RMS Olympic Ismay had previously planned to build a ship named "Olympic" as a sister ship to . The senior Ismay died in 1899 and the order for the ship was cancelled. Construction of "Olympic" began three months before "Titanic" to ease pressures on the shipyard. Several years would pass before "Britannic" would be launched. In order to accommodate the construction of the class, Harland and Wolff upgraded their facility in Belfast; the most dramatic change was the combining of three slipways into two larger ones. "Olympic" and "Titanic" were constructed side by side. "Olympic"s keel was laid on 16 December 1908
Olympic-class ocean liner minelayer submarine in a barrier off Kea in the Aegean Sea during World War I. "Olympic", the lead vessel, had a career spanning 24 years and was retired in 1934 and sold for scrapping in 1935. Although the two younger vessels did not have successful careers, they are among the most famous ocean liners ever built. Both "Olympic" and "Titanic" briefly enjoyed the distinction of being the largest ships in the world; "Olympic" would be the largest British-built ship in the world for over 20 years until the launch of in 1936. "Titanic"s story has been adapted into many books