In 1899, White Star Line commissioned the RMSOceanic, which exceeded the SSGreat Eastern in length but not tonnage. After Thomas Ismay's death, the order of Oceanic's sister-ship, Olympic was cancelled. Instead, resources were transferred to the company's new project; to build the grandest fleet of ships that had ever sailed the seas, the "Big Four".[1]
History
In 1901, the White Star Line ordered a series of four ships that were to be larger than Great Eastern, terming these ships the "Big Four". The four ships were designed to have a tonnage in excess of 20,000tons and rather than being built for speed and to compete for the Blue Riband, were designed to be more luxurious than their rivals.[2][incomplete short citation]
The first of the four vessels was named Celtic, and was ordered by Thomas Ismay before his death.[1]Celtic was launched on 4 April 1901 and made her maiden voyage on 26July. She was shorter than Oceanic but was still longer than Great Eastern.[1] After Celtic was completed, she was the biggest ship in the world at 20,904gross register tons(GRT).
The project was followed by the Cedric, which was launched on 21 August 1902 and made her maiden voyage on 11 February 1903. At the time she was launched she was the biggest moving object ever built at 21,073 gross register tons.
Plans of Baltic,c. 1903.
The project was followed by the Baltic, which was launched on 21 November 1903 and made her maiden voyage on 29 June 1904. She was the largest ship in the world at 23,876 gross register tons until 1905, when the HAPAG's 24,581 gross register ton Kaiserin Auguste Victoria surpassed her in tonnage.[3][incomplete short citation]
The popularity of White Star's "Big Four" was eventually overtaken by Cunard's Lusitania and Mauretania, both of which were larger than the Adriatic, at 24,541 gross register tons the largest and also the fastest of the "Big Four", but which was superseded in size before her launch by Lusitania. Lastly the Red Star Line's SSLapland, at a more economical 17,000tons, was a virtual sister ship to the "Big Four" in her layout and dimensions. Lapland was also built by Harland & Wolff.
Features
Adriatic's first class reading and correspondence room. Similar rooms were furnished on her sister ships.
The "Big Four" had a tonnage of 20,904 to 24,541 gross tons (13,449 to 15,638 net tons), with Baltic and Adriatic much larger than the first two. However, Adriatic, which was the largest of the four, was also the only one not to have held the title of largest passenger ship in world.[4][incomplete short citation] The four ships were propelled by two propellers driven by steam quadruple expansion and reached an average speed of 16 knots (30km/h; 18mph), although their maximum speeds varied.
The silhouettes of the four vessels were similar, black hull with red keel and white superstructure, with an "island" bridge separated from the rest of the superstructure. They were provided with four masts (two front and two rear) which supported the cables of wireless telegraphy. The two funnels were buff topped with a black sleeve.
The vessels had luxury on an unprecedented scale, with a dining room dominated by a glass roof, a lounge with a reading and writing room with many books and periodicals, also adorned with large picture windows, a covered promenade deck, a smoking room decorated stained glass[5][incomplete short citation] and in the case of Adriatic, an indoor pool and Victorian-style Turkish baths.[6]
Ships' careers
Celtic
Celtic was the first of the "Big Four", entering service in 1901. She was the first ship to exceed the Great Eastern in tonnage. Her career was marred by several accidents. Transformed into an auxiliary cruiser during the First World War, she struck a mine in 1917, killing 17people. In 1918, she was torpedoed by a German submarine, but was once again remained afloat. In 1925, she was in collision with another vessel, but neither ship suffered serious damage. She was involved in another collision in 1927. Finally, in 1928, she struck rocks off Cobh and was considered unrecoverable. It took five years for the ship to be completely dismantled.[7][8][incomplete short citation]
Cedric
Cedric entered service in 1903. Her commercial career was divided into transatlantic crossings and cruises. When the Titanic sank, Cedric was docked in New York. After the sinking it was reported that J. Bruce Ismay, managing director of the White Star line, had attempted to arrange, by wireless with the White Star New York offices, to delay the sailing of Cedric until Carpathia arrived in port so that he and the surviving crew members of Titanic could return to England without setting foot in the United States. However Cedric sailed on schedule.[9] During the First World War, Cedric was transformed into an auxiliary cruiser. On 29 January 1918, she collided with the Canadian Pacific ship Montreal off Morecambe Bay. Montreal was taken in tow but sank the next day 14 miles (23km) from the Mersey Bar lightvessel. On 30 September 1923, Cedric collided with RMSScythia of the Cunard Line in Queenstown harbour during dense fog. Neither vessel was seriously damaged. She was decommissioned in 1931 and was scrapped the following year.[10]
Baltic
Baltic under construction, 1903
Commissioned in 1904, the Baltic was involved in rescues at sea on a number of occasions. In 1909, she received a call for help from the RMSRepublic(1903), which had collided with SS Florida of Lloyd Italiano. On 15 April 1912, Baltic received the distress call from Titanic, but was unable to assist. She was also involved in a rescue on 6 December 1929, when she assisted the sinking schooner Northern Light. On 17 February 1933, she sailed for Osaka where she was scrapped.[11]Baltic was commonly accompanied by White Star tender SS Magnetic, which serviced her throughout most of her career. The two ships appear together on many White Star Line postcards.
