Blue Ribbon
 |
This article was entered on the quality assurance page of the portal: shipping due to significant defects . Articles that are not significantly improved can be deleted if necessary. Please help to correct the deficiencies in the content of this article and participate in the discussion . |
 |
The Blue Ribbon (also: Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic , Blue Riband of the Atlantic ) is in the European-North American culture for an honor that the fastest ship for paying passengers on the transatlantic route Europe - New York received.
origin
The Blue Ribbon was probably introduced in the 1860s by transatlantic shipping companies for publicity purposes. According to other sources, it is a creation by British journalists who, towards the end of the 19th century, borrowed the term from the domestic equestrian sport, derby, for shipping. A blue ribbon has been shown to have been awarded to the fastest horse in the derby since 1780 - as an outward sign of victory. The blue ribbon as an award goes back to the order of the Holy Spirit (there with the award of the cordon bleu ), in francophone countries it is also awarded for special culinary skills.
In the steamship industry, every new passenger ship that set a record with its average speed when crossing the North Atlantic was awarded this honor. The previous steamships, operating under the term “ record breaker ” since 1838, were awarded this honor virtually posthumously. Therefore, all lists of the record ships begin with Sirius and Great Western from 1838. The beginning of transatlantic steam shipping is thus also the beginning of the history of the struggle for the Blue Ribbon.
Since there was never an official Blue Ribbon , there were also no superordinate institutions that could have lent it to the “ record breakers ” and shipping companies. It was not until 1935 that the “hunt” for the Blue Ribbon was officially painted. The British MP Harold K. Hales donated a silver statuette to symbolize the Blue Ribbon. The North Atlantic Blue Riband Challenge Trophy weighs around 46 kilograms and is four feet high.
Regulations
Until the Hales Trophy was founded, the average speed driven on the journey from Western Europe to North America, and vice versa, should be used as the basis for the record. Only the speed on the " open " ocean was measured. The speed records were thus set in both directions, it was possible that there were two record holders at the same time - one on a west course to North America and one on an east course to Europe. The route on the east course was generally a little faster with the Gulf Stream and the wind support. However, there was no reason to appreciate the nautical and technical achievements made on the east course less than those on the more difficult west course.
With the foundation of the Hales trophy and the establishment of an international “Blue Ribbon” committee , the routes and rules were made binding. The start and end points on the northern route were the lighthouse Bishop Rock on the Isles of Scilly off south-west England and the lightship Ambrose before entering the New York harbor . For the southern route, Punta Marroquí , 15 nautical miles south of Gibraltar , was the starting point; the end point was also the lightship Ambrose . Only once was a record set on the southern route, in 1933, by the Italian Rex . The average speed driven remained binding.
The different lengths of the individual routes were an additional problem. The northern route was about 2,600 nautical miles, but could vary by about 100 nautical miles depending on the port of departure ( English Channel or St. George's Canal ), while the southern route was about 3,100 nautical miles. All of this sometimes caused confusion when determining and setting a new record.
history
In 1838 three companies in Great Britain were busy setting up a liner service with steamers on the Atlantic: the British & American Steam Navigation Company (B&A) from London , the Great Western Steamship Company (GW) based in Bristol and the Transatlantic Steamship Company, Liverpool . All three had specially commissioned new buildings. The completion of the new building of the B&A, the British Queen , was delayed, and so the company chartered the small paddle steamer Sirius (703 GRT ) - they did not want to miss the promotional effects of the first Atlantic voyage. On April 4, 1838, the Sirius set sail for New York to arrive on April 22nd. The Sirius was the first ship to cross the Atlantic exclusively by steam power. Only a few hours after the Sirius arrived the Great Western (1340 GRT) of the GW; since the Great Western left a few days after the Sirius , it was the faster. The crossing of the Great Western took 15 days and 12 hours, which corresponded to an average of 8.66 knots . In the autumn of the same year, the Liverpool (1150 GRT) - the first steamer with two chimneys - from the Transatlantic SS Co. started operations. In 1839 the B&A was able to put its new building, the British Queen (1862 BRT), into service. The passenger traffic with steamers on the transatlantic route was opened.
