America (ship, 1905)
 The HAPAG steamer America
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The Amerika was a transatlantic express steamer put into service in 1905 by the German HAPAG shipping company, which was used for passenger and mail traffic between Hamburg and New York City . When it was commissioned, the Amerika was the second largest ship in the world with a volume of 22,225 GRT. The Amerika remained in Boston when the war broke out in 1914 and was used from 1917 as USS America (ID: ID-3006) as a troop transport on the American side. Between the two world wars , the ship under the American flag served as a passenger ship, was used again by the United States Army in World War II and was finally scrapped in 1957.
Passenger ship for HAPAG (1905–1914)
The steel twin-screw steamer America was built for HAPAG at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast , Northern Ireland , and was launched there on April 20, 1905. With 22,225 GRT, the Amerika was the largest ship under the German flag until then and after the Baltic (23,867 GRT) of the White Star Line, which was put into service in June 1904, the second largest ship in the world. The Amerika had two chimneys, four masts and two propellers . She was powered by two quadruple expansion steam engines that could accelerate the ship up to 18 knots and deliver 15,500 hp. A total of 2,508 passengers could be carried, of which 386 in the first, 150 in the second, 222 in the third and 1,750 in the fourth class. The crew consisted of 577 people. The furnishings of the rooms were very luxurious and modern and were far ahead of other ships of the time. The Amerika had luxury suites with their own bathrooms, electrically operated elevators , a winter garden and a Ritz-Carlton restaurant. This was the first a la carte restaurant on a ship.
The Amerika was completed on September 21, 1905, and on October 11, 1905, she left Hamburg on her maiden voyage to New York with stops in Dover (England) and Cherbourg (France). The ship stayed on this route until shortly before the outbreak of the First World War . In 1907 the volume increased to 22,621 GRT through renovations.
On April 14, 1912 at 11:45 a.m., a radio officer from America notified the Hydrographic Office in Washington by radio that “on April 14, two large icebergs had been passed at position 41 ° 27 ' N , 50 ° 8' W ”. This message was forwarded by the radio operator of the Titanic to the radio station of Cape Race ( Newfoundland ), since the radio system of the America did not have the range to reach Cape Race. The news apparently never reached the bridge of the Titanic , which just hours later collided with an iceberg in the area and sank.
On October 4, 1912, the Amerika collided four miles northeast of Dover with the British submarine HMS B2 (Lieutenant Percy Borough O'Brien). The submarine sank and 15 members of its 16-man crew were killed. Only the Chief Officer, Lt. Richard Pulleyne, survived. In order not to disturb the peace of the dead, the wreck was never lifted. On May 9, 1914, the ship left for its last crossing from Hamburg to Southampton, Cherbourg and New York. From June 10, 1914, it drove from Hamburg via Boulogne-sur-Mer and Southampton to Boston and back. On July 14, 1914, the Amerika left for her last regular voyage to Boston, where she arrived on July 24.
Confiscation and time as a US troop ship (1914-1919)
On August 1, 1914, she was supposed to leave for Hamburg again. However, the outbreak of World War I in Europe prevented this. To avoid falling into the hands of the Royal Navy , the ship stayed in Boston and was under American neutrality for the next three years . The Amerika was in Boston for no use until the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917.
It was confiscated on July 25, 1917 on the orders of John A. Donald, Chairman of the United States Shipping Board (USSB). An inspection showed that the former luxury liner was in a state of disrepair. It was also discovered that the crew had sabotaged parts of the machinery . Even so, the Amerika was intended for service as a troop transport for the Cruiser and Transport Force of the United States Navy . It received the identification number 3006 and was commissioned as America on August 6, 1917 . Captain George C. Day, a US Navy admiral, was given command of the ship.
In the weeks that followed, the Amerika was floated by workers in the Boston Navy Yard and converted into a troop transport. On September 1, 1917, General Order No. 320 of the Minister of the Navy Josephus Daniels came into force, which provided for the name change of confiscated German ships. In this context, America was given the Anglicized name America . After completion, the America went through and passed its test drives outside of Boston Harbor on September 29, 1917 .
In 1917 and 1918 the ship completed nine troop transports to France . On the seventh of these voyages on July 14, 1918, in stormy weather, she collided with the British steamer instructor . America's bow severed the stern of the instructor , who went down in ten minutes. The America picked up eleven crew members from the sunken ship, but because of the constant submarine danger, she quickly resumed her voyage. The remaining 31 men of the instructor perished in the rough seas.
