Editing HMHS Britannic (section)

=== Conception ===
In 1907, [[J. Bruce Ismay]], director general of the [[White Star Line]], and [[William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie|Lord Pirrie]], chairman of the [[Harland & Wolff]] shipyard in [[Belfast]] had decided to build a trio of ocean liners of unmatched size to compete with the Cunard Line's {{RMS|Lusitania||2}} and {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|2}} not in terms of speed but in terms of luxury and safety.{{sfn|Chirnside|2011|p=12}} The names of the three vessels were decided at a later date and they showed the intention of the designers regarding their size: ''Olympic'', ''Titanic'' and ''Britannic''.<ref name="Piouffre41">{{harvnb|Piouffre|2009|p=41}}</ref>

Construction of the ''Olympic'' and the ''Titanic'' began in 1908 and 1909 respectively.{{sfn|Chirnside|2011|p=19}} Their sizes were so large that it was necessary to build the [[Arrol Gantry]] to shelter them, wide enough to span the two new building slips and allow two ships to be built at a time.{{sfn|Chirnside|2011|p=14}} The three ships were designed to be 270 metres long and to have a gross tonnage of over 45,000. Their designed speed was approximately 22 knots, well below that of the ''Lusitania'' and ''Mauretania'', but still allowing for a transatlantic crossing of less than one week.{{sfn|Chirnside|2011|p=18}}