RMS Titanic was launched from Harland and Wolff's Belfast shipyard on 31 May 1911.
The launch was a major public event attended by thousands of spectators and guests. Titanic entered the water without her superstructure, engines, funnels, interior fittings, or much of her passenger equipment completed. After launch, the ship was moved to a fitting-out berth where workers installed her machinery and finished the interiors.
Titanic was the second of three Olympic-class liners built for the White Star Line, after RMS Olympic and before HMHS Britannic. Although often described as the largest ship in the world at launch, the precise comparison depends on whether length, gross tonnage, or overall dimensions are being measured.
The launch date is sometimes confused with Titanic's maiden voyage, which began on 10 April 1912. Titanic struck an iceberg late on 14 April and sank early on 15 April 1912.