In 1840 the first steamers of the Cunard Line appeared , founded by the Canadian businessman Samuel Cunard , based in Liverpool, England. Provided with post subsidies, the new company was financially well secured. The shipping company ordered a series of four sister ships: Britannia , Acadia , Caledonia and Columbia (1175 GRT each). The paddle steamers Britannia and Columbia also set new records. The Cunard ships shortened the duration of the crossing to 14 days and 8 hours with an average speed of 10 knots. With the further increase in shipping traffic, shipping disasters on the North Atlantic route also began to increase. In 1841 the President (2366 GRT) of B&A , built the year before, with 136 passengers on board, went missing and the company went bankrupt because the passengers had lost confidence in the company. The President was the first steamer that sank in the Atlantic. Cunard also had to cope with an early loss of a ship, the Columbia stranded at Cape Sable ( Nova Scotia ) and had to be abandoned. But by 1850 Cunard put eight new paddle steamers in different series into service and more than made up for the loss. Of these newbuildings, Hibernia (1423 BRT), Cambria (1423 BRT), America (1834 BRT), Europe (1834 BRT), Canada (1834 BRT) and Asia (2226 BRT) set new records. The Asia , from 1850, already needed only 10 days and 8 hours for the journey to New York . The Great Western SS Co. put the revolutionary Great Britain (3270 GRT), the first iron and screw-propelled steamer, into service. But she was unable to steal the Blue Ribbon from the Cunard Line and finally gave up. The Cunard Line was the leading shipping company in the transatlantic service.
In 1848, Cunard faced new competition in the form of a US shipping company, the New York & Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company, named Collins Line for short after its founder Edward Collins . It was supported with subsidies from the US Congress. In 1850 the shipping company put a series of four paddle steamers into service: Baltic , Pacific , Atlantic and Arctic (2856 GRT each). The side paddle steamer Pacific then also won the Blue Ribbon. The sister ships Baltic and Arctic set further records and shortened the crossing to under 10 days (9 days, 17 hours and 15 minutes, 13.03 knots). The new thing about the Collins steamers was that they no longer had a clipper bow like sailing ships , but the vertical bow that would be typical for all overseas ships in the near future. In 1854 Collins suffered a catastrophic personal and economic loss when the steamer Arctic collided with the small French steamer Vesta near Cape Race at too high a speed in fog and sank; 351 people were killed, including Collins' wife and two children. In 1856 the Pacific with 286 passengers on board was lost in the Atlantic. The US Congress canceled the subsidies and the shipping company went bankrupt in 1858.
Since 1856, the Blue Ribbon was again in possession of a Cunard steamer, the Persia . The Persia (3300 GRT) needed 8 days, 23 hours and 19 minutes for the crossing, which corresponded to 13.11 knots. In 1863 another Cunard liner, the Scotia (3871 GRT), undercut the Persia record and shortened it to 8 days, 9 hours. The Scotia was the last paddle steamer on the transatlantic route. In the meantime, the competition on the North Atlantic intensified, because more and more new shipping companies got into this liner service; For example, the German Hapag in 1847 , the British Inman Line in 1850 , the British Allan Line in 1854 , the North German Lloyd and the British Anchor Line in 1856 , the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique in 1862 , the British National Line in 1863 , the British-US Guion Line in 1866 , 1868 the British White Star Line , 1871 the Holland-America Line from the Netherlands and 1872 the Belgian-US-American Red Star Line .
