Old Reliable – HMT Olympic Aviation Art by Artist Craig Tinder
12 May 1918, HMT Olympic, known as “Old Reliable”, was taken out of luxury liner service to provide transatlantic troop transport. Freshly camouflaged and carrying thousands of American Troops, she was the largest ship pressed into service at the time. That morning, she was shadowed by the German U-boat, U-103. As the U-boat prepared for a stern torpedo shot, Olympic hit the U-boat with her deck gun. With the submarine immobilized, the Olympic continued the attack and the 46,000 ton ship rammed U-103. “Old Reliable’s” propellers cut through the hull of U-103, sinking her within minutes. U-103 was the only warship sunk by a passenger merchant vessel in World War I.
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