Treasures from Titanic's forgotten sister ship discovered

"This week, Greece's Culture Ministry announced that an 11-member deep-sea diving team carried out a weeklong operation in May to recover priceless relics from the wreck. Among the items brought to the surface were the ship's bell, its port-side navigation light and silver-plated first-class serving trays. Divers also retrieved ceramic tiles from the ship's ornate Turkish bath, a pair of passenger binoculars and a porcelain sink from second-class cabins, haunting reminders of the vessel's dual life as both a floating palace and a wartime hospital."

"Once the largest hospital ship afloat, the Britannic sank in less than an hour. Of the more than 1,060 people on board, 30 were killed, many after their lifeboats were pulled into the massive, still-turning propellers as the vessel went down. The project to document the Britannic's wreck and its contents was carried out by a team of professional deep-sea divers, using closed-circuit diving equipment. That included gear that recycles a diver's breath by removing carbon dioxide and adding fresh oxygen,"

HMHS Britannic was built by the same company as Titanic, requisitioned as a hospital ship, and completed several missions before its final voyage began on November 12, 1916 and ended nine days later when the vessel struck a German mine and sank beneath the Aegean Sea. The ship sank in less than an hour, and of more than 1,060 people on board, 30 were killed, many when lifeboats were pulled into the turning propellers. An 11-member deep-sea team conducted a weeklong recovery in May, retrieving bells, lights, silver-plated trays, bath tiles, binoculars, and a porcelain sink. Divers used closed-circuit gear that recycles breath, faced strong currents and low visibility, and placed retrieved artifacts in secure containers, cleaned them of marine growth, and transported them to the European University Associ.

Read at Mail Online