The White Star Line’s RMS Olympic collides with the British warship HMS Hawke.

The RMS Olympic, the lead ship of the White Star Line’s celebrated Olympic-class liners, was involved in a dramatic maritime accident with the British warship HMS Hawke on September 20, 1911. At the time, Olympic was under the command of Captain Edward J. Smith, who would later captain Titanic. While navigating the Solent near the Isle of Wight, the massive passenger liner was overtaking the smaller Hawke. Due to the suction effect created by Olympic’s displacement of water, the warship was drawn toward her side, unable to resist the powerful hydrodynamic forces. As a result, Hawke’s bow rammed into Olympic’s starboard side, causing significant structural damage.

The collision tore a large hole in Olympic’s hull, flooded two of her watertight compartments, and damaged one of her propeller shafts. Fortunately, despite the severity of the impact, there were no fatalities among passengers or crew. The incident, however, forced Olympic to return to port for extensive repairs, which were carried out at Harland and Wolff in Belfast—the same shipyard constructing her sister ship Titanic. The accident delayed Olympic’s service schedule and, in an ironic twist of fate, is believed to have influenced Titanic’s fitting-out process, as workers and materials were diverted to ensure Olympic was repaired and returned to service.

The event had broader implications for maritime safety and public perception of the new Olympic-class liners. Naval authorities initially blamed Olympic’s handling, but White Star and Captain Smith defended their seamanship, arguing that the hydrodynamic suction created by large vessels was poorly understood at the time. The case became a legal dispute, with liability debated between the Admiralty and White Star Line. Ultimately, the incident showcased the risks posed by the unprecedented size of these new ocean liners and foreshadowed the challenges the company would face the following year with the loss of Titanic.