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The Battle for the North Atlantic

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, transatlantic sea travel was fast becoming a lucrative business. Passenger numbers were on the increase, thanks in large part to the hordes of émigrés leaving Europe in search of a better life in America, while steamships also profited by ferrying mail between the US and Britain.

Since its owner, Samuel Cunard, was awarded the first British transatlantic mail contract in 1839, the Cunard Line had operated a near-monopoly on this highly profitable route.

Cunard Line Poster, 1875

This all changed, however, when Thomas Ismay purchased the White Star Line in 1869. Operating in direct competition with the Cunard Line, the White Star Line’s entry into the transatlantic market marked the beginning of a decade-long battle between the two companies as they vied for dominance of the Atlantic Ocean. To complicate matters, they were also fighting off stiff competition from emergent shipping firms from Germany. The stakes could not have been higher.

By 1907, with the impending maiden voyage of their new liner, the Lusitania, Cunard seemed to be once again gaining the upper hand. The Lusitania was the first in a new generation of superliners, and was soon joined by a sister steamship, the Mauretania, which was also nearing completion. Weighing approximately 30,000 gross tonnes and with a length of 790 feet, the Lusitania and the Mauretania were larger and more luxurious than any of their predecessors. They were also to be the fastest. It was widely expected that the Blue Riband – the award given to the fastest ship to cross the Atlantic – would go to either one or the other.

White Star Line Logo

Unsurprisingly, executives at the White Star Line were coming under increasing pressure to catch up with Cunard.

The White Star Line makes a Comeback

The White Star Line was now part of the American financier J. P. Morgan’s conglomerate of shipping companies, known as International Mercantile Marine. J. Bruce Ismay, who had succeeded his father at the helm of White Star in 1899, had sold the company to Morgan (pictured below) in 1902 on the understanding that he stayed on as Chairman and Managing Director. Thus, with almost limitless financial resources from his über-wealthy investor, the younger Ismay set about plotting White Star’s comeback.

J. P. Morgan

In the summer of 1907, Ismay and his wife attended a dinner at the London home of Lord and Lady Pirrie. A partner in the Belfast shipbuilding firm Harland & Wolff, Pirrie’s business relied heavily on the White Star Line for new ship-building contracts, so he had a vested interest in the continuing success of Ismay’s company. It is widely believed that over the course of this dinner the two men concocted an audacious plan to regain the advantage over the Cunard Line.

With the cavalier attitude of those spending someone else’s money, Pirrie and Ismay (pictured together below) decided that Harland & Wolff would build three state-of-the-art ships for the White Star Line. The new liners would be gigantic – at least 50 per cent larger and 100 feet longer than both the Lusitania and the Mauretania. They would offer passengers unparalleled luxury and comfort.

Pirrie and Ismay on board the Titanic Photograph by Robert John Welch (1859–1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff

Suitable names were needed for these sister ships, names which would be commensurate with their size and grandeur – they settled on the Olympic, the Titanic and the Britannic.

The Building of a Leviathan

After this initial dinner meeting, Pirrie and Ismay quickly set to work. The proposed ships would be so huge that Harland & Wolff would need to overhaul their entire operation in order to accommodate them. The shipyards at Harland & Wolff underwent a significant re-vamp, which involved converting their three existing berths into two, over which a 220-foot-high gantry was installed. For his part, Ismay set about lobbying the New York Harbour Board for permission to build a new pier, large enough to berth his monstrous new vessels. Pirrie’s designs were endlessly debated, while Ismay encountered difficult negotiations with the Harbour Board.

By the end 1908, as an agreement with the New York authorities looked likely and the ship’s blueprints were finalized, work could at last get underway. It was decided that the Olympic and the Titanic would be constructed almost in tandem, with plans for the building of the Britannic put on hold until after the completion of her sister ships. On 16 December, the first keel plate was laid for the Olympic, with Titanic’s following three months later, on 31 March 1909.

White Star Line Promotional Poster

The process of building a ship is a complicated one. First, the hull (the lower part of the vessel) is constructed in a dry berth. Once completed, the hull (still no more than an empty shell) is ‘launched’ down a ramp into water. It is then towed to a fitting-out basin, where all the necessary equipment, machinery, fixtures and fittings are installed. When it is entirely kitted-out, the ship returns to a dry dock, where the propellers are attached. Then, after one last coat of paint, the gleaming new ship is tugged into harbour and handed over to its proud owners.

Even though Harland & Wolff devoted innumerable man-hours to the construction of the Olympic and the Titanic, the sheer scale of the undertaking meant the hulls would not be completed for nearly two years. Eventually, on 20 October 1910, the Olympic was launched from her berth (pictured below). While this was cause for great excitement, all eyes were on another, more significant, milestone, which was scheduled for 31 May of the following year.

Titanic and Olympic under construction c. 1910

In a move to capitalize on the inevitable public interest in these new superliners, Harland & Wolff had arranged for the launch of Titanic’s hull to occur on the same day they handed over the newly fitted-out Olympic to the White Star Line. This meant that the partially completed Titanic would sit alongside her sister ship in water for the very first time. This guaranteed unparalleled media interest in the Olympic and Titanic, and consequently, Harland and Wolff sold thousands of tickets to the event. On the day, hordes of spectators joined distinguished dignitaries on three specially constructed grandstands – all eager to witness this historic moment.

At exactly 12.05 p.m., two loud rockets were fired, followed by another five minutes later. Thus heralded, at 12.13 p.m. Titanic’s hull began to make its way down the greasy slipway and into water for the first time. The displacement of such a large structure was made possible by greasing the ramp with huge quantities of lubricant – 23 tonnes of animal fat, soap and train oil. The launch lasted 62 seconds, and the RMS Titanic was afloat at last.

At 3.00 p.m. the same day, Harland & Wolff formally delivered the Olympic to the White Star Line, after which the Olympic got her first taste of the sea, setting sail for Liverpool with Morgan, Ismay and a host of other illustrious names on board. The ambitious dreams of J. Bruce Ismay and Lord Pirrie had finally become reality.