White Star Line "Olympic" class were to be the biggest and most luxurious ships in the world. The "Olympic" was the only ship of this class that was profitable for White Star. "Titanic" sank on her maiden voyage, while "Britannic" was requisitioned by the British government before she was fully fitted, and used as a hospital ship during World War I. "Britannic" hit an underwater mine, in the Kea Channel off the Greek island of Kea, and sank on the morning of 21 November 1916. Like many other shipping lines, the White Star Line suffered heavy losses during the First World War which
Sinking of the RMS Titanic the hull plates. This suggests that the iron rivets along the plate seams snapped off or popped open to create narrow gaps through which water flooded. An engineer from "Titanic"s builders, Harland and Wolff, suggested this scenario at the British Wreck Commissioner's inquiry following the disaster but his view was discounted. "Titanic"s discoverer Robert Ballard has commented that the assumption that the ship had suffered a major breach was "a by-product of the mystique of the "Titanic". No one could believe that the great ship was sunk by a little sliver." Faults in the ship's hull may have been a