In this episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, host Jonathan Thomas interviews Simon Mills, a deep-sea explorer and maritime historian who owns the wreck of the HMHS Britannic, Titanic’s lesser-known sister ship. They discuss the history of the Britannic, its sinking during World War I, and the unique aspects of its design that aimed to make it more unsinkable than the Titanic. Simon shares his journey from working in the film industry to becoming a maritime historian, his experiences diving to the wreck, and the challenges posed by COVID-19 on his research. The conversation also touches on the ownership of shipwrecks, the importance of preserving maritime history, and the ongoing exploration of the Britannic wreck.
Links
- Inside the Britannic: Uncovering the wreck of the Titanic’s sister ship
- HMHS Britannic – Wikipedia
- The Wreck of the Britannic – Titanic Connections
- PBS Online – Lost Liners – Britannic
Takeaways
- The Britannic was designed to be more unsinkable than the Titanic.
- Simon Mills transitioned from film technician to maritime historian.
- The Britannic sank in 55 minutes, unlike the Titanic.
- Ownership of shipwrecks involves legal complexities.
- COVID-19 significantly delayed research on the Britannic.
- Watertight doors on the Britannic were found open during dives.
- The Greek government has strict laws regarding underwater archaeology.
- Artifacts from the Britannic are now being retrieved for display.
- Every shipwreck has a unique story to tell.
- The Britannic project aims to educate and preserve maritime history.
Sound Bites
1. The Ownership Revelation
“It’s actually not as complicated as you think. Everything in the world has got an owner. Doesn’t matter where it is. It could be top of the mountain or down at the bottom of the sea… So they will take the money, a very small amount of money in the overall scheme of things. But that’s exactly how you do it.”
2. The Forgotten Sister Ship
“I always get little bit frustrated with this mostly forgotten or forgotten sister or whatever. Titanic has a big place in history, obviously, because of what happened… Britannic was really supposed to be the answer to all the things that went wrong on the Titanic.”
3. The Fatal Flaw Discovery
“The key sixth compartment when we saw that watertight door open on down on F deck, it was opened by about that much, about six or seven inches… you could argue that the Titanic was less well protected from the flooding than the Titanic.”
4. The Timing That Saved Lives
“Britannic was on her way out and therefore she was empty. So on board you had little over a thousand crew and medical staff, but there were no patients on board… had it happened on the way back and you had a full ship, a ship full of patients, the death toll could have been humongous.”
5. The Unique Access
“The only person who’s got permit to go inside is me, basically. And that’s because of my rather unique legal position… But it still doesn’t mean that I go in just because I want to. I have to have a sort of proper plan to go in there.”
6. The Human Element
“He said, for the first time ever, I felt the presence of people… swimming along that working passage, I sensed people being there. It was a rather curious thing for him to say, but I knew exactly where he was coming from.”
7. The Rewriting of History
“We are now filling in the other gaps in the story… all of a sudden your flooding analysis is changing completely… it rewrites the dynamic of the sinking. So yes, we’re changing the history.”
8. The Unexpected Career Path
“I never really set out to buy the Britannic or get too heavily involved in the story… I was doing all the research on the Titanic, but unlike the other programs, I also found myself researching the other two ships. So I somehow became the expert on the Olympic and the Britannic.”
9. The Technical Challenge
“It’s 400 feet down. So in terms of a man dive down there, I can’t do it… for about a 35 minute dive on the wreck, you’re probably decompressing for about three and a half to four hours in the water… Now I’m too old for that.”
10. The Legacy Vision
“I want to hand over going concern… we turn Britannic into something tangible, rather than some forgotten pile of steel three miles out into the Kier Channel.”
Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction to the Britannic and Its Legacy
- 02:03 The Story of the Britannic
- 06:03 Simon Mills: From Film Technician to Maritime Historian
- 10:47 The Sinking of the Britannic: A Different Fate
- 11:52 Ownership of the Britannic Wreck
- 15:39 Diving into the Britannic: Exploration and Discoveries
- 21:34 Impact of COVID-19 on Research
- 23:21 The Forensic Approach to Documenting the Wreck
- 25:22 Artifact Retrieval and Preservation
- 30:50 Legacy and Future of the Britannic Project