Adriatic
Adriatic entered service in 1907. She was the largest, the fastest, and the most luxurious of the Big Four, being the first ocean liner to have an indoor swimming pool and a Victorian-style Turkish bath.[12]Adriatic enjoyed a successful commercial career, which included war service during the First World War when the ship made several voyages as a troop transport.[13]Adriatic was devoted full-time to cruising from 1933, and was retired the following year, then sold by the White Star Line for scrapping in Japan in 1935.
An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes. Only one ocean liner remains in service today.
The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between the British Empire and the United States. While many other shipping lines focused primarily on speed, White Star branded their services by focusing more on providing comfortable passages for both upper class travellers and immigrants.
RMS Oceanic was a transatlantic ocean liner built for the White Star Line. She sailed on her maiden voyage on 6 September 1899 and was the largest ship in the world until 1901. At the outbreak of World War I she was converted to an armed merchant cruiser. On 8 August 1914 she was commissioned into Royal Navy service.
SS Oceanic was the White Star Line's first liner and first member of the Oceanic-class; she was an important turning point in passenger liner design. Entering service in 1871 for Atlantic crossings, she was later chartered to Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company (O&O) in 1875. The ship provided passenger service for O&O in the Pacific until 1895 when she was sold for scrap.
RMS Baltic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line that sailed between 1904 and 1932. At 23,876 gross register tonnage, she was the world's largest ship until May 1906. She was the third of a quartet of ships, all measuring over 20,000 gross register tons, dubbed The Big Four, the other three being RMS Celtic, RMS Cedric, and RMS Adriatic.
Joseph Bruce Ismay was an English businessman who served as chairman and managing director of the White Star Line. In 1912, he came to international attention as the highest-ranking White Star official to survive the sinking of the company's new flagship RMS Titanic, for which he was subject to severe criticism.
RMS Majestic was a British Ocean liner working on the White Star Line’s North Atlantic run, originally launched in 1914 as the Hamburg America Liner SS Bismarck. At 56,551 gross register tons, she was the largest ship ever operated by the White Star Line under its own flag and the largest ship in the world until completion of SS Normandie in 1935.
RMS Celtic was an ocean liner owned by the White Star Line. The first ship larger than SS Great Eastern by gross register tonnage, Celtic was the first of a quartet of ships over 20,000 tons, the dubbed The Big Four. She was the last ship ordered by Thomas Henry Ismay before his death in 1899. The second liner of her name she was put into service in 1901. Her large size and her low but economical speed inaugurated a new company policy aiming to favour size, luxury and comfort, to the detriment of speed.
RMS Cedric was an ocean liner owned by the White Star Line. She was the second of a quartet of ships over 20,000 tons, dubbed the Big Four, and was the largest vessel in the world at the time of her entering service. Her career, peppered with collisions and minor incidents, took place mainly on the route from Liverpool to New York.
RMS Adriatic was a British ocean liner of the White Star Line. She was the fourth of a quartet of ships of more than 20,000 GRT, dubbed The Big Four. The ship was the only one of the four which was never the world's largest ship. However, she was the largest, the fastest, and the most luxurious of the Big Four, being the first ocean liner to have an indoor swimming pool and Victorian-style Turkish baths.
SS Adriatic was the first of two White Star Line ocean liners to carry the name Adriatic. The White Star Line's first four steamships of the Oceanic-class, the met with great success in the trans-Atlantic market, and the line decided to build two more. The first of these was the SS Adriatic, which was built by Harland and Wolff and launched on 17 October 1871; the second was the SS Celtic.
SS Baltic was an Oceanic-class ocean liner that was built in 1871 for the White Star Line. She was one of the first four ships ordered by White Star from shipbuilders Harland & Wolff after Thomas Ismay bought the company, and the third ship of the Oceanic class to be delivered. In 1888 Holland America Line bought her, and renamed her Veendam. In 1898 she struck a submerged wreck and sank, but with no loss of life.
SS Celtic was an ocean liner built for the White Star Line by shipbuilders Harland and Wolff of Belfast.
SS Republic was an ocean liner built in 1871 by Harland and Wolff for White Star Line. It was intended to be the last of four vessels forming the Oceanic-class, before two new ships were commissioned. After a rough maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York City on 1 February 1872, the ship was chosen to be on White Star Line's first voyage on the South Atlantic and Pacific line with four other ships, destined for Chile. In 1874, the construction of modern ships SS Germanic and SS Britannic led to SS Republic's becoming the standby vessel of White Star Line. It occupied this position for 15 years, and attempts were made to modernise it in 1888. When RMS Teutonic and RMS Majestic entered service in the following year, the Republic became surplus to White Star's needs.
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in their shipyard in Wallsend, England.
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SS Doric was a British ocean liner operated by White Star Line. She was put into service in 1883. Built by the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, she was the sister ship of the Ionic which was put into service a few months earlier. Although the original purpose of the construction of the two ships was not known with certainty, both began their careers chartered by the New Zealand Shipping Company which operated them on the route from London to Wellington.
The first RMS Saxonia was a passenger ship of the British Cunard Line. Between 1900 and 1925, Saxonia operated on North Atlantic and Mediterranean passenger routes, and she saw military service during World War I (1914–1918).
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