History's Unluckiest Ships? 4 Ships That Were Doomed to Fail 

Sailed on Iberia in 1968. Had two fires and numerous malfunctions. My Father said at the time she had the strangest roll of any ship he had been on. I turned five on her on the way to the States and the captain let me steer her very briefly as a present. Great memory 55 years on. Great videos and content.

Another unlucky thing about Britannic, since it was wartime, the water tight doors were ordered to stay closed at all times, except for when the firemen were changing shifts for about 15 minutes. Well, the mine happened to go off during that time, and since the doors were all open, water flooded quicker. Out of all the times for the mine to strike, it happened when the shift change was happening. How unlucky!

I had a very funny experience with my seven year old grandson who is mad about the Titanic and other ships that have sunk. I taught him about the Britannic and that it was Titanic's sister. When he asked how it sank, I told him that it was either by a mine or a torpedo. When I had finished telling him, I asked him by way of revision, what had sunk the Britannic. His answer, (remember, he's only seven) "a mine or a potato". I have never laughed so much. We still chuckle about it even now.

Something worth mentioning about the Great Eastern is that the damage that she took from the uncharted rock was even more extensive than that which sank the Titanic. It was thanks to her double bottom that the extent was only realised once she had been dry- docked. Truely a ship decades ahead of its time.

Although unlucky, it's nice to see someone giving the Great Eastern some sympathy. The world really wasn't ready for ships that big.

The Great Eastern really deserves it's own video. The largest ship in the world for 40 years?? What a fascinating story.

Britannic also happened to hit the mine during the ship’s morning crew change (something a lot of people don’t seem to know about) which was done each day from 8:00am-8:15am, one of two 15-minute intervals when the watertight doors were opened (the ship hit the mine at 8:12am). Following the explosion the watertight doors were jammed in the open position due to the ship’s frame being slightly warped by the blast. This in addition to the open portholes as well as the fact she was still moving at high speeds all contributed towards the sinking and forced additional water in making her sink even faster. Very unlucky.

The fact that the Great Eastern has a ship-kill record that’s better than a lot of Naval vessels boggles the mind and she wasn’t even trying to hurt anyone.

Achille Lauro is also worth mentioning. Her construction was halted by bombing raids in the second world war, she was hijacked in 1985, she collided with 2 other ships and she caught fire 4 times, the last of which sunk her.

The Great Eastern was so unlucky that an entire mythos spread about a curse - even during her life it was claimed 'rapping' could be heard from the ghosts of riveters who'd accidentally been sealed into one of the voids of the ship. This tale followed the Great Eastern to the breakers yard and it was said that the skeleton of said riveter(s) was located (it was also said that the remains were those of a pay clerk from Scott-Russell shipyard who'd vanished with a 'substantial' amount of the wages - it was claimed he was murdered and sealed below decks). Such myths are completely unfounded and without evidence - the discovery of remains would be mentioned in the breakers logs & local papers - and there is nothing.

Beyond happy that the City of Rome is here, she's my favourite ship in history! You've done her great justice, Mike :)

I like the photo of isambard Brunel wearing his top hat standing in front of the massive chain. I wish more pictures, diagrams & information on this vessel existed. I enjoyed this & every presentation you give.

I'm glad you focused on some other ships rather than just Titanic

I think you did rather underestimate the Great Eastern's success as a cable layer in the hands of Brunel's friend Daniel Gooch who siezed the opportunity when she became available at such a low cost. Not only could she carry all the cable needed but the stability due to her great size allowed her to carefully grapple for and retrieve lost broken cables in the middle of the Atlantic.

Thanks for including the Great Eastern in this video. It's a ship that's always fascinated me despite its hard luck.

The Himalaya rings a definite bell with me. A passenger on one of her voyages to Australia was Arthur C Clarke, who completed one of his first novels 'The City And The Stars' en route.

Iberia's story reminds me of the Shaw, Savill and Albion Line's SS Northern Star. She entered service in 1962 but struggled with mechanical issues throughout her service life. Poor maintenance meant things only got worse over the years, then the oil crisis happened and so the SSA Line decided to put her up for sale. No other company wanted to buy her and so in 1975, just 13 years after launch, she went to the scrapyard.

