White Star Line naval mine, while in service as a hospital ship. "Britannic" was the largest loss for the company, and also the largest ship sunk during the conflict. 1916 also saw the loss of the liner "Cymric" which was torpedoed off the Irish coast in May, and also of the cargo ship "Georgic", which was scuttled in December with its cargo of 1,200 horses still on board, after being intercepted in the Atlantic by the German merchant raider . 1917 saw the loss of the liner "Laurentic" in January which struck a mine off the Irish coast and sank with the loss
Ocean liner the risk of being torpedoed by enemy submarines. The war was marked by the loss of many liners."Britannic", while serving as a hospital ship, sank in the Aegean Sea in 1916 after she struck a mine. Numerous incidents of torpedoing took place and large numbers of ships sank. "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" was defeated and scuttled after a fierce battle with HMS "Highflyer" off the coast of west Africa, while her sister ship "Kronprinz Wilhelm" served as a commerce raider. The torpedoing and sinking of on 7 May 1915 caused the loss of 128 American lives at a time when