When the R.M.S. GERMANIC Sank at her Pier (1899)

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In February, 1899, after a freakish winter storm in the North Atlantic, the White Star Line Germanic limped into New York Harbor with 1,800 tons of ice accumulated on her decks in her rigging. Within a day or two, the ship sank at her moorings. This is the story of the incident and the remarkable raising of the massive vessel.
A special thank-you to the Titanic International Society, who actively works to keep the story of the Titanic and White Star Line alive. titanicinternationalsociety.org/
Thank you to Charles Haas and the late Jack Eaton for their exceptional work in the book "Falling Star", and Mike Poirier for additional materials on the incident.

[@stefanstoyanov7460]

It is refreshing to hear about a victimless shipwreck for a change.

[@Daniel_Huffman]

Not to mention the triumph in raising her and the celebration from onlookers when they did.

[@florjanbrudar692]

As refreshing as the cocoa I drank recently... not while watching this video though. Another ship documentary.

[@dontkillme5332]

No, cant be.. There should be dead ones.. At least cockroaches or sumting.

[@Daniel_Huffman]

@@dontkillme5332 Given that this was in February, all the cockroaches probably froze before they drowned. Serves them right.

[@AndyHappyGuy]

Theres Oceanos, though that one was only 30 years ago

[@AndyHappyGuy]

Just imagining the frozen Germanic emerging from the fog and entering the New York Harbour is just mystical.

[@Kaidhicksii]

I know right?

[@GreenJeep1998]

Must had a ghostly appearance.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

Mystical? I'd say 'scary'!!

[@iam16bits]

It's something out of a horror movie.

[@ryanbinarao9633]

More like to say... "I can't believe you made it! "

[@whydontyouhandledeez]

Honestly pretty incredible they just popped her back up and put her back into service. Nowadays a superliner will hit some mud and roll over and "uh oh guess we just have to scrap the entire thing".

[@JasonP6339]

Either you spent years filming all of these videos only to release them one after the other OR you have to be one of the busiest historians on KZbin...... Dude you put out a shit ton of incredible videos telling incredible stories with an incredible amount of detail attached to each one.... It's amazing. Props to you and your lady for all of the hard work y'all put into this channel!

[@rmsteutonic3686]

No obnoxious intro, no loud music, just information. Perfect content in my eyes.

[@toddkurzbard]

The ship that became her OWN iceberg.

[@WeaselKing1000]

It's interesting to think that this ship later served as an Ottoman troop transport, carrying troops to the same campaign that 'Britannic' ferried wounded Allied personnel away from. Two White Star ships, several generations apart, engaged in war work for opposing sides.

[@Daniel_Huffman]

For a second, I thought you were referring to her sister ship, before remembering that this is the second _Britannic._

[@TheDiloEmpire]

@@Daniel_Huffman wait what

[@Daniel_Huffman]

It’s true: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Britannic_(1874)

[@YearsOfLeadPoisoning]

"And the groan she gave as she went down, it caused us to refrain: The RMS Germanic will rise agaaaaain"

[@daviddunsmore103]

Ah, the Mary Ellen Carter! That's one of my all time favourite songs! Stan Rogers really left us a great legacy of music. Such a shame that he didn't live longer to enjoy life, and write and perform more wonderful works of music. 🇨🇦

[@gabschasse600]

My grandmother came to the US from Ireland aboard Germanic ! This would have been around 1901 when was about 20 . I'd read about the sinking - but I don't think she knew about it .Your videos are wonderful .Do continue them !⭐

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

1950!? Damn, that's recent. I was not expecting to hear that she served that long!

[@WeaselKing1000]

With White Star until 1904, then on the Canada run as 'Ottawa', before becoming an Ottoman liner and troop transport in 1910-11. As 'Gul Djemal' and later 'Gülcemal' she served the Ottomans and then Turkey in one role or another for nearly the next 40 years, and survived a British torpedo attack in World War I.

[@FacesoftheForgotten]

Very good storytelling style and skills. Subscribed 👍

[@ceejay960]

Agreed. I find his speaking style infinitely watchable.

[@GeneralThargor]

I've had a few suggestions and watched them, I must agree he has a lovely wit and style.

