Royal Mail Ship

RMS Titanic was an Olympic class passenger liner that became infamous for her collision with an iceberg on 14 April 1912 and dramatic sinking on 15 April 1912. The second of a trio of superliners, Titanic and her sisters were designed to provide a three-ship weekly express service and dominate the transatlantic travel business for the White Star Line. Built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the world at the time of her sinking. During Titanic's maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg at 23:40 on Sunday 14 April 1912, sinking two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20 on Monday 15 April, having broken into two pieces at the aft expansion joint.

Titanic was designed to compete with rival company Cunard Line's Lusitania and Mauretania, luxurious ships and the fastest liners on the Atlantic. Titanic and its Olympic class sisters, Olympic and the then upcoming Gigantic, were intended to be the largest, most luxurious ships ever to operate Titanic was designed by Harland and Wolff chairman William Pirrie, head of Harland and Wolff's design department Thomas Andrews and general manager Alexander Carlisle, with the plans regularly sent to the White Star Line's managing director J. Bruce Ismay for suggestions and approval. Construction of the Titanic, funded by the American J.P. Morgan and his International Mercantile Marine Co., began on 31 March 1909. Titanic No. 401 was launched two years and two months later on 31 May 1911. Titanic's outfitting was completed on 31 March the following year.