
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Old 06-12-2016, 18:04
lundavra
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Haven't watched yet but seemed strange calling it Titanic's tragic twin when there three ships in the Olympic class and RMS Olympic carried out her duties for about another 20 years.
Because most people have never heard of the other ships. Earlier this year a key from the Titanic was sold for £85,000. How much do you think a key from either of the other two ships would have sold for if auctioned?
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Old 06-12-2016, 18:24
mal2pool
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I heard the brittannic was attacked because the germans thought they were carrying weaponry, as they have found the ship i guess they didnt find any.
That same shipmate who served on titanic and brittannic was very unlucky, having survived both disasters he was eventually killed on another ship. poor lad.
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Old 06-12-2016, 18:42
zz9
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Because most people have never heard of the other ships. Earlier this year a key from the Titanic was sold for £85,000. How much do you think a key from either of the other two ships would have sold for if auctioned?
Isn't it the role of programs like this to inform people of such things? If everyone knows about the Titanic then a program telling them it had two sister ships and what happened to them would be interesting.
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Old 06-12-2016, 18:43
Spruce
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Because most people have never heard of the other ships. Earlier this year a key from the Titanic was sold for £85,000. How much do you think a key from either of the other two ships would have sold for if auctioned?
Just saying it can't be a Twin if there are three of them and a look on the internet would soon bring up some info.

Don't know anything from 3 to 4 figures going by things listed on Ebay. People interested in maritime history would be the ones most likely to bid anyway.
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Old 06-12-2016, 18:56
allafix
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....who is not wearing well! (miaow) Still prefer her in Springwatch though.
She's wearing very well for someone who doesn't resort to artificial means to make herself look younger. Also she clearly isn't that bothered about her appearance.

Female presenters can't win. If they go down the Botox route people make sarcy comments about their faces not moving. If they don't then "they aren't wearing well". And if they are good at their jobs people like Straker moan they are on TV too much.
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Old 06-12-2016, 19:00
allafix
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Just saying it can't be a Twin if there are three of them and a look on the internet would soon bring up some info.

Don't know anything from 3 to 4 figures going by things listed on Ebay. People interested in maritime history would be the ones most likely to bid anyway.
I think you'll find that sister ships of the same class are often referred to as twins when comparing any two of them. It saves having to remember if there were two, three or eight of them in the class.
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Old 06-12-2016, 19:08
Straker
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And if they are good at their jobs people like Straker moan they are on TV too much.
Unable to confine your comments to the show, it's always the sign of a weak argument if you have to take potshots at fellow FMs.

Try and make your point without needlessly having a go at others. Can you manage that?
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Old 06-12-2016, 19:22
allafix
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Unable to confine your comments to the show, it's always the sign of a weak argument if you have to take potshots at fellow FMs.

Try and make your point without needlessly having a go at others. Can you manage that?
You were unable to confine your comments to the show so why must I? I referred to you because the person who I was quoting had previously quoted you on the subject of Kate Humble. Perhaps if I had quoted that post too it would have been clearer.
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Old 06-12-2016, 20:05
Straker
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You were unable to confine your comments to the show so why must I?
My comments are on the show whereas you appear to be nursing some petty grudge from threads long past I assume as I seem to vaguely recall digs from you in years gone by. "Moan" is a pejorative and in the context of my on-topic comments in the thread, unjustified.

I referred to you because the person who I was quoting had previously quoted you on the subject of Kate Humble. Perhaps if I had quoted that post too it would have been clearer.
She's on TV a helluva lot, fronting all manner of stuff she's no expert in. It's an entirely valid observation and illustrates the problem with this show and many other BBC docs where the facetime these presenters get belittles the subject matter as if the story isn't interesting enough, it needs some noddies, emoting and gurning from on-camera "talent".
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Old 06-12-2016, 22:22
lundavra
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Isn't it the role of programs like this to inform people of such things? If everyone knows about the Titanic then a program telling them it had two sister ships and what happened to them would be interesting.
You can inflate the price of anything by associating with Titanic, similarly you get more viewers if you can include Titanic in the title. Name the programme "The Sinking of the Britannic" and the number of viewers would be much lower.
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Old 06-12-2016, 22:24
lundavra
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Just saying it can't be a Twin if there are three of them and a look on the internet would soon bring up some info.