[@randylplampin1326]

If I am not mistaken the horrific events of that winter is what gave the final impulse to the eventual construction of the New York City subway system.

[@MrThekreun]

Ho, I've just realized that, when I was living in Istanbul, my art studio was 100 meters away from the place where "Germanic" or "Gülcemal" was docked... at least on the picture you are showing in this video. It's in Karakoy district, just on the side of Galata bridge. Great story ^^

[@PartTimeExplorer]

Wouldn't that have been incredible to look out your window and see her sitting there?

[@rmsteutonic3686]

@@PartTimeExplorer would’ve been a bit surprising to see her half submerged wouldn’t it?

[@MrThekreun]

@@PartTimeExplorer definitely ^^ I would have seen her, and right behind, the end of the Golden horn, the Topkapi palace and Hagia Sophia ^^.

[@kommandantgalileo]

@@MrThekreun man, that would have been a beautiful sight,

[@harrybarry2291]

Tom, very interesting and nicely spoken. Several large Great Lakes ships got heavily coated with tons of ice also. The freshwater lakes freeze at 32 degrees, less cold than salty ocean water. Alot of the ships that dissapeared in the winter months on the lakes were suspected to have been capsized by hundreds of tons of ice and never seen again.

[@josephhelliwell9938]

Might be a reason for wrecks such as the Edmund Fitzgerald.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

@@josephhelliwell9938 No. No ice on that trip.

[@BostonIce37]

Damn those portholes! How many times have heard that contributed to the sinking of a ship!

[@connorredshaw7994]

Great to hear about this part of the ships story in more detail although it was briefly mentioned in the history of the white starline fleet great job really enjoyed this one.

[@davidchampion9887]

I enjoyed the way you told the tale, thank you. Nothing is more satisfying than a plain telling of the facts.

[@claytonbouldin9381]

I love the old pictures. It blows my mid at one point this was a high tech cutting edge ship.

[@leightonmoreland]

similar things happen with steam locomotives, the ones that stayed till the end were frequently ones that wrecked at some point late in their career but not too late to make them not worth repairing. They were the engines that got shopped last so when the end came they were the ones in best shape and held in reserve or donated

[@Andygarrett357]

My grandfather and his brother came over from Germany via Liverpool in 1903. Thanks for posting this.

[@StunningHistory]

Amazing photos! Imagine being a sailor trying to keep up with chipping away the ice. Tough gig!

[@boatscum]

Always love to hear these little known tales

[@maryrafuse3851]

Kudos, you are a great storyteller. Fascinating how White Star had so many problems with ships and even more difficulties with her captains. My husband's relatives are among the great ship builders of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Wooden Ships & Iron Men. Keep on telling us stories of the sea.

[@QWERTY-ri5yw]

I love listening to stuff like this when I’m falling asleep, if live it if you can do longer videos about old ships and shipwrecks. Thanks Tom x

[@TheOceanChannel2]

Really enjoy these videos!

[@Kaidhicksii]

Wow. Ice is definitely a serious threat when it comes to shipping, and this story made my respect for the Germanic grow all the more. Truly a valiant ship that she made it to NY through that storm and then, after sinking and being raised - mega props to the people behind that, truly a remarkable effort - being in still solid shape. It was real heartwarming to hear how the crowd cheered when her bow came out of the water, and I tip my hat to the ship in going on to the 1950s. Had no idea she lasted so long. Did the White Star Line ever win the court case against the freight companies? While loading the ship certainly wasn't a smart idea, I'm on their side when you figure that getting the ice off the ship in a timely manner proved to be easier said than done.

[@user-gu8qi4me8x]

This video is actually genuinely underated and damm.

[@keithrock939]

My partner family have a connection to this ship. Interesting history of the ship. Thanks for sharing

[@chrisjeffries2322]

Thank you.

[@philkight2630]

Great story, love hearing about old boats that had more than 1 career

[@ccrider3435]

You're definitely getting better and better with your content. Thanks for helping history. Just a few years ago, I thought I was a Titanic 'know-it-all'.. Alas, that has certainly changed, especially after I subscribed to your channels.

[@rodolfoayalajr.8589]

Thank you for this story which I never heard from.

[@kennywowie]

Another winner! You're the best, no contest.

