The Beginning of the End
The first of the ships to be built was the line’s namesake, the Olympic, and was considered the lead ship. A massive crowd of people watched it sail off onto its maiden voyage, and her first few trips were very successful. But it was during the fifth voyage that the remarkable ship ran into some trouble.
RMS Olympic leaving Southampton 1911. Photo by Tony Davies / Shutterstock
On September 20th, 1911, the Olympic made an unexpected turn and got into a collision with a military ship called the Hawke. After the boats were caught off guard and the two vessels crashed, the Olympic managed to limp back to port, but it was badly damaged. A trial took place and held White Star responsible for the accident because of the sheer power and size of the Olympic.