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The White Star Line’s Celtic was the first
ship to exceed the 18,915 tons of Brunel’s Great
Eastern. However, with the White Star Line’s
previous ship Oceanic being five feet longer, she
was only the second longest liner at that time. Although
Celtic had a top speed of around 19 knots, her
owners ignored speed to concentrate on comfort and saving
fuel. The captains of this line were instructed to travel
at a leisurely 16 knots. Celtic set out on her
maiden voyage from Liverpool - New York July 20th 1901.
This new size of ship forced the port authorities at New
York to dredge the harbor before her arrival. Thirteen
years later, the British Admiralty requisitioned
Celtic to serve as an armed merchant cruiser during
World War One.
 With Britain's coal supplies running low by 1916 and these large armed
merchant cruisers using up vast amounts of coal for fuel, the Admiralty
had Celtic converted to a troopship. She was then used to transport
troops from Britain - Egypt and to provide an occasional passenger service
between Liverpool and New York. During one of these voyages to New York
in 1917, 17 people were killed after she struck a mine off the Isle of
Man. The extensive damage caused by the blast forced the Admiralty to
put Celtic into Belfast for repairs. The following year, she was
traveling through the Irish Sea when the German Submarine UB-77 succeeded
in hitting her with one torpedo. Although that attack killed six people
and left Celtic drifting without power, rescue vessels managed
to tow her into Liverpool for repairs. Work to restore Celtic’s
interiors after the war delayed her return to the Liverpool - New York
run until 1920. Eight years later, she ran aground at the mouth of Queenstown
Harbor (now Cobh/Ireland). With all attempts to pull Celtic off
the rocks failing, the White Star Line was forced to have her scrapped
where she lay. The Danish salvage company contracted to dismantle Celtic
took until 1933 to clear the last of her wreckage from the site.
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