The Olympic class built between 1908-1914 consisted of three ships: the first of the fleet was the RMS Olympic, next to be built was the most famous of the fleet, RMS Titanic and lastly was the RMS Gigantic, later renamed to the HMHS Britannic. Olympic and Titanic were built simultaneously next to each other. To the trained eye the difference between the two vessels is easy. However, to those who perhaps aren’t to well versed with the two sisters it might be slightly more difficult to tell.
An introduction to the Olympic Class:
Although it appears that Titanic and Olympic look virtually identical It is important to mention that the two ships were sisters and not twins. As far as interior goes then yes, they were indeed identical. However, the outside of the ships is what allows people to tell the vessels apart.
Construction differences:
Titanic and Olympic were designed with the exact same features for example same amount of boilers, funnels, propellers and watertight compartments. Before the sisters were given official names they were simply called ship 400 (Olympic) and ship 401 (Titanic). an easy way to differentiate the liners is that Olympic was painted white during the construction and Titanic was built with the traditional colors of white (for the bridge and outlines), red (for the keel of the ship) and black (for the main body).
The Promenade Decks:
Another difference between Olympic and Titanic didn’t actually come to surface until after Olympics’ maiden voyage which took place on the 14th June, 1911. Olympic took the North Atlantic route, which a year later her sister Titanic would take the exact same route.
Drifting back to the Olympic, the promenade deck of the Olympic caused some discomfort to passengers because they found that the sea spray was coming over the side of the deck and wetting the first class passengers. Notice in the picture below that Olympics’ promenade deck windows appear at irregular intervals and seem more uneven.
It was much easier for the workers at Harland and Wolff to make some amendments to the Titanic’s promenade decks as by June 1911 Titanic was residing in the fitting out wharf. To avoid having another mishap with the ship’s deck, Titanic’s promenade deck was lowered. Again, consider the picture below Titanic’s windows, unlike Olympics’ appear to be more evenly spaced and smaller.
The Bridge:
Titanic’s bridge slightly smaller than her sisters, this was deliberate as mentioned previously Titanic’s bridge had to be lowered in order to make the promenade deck more compact and less visible to the sea. This makes the overall image of the Titanic a heavier look. Compared with the Olympic who seems slimmer.
Many consider the Olympic the prototype of her younger sister due to many alterations being made to the Titanic after the maiden voyage of the Olympic. Notice in the picture of the Olympic that bridge looks considerably bigger and wider than the Titanic’s.
Overall, I hope that this has cleared up the difference between the two ships as this is a topic that isn’t uncommon for people to ask about at Titanic Talks. I am planning on doing a follow up to this about how tell the difference between a Welch photograph and a Brown one. Feel free to get ask any questions or get in touch for a future talk or workshop.
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