Iberia's story reminds me of something sailing story writer Tristan Jones once said. There's ships that sail beautifully and do anything you want them to do, and then there's ships that you can just tell never wanted to be built. Cranky, poor sailers that have one mishap after another and for no apparant reason. And they usually don't last to long before they're off to the scrappers.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Joseph Bazalgette, Augustus Pugin three of the great engineers ahead of their time. Mike another great watch of maritime history, your information presented and narration are spot on. Funny how the IBERIA had such bad luck, I feel for the captains that were assigned to her down through the years.

I have been researching the Guion Line recently because it is the line that took my great great grandmother’s family to America from britain after they came from Sweden. It is nice that it is mentioned in this video! Also for anyone curious the ship was the Minnesota

Love the Iberia, such a gorgeous P&O liner; my second favourite after Chusan. The ill-fated Magdalena would make a good study video Mike :)

Writing as a professional mariner generally not prone to superstition, my personal feeling is that some ships are just unlucky. The goes for some sailors, generally known as a "Jonah." The story of the loss of the long liner, "Andrea Gale" immortalized in the book and later movie "The Perfect Storm" has an interesting side note. According to the story, one of the would-be crew members drove with his father from his home in Middleboro, in southern Massachusetts, up to Gloucester to join the crew for the trip. He got out of the car, took a good look at the boat and reportedly said something to his father to the effect of, "l don't feel right about this...." turned around and returned home. His gut instinct saved his life. On the other hand, l've ignored that same feeling myself and l'm still here. Although my premonitions were often partly correct in that we had serious problems, we always managed to stay afloat. The marvels of modern technology notwithstanding, with all other things being equal, a fast ship is always better than a slower one because its voyages are completed more quickly, with relatively less time spent at sea. Nothing will ever change the fact that the open ocean will always be a dangerous place, which is why the concept of going on a "cruise ship" just to be at sea, strikes many professional mariners as an utterly ridiculous concept. That would still be true even if modern cruise ships were anything less than obscenely ugly and unseaworthy in the eyes of any classically trained mariner. As for Brunel, he might've lived a little longer if he's taken one of those disgusting looking, undoubtedly soggy, stogies out of his mouth seen in every widely extant photo of him.

The SS Great Eastern is still the best looking ship ever. Fun fact: Jules Verne visited America on board the Great Eastern in 1867.

Thank you for addressing the Britannic's inherenet seaworthiness, particuarly the fact (which I'm always trying to make) that she probably would have sailed through Titanic's collision with nary a scratch! Mechanically, she was the ship that Titanic was meant to be, and it was through pure mismanagement at all levels that she never got the career she deserved. I would also point out tht the 30 people who went down with her is one HELL of a lot less than Titanic's losses, and that, if I heard correctly, they got virtually everyone else off of her in about 15 minutes, a testament to her improved evacuation capabilities. It's lucky that one of MY favorite ships, the MV Britannic, proved to be as seaworthy and reliable as she later was, taking up the name and redeeming it so well.

Honestly expecting to see Olympic in this video, but I suppose Britannic had the worse luck, given that it never served it's original purpose, and sank before it could. Great video, Mike! I've been a Titanorak for years, and now I work in Titanic Belfast. Your videos have given me some knowledge that I can pass to people I meet while working. Keep it up! ❤

SS Kaiser Friedrich is another City of Rome-esque example of a liner built by a shipbuilder (Schichau) with a normally excellent reputation that simply didn’t work, failing by a wide margin to meet the contract specified speed. Originally, Norddeutscher Lloyd intended her as an express liner running mate to the four-stacker Kaiser Wilhelm der Große, but they ended up refusing delivery. She was intended for 22 knots, but the maiden voyage was around 16 and months of work back at Schichau only got her up to 19-20. She was evidently much more of a restrained (and less garish) interior than her running mate, but just didn’t work. Then she ended up in French service and was sunk by the same minefield that bagged Britannic. Naming a ship Blücher is also a surefire way to get it sunk. Two cruisers and several sailing merchant ships sank, along with a disastrous boiler explosion in a corvette in the German navy of the same name. The only ship I can think of to survive was NDL’s SS Blücher, which may have done so only because it was interned in WWI and renamed. Clearly, the eponymous Field Marshal von Blücher used up all the luck associated with the name!

