Britannic

the danger, stopped the engines and ordered the boats to stand by to launch when the ship came to a halt. Unfortunately, some did not wait for the order. Two boats were launched without orders and were pulled under the great ship's still revolving propellers, 30 were killed and forty others injured; including the lucky Violet Jessop who was rescued by another boat.

The other boats were loaded quickly, and aside from some confusion among the more inexperienced crew, proceeded with much trouble. Eventually, 1066 people were adrift in the boats watching the last moments of the "Britannic." Keeping with tradition, the last boat to leave contained the commander of the Medical staff and the ship's purser, who had stayed to ensure all had been saved. Capt. Barlett stepped off the bridge wing into the rising water and swam to a nearby lifeboat. As water was sucked into the funnels, the boilers belched forth smoke and cinders and the bow plunged deeper until only the stern and rudder were above water. Finally, those too slipped beneath the waves, then a series of explosions were heard as the boilers burst open. Only 55 minutes had past since the mine contact. The only casualties were from the two boats that were pulled under the propellers. It was a miracle that so few perished, imagine the carnage if the "Britannic" was fully loaded with over 3000 sick and wounded soldiers.

A court of inquiry was conducted by the naval authorities and concluded that a mine, and not torpedoes had sunk the ship. What was not concluded was why the ship sank so quickly even though she had been redesigned to withstand greater damage than her equally unlucky sister, "Titanic."

The "Britannic" lay in peace until discovered by Jacques Cousteau in 1976. He brought back a few poor pictures which did not shed much light into the sinking. In 1995, Robert Ballard, discoverer of the "Titanic" in 1986, visited the site and mapped a complete picture of the wreck. Apart from the funnels, the ship was relatively intact except from a large hole near the severely twisted bow. Today she lies in peace, draped in a funeral shroud of fishing nets which have snagged on the superstructure over the past 8 decades.

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