In 1869, the City of Brussels (3,081 GRT) undercut the Scotia record on the Inman Line and was underway for less than 8 days. The City of Brussels was the first screw steamer to win the Blue Ribbon. This she lost in 1872 to the Adreatic (3867 BRT) of the newly founded White Star Line. This company opened operations with a series of six identical sister ships: Oceanic , Atlantic , Baltic , Republic , Adriatic and Celtic . All were put into service between 1870 and 1872 and were measured at 3700 to 3800 GRT. The new thing about these steamers was that for the first time the superstructure reached the full width of the ship and a real covered promenade deck was created. Then there was the straight bilge bow, which now began to clearly distinguish the steamers from the sailing ships. The following year, the Baltic set another record. The first generation White Star ships took 7 days, 20 hours to cross at an average of 14.7 knots. White Star soon put larger and faster newbuildings into service in order to consolidate their position in the transatlantic traffic, but also to compensate for the loss of the Atlantic . The Atlantic ran aground near Halifax in 1873 and sank, 453 out of 1,038 people were rescued. The sister ships Germanic and Britannic , measured with 5008 GRT , restored the reputation of the White Star Line in 1875 and 1876 respectively through new speed improvements, only briefly interrupted by the Inman-Liner City of Berlin (5526 GRT). The Britannic reached a speed of almost 16 knots in 1876 and shortened the duration of the crossing to 7 days. 1879 then appeared the greyhounds of the Atlantic ( Greyhounds of the Atlantic ) of the Guion Line : Arizona (5147 BRT) and the 1882 Alaska (6932 BRT). The ships reached 16 to 17 knots and took 6 days, 18 hours and 37 minutes for a crossing. The Guion Line had already tried to intervene in the fight for the Blue Ribbon. However, the sister ships Montana and Dakota , which were commissioned specifically for this project in 1874 and 1875, disappointed and are considered to be the biggest failures in the history of the Blue Ribbon. Guion didn't give up, however, and the Arizona lived up to expectations. However, the price for these records was very high. The ships had a poor ratio of coal consumption to the number of passengers; the Guion Line soon ran into serious financial problems. Their new projected "record breaker" Oregon (7375 GRT), which was put into service in 1883 , then fulfilled all expectations, but the shipping company ran out of money and had to give up completely in 1894. The Oregon returned to the shipyard and was sold to the Cunard Line, which after more than 20 years had another successful ship in the competition for the Blue Ribbon.
The renowned Cunard Line had to struggle with considerable problems in the sixties and seventies of the 19th century, as the changeover from wheel to screw steamers had not taken place without problems. In addition, the postal subsidies suffered some losses due to the competition from Inman, White Star and Guion. In 1879 the Cunard Line was converted into a public company in order to avert bankruptcy and to invest heavily in the modernization of the fleet. However, none of the new buildings set new records. In 1884 Cunard bought Oregon from the Guion Line, which was in a financial crisis, and got another "record breaker". The Oregon sank in 1886 after a collision in the Atlantic, all passengers and crew members were rescued, which means that the shipping company's good reputation was preserved.
In 1885 Cunard put the sister ships Etruria and Umbria (7718 GRT) into service, both of which won the Blue Ribbon with speeds between 18 and 19 knots. Both liners were very close to the 6-day limit for the crossing. In the meantime, another shipping company, the National Line , took part in the race across the Atlantic with the new America (5528 GRT) in 1884 . Whether America set a record is debatable, but it can at least be listed as a record-breaking one. She could not stop the decline of her shipping company, the respected National Line . In 1889, the Inman Line with the sister ships City of Paris (10499 GRT) and City of New York (10699 GRT), the first passenger ships with more than 10,000 GRT. It took them less than six days to make the crossing at an average of 20 knots. The Inman Line made an impressive comeback after the company had fallen into a deep crisis in the early 1880s. The City of Rome (8415 GRT), which went into service in 1881 and was thought of as a Blue Ribbon racer , could not meet the expectations placed on it, and Inman gave the ship back to the shipyard. The shipping company ran into considerable difficulties, and in 1886 it was bought by a US shipping company and reorganized as Inman & International . The Inman Line was an example of how destructive a failing racer can be. Inman kept the trophy until 1893, briefly interrupted in 1891 by the White Star sister ships Teutonic and Majestic (9984 GRT each), the last Blue Ribbon racers in the White Star Line . In 1892 the City of New York took back the trophy for Inman for the last time, and in 1893 the Cunard Line chased it back with the sister ships Campania (12950 GRT) and Lucania (12952 GRT). Both broke the 21-knot barrier and crossed the Atlantic in 5 days, 17 hours and 27 minutes. The Inman Line was meanwhile dissolved by its parent shipping company after the US Congress gave permission to flag the former Inman ships in the US register. Until 1897, the Cunard ships held the trophy.