Don't know anything from 3 to 4 figures going by things listed on Ebay. People interested in maritime history would be the ones most likely to bid anyway.
Didn't they call it "sister" ship, not "twin"?
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Old 06-12-2016, 22:30
lundavra
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She's on TV a helluva lot, fronting all manner of stuff she's no expert in. It's an entirely valid observation and illustrates the problem with this show and many other BBC docs where the facetime these presenters get belittles the subject matter as if the story isn't interesting enough, it needs some noddies, emoting and gurning from on-camera "talent".
She was on Autumnwatch and the Actic programme but can't remember any others recently but it is her job. People doing that type of programme can sometimes find that several series will be shown and repeated around the same time so someone will claim they are "always on TV" when it is completely out of their control.
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Old 06-12-2016, 22:43
Spruce
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Didn't they call it "sister" ship, not "twin"?
Title of programme " Titanic's Tragic Twin: The Britannic Disaster" but allafix gave some insight for that.
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Old 07-12-2016, 10:46
Gary Halliday
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So once they were launched, they weren't moved into dry dock for further building work?
Hulls and part of the superstructure were built on a slipway and then launched into the water. The ship was then towed to the fitting out berth where it lay afloat while being completed. This could take several months during which time marine growth would adhere to the hull. When the ship was completed it would be dry docked for hull cleaning prior to being put through it's trials, during which it would have to demonstrate it's ability to meet it's contracted service speed, which could be compromised if the hull were not clean.
These days, almost all ships are built in dry dock (often covered) and floated out on completion. Shipbuilding is completely different today with much use made of prefabricated sections which may have been built in different yards (as with the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers)
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Old 07-12-2016, 13:46
tiv
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Titanic in dry dock
Thanks, you live and learn. I've since read it was dry docked for the hull to be painted and propellers fitted.
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Old 07-12-2016, 16:45
andy1231
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I have no particular knowledge for these ships but in general ships were, as has been pointed out, built on slipways from where they were launched. They were then moored at a berth where they were fitted out. Dry docks were to allow repair or refurbishment of ships hulls after they had been in service for a while or suffered damage.
I believe that the dry dock in question is now where the slipway that launched these ships used to be. I also believe that the Olympic had to be moved into a dry dock for repairs after it was quite badly damaged. In fact there is a conspiracy theory that the Titanic was actually the Olympic with their names swapped. All tosh of course.
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Old 07-12-2016, 19:00
Bob_Cornford
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I would just like to say that this so called documentary rather sums up the BBC's attitude to its customers. One must inevitably come to an uncomplimentary view of Kate Humble in the light of her complete and rather public exposure as someone who has no knowledge at all of the subject she is presenting. Yet in the world of the BBC this seems to be no obstacle! I'm sure she was very good at whatever she did at some point, but as a presenter of what is supposed to be a serious subject, she is a waste of space. As a seafarer of 40 years plus standing I was frankly embarrassed by her complete lack of any clue about every aspect of her subject matter – and she is obviously completely unabashed to boot! Surely the BBC has someone even half competent available who can read and understand the script and not ask all those half witted questions?
To save the trouble of those who get side tracked into irrelevant issues, I do not intend to answer any questions about dry docking, sister vessels or Kate Humble's appearance – completely in accordance with the sloppiness evident throughout the programme.
This week I will be working on a very large passenger vessel, but I feel it somewhat unnecessary to ask a stewardess how well the Captain is doing!
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Old 07-12-2016, 21:07
mark_beach
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Watched the first five minutes then gave up. Full of stupid errors; no mention of the fact that Titanic was the second ship of the class, after Olympic; standing in a dry dock and stating it was where Titanic and Britannic were built, they were built on slipways and launched in the traditional manner. I couldn't face more of this kind of rubbish.
I tire of the comments that the Titanic was "the greatest ship afloat" The launch and crossing of the Olympic was a bigger news story at the time , so much so that Olympic was painted white for the first crossing for filming purposes. See > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akJNsA_Pj-0 Titanic was never give such star treatment her sides were black at launch like all the Olympic class (eventually) to hide the staining from the loading of coal.
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Old 08-12-2016, 09:19
roddydogs
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Has KH been in the sun with dark glasses on, she looked rather weathered.
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Old 08-12-2016, 10:00
Gary Halliday
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I tire of the comments that the Titanic was "the greatest ship afloat" The launch and crossing of the Olympic was a bigger news story at the time , so much so that Olympic was painted white for the first crossing for filming purposes. See > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akJNsA_Pj-0 Titanic was never give such star treatment her sides were black at launch like all the Olympic class (eventually) to hide the staining from the loading of coal.
Olympic always had a black hull in service. The hull was launched painted white for photographic purposes. She was painted black upon completion. But yes, way to much prominence is given to Titanic as if she were something amazing the like of which the world had never seen before, whereas the world had seen something exactly like her the year before (most photographs of Titanic's interiors are actually Olympic).
Olympic and Titanic had identical hulls and superstructures, the sole difference being that the forward part of Titanic's promenade was glazed in at the last minute. This was done to ensure that her Gross Tonnage was slightly greater than Olympic and White Star could claim that she was the biggest ship in the world. Gross Tonnage is nothing to do with weight, it is a measure of volume. At the time (and until fairly recently) the formula was 100 cubic feet of permanently enclosed space equalled one Gross Register Ton. To increase the tonnage you just enclose more space. White Star were desperate to whip up some interest in Titanic and so went overboard with the hype. In spite of this she sailed on her maiden voyage only half full (providentially as it turned out otherwise over a thousand more would have died).
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Old 08-12-2016, 10:15
Moany Liza
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I found this programme on iPlayer last week and watched it.

Whilst I agree to some extent that the programme was a little dumbed down, I have to say I find that this is all too common these days and this MAY be an issue associated with the BBC's tendency to use generic presenters instead of sourcing people with a specialist interest. That said, Kate Humble does seem to be "at home" with nature programmes so I suppose those are considered to be her area of expertise - less so with a topic like this but she didn't bother me.

I found the portrayals of the people who had survived the sinking to be quite evocative. Yes, they were actors but they were relating eyewitness testimony of the events that took place and as these individuals are not alive to speak their words themselves, why not have actors speak them on their behalf? I found that better than the cliched offerings that eyewitness reports and opinion from contemporary coverage of major incidents what you can see on any news programme.

"Oh it's shocking! It's not the sort of thing you expect to happen round here...."

No programme like this is going to be perfect in the eyes of everyone but I am sure there will be a lot of people who knew very little, if anything, about this ship and doubtless they will have found it interesting and reasonably informative. It may not have been on the scale of Titanic but it was a shocking and unnecessary loss of life nonetheless and it's right to remember and acknowledge the people who lost their lives in such a tragic way.
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Old 08-12-2016, 10:37
iamian
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I found it disappointing.
The 'come-on' to an otherwise routine story was the tag of 'Titanic' and the use of Kate Humble. Had it not been for the tragedy of a boat launched too soon there wasn't much to this. In wartime a ship hits a mine and sinks, most rescued, not a significant tale.
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