The world really was not ready for the Great Eastern, its so sad that Britannic never got the chance to be the passenger liner she was designed to be and that 2 of the 3 White Star ships sank, really great video

Another great video Mike, very interesting! I agree, Britannic was a very unlucky ship, and what a shame she ran afoul of circumstance. I have read though, that the decision to widen the ship over Olympic/Titanic was made before she was laid down in November of 1911. I think it had something to do with steadiness when lightly loaded in heavy seas due to experience with Olympic. It had nothing to do with the inner skin. I think it was noted maritime author Mark Chirnside - who specializes in White Star liners - who documented that. Keep these great videos coming!!

Wow I think the Great Eastern is just this big clumsy extraordinary thing. What a behemoth, stepping on toes left and right. I love it, possibly one of my favorite ships now. Just subscribed to your channel your content is amazing.

When I was a kid I was fascinated by ships and the history of sailing. Being a child of the 90s of course, I loved the Titanic most. Watching your videos reminds me of how wonderful ships can be. Thank you for re inspiring me! Love this channel so much! Your passion is incredible and I love that you can share it with the world

Interesting - naturally I was aware of steel being much stronger than iron, but had never heard that it is actually lighter as well. Learn something new every time I visit your channel!

This channel is my new favourite thing. I’m not ashamed to admit I find it really relaxing learning about ships and shit. 10/10 *chefs kiss*

The additional 1.5 feet in beam for Britannic compared to Olympic & Titanic was planned before the loss of Titanic. Nice video!

Wonderful report!

Awesome video Mike! Since I've started watching you a year ago, I've learnt so much! Your art is so beautifully gorgeous I've never known such an amazing artist like you. Keep up the good work! ❤

Northern star was a fabulous ship to sail on. Real shame what happened to her!

I'd say the Great Eastern was the ship to be on, when something hit the fan, the ship still made it to safety, That hurricane may have thrown the people onboard about, but unlike a number of the other ships caught in that storm, she was able to return to port, the gash in her side was larger than that that put Titanic on the bottom, but barely slowed the ship down, and I don't want to know what would happen to a lesser ship when one of their boilers would explode, well not counting the other ships that Brunnel designed. Also on the Britanic, many of the people who died, died when the crew members, against orders, abandoned ship, lowering the lifeboats while the ship was still steaming ahead, causing them to be drawn into the still turning screws

I think Titanic was more of a freak accident rather than bad choices. Literally anything changes to the titanic story, she would never hit the iceberg

Hey my friend Mike! Just a quick thank you for making one of the best ship channels (and in terms of overall quality one of the best produced channels of any type on YT). I look forward to each new video!

If the Great Eastern was such an unprecedented mammoth of maritime travel, I wouldn't be surprised if a substantial part of her problems were that various crew just weren't able to stear and navigate one that big, and no one wanted to admit it. Obviously mechanical failures have to play a big part too, but the learning curve is always a challenge when tech advances in leaps rather than steps.

Have been following since you had 30k and now look! Nearly 200k!! Congrats mike🎉

You are made for this, mate. Excellent channel!

I love failed ships, always interesting

Hello Mike, fellow Aussie here, I would love to see some kind of video on HMY Britannia, I know its not an ocean liner but it is in my opinion one of the most elegant ships from history, I think it could make for an interesting video:)

Great video, now do a Luckiest Ships video :)

For your next ship redesign, it would be great to see the great eastern modernized Into a screw driven only vessel. Possibly with1870s or later style super structure added

Fascinating stories! The Great Eastern was probably just too much too soon, a product of the unbridled ambition of Brunel. It’s also fair to say that the immense problems & headaches it heaped upon him right from the start (construction, launch, running etc) materially contributed to his early death. Sailors are (or were) a superstitious lot, and once a ship had earned a reputation as being ‘jinxed’ it rarely managed to shake it off. HMS Prince of Wales was just such a ship, and even before it came into service in 1941, had already gained that reputation. She had a less than distinguished service record (and a fairly short one too) being the only one of her class to be sunk during the war. It would be hard to attribute that to her reputation as an ‘unlucky’ ship, but it’s a strange coincidence nonetheless…

I wonder how far along the refit of the Britannic back into an ocean liner was. I can imagine the workers pulling out their hair in frustration when they are told to pull out all those luxury items that they just had reinstalled after pulling them off the first time about a year or so ago.

Always enjoy the videos, you do your homework

Poor Great Eastern, it had an interesting design at least. Great work Oceanliner Designs.

