The Titanic was launched on 31st May 1911, the same day the Olympic was handed over to White Star, and for the double occasion about a 100,000 people had gathered. She took just 62 seconds from the time of her first movement to when she came to a halt. During fitting out she would have 29 boilers and her reciprocating engines fitted along with her four funnels and two masts with a look out cage on the foremast. Inside the ship carpenters and joiners were busy fitting the elegant wood panelling and laying of decks, the fitters and plumbers were fitting baths and plumbing pipes, first and second class elevators were fitted. Among the other luxuries were two first class stairways, a swimming pool, a Turkish bath, a gymnasium, and the Cafe` Parisian. Although these luxuries were for mainly first class passengers, second class on the Titanic was like first class on any other Liner, even the third class steerage passengers had it better than ever.

Completion of the Titanic was delayed unexpectedly when the Olympic is forced to return to Belfast to have a lost propeller blade replaced, having to vacate the dry dock for her sister. When the Titanic was nearing completion there was a last minute design change, due to experience of the Olympic, the open windows on the forward end of A deck were replaced by new sliding glass windows. This gave the Titanic a very distinct and noticeable difference between her and her two sisters. The sea trials were to commence on 1st April 1912 at 10 am but a very strong wind caused a delay to the next day, her sea trials were short and she would be in Southampton on 3rd April ready to take on supplies, coal and crew for her fateful journey into destiny.

White Star Line and Cunard Line were fierce competitors for control over the hugely profitable North Atlantic shipping run between the United States and Britain.. Traditionally, Harland & Wolff had always built the White Star ships. Lord Pirrie, chairman of Harland & Wolff, and Joseph Bruce Ismay, chairman of White Star, realized that the only way to defeat Cunard was to make bigger and faster ships. Cunard had launched the Mauretania and the Lusitania in 1907. White Star decided to move from Liverpool to Southampton to accomodate their expansion (the port of registry was kept as Liverpool, though, which explains why it was written on the stern of the ship.)