[@kirkmorrison6131]

A wild way for a ship to sink, an amazing story

[@p.k.5455]

The best utube channels are in my original homestate! Thank you for your AMAZING videos!

[@jeffcampbell1555]

Very nice. Punchy short video. As is so often the case with your material, I've never run into this story. It's amazing a liner of the 1870's was still around in 1950; 30 year service careers were exceptional.

[@jimnewman3569]

Did she have her original engine?

[@jeffcampbell1555]

@@jimnewman3569 I don't know, but it would be awesome if she did. If only she could have become a museum ship, heh? I'd travel somewhere to see THAT!

[@Daniel_Huffman]

There’s also the Cunard Line's SS _Parthia,_ whose career lasted from 1870 to 1956, the longest career of any ocean liner. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Parthia_(1870)

[@geigertec5921]

I'm in NYC right now. I won't say wear but the last nor'Easter that blew in a couple weeks ago dislodged a sailing vessel that was anchored off shore. Broke the anchor chain - sending the vessel first into some pilings - putting a good dent in the hull, and then into the nearby land. I went out in the area during the good weather we've been having over the past few days and saw the wreck being buffeted against the land by the waves. The hull is now split on the side just above the water line and the poor vessel is taking on water. The keel is bent, cracked, and on the verge of breaking off. One consequence of the keel digging into the mud was that it dislodged some buried items and the waves washed these items to the surface. I found in this stirred up mud an old soda bottle from the mid-19th century, maybe once used by someone who witnessed/traveled on the Germanic. Who knows. History is all around and it continues even if we don't notice.

[@koltondoesstuff2437]

this was mentioned in the video about the history of the white star line fleet.

[@mrxcaliber4320]

Is it possible for you to cover the SS Eastland disaster? She was a ship who capsized in the Chicago River in 1915 as a result of being topheavy! Part of which was the installation of extra lifeboats due to the sinking of Titanic!

[@danieldavis3271]

I just found your channel and I’m sucked in your very thorough in work I just want to say thank you for the content

[@peterweidl8706]

Cool story...this is only my 2nd video of yours I've seen but I'm hooked.. Thanx mate.

[@petercreedon1246]

Iirc, the storm that Germanic battled to get into NYC was part of a series of storms during the Winter of 1898-99. One of them brought snow as far south as Tampa. This same winter also brought us the Portland Gale in November of '98.

[@jdb2109]

Very informative - thank you for the upload.

[@sharonwhiteley6510]

Your videos are awesome. Well prepared and presented. Thank you for your research and wonderful videos.

[@robertreid892]

Someone please throw me a life ring. I am seriously binge watching this channel! TY for the excellent content.

[@kidmohair8151]

something about a "perfect storm"...what a great story!

[@jimrichardson1220]

First rate yarn, Tom. As I long serving, long retired Chief Engineer I have to say the Capt. and C/E should have lost their jobs over this, unless the shoreside people insisted on loading coal and cargo on a seriously stability compromised vessel. A shore crew and ships company could have de-iced the vessel pretty quickly, steam must have been available from the ship or from shore. My dealings with ice have been in the N. Pacific and N. Atlantic, it is not to be trifled with. It will bite you in the ass really quickly.

[@boatscum]

Agree on the oil tankers we would put steam on deck and we would steam all the tank tops valves and butterworth holes

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

not sure it was cold enough here, but I remember in the north (like near Archangelsk) steam would actually freeze and add to the ice on some boats in some weather... depends on the pressure and distance from boiler of course, but the act of depressurizing as it vents took much of the heat out of the steam in higher pressure system boilers.

[@jeffcampbell1555]

Makes perfect sense...water is really heavy. And the Germanic is carrying a shit-ton of frozen water in all the wrong places in those pictures! As you imply, maybe the captain and C.E. were outranked in port, by some manager obsessed with time-is-money. But lives are money and ships are money and sunken ships turn no profits.

[@tomm1109]

I guess they thought that it would add a lot of weight to help keep her stable. But it also sounds like they should have put that crew, any crew or able bodied man to work de-icing. It almost sounds like they didn't take it seriously enough and when night came they were screwed.

[@7389]

Interesting story, thank you! I enjoy your content.

