This Britannic, the third White Star ship by that name, was built by
Harland & Wolff, Belfast, where she was launched in 1929. Like her
nearly-identical sister Georgic, Britannic was a motorship powered by
diesel engines, not a steamer. These two would be the only White Star
motorships. (Between 1915 and 1932 Harland & Wolff built a total of 111
motorships for Lord Kylsant's Royal Mail Group, which controlled both
Harland & Wolff and White Star for a time.)
Britannic made her maiden voyage (Liverpool-Belfast-Glasgow-New
York) on 28 June 1930, and generally spent her summers on the North
Atlantic and her winters cruising to the Caribbean out of New York. She
became part of Cunard White Star in 1934, but continued to carry White
Star's colors and to fly the White Star burgee with (and until 1950,
above) the Cunard house flag for the balance of her career. With Georgic,
she moved to the London-New York service in 1935, and remained there
until World War II began.
Britannic served as a troopship during the war, carrying some 180,000
troops and traveling a total of 376,000 miles. She resumed service on
the Liverpool-New York route in 1948, became a Cunarder (still
flying White Star colors) when Cunard absorbed Cunard White Star in
1950.
Britannic was the only ship to be owned by all three: White
Star, Cunard White Star and Cunard. (Georgic also sailed for Cunard in
the early 1950's, but by then she was on charter from the British
government, which owned her.)
Britannic made her final Liverpool-New York sailing (and the final
Atlantic crossing by any White Star ship) in November 1960. Her final
departure from New York, on 25 November 1960, was marked by the same
fireboat escort which normally accompanied maiden voyages. After her
arrival home, she made White Star's final departure from Liverpool on 16
December, when she left under her own power for the shipbreakers.
Sources: Haws' Merchant Fleets; Bonsor's North Atlantic Seaway; The New
York Times, 26 November 1960.
