Editing RMS Olympic (section)

=== First World War ===
On 4 August 1914, Britain entered the [[First World War]]. ''Olympic'' initially remained in commercial service under Captain Herbert James Haddock. As a wartime measure, ''Olympic'' was painted in a grey colour scheme, portholes were blocked, and lights on deck were turned off to make the ship less visible. The schedule was hastily altered to terminate at [[Liverpool]] rather than Southampton, and this was later altered again to [[Glasgow]].<ref name="thegreatoceanliners"/><ref name="Olympiclinersp8889">{{cite book|last=Chirnside|first=Mark|title=The 'Olympic' Class Ships|year=2011|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-0-7524-5895-3|pages=88–89}}</ref>
[[File:Olympic at Mudros.jpg|thumb|''Olympic'' in grey colour scheme]]
The first few wartime voyages were packed with Americans trapped in Europe, eager to return home; the eastbound journeys carried few passengers. By mid-October, bookings had fallen sharply as the threat from German U-boats became increasingly serious, and White Star Line decided to withdraw ''Olympic'' from commercial service. On 21 October 1914, she left New York for Glasgow on her last commercial voyage of the war, though carrying only 153 passengers.{{sfn|Chirnside|2004|p=88}}<ref name="Olympiclinersp8889"/>

==== ''Audacious'' incident 1914 ====
[[File:HMS Audacious crew take to lifeboats.jpg|thumb|left|The crew of the battleship {{HMS|Audacious|1912|6}} take to lifeboats; amateur photograph taken by Mabel and Edith Smith, passengers on ''Olympic'']]

On the sixth day of her voyage, 27 October, as ''Olympic'' passed near [[Lough Swilly]] off the north coast of Ireland, she received distress signals from the [[battleship]] {{HMS|Audacious|1912|6}}, which had struck a mine off [[Tory Island]] and was taking on water.{{sfn|Chirnside|2004|pp=89–90}} HMS ''Liverpool'' was in the company of ''Audacious''.

''Olympic'' took off 250 of ''Audacious''{{'}}s crew, then the [[destroyer]] {{HMS|Fury|1911|6}} managed to attach a tow cable between ''Audacious'' and ''Olympic'' and they headed west for Lough Swilly. However, the cable parted after ''Audacious''{{'}}s steering gear failed. A second attempt was made to tow the warship, but the cable became tangled in {{HMS|Liverpool|1909|6}}'s propellers and was severed. A third attempt was tried but also failed when the cable gave way. By 17:00 the ''Audacious''{{'}}s quarterdeck was awash and it was decided to evacuate the remaining crew members to ''Olympic'' and ''Liverpool'', and at 20:55 there was an explosion aboard ''Audacious'' and she sank.{{sfn|Chirnside|2004|p=90}}

Admiral Sir [[John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe|John Jellicoe]], Commander of the Home Fleet, was anxious to suppress the news of the sinking of ''Audacious'', for fear of the demoralising effect it could have on the British public, so he ordered ''Olympic'' to be held in custody at Lough Swilly. No communications were permitted and passengers were not allowed to leave the ship. The only people departing her were the crew of ''Audacious'' and Chief Surgeon John Beaumont, who was transferring to {{RMS|Celtic|1901|6}}. Steel tycoon [[Charles M. Schwab]], who was travelling aboard the liner, sent word to Jellicoe that he had urgent business in London with the Admiralty, and Jellicoe agreed to release Schwab if he remained silent about the fate of ''Audacious''. Finally, on 2 November, ''Olympic'' was allowed to go to Belfast where the passengers disembarked.<ref name="Hessen 1990">{{cite book|last=Hessen|first=Robert|title=Steel Titan: The Life of Charles M. Schwab|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEsDi_0baWQC&q=as+Germany+had+announced+that+her+U-boats+would+sink+the+Olympic+on+sight&pg=PA211|access-date=26 April 2012|isbn=9780822959069|year=1990|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press }}</ref>

==== Naval service ====
[[File:Olympic WWI.jpg|thumb|''Olympic'' in [[dazzle camouflage]] while in service as a [[troopship]] during the First World War]]

