RMS Olympic was the first of her class of ocean liners built for the White Star Line, which also included the ill-fated liners Titanic and Britannic. Unlike her sisters, Olympic served a long and illustrious career (1911 to 1935), and came to be known as "Old Reliable."
The Olympic class of ships were originally to be named Olympic, Titanic and Gigantic, after Greek mythological races: the Olympians, the Titans, and the Giants. Gigantic was renamed Britannic following the sinking of Titanic.
Tonnage: 45,324 (46,358 after 1913, increased to 46,439 after 1920)
Displacement: 52,067 tons
Length: 882 ft, 9 in
Beam: 92 ft, 6 in
Draught: 34 ft, 7 in
Power: 24 double-ended (six furnace) and 5 single-ended (three furnace) Scotch boilers. Two four-cylinder triple-expansion reciprocating engines each producing 15,000 hp from 215-psi steam for the outer two propellers at 75 revolutions per minute. One low-pressure turbine producing 16,000 hp from 9 psi absolute exhausting into the partial vacuum of a condenser for the centre propeller. A maximum of 59,000 hp was produced at maximum revolutions.
Propulsion: Two bronze triple-blade side propellers. One bronze quadruple-blade centre propeller.
Service Speed: 21 knots
Maximum Speed: 23-24 knots