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Welcome to History's Not Boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Before we start, we have some absolutely huge shout-outs today. First, a big hello to William, who is six years old and listening all the way in Gloucester, England.

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William loves our podcasts and he really, really loves the Titanic and her sister ships.

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That's right. William actually asked us to do an episode on the HMHS Britannic. So this one is just for you, William. We hope you love it.

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We also have a special birthday shout out. Happy 10th birthday in July to Flynn in Florida.

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Flynn also asked for an episode all about the sinking of the Britannic. So this is for you too, Flynn. Happy double digits!

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And one more.

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Emerson listens along with his brothers, Braden and Elijah. We hope all three of you enjoy this one.

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So, Mira, what exactly is the HMHS Britannic? Is it just a regular boat?

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Oh Finn, it was so much more than a regular boat. Imagine a ship that was built to be even bigger, heavier, and safer than the famous Titanic.

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Wait, bigger than the Titanic? I thought the Titanic was the biggest thing on the ocean.

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Nope. The Britannic displaced over 53,000 tons of water. But here's the craziest part. Even with all its brand new safety upgrades, it sank three times faster than the Titanic. What? How is that even possible? Did they hit a bigger iceberg? Today we are diving into the forgotten story of the White Star Line's giant sister ship, the HMHS Britannic. We'll find out exactly what happened. Let's go! Our story starts in the 1910s. A famous British shipping company called the White Starline decided to build three massive sister ships. Sister ships? Like they all looked the exact same? Pretty much. They were the Olympic, the Titanic, and the Britannic. They were meant to be the largest, most luxurious ocean liners ever made for carrying passengers across the Atlantic Ocean. Just how big were they? The Britannic was the biggest of them all. She was 882 feet and 9 inches long and 94 feet wide.

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That's massive! That's almost the length of three whole football fields.

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Exactly. If you stood her up on end, she'd be taller than a 50-story skyscraper. And it cost millions of dollars to build her.

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Wow!

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But wait, didn't the Titanic sink? Yes. In April 1912, the Titanic famously sank after hitting an iceberg on her very first voyage. Over 1,500 people lost their lives.

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That was a terrible tragedy. What did they do about the Britannic?

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The Britannic was still being built in a shipyard in Belfast Island when it happened. The builders immediately stopped all construction to completely redesign her. What did they change? Did they just add more lifeboats? They did add plenty of lifeboats, but they also gave her a double hull. What's a double hull? It's basically a ship inside a ship. They added an extra layer of thick steel along the bottom and sides. Plus, they raised the watertight walls, called bulkheads, much higher up into the ship's body.

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Oh, so if water got in, it couldn't spill over the top into the next room like it did on the Titanic.

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Precisely. They also added giant robotic cranes, called davits, that could swing out and lower lifeboats, even if the ship was leaning heavily to one side.

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That sounds way safer. So she launched as the safest luxury passenger ship ever.

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Well, she finally launched into the water on February 26, 1914. But before she could carry a single paying passenger, something huge happened in Europe. World War I broke out.

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Wait, World War I? So they had this giant, super safe, luxury ship with fancy dining rooms and grand staircases. What did they do with her?

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In late 1915, the British government requisitioned her, which means they officially took control of her for the war effort. They turned her into His Majesty's Hospital Ship, or HMHS Britannic.

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A hospital ship? Did they change how she looked so people wouldn't shoot at her?

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Oh, completely! Instead of the classic black and white passenger colours of the White Star Line, they painted her brilliant, gleaming white from end to end. That must have been super bright out on the ocean. It was, and they painted a massive green stripe right down her sides, along with three gigantic red crosses on each side. Why the huge red crosses? Under international law, it was a universal signal to the enemy saying, don't shoot! We are not soldiers fighting, we are a hospital carrying sick and wounded people. Oh good. So she was just rescuing soldiers then? Yes. The Britannic carried thousands of wounded British soldiers home from the battlefields around the Mediterranean Sea. She had hundreds of doctors, nurses, and over 3,000 hospital beds on board.

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That's amazing! But you said in the intro that she sank. When did that happen?

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It happened during her sixth voyage. The date was Tuesday, November 21, 1916. The Britannic was sailing through the Aegean Sea, right near the Greek island of Kia. Who was in charge of the ship? A very experienced man named Captain Charles Bartlett. It was a beautiful, clear morning. There were exactly 1,066 people on board, mostly medical staff and crew. And then what happened? Did another ship attack them? At exactly 8.12 in the morning, a massive, deafening explosion shook the entire ship. Boom! Did they hit another iceberg? In Greece! No icebergs in Greece. They had struck a deadly underwater naval mine. It was a floating bomb that had been secretly planted in the water by a German submarine. A mine?

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Oh no, that's terrifying! Did the new double hull and safety features work?

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At first, Captain Bartlett thought the ship would survive. The watertight doors slammed shut exactly like they were supposed to. But there was a massive, unexpected problem. What was it? Did the doors break? No, it was the windows. The nurses had opened the portholes, the little round windows along the lower decks, to let fresh, cool ocean air into the sick wards.

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Oh no, so the water poured straight in through the open windows.