"Blew all the competition out of, well, the water" haha 😛 have a good day Mike 👍

The workhorses of P&O were undoubtedly the "Strath" boats. Strathaird, Strathnaver, Strathmore, Stratheden. All were wonderfully reliable and gave great service ...

You should do a video for Willie D. Porter one day. On a flipside you have Yukikaze that was so lucky to the point there was a joke that she steals like from ships she was escorting in WW2.

My daughter asked me recently about italian liners. Without a flinch i said her that italians ships were maybe not the best, but surely the best looking.This has nothing to do with me being an italian, but rather with their look. This IMHO applies to RM warships too.

Seeing these makes me really glad the ship I was stationed on (USS Wasp from 2014 to 2019) didn't go the same way... because she had a whole myriad of issues, even after being outfitted with the latest in tech. Hell, she was in the shipyards for a very long time and when it was time for her first underway after all that time, 3 hours before we even left the pier, we hear on the 1MC "Fire, fire, fire, this is not a drill". I looked at a buddy of mine and said "Wow, we haven't even left port and we're already on fire. We're off to a great start." Couple years later, on a 6 month deployment, ship started to sink while we were in Middle Eastern territory and took 5 days to stop the incoming water. So, to this day, I thank whatever deity that is out there that nothing too serious happened to that ship. From what I hear, still sailing today. Just really hope she doesn't go the same way as her predecessors.

Very early today, love ur videos! Keep going ‼️😍

There is at least one “benefit” of the Britannic being requisitioned and stripped of her luxury fittings. The mechanical (player) pipe organ survived, and still exists in the collection of the Museum für Musikautomaten in Seewen, Switzerland.

Another stellar video as always!

Hi Mike, really enjoyed this episode and in particular the SS Iberia focus. When I went to sea as an officer cadet, Iberia had well and truly paid off and her sister SS Arcadia was completing her final service; a series of cruises from Sydney and Brisbane. Arcadia was in deed a very happy ship albeit she was very tired. The two ships were close in design with Arcadia having a Clyde Bank dome funnel whereas Iberia had a Thornycroft coaming funnel. Iberia’s Promenade deck extended all the way to the stern which was not the case on Arcadia. One aspect you may not be aware of was that both ships had different bunker capacity. At service speed Arcadia was a nine day vessel whereas Iberia was seven days. This affected Iberia’s stability especially as more fuel was consumed. So much so that zinc ingots were loaded into the lower holds. Her unreliability, stability issues and lack of range I suggest was the reason for her early demise. Towards the end some boiler parts were supplied to SS Orcades from Iberia a six year older ship. Not sure her troubles could be attributed to Harland and Wolff as the yard was retained by P&O to build the TEV Canberra which had a long life. Thank you again.

Whenever i see a new video of yours i havent seen before about shipwrecks my toes curl lolol. i love your videos so much, and you have relit my interests in ships. :3

The Great Eastern sank 10 ships during her career? She would've been a great asset in a war...

"City of Rome would be light, quick, massive, and luxurious." Iron Hull: "Pick two."

Well, Thanks for the adhd rabbit hole. I'm about 13 videos into this channel and so far great content!

I'm so much more interested in ships since watching this channel.. With great narration and great information, it makes this channel well worth watching. Many Thanks for all your great work.

i dont think brunell or the great eastern gets the credit they deserve! the ship was an absolute beast and survived events that wouldve sunk muich later ships

I read in a book about famous ships that when the Great Eastern was being scrapped that near the keel workers found the skeleton of one of the original workers who built the ship. This worker was probably trapped because of the rapid construction of the ship at the time. As for the workers who were doing the scrapping, they saw the skeleton as a reason for why the ship had such bad luck. Those good old days of sailors superstitions.😅

I think that Inman Line ships, in particular City of New York, really look beautiful, blending everything beautiful about old sailing ships with everything beautiful about then-modern steamers. City of Rome is also beautiful. What a shame miscommunication doomed her. And poor Britannic. I've loved her forever. I truly wish she and Aquitania could've competed. I had no idea she'd been pulled from Admiralty service, only to be returned to it. That makes her loss just a bit more bitter, for me. If she had survived into passenger service, I wish she and Aquitania had been preserved. And of course poor Great Eastern is on this list. I kinda wish we lived in a world where Brunel's apparent vision of being able to go from anywhere in New York to anywhere in London, all on Great Western equipment, had been realized, if only for the efficiency of the whole thing. I guess the world would never advance without that kind of audacity. A lovely, sad video. Some ships just can't catch a break.

