Hello,

Quote:


edward9139 wrote:
i'd hav to agree with Captain_Jack. If you look at the rate of travel, the First-class passengers hav already traveled on their fancy ship.

by Mark Chirnside on 2005/5/16 11:28:04

Hello,
Please cite some figures to back up this statement.

Best wishes,

Mark.
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Mark in case you don't know many of those repling here are hardly teenagers and are trying to broaden their interests in Titanic. Instead of chastising everyone with your snip, copy & pasting. Why don't you provide them with some of your figures from sources which will help them understand better?

But now I'm 50 yrs+ so feel free to castigate my posts. If you'd care to explain to everyone the wartime economics that drove almost 100% of the luxuary travel off the oceans and how the British government called to service most sea worthy vessels during the out break of the World War? Luxuary travel was none existant during the war and following the Great Depression era.

Now I know you are a Olympic historian so these facts below are for our fellow titanic discussion groupies.

The Olympic remained in commercial service after the beginning of the war. However, the British Admiralty began pulling commercial ships out of service and using them for war duties
shortly after the beginning of the war. White Star decided to let Olympic make one more round trip from England before sending her to Belfast to be laid up. On the way to New York, the ship was packed with Americans and Canadians who wanted to get out of Europe and away from the war, no first class passengers there. On the way back, she was filled with Europeans who were eager to get home to their families again these were no 1st class passengers. (fact)

And after spending almost a year in Belfast, Olympic was finally commissioned as a naval
transport in September of 1915. She was painted in very dazzling colors, with very bright geometric shapes on a yellow background, to confuse enemy submarines. On September 24, 1915, the newly designated HMT (His Majesty's Transport) Olympic, transport ship No. T2810, left Liverpool on her first trooping voyage, bound for Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos. She was put under the command of Capt. Bertram F. Hays, who replaced Capt. Haddock who was appointed to a special position in Belfast. (fact)


Under the command of the ship's next captain, William Marshall, a bunch of new problems came. The Olympic was an old ship. She had to adapt to stay in business. The classes of second and third were changed to become Tourist Cabin and Tourist Third Cabin. Accommodations in these new classes were different from what they had been originally been designed due to falling profits. (fact)

Also by that time the ships tried to return to passenger travel, the United States had passed laws restricting the amount of immigrants allowed to enter the country. This meant that there were less passengers traveling in 3rd class (because a large portion of passengers in this class were immigrants). So reclassifing the classes was a failing attempt the rebuild the Olympic's profits, but the Olympic's career was entering one of it's lowest ebbs.


In short, During World War One (1914-1918) she served as a troop transport. After the war she was returned to the White Star Line and served once again as a passenger liner until 1934, when the line merged with another company. In 1935 she was sold and scrapped. (fact)

Even after the war was over the finacial market was such that
the White Star Line was beginning to crumble due to problems caused by The Great Depression. (fact)

Now these aren't my personal opinions they are cold hard facts and if need, I can sight you references to everything above.

The great sisters ships never got to really serve the first class as planned between war time and the depression era. Not forgetting the poor Brittanic whose lavish interiors were gutted out to make room for medical operating rooms, hospital recovery rooms, doctors offices and other medical office space when the Britannic was designated "His Majesty's Hospital Ship" (HMHS), hospital ship No. G618. Again (fact).