The Sinking of the Britannic

On this day in 1916, HMHS Britannic was sunk during World War I by a German mine. It was the third vessel of the White Star Line’s Olympic-class of ocean liners and the second White Star ship to bear the name Britannic.

The HMHS Britannic was the fleet mate of both the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner.

Notes Wikipedia:

On the morning of November 21, 1916, the Britannic hit a naval mine of the Imperial German Navy near the Greek island of Kea and sank 55 minutes later, killing 30 of 1,066 people on board; the 1,036 survivors were rescued from the water and from lifeboats. The Britannic was the largest ship lost in the First World War.

After the war, the White Star Line was compensated for the loss of the Britannic by the award of the SS Bismarck as part of postwar reparations; she entered service as RMS Majestic.

The wreck of the Britannic was located and explored by Jacques Cousteau in 1975. The vessel is the largest intact passenger ship on the seabed in the world. It was bought in 1996 and is currently owned by Simon Mills, a maritime historian.

The following 4-minute video by X-MarcosNavigator combines scenes from the 2000 television film Britannic with the song “Sleeping Sun” by Nightwish. Britannic is a fictionalised version of the sinking of the ship and features Edward Atterton, Amanda Ryan, Jacqueline Bisset and John Rhys-Davies. In the film depicts a German agent (posing as a chaplain) sabotaging the ship, due to it secretly carrying munitions.

As you’ll see, the film shows the Britannic being struck and sunk by a torpedo from a German submarine, and not by a mine.





Related Off-site Links:
Never-before-seen Britannic Dive Footage Released – Steve Weinman (Divernet, November 11, 2025).
The Titanic’s Sister Ship, the Britannic, Sank in 1916. For the First Time, Divers Have Recovered Artifacts From Its Wreck – Ella Feldman (Smithsonian Magazine, September 25, 2025).
Divers Recover Artifacts from the Titanic’s Sister Ship Britannic for the First Time – AP News (September 16, 2025).
HMHS Britannic (Kea Island, Greece – 385 fsw) – Brett Eldridge (Wrecked in My rEvo, October 27, 2023).
Wreck of Titanic Sister Ship Finds New Destiny as Tourist Attraction – Helena Smith (The Guardian, October 28, 2008).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Thoughts on the Titanic Centenary
• Commemorating My Grandfather, Aub Bayly, and the Loss of AHS Centaur
• 50 Years On, Remembering “America’s Defining Shipwreck”