I’m glad you gave the eastern its deserved attention, very sad story really from start to her end

A fascinating book on the Great Eastern is "The Great Iron Ship" by James Dugan.

I can't be the only one who thinks Britannic did look gorgeous with the white paint and yellow funnels, right?

"Hey boss, I got bad news and worse news about our ship. Bad news: another ship hit us." "Damn!" "Worse news: we were hit by the Great Eastern." "FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU..."

You should include the cruiseferry/cruiseship Sally Albatross in a potential part 2. She was caught on fire in 1990 while in drydock and was deemed a total loss but was rebuilt to a cruiseship and ran aground in 1994 and almost sank. After that she has collided with an oil-tanker, crushed gangways in a harbour.

4:26 Oh to have had the luck to occupy one of those stern cabins that opened directly onto the deck! I too love the Iberia but then I'm fond of the old P&O line. I was lucky enough in 1969-70 of going onboard P&O's RMS Himalaya when my grandmother sailed on her. I was allowed to roam the ship before departure and it started my obsession with ships. I also like the 2 inter-war-1930s 'Straths', RMS Strathaird and RMS Strathnaver. They were nicknamed "The Beautiful White Sisters". I liked their 'horizontal ventilation slates' beneath the funnel for some strange reason and those same cabins at the stern again!

Another great video, Mike. Thank you.

Another great, informative video. Thanks Mike

I am so happy to see this channel getting more and more subscribers! I just love escaping my daily grind by watching one of these videos 😊

Very interesting and well-produced. The Iberia was a real looker

I would like to see SS Normandie in one video

Hi Mike I started my career with P&O as a catering boy on The Arcadia in 1971 then The Oronsay and did the maiden voyage on The Spirit of London The start of the new cruise era. I’m sure you know how that became famous. Really enjoy your videos and have fond memories of Cruising from Sydney down to Fiji spending a lot of time in Kings Cross when at circular Quay. Thanks Tony

Something you forgot to mention is that when they were scrapping great eastern they found a skeleton inside the double hull revealing that during construction some poor sod had accidentally been sealed inside

My fascination with the Great Eastern started in grade school when I found an old book titled "The Great Iron Ship" great book tells the whole story.

As always, another very well done and informative video!!! Thank you, Mr. Brady and I truly look forward to watching your next video. I appreciate your attention to detail and how well you present historical information.

I would add to that list as a honorable mention the S.S Principesa Jolanda one of the greatest ships build in Italy at time which was so top heavy that capsized on its launch and that was it.

Running into this channel is a delight for me. Thank you, Mark.

Great video, thank you

Another ship worth mentioning is the USS William D Porter, who fired a torpedo at FDR and very nearly killed him.

Love the channel, Mike!

Thanks again for the content

Always fantastic. Learn so much.

Great information. I always enjoy learning mor rod bits about these bygone ships. Thank you

Stuff like this just amazes me. Ships…I’ve always thought…have a soul of their own. Good, bad…indifferent…regardless…they have a soul. I firmly believe that soul is built upon the designer and the the people actually building her. *call me crazy* It wouldn’t be the first time. 😆 Ships are called “vessels” for a reason. We…us humans…are vessels as well. We take in info…things…experiences…from our environment. It starts at birth. I personally believe it is the same with ships. They take on info…things…and yes, experiences during the “birth”. Great vid! Thank you! 😎👍❤

very nice videos, mike!

Thanks for the videos! Always learn a lot and leave feeling like I’ve learned some interesting facts and stories

Absolutely love this Channel ...

Great video 👍

The flagpole at Anfield, home of Liverpool football club is one of the masts from the Great Eastern. The GE was broken up on the Mersey close to Birkenhead and some of the keel is still there!

Great content thank you

Fascinating! enjoyed it. Really head shaking stuff, especially the Iberia. One wonders if any of these ships had had a name change, at any point. You know the superstitions of the sea....

Mr. Brady. I find that you're narrative style superb. The the clarity and your enunciation is very Good. Plus the attention to detail in the ways you Convey the practical with drama is Fantastic. Thank you.

Yay a new video 😁