Nantucket Lightship - Part I Collision and Sinking by Olympic

RMS Olympic, sister ship of the Titanic and Britannic, led a very long and successful career as a White Star Liner. Despite the untimely demise of her sisters, Olympic plied the Atlantic for almost 25 years and 257 round trips to America. Unfortunately, on the fog-bound night of May 14th, 1934, she was destined for a very tragic collision with the Nantucket Lightship 117 .
The Nantucket Lightship was used to guide ships through the channel beyond Nantucket and was giving Olympic its bearing past the dangerous shoals. This 130-foot Lightship was permanently anchored 50 miles southeast of Nantucket, and was the main focal point for all the trans-Atlantic shipping lanes. Because of this critical location, Lightship 117 was considered the most exposed lightship on the East Coast. Additionally, the lightship was farthest from the coast and subject to the North Atlantic's heaviest seas and most unpredictable weather. Four months before the Olympic struck the 117, this lightship had been sideswiped by another liner, the SS Washington, the largest American ocean liner ever built to that point. On that fateful May night, Olympic's bells were tolling throughout the heavy fog when she literally "ran over" the Nantucket Lightship. Four of the Lightship's eleven crew were killed instantly, and three more died of exposure or injuries after their rescue by Olympic's crew. The accident came just a few weeks after the announcement that the White Star Line would merge with arch-rival Cunard. Within a year and a half, Olympic was sold and eventually scrapped in late-1935. Unfortunately, the story doesn't end here for Nantucket Lightship 117 as we will see in the next part of this story.......

Comments

[Douglas M. Bingham]

A few corrections concerning the men of LV 117 Nantucket Lightship .

Of the 4 "survivors , Capt( Master ) Brathwaite did suffer fatal injuries and passed on only a few short months after the collision .

The "oiler" Laurent U. Roberts survived and was sent to LV 106 Relief on Nantucket Shoals .He later was transferred to CG Base , Boston .

The Radio Operator , Clifton Mosher survived and transferred to the USCG in 1939 , and reportedly was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer before retiring in 1957 (?) .

The 4th person , who remains un-named has an uncertain status .

DM Bingham
Lightship Researcher
American Lighthouse Foundation
Raynham , Mass.

[Robert Grove]

In fact, Braithwaite suffered serious injuries and died about 5 months after the incident at his home in Cambridge, MA, never fully recovering from his injuries. Clifton Mosher's testimony to the Congressional investigating committe was instrumental in securing the judgement against the White Star Line. Mosher returned to active duty. He later retired to New Smyrna Beach Florida where he passed in 1976. I was privledged to have had numerous conversations with him about the 117 incident. Roberts eventually was assigned to the shipyard in Charlestown, MA. People who knew him and worked closely say that Roberts was haunted by the 117 incident and became withdrawn during his final time in Charlestown. The collission with the 117 was the end for the Olympic. Upon inspection, the collision had seriouslu cracked the propeller shaft and housing. With transatlantic ship travel waining, it was decided that, rather than repair her, Olympic would be scrapped.

Robert Grove
Historian

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