History's Unluckiest Ships? 4 Ships That Were Doomed to Fail

Do you believe in fate? Each of these four ships from history had a great pedigree and a bright future ahead - and then somehow it was taken away from them. We start with the City of Rome, a ship once described as the most beautiful liner to sail the western ocean. She was supposed to be a triumph but a simple design change and a string of mishaps doomed her to obscurity. SS Iberia was a ship built by one of the premiere construction firms in the world but which suffered mishaps, breakdowns and failures for her entire career leading to an early demise. HMHS Britannic was the sister ship to RMS Titanic; her bright future was stolen in unbelievably unlucky circumstances. Lastly the Great Eastern was a ship out of time; designed with the future in mind, the world wasn't quite ready for it yet.

Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s greatest vessels– from Titanic to Queen Mary and from the Empress of Ireland to the Lusitania. Join maritime researcher and illustrator Michael Brady as he tells the stories behind some of history's most famous ocean liners and machines!

0:00 Introduction
0:34 City of Rome
4:07 Iberia
9:27 Britannic
14:26 Great Eastern