What happened to The Britannic, how did Titanic’s sister ship sink and how many people died in the disaster?
SHE was the largest ship lost in the First World War, all of her 48,000 tonnes sinking in just 55 minutes.
The Britannic followed the watery fate of her sister ship The Titanic, settling at the bottom of the ocean floor. So what happened in one of Britain's greatest untold naval disasters?
When and how was The Britannic made?
The Britannic was the youngest sister of White Star Line's 'Olympic' class of vessels, launched after the RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic.
The vessel began to be built on 30 November 1911, with it finally launched on February 26, 1914.
Initially designed to be a transatlantic passenger liner, the ship was laid with nine passenger decks.
The entire ship stretched 882ft, 9 inches and reached 175ft in height - making her bigger than the Olympic or the Titanic.
But with the vessel launched just two years after The Titanic's tragic end, The Britannic underwent several design changes to give her the best chance of survival and to avoid another disaster.
One of the biggest changes was fitting large crane-like davits - or safety arms - that each held six lifeboats.
This would allow 3600 people - more than the maximum number of people the ship to carry - to escape from any potential disaster.
At the time of her launch, she was described as "a 20th Century ship in every sense of the word" and "the highest achievement of her day in the practise of ship building and marine engineering."
What did the vessel do?
As the First World War became increasingly demanding, The Britannic was prepared for emergency entrance into service.
Requisitioned as a hospital ship, the liner was repainted with white and large red crosses.
How did The Britannic sink?
In stark contrast to her sister ship, The Britannic managed to complete five successful voyages.
Ferrying the sick and wounded from the Middle East to the UK, the ship was generally given safe passage thanks to being clearly marked as a hospital ship.
On her final voyage, the Britannic left Southampton on November 12, 1916.
Sailing under the command of Captain Charles Bartlett, the shop travelled to Naples, refilling on coal and water.
Forced to stay in the port for two days due to inclement weather, the decision was finally made to have her set off on November 21.
Heading for the Kea channel, the ship was suddenly struck by a loud explosion - an underwater mine.
While the ship had been designed to avoid the Titanic's fate, 10 minutes after the explosion, it was in the same condition that its ship had been in an hour.
While the captain had hoped to beach the vessel, it soon became apparent it was sinking too fast.
At 8.35am, passengers were ordered to abandon the ship.
At 9.07am, the ship was gone.
How many people died?
In total, 1035 passengers survived the sinking while 30 lost their lives.
More lifeboats were also launched, giving passengers more of a chance to escape the sinking vessel.
Finally, help was closer with fisherman from the nearby Greek island of Kea helping to pluck passengers from the water.