Following ''Olympic''{{'}}s return to Britain, the White Star Line intended to lay her up in Belfast until the war was over, but in May 1915 she was requisitioned by the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]], to be used as a troop transport, along with the Cunard liners {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|2}} and {{RMS|Aquitania|3=2}}. The Admiralty had initially been reluctant to use large ocean liners as [[Troopship|troop transports]] because of their vulnerability to enemy attack; however, a shortage of ships gave them little choice. At the same time, ''Olympic''{{'}}s other sister ship ''Britannic'', which had not yet been completed, was requisitioned as a [[hospital ship]]. Operating in that role she would strike a [[Imperial German Navy|German]] naval mine and sink in the [[Aegean Sea]] on 21 November 1916.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chirnside|first=Mark|title=The 'Olympic' Class Ships|year=2011|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-0-7524-5895-3|pages=94}}</ref>

Stripped of her peacetime fittings and now armed with 12-pounders and 4.7-inch guns, ''Olympic'' was converted to a troopship, with the capacity to transport up to 6,000 troops. On 24 September 1915, the newly designated HMT (Hired Military Transport) 2810,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ponsonby |first1=Charles Edward |title=West Ken (Q. O.) Yeomanry and 10th (yeomanry) Batt. The Buffs, 1914-1919 |date=1920 |publisher=A. Melrose |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K7YBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA8 |language=en}}</ref> now under the command of [[Bertram Fox Hayes]], left Liverpool carrying 6,000 soldiers to [[Moudros]], Greece for the [[Gallipoli Campaign]]. On 1 October, lifeboats from the French ship ''Provincia'' which had been sunk by a U-boat that morning off [[Cape Matapan]] were sighted and 34 survivors rescued by ''Olympic''. Hayes was criticised for this action by the British Admiralty, who accused him of putting the ship in danger by stopping her in waters where enemy U-boats were active. The ship's speed was considered to be her best defence against U-boat attack, and such a large ship stopped would have made an unmissable target. However, the French Vice-Admiral [[Louis Dartige du Fournet]] took a different view, and awarded Hayes with the [[Médaille d’honneur pour acte de courage et de dévouement|Gold Medal of Honour]]. ''Olympic'' made several more trooping journeys to the [[Mediterranean]] until early 1916, when the Gallipoli Campaign was abandoned.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chirnside|first=Mark|title=The 'Olympic' Class Ships|year=2011|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-0-7524-5895-3|pages=96}}</ref>

[[File:Arthur Lismer - Olympic with Returned Soldiers.jpg|thumb|''Olympic'' in dazzle at [[Pier 2, Halifax|Pier 2]] in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], painted by Arthur Lismer]]
In 1916, considerations were made to use ''Olympic'' to transport troops to [[India]] via the [[Cape of Good Hope]]. However, on investigation it was decided that the ship was unsuitable for this role, because the coal bunkers, which had been designed for transatlantic runs, lacked the capacity for such a long journey at a reasonable speed.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chirnside|first=Mark|title=The 'Olympic' Class Ships|year=2011|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-0-7524-5895-3|pages=98}}</ref> Instead, from 1916 to 1917, ''Olympic'' was chartered by the [[Canadian Government|Canadian government]] to transport troops from [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], to Britain.{{sfn|Chirnside|2004|p=98}} In 1917, she gained 6-inch guns and was painted with a [[dazzle camouflage]] scheme to make it more difficult for observers to estimate her speed and heading. Her dazzle colours were brown, dark blue, light blue, and white. Her many visits to [[Halifax Harbour]] carrying Canadian troops safely overseas, and back home after the war at [[Pier 2, Halifax|Pier 2]], made her a favourite symbol in the city of Halifax. Noted [[Group of Seven (artists)|Group of Seven]] artist [[Arthur Lismer]] made several paintings of ''Olympic'' in Halifax. A large dance hall, the "Olympic Gardens", was also named in her honour.