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Exactly. As the heavy front of the ship sank lower from the explosion, the ocean rushed right in through those open portholes. The water totally bypassed those high, watertight walls they built.

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That's a huge disaster. What did Captain Bartlett do?

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He looked out and saw the Greek island of Kia just a few miles away. He quickly ordered the engines full speed ahead to try and run the giant ship aground on the sandy beach. That's smart.

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Did they make it to the island?

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No. Moving the massive 48,000 tonne ship forward just violently shoved more and more water into the giant hole in the front. The ship started leaning harder and harder to the right side.

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They needed to stop and get everyone into the lifeboats immediately.

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He did order them to prepare the boats, but here is the really scary part. While the huge bronze propellers at the back of the ship were still spinning incredibly fast, half out of the water, two lifeboats launched without the captain's permission.

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Wait, spinning propellers? That sounds incredibly dangerous.

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It was. As the lifeboats hit the water, they were sucked backwards into the giant spinning blades. Tragically, 30 people lost their lives in those two boats. Oh no, that's so sad.

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Did it happen to any other boats?

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Thankfully, no. Captain Bartlett finally realised what was happening and stopped the massive engines just in time, saving a third lifeboat that was just inches away.

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Phew, that was way too close. Did everyone else make it off the ship?

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Yes. At 9.07am, just 55 minutes after the explosion, the giant 880-foot Britannic rolled over and slipped completely beneath the waves. But thanks to the warm water, nearby rescue ships and the new lifeboat cranes, 1,036 people survived. Wow! 55 minutes!

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It sank in less than an hour. The Titanic took over two and a half hours to sink.

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I know. The Britannic was designed to be the safest of the three giant sister ships, but the explosive force of a mine, combined with open windows, made her sink three times faster.

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But the best news is way more people survived this time. Only 30 died, instead of the 1500 who died on the Titanic.

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Exactly. The safety improvements might not have saved the ship itself, but having plenty of lifeboats and better cranes definitely saved the people. And I have an absolutely mind-blowing fun fact for you.

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Ooh, I love mind-blowing fun facts. Lay it on me. Have you ever heard of a woman named Violet Jessop? Hmm, Violet Jessop? No, I don't think so. Who is she?

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History calls her Miss Unsinkable. She was a nurse working on the Britannic. And she was also a stewardess working on the Titanic four years earlier.

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No way. You're telling me she survived both of those massive shipwrecks.

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Yes. During the Britannic sinking, she was actually in one of those doomed lifeboats that got socked toward the propellers. She had to jump out into the water at the last second and bumped her head, but she survived.

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Haha!

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I am never ever going on a boat with her. That is the craziest luck in the world. What happened to the Britannic wreck after it sank?

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It still rests on the sandy seabed today, about 400 feet down in the beautiful blue waters of the Aegean Sea. That's pretty deep. Who found it? The famous French underwater explorer, Jacques Cousteau, discovered the wreck in 1975. Because the water is warm and it hasn't been crushed by ice, the ship is actually in amazing condition.

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That is so cool. The Britannic really is a forgotten hero of World War One.

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Alright, Finn, it is time for our favourite part of the show, quiz time! Are you ready?

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Okay, I've got my thinking cap on. I'm ready. Let's do this.

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First question. What were the names of the Britannic's two older, famous sister ships built by the White Star Line? Next one. What specific colours was the Britannic painted when she became a hospital ship for the war? Question three. What exact object caused the Britannic to explode and sink in the Aegean Sea? Here's number four. Why did the ocean water bypass the new watertight walls so quickly as the ship was sinking? Last question. Who was the famous nurse known as Miss Unsinkable who survived both the Titanic and the Britannic? Great job! You all did amazing! Let's see how you did on the answers. The answer to question one is her massive sisterships with the Olympic and the Titanic. For question two, she was painted brilliant white with a massive green stripe and giant red crosses. Number three, the answer is, she hit a deadly underwater German naval mine. Question four. The water got in so incredibly fast because nurses had opened the portholes to let fresh air into the sick wards. And the final answer is that lucky survivor was Violet Jessop.

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Man, I still can't believe Violet Jessop survived both of those massive shipwrecks. Jumping out of a lifeboat right before it hit the propellers, history is completely wild. It really is.

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The HMHS Britannic might be forgotten by a lot of people today because of the Titanic, but she bravely saved thousands of wounded soldiers during the war.

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And she left us with an absolutely amazing story. Hey, if you love discovering amazing historical stories like this with us, please leave us a five-star review.

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Yes, please. Just scroll down on whatever podcast app you're using right now and tap those five stars. It's super easy and it really helps other kids find our show.

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Oh, and don't forget to head over to our site kidopoly.com. We've got tons of fun learning games, activities, and cool stuff to explore there.

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That's right. It's like a giant digital playground for history fans. Go check out kidopoly.com. And if you want a shout out on the show, like William, Flynn, and Emerson got today, just email us.

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Yep, send your emails to hello at kidopoly.com. We love hearing what you think of the show and what topics you want us to cover next.

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Thanks so much for listening and exploring the high seas with us. See you next time on Histories Not Boring.

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Bye everyone. Watch out for icebergs and mines!