The most famous ship that never was
The Olympic, nicknamed “Old Reliable,” was the largest ocean liner in the world when she was commissioned. In her first year at sea, however, she collided with the smaller HMS Hawke and suffered extensive damage to her hull, later suffering from a list to port. Several crew members who experienced this crash would later be aboard the Titanic, including Captain EJ Smith.
Following the crash, the costs for the White Star Line and its operator, owned by JP Morgan, were extensive. The Olympic was brought back to Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast where she was repaired alongside the now delayed Titanic. Or was she?
According to the theory, this is when the switch happened. Knowing that the costs to fully repair the Olympic would be too great, theorists insist that the Olmypic was just barely fixed and retrofitted as the Titanic, whereas the actual Titanic was quickly completed and christened as a new Olympic, then going on to serve some 25 years at sea. How could the original Olympic and its extensive damage have gone on to sail for so many years?
Fact or Fiction?
Survivors aboard the “Titanic” reported a list to port, exactly like the Olympic‘s, and the fact that JP Morgan and his friends canceled their trips at the last moment leads to further speculation that they were in on the scheme. After all, who collected on the insurance after Titanic sank but Morgan and his companies? Some theorists even go so far as to argue that Titanic‘s insurance was increased just five days prior to sailing, though financial evidence from the time period says otherwise.
So, did the Titanic as we know it ever truly exist, or was it the old Olympic in disguise? Would a billionaire’s eagerness to claim insurance money justify his willingness to kill thousands of innocent people? We don’t think so, but hey, it’s a conspiracy theory for a reason.
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