RMS Olympic "Titanic" to turn when it sighted the iceberg. "Olympic", like "Titanic", did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone on board, and so was hurriedly equipped with additional, second-hand collapsible lifeboats following her return to Britain. Towards the end of April 1912, as she was about to sail from Southampton to New York, 284 of the ship's firemen went on strike, for fear that the ship's new collapsible lifeboats were not seaworthy. 100 non-union crew were hastily hired from Southampton as replacements, with more being hired from Liverpool. The 40 collapsible lifeboats were transferred from troopships and put on "Olympic", and
RMS Titanic in popular culture RMS Titanic in popular culture The RMS "Titanic" has subsequently played a prominent role in popular culture since her sinking in 1912, with the loss of over 1,500 of the 2,200 lives on board. The disaster and the "Titanic" herself have been objects of public fascination for many years. They have inspired numerous books, plays, films, songs, poems, and works of art. "Titanic"'s story has been interpreted in many overlapping ways, including as a symbol of technological hubris, as basis for fail-safe improvements, as a classic disaster tale, as an indictment of the class divisions of the time, and as