German challenger
In 1897 the Kaiser Wilhelm der Große (14349 BRT) received the Blue Ribbon for the North German Lloyd from Bremen with the captain Ludwig Störmer, first on east course, then in 1898 on west course. Not only did the fastest ship belong to a German shipping company, but it was also built by a German shipyard. At the time, this was a small sensation, as British shipping companies with ships built in British shipyards had previously dominated events. For the next ten years, German ships ruled the North Atlantic.
In 1899 the White Star tried to counteract and put the Oceanic , the largest ship in the world, into service, measured at 17274 GRT . According to the specifications of the shipping company, the Oceanic should be able to run at least 21 knots, but only reached 19.57, two knots slower than the Great Kaiser . The White Star drew the conclusions from this and reduced the cruising speed Oceanic to 17 knots. The shipping company changed its business philosophy, from now on the passengers should be lured onto the ships with sheer size and unprecedented comfort. “Big is beautiful” was the new White Star policy. The Germans made the race among themselves. In 1900 the Germany (16,502 GRT) of Hapag chased the Great Kaiser off the Blue Ribbon. The Germany suffered from strong vibrations at high speeds, because of this and because of the high coal consumption, the speed was reduced. The ship remained Hapag's only blue ribbon winner. In 1902 the express steamer Kronprinz Wilhelm des Deutschen Lloyd - an enlarged version of Kaiser Wilhelm der Große - beat the record of Germany . In 1904 the Kaiser Wilhelm II won the Blue Ribbon, and the Blue Ribbon remained with German ships until 1907.
There had been some changes in the transatlantic business at the beginning of the 20th century. The US banker JP Morgan began to buy up one shipping company after the other in order to achieve a monopoly; even the renowned White Star Line was incorporated into the Morgan Empire. The bought-shipping companies were in IMMC - Trust summarized. While the German shipping companies - Hapag and Lloyd were the largest in the world at the time - cooperated with the US company (they didn't want to sell, but avoid unnecessary competition), the Cunard Line resisted a takeover.
The British strike back
Cunard put pressure on the British Parliament until a loan and annual subsidy for new buildings were approved. Only fast ships seemed to guarantee the independence of the Cunard Line. The sister ships Lusitania (31,550 GRT) and Mauretania (31,938 GRT), commissioned in 1907, were the highlight of this construction program. Both ships brought the Blue Ribbon back to England, and the Mauretania would keep it until 1929. The revolutionary thing about both ships was the steam turbine drive; In order to maintain the high speed of 26 knots, the stokers had to shovel 1000 tons of coal into the boiler every day. The crossing was shortened to under five days; Lucy and Maury , their nicknames, competed among themselves and saved their shipping company from being taken over.
The White Star Line was the figurehead of the IMMC Trust and challenged by the Cunard record ships. Following the new business policy, White Star had no longer participated in the speed race, but had built a number of large liners that made more profit than the Cunard ships until Lusitania and Mauretania appeared. The largest White Star ships were the "Big Four" built between 1902 and 1907 and measured at 20,000 to 24,000 GRT: Celtic , Cedric , Baltic and Adriatic . The White Star had to oppose the Cunard Line; The three ships Olympic , Titanic and Britannic the Olympic class were the answer. None of these comfort-oriented ships was suitable as a record ship, because with a maximum of 23 to 24 knots they were unable to overtake the 26 knot Mauretania . It is a legend that the Titanic was to set a new record on its fateful maiden voyage. On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic, killing around 1,500 people.
At first, nobody was interested in record runs, but the size of the ships continued. In 1913, Hapag commissioned the first of its planned series of 50,000 tonners: the Imperator (52,117 GRT), the lead ship of the 23 knot Imperator class , which at the time were the largest ships in the world. It was followed by a sister ship, the Vaterland, measured at 52,282 GRT . A third ship named Bismarck was never put into service for Hapag; she had to be completed in 1922 as a Majestic for the White Star. In 1914, Cunard put the 23 knot Aquitania (45,647 GRT) into service, its first 40,000 tonne crane.
