Proponents of the 'switch' theory often make the error of assuming that since Olympic and Titanic were sisters ships, making a 'switch' would only have been a matter of changing wherever the name Olympic appeared to Titanic. The reality is that while they were indeed sister ships and at first glance seemingly identical, in fact there were numerous differences, many structural, that meant any switch would have been a huge, extensive, time consuming and not to mention very expensive undertaking.
Here is a list of the key differences:
1. Forward half of the 1st class A-deck promenade on Titanic was enclosed with retractable glass screens; the Olympic's promenade was open all the way along.
2. The front of the wheelhouse in Olympic's bridge was curved, but on Titanic its flat.
3. The bridge wings (forward) and the aft docking bridge (stern) on Titanic extended over the ship's side by a couple of feet. On the Olympic, they were flush with the ship's side (prior to 1912/13 refit).
4. The 2nd class promenade area on the Olympic ran for the last quarter of "B deck", but on the Titanic it was truncated to extend the 1st class restaurant out to the port side, and on the starboard side, the cafe parisien was included.
5. B deck was also drastically different on both ships - Olympic had a first class promenade whereas Titanic had two private verandahs and suites that were plush with the sides of the superstructure.
6. The reworked accommodations on B and C Decks, dramatically altered the number and arrangement of the windows and portholes on both decks.
7. Titanic had an extended enclosure aft on C Deck.
8. Titanic had a different arrangement of ventilators, fans, piping and machinery on the Boat Deck.
9. Titanic had carpeting and floor tiles that were different in colour.
10. Titanic had Turkish Bath area on the starboard side of F deck that was different in layout.
11. Titanic's officers quarters were different, with the officers Deck House pushed out more on Titanic than Olympic.
12. On Olympic, the wireless cabin had an outside window, but this was changed on Titanic to allow more seaward facing cabins to be included.
13. On Olympic,the wireless room was on the port side of the officer's deck house, while on Titanic it was situated amidships.
14. The porthole on the D deck gangway doors was round on the Olympic; on the Titanic it consisted of two vertical rectangular windows.
15. The propellers on the two ships had different pitches and were therefore not interchangeable.
16. The reception room on Saloon Deck "D" was larger on Titanic than Olympic; Titanic had more columns than Olympic.
17. Titanic was 4 inches longer than Olympic.
18. Olympic's bridge roof was painted white while Titanic's was bare planking (or possibly painted grey).
19. The top of Olympic's breakwater was painted brown while Titanic's was white.
20. Olympic's outdoor forward stairs had covers while Titanic's did not
21. The porthole arrangements on Shelter Deck "C" between the two ships were different.
22. The lounge furniture on both ships had their ships own names on them.
23. Modifications would result in Titanic having 1,004 gross tons(or 100,400 cubic feet) more enclosed space than the Olympic
24. The paintings in Titanic's smoke room was "Approach to Plymouth Harbour" while on Olympic Was "Approach to the New World."
25. Titanic had additional cabins on the Promenade Deck "A" around the aft staircase.
26. Olympic had open third class berths, Titanic did not
27. Another reception room was added to Titanic's Bridge Deck "B" next to the A la Carte restaurant.
28. Different air vent arrangement around the funnels
29. The steel plating arrangement on the two ships was noticeably different, especially around the bow plating around the anchor; two plate-edges were welded together on Titanic, but left unwelded on the Olympic.
30. The iron gates of the three elevators were different on Titanic wreck than photos which show them on Olympic.)
This list does not include the shell-plating at the bow and stern which bore the ship names. The names weren’t just painted on the plates, they were cut into the plates in letters four feet high and one-half inch deep.
Olympic and Titanic were very similar. Essentially, they shared the same hull size and design and were constructed from the same set of plans; however, particularly after Olympic’s maiden voyage, Titanic was improved in a number of ways.
By the time she entered service, Titanic’s forward promenade deck had been glass-enclosed; on B-deck, her first class á la Carte restaurant had been expanded and a Café added, while all the first class suites were expanded and improved, with two ‘parlour’ suites even getting their own private promenades.
These were major structural changes. There were a great deal of subtle differences, too many to list here, from different colour schemes for public rooms, different décor in some first class cabins, to deckhouses and vents...
Another often overlooked aspect of this theory is that it would not only involve making changes to Olympic to look like Titanic, but also making all the same changes to make Titanic look like Olympic.
For example, Olympic's port and starboard navigational wing cabs (on either side of the bridge) did not protrude from the ship as they did on Titanic, so these would have to be extended several feet.
Conversely, on Titanic the wing cabs would have to be moved inwards to match Olympic's look. Even more incredible is that after the Titanic disaster Olympic's bridge wings were in fact extended during the 1912/13 refit -which means to believe the 'switch' would mean believing that the wing cabs were moved twice -first inwards (to look like Olympic) and then a year later extended outward again!
In other words there would be a huge amount of work involved on both ships to make the 'switch' look convincing - all of which would have to be done in total secrecy.
And finally, we must consider the ship inventories, which would have included the manufacture numbers on such items as the engines and turbines, all of which would again require some major work to switch so as to match their respective 'switch' identity.
www.titanicswitch.com/evidence.html#5