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I don’t think any serious researchers believe it was.

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If by ‘back’ you mean the Olympic’s keel, running the length of the ship and essentially the ship’s ‘backbone,’ then my answer would be that it would be impossible for the keel to be broken. The keel was made up of a series of steel sections: one section could be replaced if necessary. Even if the keel was damaged, then the Olympic would not have been a write off.

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Not at all. She was insured for $5,000,000 ($2,500,000 less than her building cost).

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I think ‘supposedly’ is the key word. There’s no evidence for the Olympic’s name being changed, or the porthole configuration altered in 1912.

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I’m not sure where these figures come from, but they’re incorrect.

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No one other than the conspiracy theorists believe that she was carrying woollen jumpers and blankets. Californian’s cargo manifest no longer exists, so it can’t be proven.

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In order to avoid hitting an iceberg. Ships that didn’t stop – such as Titanic – tended to have bad experiences in ice fields.

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It wasn’t. For instance, it was one blade from the port propeller that needed changing; and the dates are wrong. Titanic left dry-dock on February 17th 1912, after her propellers had been fitted; Olympic didn’t arrive in the dry-dock until March 1912.

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Indeed. Parts bearing the number ‘401’ have been recovered from the wrecksite: ranging from an engine part; to a marble sink fitting; and other items from all over the ship.

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You’re perfectly entitled to your opinions, and I for one appreciate the civilised manner in which you’ve started this debate. However, I’ll disagree with the idea that the Olympic’s back was broken. I’ve read the testimony at the enquiries into the Hawke collision, from several independent ship surveyors, and I’ve seen the photos of the damage.

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Cal Haines has addressed that question in his article for www.titanic-model.com .

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Titanic’s sea trials were short for a number of reasons: the fact that they had been postponed for a day due to bad weather; and the rush to get the ship to Southampton to begin provisioning for the maiden voyage.

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It’s a commendable objective. My own view is that it is vital to read the Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall book, as well as the conspiracy theorists’ writings – as the latter have been demonstrated to contain numerous inaccuracies. Many of my own views are also at the link I provided earlier.

Best wishes,

Mark.