The First World War interrupted the development and many shipping companies had high losses of crews and ships. Many of the German ships then had to be surrendered as reparations .
Between the wars
After the war, the situation in the transatlantic business began to change: until 1914, the transport of emigrants was the main source of income for shipping companies, but this clientele has now disappeared. The USA began to introduce drastic immigration restrictions, so that until the mid-1920s the transport of emigrants was only of secondary importance. The new so-called middle class now became the main target of the shipping companies. The tween decks disappeared on the ships and the tourist class took their place. New record ships were out of the question, the shipping companies first had to deal with the new situation.
.jpg)
In 1929, the German turbine steamer Bremen (51,656 GRT) operated by Norddeutscher Lloyd set a new record and brought the Blue Ribbon back to Germany . In 1930 the sister ship Europa followed (49,746 GRT). The old Mauretania of the Cunard Line could not oppose the new German ships. Bremen and Europe reached 28 knots and shortened the crossing to 4 days, 14 hours and 30 minutes. In addition, the Germans had an even faster and more comfortable alternative with their airship LZ 127 .
In 1933 the Rex (51062 BRT) of the Italia SAN got the Blue Ribbon to Italy for the first and only time on the southern route . But behind this process were less economic than power-political intentions of the ruling regime under Mussolini . In 1935 the Blue Ribbon went to Normandy from the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique from France . The Normandie is one of the most beautiful transatlantic liners of all time. At 79,280 GRT she was the largest ship when she was commissioned, and at 313.75 meters it was also the longest. She conquered the Blue Ribbon with an average of 30 knots (4 days, 3 hours, 2 minutes) and hoisted a 30-meter-long blue pennant as she entered New York Harbor - one meter of fabric for each knot reached. There is a photo of this, showing that Normandy is the only verifiable bearer of a blue ribbon.
In 1936, the Cunard Line , now united with its former arch rival, the White Star Line , intervened again with the Queen Mary (80,774 GRT). Normandy and Queen Mary now outbid each other, but the Queen Mary ultimately stayed ahead. With an average of 30.14 knots, the crossing was shortened to 3 days, 23 hours and 57 minutes, the 4-day limit was broken. The Cunard-White Star knew that an 80,000-tonne crane alone could not be optimally profitable, which is why a somewhat larger, similar ship should be put to the side of QM . In 1940 this ship was completed by the John Brown shipyard; the Queen Elizabeth (83673 BRT), but in the transatlantic service she could not be used because another world war had broken out.
The Second World War brought further big changes with it, the technical development of the aircraft z. B. made great strides. After the end of the war, the shipping companies had to start all over again, many of the large luxury liners from the pre-war period had disappeared. Normandie , Bremen and Rex were burned or sunk by bombs. Nobody was interested in new record runs, because those who were in a hurry took the plane. The Cunard Line was now able to fulfill the great dream of a weekly liner service with two 80,000 tonners, because Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth had survived the war unscathed. The Queen Elizabeth should not set a new record. There was no interest from the Cunard Line. On the other side of the Atlantic, things looked a little different. During the World War, the Americans had to experience that they lacked large and fast passenger ships to transport troops. This led to the fact that a new "liner" was planned which was supposed to plow through the Atlantic in peacetime and which could quickly be used as a troop transport during wartime.
