Titanic's shipbuilders tackled an olympic task
— -- In the summer of 1907, J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of The White Star Line, decided he had a problem.
As the number of people migrating to the USA from Europe was reaching record highs, he was losing business to his competitors — chief among them Cunard. Cunard was setting speed records for the Southampton-to-New York crossing with the introduction of its Mauretania and the Lusitania liners, which made the trip in just four days.
As competition among the steamship companies heated up, the cost of a ticket dropped, which placed the possibility of a new beginning in the USA within reach for even greater numbers of people. Ismay explained his challenge to Lord Pirrie, chairman of Harland and Wolff Shipbuilders, over dinner one evening in July.
Harland and Wolff were known for their speed and efficiency as shipbuilders, as well as their engineering prowess and willingness to explore and deploy innovative ideas in design and steam propulsion. The company's shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was considered the best, and White Star had a long and exclusive relationship with the "shipbuilders to the world." Seventy of White Star's vessels bore the Harland and Wolff imprimatur.
As the two men considered the best way to beat back Cunard's offensive, a vision of bigger, better ocean liners came into focus: a veritable "Olympic" class. These ships would not be the fastest on the high seas, but they would be the world's biggest, capable of carrying record numbers of people across the Atlantic with each voyage.
The liners also would feature luxurious amenities that would attract wealthy Americans looking to travel in high style and an aura of dignified elegance that would appeal to those aspiring to embark upon a new life.
A year later, Harland and Wolff presented White Star with plans for what would become the most magnificent "Royal Mail Ships" ever constructed: the Olympic, the Titanic and the Gigantic (which was later renamed the Britannic). By bearing the "RMS" designation, the vessels would receive premiere berths wherever they docked to ensure that the mail they carried was delivered as quickly as possible. The ships also would give White Star the competitive edge of greater visibility and prestige, characteristics it hoped would entice people across the sea.
The agreement between White Star and Harland and Wolff stated that the ships of the Olympic class were to be built "barring no expense." But even with a blank check, the finest available materials and the best engineers, Harland and Wolff's first task was to upscale its entire shipworks by as much as 200% to accommodate the creation of these leviathans.
That required a complete reorganization of the shipyard. Three slips had to be demolished to make room for two of the largest slips ever constructed. Teams of men had to design and erect an enormous gantry over the slips and equip it with a battery of cranes and elevators allowing workers access to the vessel as it was literally built from the ground up. Workshops had to be remodeled, and the latest steel-working machinery was custom-built and installed.
For Harland and Wolff, the contract meant not just building the largest ships ever constructed but also creating the infrastructure to produce the largest steam-powered engines, the largest castings and the largest anchors the world had ever seen.
Popular Reads
ABC News Live