After the United States declared war on Germany, ''Olympic'' transported thousands of American troops to Britain.{{sfn|Chirnside|2004|p=100}}

====Sinking of ''U-103''====
[[File:Olympic after colliding with U-103.webp|thumb| ''Olympic'' after colliding with [[SM U-103|''U-103'']]]]
In the early hours of 12 May 1918, while en route for France in the [[English Channel]] with U.S. troops under the command of Captain Hayes, ''Olympic'' sighted a surfaced U-boat {{convert|500|m|abbr=on}} ahead.{{sfn|Chirnside|2004|p=101}} ''Olympic''{{'}}s gunners opened fire at once, and the ship turned to ram the submarine, which immediately crash dived to {{convert|30|m|abbr=on}} and turned to a parallel course. Almost immediately afterwards ''Olympic'' struck the submarine just aft of her conning tower with her port propeller slicing through {{SMU|U-103||2}}'s pressure hull. The crew of ''U-103'' blew her ballast tanks, scuttled and abandoned the submarine. ''Olympic'' did not stop to pick up survivors, but continued on to Cherbourg. Meanwhile, {{USS|Davis|DD-65|6}} had sighted a distress flare and picked up 31 survivors from ''U-103''. ''Olympic'' returned to Southampton with at least two hull plates dented and her prow twisted to one side, but not breached.<ref name="Gibson 1931">{{cite book |title=The German submarine war, 1914–1918 |last1=Gibson |first1=Richard Henry |last2=Prendergast |first2=Maurice |year=1931 |publisher=Constable |page=304 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cfPd9MA6NWYC&q=A+shot+from+the+Olympic%27s&pg=PA304 |access-date=3 May 2011 |isbn=978-1-59114-314-7 |archive-date=6 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210106104028/https://books.google.com/books?id=cfPd9MA6NWYC&q=A+shot+from+the+Olympic%27s&pg=PA304 |url-status=live}}</ref>

It was subsequently discovered that ''U-103'' had been preparing to torpedo ''Olympic'' when she was sighted, but the crew were not able to flood the two stern torpedo tubes.<ref name="McCartney 2002">{{cite book |last=McCartney |first=Innes |author2=Jak Mallmann-Showell |title=Lost Patrols: Submarine Wrecks of the English Channel |publisher=Periscope Publishing Ltd |year=2002 |page=36 |isbn=978-1-904381-04-4 }}</ref> For his service, Captain Hayes was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30756/supplement/7302 |title=Page 7302 – Supplement 30756, 18 June 1918 – London Gazette – The Gazette |work=thegazette.co.uk |access-date=16 May 2014 |archive-date=6 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210106103935/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30756/supplement/7302 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some American soldiers on board paid for a [[Commemorative plaque|plaque]] to be placed in one of ''Olympic''{{'}}s lounges to commemorate the event, it read:

<blockquote>This tablet presented by the [[59th Infantry Regiment (United States)|59th Regiment United States Infantry]] commemorates the sinking of the German submarine U103 by ''Olympic'' on May 12th 1918 in latitude 49 degrees 16 minutes north longitude 4 degrees 51 minutes west on the voyage from New York to Southampton with American troops...<ref>{{cite book|last=Chirnside|first=Mark|title=The 'Olympic' Class Ships|year=2011|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-0-7524-5895-3|pages=101}}</ref> </blockquote>

During the war, ''Olympic'' is reported to have carried up to 201,000 troops and other personnel, burning 347,000 tons of coal and travelling about {{convert|184000|miles|km}}.<ref>{{cite web |author=Kelly Wilson |url=http://members.aol.com/WakkoW5/olympic.html |title=RMS Olympic |publisher=Members.aol.com |date=6 November 2008 |access-date=16 July 2009 |archive-date=2 December 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981202151628/http://members.aol.com/WakkoW5/olympic.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Olympic''{{'}}s war service earned her the nickname ''Old Reliable''.{{sfn|Chirnside|2004|p=99}} Her captain was knighted in 1919 for "valuable services in connection with the transport of troops".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31553/supplement/11575|title=Page 11575 – Supplement 31553, 12 September 1919 – London Gazette – The Gazette|work=thegazette.co.uk|access-date=21 May 2014|archive-date=6 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106103936/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31553/supplement/11575|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Olympic'' holds the distinction of being the only passenger liner to ram - and sink - a German U-Boat during the First World War.