In 1952 this ship, christened United States (53,329 GRT), went into civil service for the United States Lines . On June 3, 1952, the United States ran under the command of Captain Harry Manning on its maiden voyage from New York to Southampton . After 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, the ship reached the Old World and averaged 35.59 knots, almost 4 knots more than the Queen Mary . On the voyage home, the ship reached 34.51 knots and was en route for 3 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes. The Queen Mary was beaten both ways and the United States had a record holder among the Stars and Stripes again after a hundred years . The engine system developed an incredible 240,000 PSw , with which the projected service speed of 31 knots could be achieved without any effort. Since the ship was to be used for military purposes in times of need and the US military was also involved in the financing, the possible maximum speed was kept secret for a long time. On test drives, the United States reached an almost unbelievable 40 knots, nearly 75 km / h. It was astonishing that "absolute" fire safety was required in the construction of the ship, which is why there was nothing combustible on board except the butchers' chopping blocks and the concert grand piano . The lifeboats were made of aluminum . The United States then joined the regular biweekly New York-Southampton service, which was soon extended to Bremerhaven . A trip in 1st class cost 4,850 marks , onboard at the waterline level it was 780 marks.
The situation on the transatlantic route began to change significantly. Airlines took more and more passengers from ships. In the 1950s, the number of passengers was divided equally, but from 1960 onwards, due to jet aircraft, this development was very much to the disadvantage of the ship. The shipping companies did not want to and could not just watch this development. There were no more new record runs, it was also impossible to be faster than the plane by ship, but with luxury and plenty of space it was hoped to win back the passengers. A number of the most beautiful liners were built in the sixties. For example, in 1961 the France (66,348 GRT) of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique or the sister ships Raffaelo and Michelangelo (each 45,933 GRT) from the years 1963/65 of the Italia SAN, but the situation did not begin to improve. In 1967 Cunard took the Queen Mary out of circulation and in 1968 the Queen Elizabeth was also launched. By the beginning of the 1970s, all services except for the state-subsidized liner services were suspended. In 1969, the fastest ship in the world, the Speed Queen of the Atlantic , the United States , was called to "stop all engines" and she was tied to the stakes at the Newport News naval base . All scheduled services were suspended until the 1970s, the aircraft had won, and the story of the Blue Ribbon ended. The New York Maritime Museum was entrusted with the trusteeship for the Hales Trophy.
From 1968 to 2008 the Queen Elizabeth 2 (65,863 GRT) was the last real liner to operate the transatlantic route. It was replaced by the Queen Mary 2 , which, in addition to the Atlantic route, also sails into the cruise waters of the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
Record holder
| Surname | Shipping company | Record on west course | Record heading east | power | tonnage | country | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| year | Speed | year | Speed | |||||
| Sirius | B&A | Apr. 1838 | 8.03 kn | May 1838 | 7.31 kn | 320 PSi | 703 GRT | UK |
| Great Western | Great Western SS Co. | Apr. 1838 | 8.66 kn | May 1838 | 9.14 kn | 750 PSi | 1,320 GRT | UK |