[@dmytrorider]

Hi from Canada, thanks for your work

[@projectamis4772]

Interesting story. Thanks for sharing.

[@attilakonkoly4329]

Thank You! Very interesting to fly back in time!

[@marthastubbs8321]

Love this channel

[@PZKWVIE131]

NICE Video Keep this up!

[@jimmyguy428]

Great video, and story telling. Please keep up the good work! I subbed!

[@billyhensley7770]

Great video

[@scofab]

Great story, and what a tough old gal. Thanks as always.

[@moemcgovern7345]

I appreciate the History, you share with us. I'm also from Pennsylvania.

[@pr0bablyleah556]

I have a great video idea! You should look at the SS Waratah, it is really interesting because it disappeared without a trace (not even a lifeboat like the Neuronic. Love ur vids!

[@timkbirchico8542]

Interesting vid. Thanks

[@TimothyChapman]

Probably one of the few ships ever to sink, be raised, and continue service.

[@richardparkersmith4810]

Thank you! I had never heard of that.

[@vehbiakdeniz6163]

In Turkish we say “Gülcemal” to her. When I was child I met the old man who was passenger of her in early 1930s. “Atatürk” The Father of the Modern Turkey also was in voyage with her in many times. She was using in population changing between Turkey and Greece also. Thus there are many ballads for Gülcemal in Turkey.

[@PartTimeExplorer]

Thank you for sharing! What does Gülcemal mean? And could you send me some of those ballads, if you have them? [e-mail] Thank you!

[@vehbiakdeniz6163]

Thank you very much for your great video. I will get back to you by mail. Gülcemal in Ottoman Turkish means "the one whose face looks like a rose, who is so beautiful". According to some rumors, the ship got its name from the mother of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed Reşat 5th . I will get back to you via e-mail with some interesting documents and stories related to Gülcemal, namely Germanic. With all respect.

[@oliversnow]

First time viewer. Subbed in the first 40 seconds. Great stuff.

[@richardstrachmesserschmiti4979]

Fascinating- chipping tons of ice from ships mast on rough ocean sounds like fun. Cargo/ freight / steam/sail - really neat - definitely worth fixing Great Ship

[@pfridell8424]

Very interesting story!

[@andrewmcphee8965]

Interesting story, thank you.

[@ssginfinitegoax]

Bad thing is the weather is so weird here in Pennsylvania it could literally be 60 one day and get snow storms the next lol

[@Kaiserzeit1871]

Schade das dieses Schiff aus einer ganz anderen Zeit nicht als Museumsschiff erhalten wurde. Es gibt kein Passagierschiff mehr aus dieser Zeit.

[@canuckprogressive.3435]

Ja, das wurde ser intrasant sein.

[@craigtupper103]

Great story that I hadn’t heard before!

[@StephenSmith-pn6ex]

Love this channel. Great story of the Winslow wreck. Winslow Junction was named after my Great Grandfather Stephen Winslow, a newspaper editor with a Phila. newspaper

[@rougeneon1997]

Greetings. I'm also in PA. Just found your channel! ✌💥👀

[@ZeteticPlato]

Time for a Pier review

[@the_uglysteve6933]

I am just about to start a binge watch of your videos, as I have recently discovered your channel. Might you be able to do a video on the life of Charles Lightoller

[@Jeff_The_Weatherman]

Tom, I am continuing to enjoy these finely produced videos, as there is always something more to learn about our maritime past. Looking into the near future, I am hoping there will be a Live Stream of Titanic's 110th anniversary on 4/15. I am currently reading, "On a Sea of Glass" and planning to have it finished by then. I still re-watch the older Live Streams quite often to gain more info on her. Cheers, Jeff.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

Let me ask. You got the reference for reading, "On A Sea Of Glass", by Sam, at 'HISTORIC TRAVELS', correct?

[@Jeff_The_Weatherman]

@@rogerrendzak8055 No, it was on this channel's 2021 Titanic Sinking in Real Time Livestream. One of the authors was a guest on the stream.

[@MissKim...333]

I really like your videos. I was wondering if you might branch out and do more shipwrecks in other parts of the world? I really liked the Ning Po. Thanks for your hard work. The computer renderings are wonderful to watch.

