
RMS OLYMPIC SPECIFICATION FILE

Above: Olympic appears on a sailing list issued by the White Star Line in March 1926. (Author’s Collection.)
Olympic entered service in 1911 as the world’s largest ship. Although she was surpassed in spring 1912 by Titanic, she regained the title after her sister’s loss only to lose it to Imperator in 1913. From 1913, she was the largest British ship in service. Although Aquitania could claim the title after 1914, based on her length and breadth, Olympic’s gross tonnage (which rose after the 1913 refit) was greater than her rival’s and remained so until her withdrawal from service in 1935. Gross tonnage is a better measure of size, given that it is a measure of enclosed space. Britannic claimed the title of the largest British ship when she was in service from December 1915 to November 1916. In the 1920s, as White Star’s ‘Ship Magnificent,’ Olympic was advertised as the largest triple-screw steamer in the world.
The specifications given here relate to Olympic as she was in the mid 1920s, prior to the 1927-28 refit when her net tonnage figure changed and tourist third class was introduced. However, the vast majority of these measurements and figures remained the same in subsequent years. A notable exception is the passenger numbers, as tourist third class was introduced alongside second class (before second class was abolished entirely by the end of 1931), first class staterooms became tourist class, and third class shrank as Olympic’s service continued in the early 1930s. As always, different documents give multiple different figures for passenger and crew capacities, and those here should be seen in that context. Even here, the alternate first and second class accommodation information is contradictory.
Some dimensions are given in feet as decimals: for instance, the ship’s length of 882 feet 9 inches was given as 882.75 feet, which has been rounded to 882.7 feet (and is sometimes seen as 882.8 feet in other sources). However, to remain faithful to the original source material the imperial measurements have been given in both decimals and feet and inches, throughout the file; for instance the length of the single ended boilers is given as 11 feet 9 inches, or 11'9" in short. In regard to the watertight subdivision, there were originally fifteen main transverse watertight bulkheads, and clearly the figure here of sixteen was a product of changes during the 1912-13 refit rather than her original construction.
The horsepower figures, given for both the reciprocating engines and the turbine, are not a maximum that the engines could develop. However, they do seem higher than the average power developed in normal service to enable Olympic to maintain her service speed. While 46,000 horsepower was required for a speed of 21 knots, the figures given here total 55,000 horsepower. In 1911, it was stated that Olympic’s engines developed 59,000 horsepower, so that was apparently the maximum figure developed up to that time.
BUILDER
Builder |
Regd. Date |
Class |
Board of Trade Passenger Certificate |
Load Line Certificate |
No. of Propellers |
Normal Weather. Average Speed (knots) |
Harland & Wolff, Ltd. |
1911 |
Not classed |
Yes |
Yes |
3 |
21 |
DIMENSIONS
Length |
Breadth |
Depth |
Overall, feet |
Between perpendiculars, feet |
Moulded, feet |
Extreme, feet |
Moulded, Side feet |
Moulded, Centre, feet |
882.7 |
850 |
92 |
92.5 |
64.67 |
65.67 |
TONNAGE
Gross |
Deductions for Erections, Propelling Space, etc. |
Net |
Nationality |
Official Number |
Builder’s Number |
46,439.48 |
24,616.7 |
21,822.84 |
British |
131,346 |
400 |
CREW
Maximum Deck |
Maximum Engine |
Maximum Vic’g |
Grand Total |
99 |
164 |
570 |
833 |
DRAFT, DISPLACEMENT AND FREEBOARD
Light |
Summer |
Draft, feet |
Dispt. Tons |
Tons per Inch Immers’n |
Block Co-eff. |
Draft, feet |
Dispt. Tons |
Freeboard, feet |
Tons Per Inch Im-mers’n |
Block Co-eff. |
Deadweight Tons |
27 10½ |
40,850 |
138.8 |
.66 |
34 7 |
52,310 |
30 9 |
143.8 |
.68 |
11,460 |
TANKS
Double Bottom Tanks |
Peak Tanks |
|
|
|
Domestic Tanks |
Fresh Water only Tons |
Salt Water only, Tons |
|
Fresh or Salt Water Tons |
Salt Water Tons |
Total Fresh Water Tons |
Total Salt Water Tons |
Total [Fuel] Oil Tons |
Fresh Water Tons |
Gallons |
1,284 |
3,340 |
|
|
353 |
2,080 |
4,513 |
7,655 |
792 |
177,408 |
WATERTIGHT SUBDIVISION, CARGO AND APPLIANCES
No. of Trans. W. T. Bulkheads |
Cargo Holds |
Size of largest Hatch on Weather Deck |
No. of Winches available for Cargo |
Special Appliances |
16 |
5 |
16 x 20 |
3 Steam, 4 Electric, 6 Electric Cranes |
Wireless
and Sub. Sig.
