Letter of the month

摘要

In response to C. W. Smith's letter about Britannic's tonnage (SM, March), I can offer the following on tonnage which may help clear up any confusion readers may have. Mr Smith asks about Britannic's displacement. Displacements of passenger liners are not always published, so accurate figures may be hard to come by. However, the suggested figure of 77,780 tons for her sister Olympic cannot be right. The total weight of a ship, its hull, machinery, cargo, passengers, fuel, etc, must exactly equal her buoyancy according to Archimedes principle, if she is to float at the required draft.