| The 'Olympic' did
have something of a bad track record in her younger days, running aground and colliding
with 'HMS Hawke'. After this collision the 'Olympic' was brought back into dry dock for
repairs to be carried out. This brought both the Titanic and the 'Olympic' together
for the last time. Some people believe that this is what then happened:
White Star needed all the money and coal they could get. Getting in Captain Smith they told him the plans. They were going to cancel all other White Star Crossings for a week surrounding the Titanic sailing, so that they would not have to pay for coal, also, those passengers affected by this would be offered a cheap ticked on Titanic so that White Star made money on it. Captain Smith was paid a lot of money if, on the 5th day he would sink his ship, everyone would be safe, as they would make sure ships were in the vicinity of the accident. Smith agreed. Meanwhile in the dock, the 'Olympics' lifeboats were being offloaded and placed on the Titanic, and vice versa, any object with the Titanic's name on were put onto the 'Olympic' and again vice versa.
In August of 1991, a team of explorers brought back proof from the wrecked Titanic to prove that it was indeed the Titanic. It seems that all of White Star Line's ships have a special symbol and number punched on all of the steel. After examining the hull the explorers saw the unmistakable number that clearly identified it as the Titanic. When they returned they released pictures and videos, which clearly dismissed this conspiracy. |
The
'Olympic' was quite badly damaged, it would cost an awful lot more to repair it than was
first thought, and, it would delay the launching of the Titanic by months. So, what
could they do? They needed a reliable ship, and needed it for 10th April 1912. With time
rapidly running out they decided it would be easier to do a botch job on the 'Olympic' and
concentrate on the Titanic. But it was already too late. With days to go before
sailing day the Titanic was not yet ready, and the 'Olympic' was still sitting
barely sea worthy in dock. It is here that the unthinkable happened. Bruce Ismay and J. P.
Morgan, realise that if the Titanic does not go to sea on April 10th they are going
to have serious money problems soon after with refunds, this was something they could
simply not afford, especially when the price of coal was at an all time high due to the
coal strikes. 
Then, on
April 10th the cheering crowds had a ship to sail on, the Titanic was ready to
sail, but, it was not the Titanic, it was in fact the 'Olympic' dressed up as the Titanic.
So the 'Olympic' set sail for a 5 day cruise and then she would be deliberately sunk so
that White Star could claim insurance on the Titanic, when in fact it was the
'Olympic' that had sunk. However, some objects were forgotten. They had forgotten to put
binoculars on the 'Olympic' (the Titanic). So, on the night of April 14th 1912, the
'Olympic' crashed in to an ice berg, just under 24 hours too early. She sank, taking 1,523
souls with her. White Star now had a problem. They could claim money on the Titanic
sinking but, they would have to pay a lot of it out to the bereaved. But, none the less,
White Star did make money out of the disaster, and, the Titanic (sailing under the
name of the 'Olympic') served the company for 24 years without incident.