The Spanish flu broke out in 1918 and killed the United States. 53 soldiers and two sailors died on board the ship, most of them while it was at anchor in Hoboken between September 29 and October 2, 1918 . Another accident occurred on 15 October 1918, when the America during loading of coal at their pier in the port of Hoboken to port heeled and partially sank because water had penetrated through the open hatches carbon. Four soldiers and two crew members drowned. On November 21, 1918 the ship was lifted.
After the end of the war, the America made eight troop trips between February and September 1919 to bring members of the American Expeditionary Forces back to the United States.
Passenger ship between the wars (1920–1939)
On September 22, 1919, Brigadier General Frank T. Hines, head of the Army Transportation Service (ATS) of the United States Army , contacted the US Navy and expressed an interest in acquiring the America "to transport certain passengers from Europe to the USA". Four days later, on 26 September 1919 which was America with the US Navy decommissioned and the United States Department of War passed (United States Department of War). From then on the ship sailed with the prefix USAT (United States Army Transport) and brought emigrants from the Mediterranean to New York , among other things .
After being returned to the United States Shipping Board, the America was handed over to the United States Mail Steamship Company . This company was set up by the United States Shipping Board to manage the passenger ships confiscated by Germany . In this context, there was a switch from coal to oil combustion and the passenger accommodations were designed for 225 passengers in the first, 425 in the second and 1,500 in the third class.
On June 25, 1921, the America cast off for her first crossing from New York via Plymouth and Cherbourg to Bremen . The third and last voyage on this route began on August 27, 1921. Then the ship went to the newly founded United States Lines , which took over the stocks of the failed United States Mail Steamship Company. Her first voyage for the new owners began on September 28, 1921 on the route Plymouth - Cherbourg - Bremen - Southampton - Cherbourg - Queenstown - New York. In June 1923, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was renovated again, reducing the tonnage to 21,114 GRT. The passenger cabins were redesigned for 692 cabin passengers and 1056 third-class passengers.
On March 10, 1926, the America was at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, Virginia for one of its regular maintenance work when a fire broke out due to a leak in an oil pipeline that raged for seven hours and destroyed almost all of the passenger cabins. Although the property damage amounted to nearly $ 2 million, the steamer was repaired and returned to passenger traffic. As a result of the new building, the tonnage increased again slightly to 21,329 GRT. From now on you could travel in cabin, tourist or third class.
On March 21, 1928, the America set off on her first voyage after the fire from New York via Plymouth and Cherbourg to Bremen. On January 29, 1929, the America under the command of Captain Fried rescued 23 men from the distressed Italian freighter Florida . The last crossing from Hamburg via Southampton and Cherbourg to New York took place between August 25 and September 4, 1931. In September 1932, the now 27-year-old ship was laid up in Point Patience in Chesapeake Bay (Maryland). There she was next to the Agamemnon and Mount Vernon (the former NDL passenger steamer Kaiser Wilhelm II and Crown Princess Cecilie ). This condition was maintained for eight years.
Troop ship in World War II and end of service (1940–1957)
In 1940 the America was brought out of "retirement" and converted into a barge for 1200 soldiers in St. John's (Newfoundland). In January 1941 she was renamed Edmund B. Alexander (after the Civil War General Edmund Brooke Alexander) and from then on served as a troop transport between New Orleans and Panama . The name change was probably done to avoid confusion with the new steam turbine ship America .
In 1942/43 one of the two chimneys was dismantled, the masts were shortened, and the old machines were replaced by new ones from Bethlehem Steel Corporation . This enabled a new top speed of 17 knots (the old machines had only been able to achieve a maximum of 10 knots). Then she transported troops from New York to Europe with space for up to 5,000 soldiers. In March 1946 the Edmund B. Alexander was converted to carry military dependents . This meant women, children and other relatives of US soldiers who had gone to Europe during the war and are now returning to the States. The ship provided this service until it was laid up on May 26, 1949 in Hawkin's Point near Baltimore .
In 1951 the ship was moved to the Hudson River . It was sold to the Bethlehem Steel Corporation on January 16, 1957, towed back to Baltimore on January 27, and scrapped shortly thereafter.