[@noneed4me2n7]

Enjoyed this one, hadn’t heard it before. Rare lately. Would be fascinated with a further look into her history.

[@scootosan]

well narrated I enjoy your videos and the efforts to produce them. A Wardrope suggestion a Pipe and Ascot and a Triumph TR5.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

Ya gotta be from, the UK! A Triumph?? An ascot 😅??

[@pr0bablyleah556]

I fucking love ur vids, your the reason I’ve gotten into passenger liners. Thank you.

[@samanli-tw3id]

Germanic and Titanic: 1) Both ships were built by Harland and Wolff. 2) Both ships were run by White Star Line. 3) Both ships were sunk by ice (although the former was refloated).

[@SeaTravelr123]

Great story. Love the homespun nature. Where in PA are ya? We shipfolk need to stick together.

[@florescentadolescent8534]

Very interesting, never heard of this event.

[@brianedwards7142]

"Boss, I've done it! I nailed the White Star account. We'll be underwriting all their ships, isn't that grand? We'll make a fortune!"

[@joerivanlier1180]

Great video, and respect for the crew for getting such a vessel in port, would have a made a much less nice story if it sank at any other point in the voyage.

[@Torahboy1]

@00:32 Huzzarr!!! The last man on EARTH to pronounce FEBRUARY correctly !!! And what makes this particularly impressive is that he’s not even British

[@wingmanjim6]

Another fascinating documentary, and so well presented - thank you !

[@nicksilva8811]

I live in the Pennsylvania area and would like to meet you and chat about the titanic

[@NJFireDepartment]

I didn't even know about this ship till I watched this video.

[@ianisaacs2340]

You are like Ron Swanson’s son, I respect that.

[@kevinhoffman3569]

Nice bit of work . Do one for the big blow on great lakes here around Michigan forty wrecks between lake Michigan and Huron and crew of the Plymouth freezing to death on Superior . November 1913 . Great loss of life and some survivors . These fresh water seas have alot of history . Including Bradley in 58 almost made it to the staits off lake Michigan . The Morrel lake Huron in 66 n the Fitz in 75 .

[@rymoats6460]

Another person who lives in Pennsylvania that’s obsessed with ocean liners from the late 1800s on? We must be friends.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@Part-Time Explorer >>> 👍👍

[@outlawbadge1]

One of the longest old cruise ships in history huh. It was a beauty

[@DerpyPossum]

I’m confused. Where in the video was a cruise ship mentioned?

[@WoWShinsei]

Oddly I never knew of this liner.

[@alljourney2834]

Can yall do more real time sinkings Like the Lusitania, the Carpathia etc. or a real time of when Olympic collided the the HMS Hawk

[@PartTimeExplorer]

You'll be seeing some in the next couple of weeks actually. I'm avoiding mentioning what ships though, since a few other youtubers will race to make their own versions once it's confirmed, but I think you'll like the animations!

[@alljourney2834]

@@PartTimeExplorer ok

[@leoborn4013]

@@PartTimeExplorer The Empress of Ireland would make a nice addition. Won’t be a long video, but that is the most interesting and fascinating aspect in the Empress‘ fate.

[@MagdaleneDivine]

I'm still stuck.on Pennsylvania being a winter only state

[@aidanbowe3866]

How did she make it back to Belfast? Surely not under her own steam? The boilers, engines etc must have been wrecked due to the sinking?

[@stevie-ray2020]

Not if they'd cooled down prior to the sinking, which is highly probable!

[@puppywing8693]

Not all her sails were removed from the original 1875 configuration in 1899, so she possibly relied on sail

[@kiwifruit4579]

A classic case of, a series of questionable decisions 🤔 leads to a preventable ginormous mess. There seemed to be alot if these in this part of the industrial revolution.

[@a.ashley5292]

some of these seamen act like it's their first minute on the job, lol. scary stuff.

[@thetruth1862]

I can't imagine travel before 1900, anything you did was hard and a detriment to your health

[@chickenpancake1614]

tommy what do you believe you’ll do after your lusitania game? Another experience?

[@Darksidetripper]

I live in PA! Lancaster Co.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

Sam-uel! Jeb-bidia!