Editing RMS Olympic (section)

==== 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}}