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
Examination vessel to be ready at all times to open fire, first with warning shots and then for effect, on instructions from the examination staff... [No vessels] could pass, in or out, without displaying certain prearranged signals, set from day to day by the naval authorities." Examination vessel An examination vessel is a vessel used to inspect ships and boats entering a port during wartime. An examination vessel would typically be responsible for examining and verifying all merchant ships and small craft entering or departing a port. They would normally be equipped with one or more machine guns and in addition were