Pass. Elev. |
Dynamos |
Emergency Dynamos |
No. |
Makers |
Voltage |
Total Output in K’watts |
Makers |
Total Output in K’watts |
4 |
W.H. Allen & Son |
100 |
1,600 |
2-Lawrence Scott |
120 |
PASSENGERS
1ST CLASS
Permanent |
Alternative 1st or 2nd Class |
|
|
Rooms. |
Berths |
Rooms |
Berths |
Max No. of Berths |
Saloon Seats |
301 |
710 |
86 |
237 |
947 |
B-deck 168
D-deck 544
722 Total
|
2ND CLASS
Permanent |
Alternative 1st or 2nd Class |
Alternative 2nd or 3rd Class |
|
|
Rooms. |
Berths |
Rooms |
Berths |
Rooms |
Berths |
Max No. of Berths |
Saloon Seats |
105 |
342 |
88 |
274 |
52 |
154 |
770 |
350 |
3RD CLASS
|
Berths |
Alternative 2nd or 3rd Class |
|
|
Rooms |
In Berths |
Open |
|
|
Max No. of Berths |
Saloon Seats |
272 |
1,100 |
- |
52 |
154 |
1,234 |
467 |
CARGO
|
|
|
|
Refrigerated Cargo |
Capacity of all Cargo Spaces, excluding 3rd Cl. Spaces, Bridge Spaces and Refrig’d Spaces, Cubic Feet |
3rd Cl. Spaces available for Cargo, Cubic Feet |
Refrigd. Spaces available for Cargo, Cubic Feet |
Grand Total of Cargo Space, Cubic Feet |
No. of Comp’ts |
No. of Cubic Feet |
No. of Quarters |
System |
68,280 |
Nil |
15,600 |
83,800 |
1 |
15,600 |
2,155 |
CO2 & Brine |
FUEL
Consumption |
Class of Fuel |
Double Bottom. Oil Taken at 38 c. feet per Ton. Coal taken at 44 c. feet per Ton |
Reserve Bunkers. Oil Taken at 38 c. feet per Ton |
Total Fuel Tons |
Per Day |
Per 100 Knots |
Oil |
Cub. Feet |
Tons |
Cub. Feet |
Tons |
|
600 |
119 |
American |
196,384 |
5,168 |
94,506 |
Nos 1 & 3 2,487 |
7,655 |
BOILERS
|
Number |
Dimensions |
Maker |
Date |
Pressure Ibs. per Sq. Inch |
Type |
Double Ended |
Single Ended |
Length |
Dia. or Width |
|
|
|
Scotch |
24 |
5 |
S. E. 11' 9"
D.E. 20'0" |
28 @ 15'9"
1 D.E. @ 13'6"
|
Harland & Wolff, Ltd. |
1911 |
215 |
FURNACES
|
|
|
|
Grate |
|
|
|
|
Number and Type |
Length over Tube Plates |
Dia.
Least Width Inside |
Length of Fire Bars |
Area Sq. Ft. |
Heating Surface Sq. Ft. |
Natural or Forced Draught |
Type of Oil Fuel System |
No. of Burners |
159 Corrugated |
7'10" |
153 @ 3'9"
6 @ 3'3" |
153 @ 5'9"
6 @ 4'9" |
3,430 |
142,454 |
Nautral |
White |
159 |
ENGINES
|
|
|
Cylinders (Diameters) |
Type |
Maker |
Date |
H.P. |
I.P. |
I.P. |
L.P. |
Stroke |
4 Cylinder Triple [Expansion] |
Harland & Wolff, Ltd. |
1911 |
54" |
84" |
97" |
97" |
75" |
PROPELLERS
Reciprocating |
Turbine |
Diam. Ft. |
Pitch Ft. |
Expand. Surface Sq. Ft. |
Diam. Ft. |
Pitch Ft. |
Expand. Surface Sq. Ft. |
22'9" |
36'9" |
160 |
16'6" |
14'6" |
120 |
HORSEPOWER
Average Reciprocating I.H.P. |
Average Turbine S.H.P. |
37,000 |
18,000 |
TURBINES
Type |
Makers |
No. of Rotors |
No. of Stages Ahead |
Propeller Revs. per Min. |
Parson’s |
Harland & Wolff, Ltd. |
1 |
6 |
120 [sic: 165] |
Note: Although the specifications given here are very technical in nature, some simple abbreviations are easily understandable, while others require a more lengthy explanation.
Regd.: Registered.
Cert.: Certificate.
Dispt.: Displacement.
W.T.: Watertight.
Refrig’d.: Refrigerated.
Ilbs. per Sq. Inch: Pounds per square inch.
Revs. per Min.: Revolutions per minute.
C. feet./Cub feet: Cubic feet.
Tons per Inch Immers’n.: Tons per Inch Immersion, or the number of tons that are required to change the draught of the ship by one inch at a given level of draught.
Block Co-eff.: Block co-efficient. This is the ratio of the underwater volume of a ship to the volume of a rectangular block having the length, breadth and draft of the ship.
Deadweight: The deadweight is the difference between the loaded displacement of the ship and the displacement when it is completely empty of cargo, fuel, passengers, crew, etc.
Trans.: Transverse, i.e. a watertight bulkhead running across the ship, from side to side, rather than along the ship.
Expand. Surface Sq. Ft.: Expanded surface area of the propeller, in square feet.
S.H.P.: Shaft horsepower, the method of measuring a steam turbine’s power output.
H.P., I.P. and L.P.: High pressure, intermediate pressure, and low pressure. Olympic’s reciprocating engines had three stages (i.e. they were triple expansion engines), as steam entered at high pressure and was reduced to a lower pressure.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Scott Andrews’ assistance - offering clarifications and spotting several mistakes that were originally missed during proofreading - is greatly appreciated. However, he is not responsible for any errors that may have crept in.
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