| Britannia | Cunard Line | - | - | Aug 1840 | 10.98 kn | 750 PSi | 1,135 GRT | UK |
| Columbia | Cunard Line | June 1841 | 9.78 kn | Apr. 1843 | 11.11 kn | 750 PSi | 1,135 GRT | UK |
| Hibernia | Cunard Line | - | - | May 1843 | 11.18 kn | 1,040 PSi | 1,422 GRT | UK |
| Cambria | Cunard Line | July 1845 | 10.71 kn | - | - | 1,040 PSi | 1,422 GRT | UK |
| America | Cunard Line | June 1848 | 11.71 kn | - | - | 2,000 PSi | 1,826 GRT | UK |
| Europe | Cunard Line | Oct. 1848 | 11.79 kn | - | - | 2,000 PSi | 1,834 GRT | UK |
| Canada | Cunard Line | - | - | July 1849 | 12.38 kn | 2,000 PSi | 1,831 GRT | UK |
| Asia | Cunard Line | May 1850 | 12.25 kn | - | - | 2,400 PSi | 2,226 GRT | UK |
| Pacific | Collins Line / US Mail | Sep 1850 | 12.46 kn | May 1851 | 13.03 kn | 3,000 PSi | 2,707 GRT | United States |
| Baltic | Collins Line / US Mail | Aug 1851 | 12.91 kn | - | - | 3,000 PSi | 2,707 GRT | United States |
| Arctic | Collins Line / US Mail | - | - | Feb. 1852 | 13.06 kn | 3,000 PSi | 2,856 GRT | United States |
| Persia | Cunard Line | Apr. 1856 | 13.11 kn | Apr. 1856 | 13.46 kn | 4,000 PSi | 3,300 GRT | UK |
| Scotia | Cunard Line | July 1863 | 14.46 kn | Dec 1863 | 14.16 kn | 4,700 PSi | 3,871 GRT | UK |
| City of Brussels | Inman Line | - | - | Dec 1869 | 14.74 kn | 3,000 PSi | 3,081 GRT | UK |
| Adriatic | White Star Line | May 1872 | 14.53 kn | - | - | 3,000 PSi | 3,888 GRT | UK |
| Baltic | White Star Line | - | - | Jan. 1873 | 15.09 kn | 3,000 PSi | 3,707 GRT | UK |
| Germanic | White Star Line | Aug 1875 | 14.65 kn | - | - | 5,400 PSi | 5,008 GRT | UK |
| City of Berlin | Inman Line | Sep 1875 | 15.21 kn | Oct. 1875 | 15.37 kn | 5,200 PSi | 5,527 GRT | UK |
| Germanic | White Star Line | - | - | Feb. 1876 | 15.79 kn | 5,400 PSi | 5,008 GRT | UK |
| Britannic | White Star Line | Nov. 1876 | 15.43 kn | Dec 1876 | 15.94 kn | 5,400 PSi | 5,004 GRT | UK |
| Arizona | Guion Line | - | - | July 1879 | 15.96 kn | 6,400 PSi | 5,147 GRT | UK / USA |
| Alaska | Guion Line | Apr. 1882 | 16.07 kn | June 1882 | 16.81 kn | 11,000 PSi | 6,932 GRT | UK / USA |
| Oregon | Guion Line | Apr. 1884 | 18.56 kn | Apr. 1884 | 17.12 kn | 12,500 PSi | 7,375 GRT | UK / USA |
| America | National Line | - | - | Apr. 1884 | 17.78 kn | 8,000 PSi | 5,528 GRT | UK |
| Oregon | Cunard Line | - | - | Aug 1884 | 18.18 kn | 12,500 PSi | 7,375 GRT | UK |
| Etruria | Cunard Line | Aug 1885 | 18.73 kn | Aug 1885 | 18.44 kn | 14,500 PSi | 7,718 GRT | UK |
| Umbria | Cunard Line | June 1887 | 19.22 kn | - | - | 14,500 PSi | 7,718 GRT | UK |
| City of Paris | Inman & International SS Co. | May 1889 | 19.95 kn | May 1889 | 20.03 kn | 20,000 PSi | 10,499 GRT | UK / USA |
| Teutonic | White Star Line | Aug 1891 | 20.10 kn | - | - | 17,500 PSi | 9,984 GRT | UK |
| Majestic | White Star Line | Aug 1891 | 20.35 kn | - | - | 17,500 PSi | 9,984 GRT | UK |
| City of New York | Inman & International SS Co. | - | - | Aug 1892 | 20.11 kn | 20,000 PSi | 10,499 GRT | UK / USA |
| Campania | Cunard Line | June 1893 | 21.12 kn | May 1893 | 21.30 kn | 30,000 PSi | 12,950 GRT | UK |
| Lucania | Cunard Line | Aug 1894 | 21.65 kn | May 1894 | 21.81 kn | 30,000 PSi | 12,952 GRT | UK |
| Kaiser Wilhelm the Great | North German Lloyd | Apr. 1898 | 22.29 kn | Nov. 1897 | 22.33 kn | 31,000 PSi | 14,349 GRT | D. |
| Germany | HAPAG | July 1900 | 22.42 kn | July 1900 | 22.84 kn | 37,800 PSi | 16,502 GRT | D. |
| Crown Prince Wilhelm | North German Lloyd | Sep 1902 | 23.09 kn | - | - | 36,000 PSi | 14,908 GRT | D. |
| Kaiser Wilhelm II. | North German Lloyd | - | - | June 1904 | 23.58 kn | 44,500 PSi | 19,361 GRT | D. |
| Lusitania | Cunard Line | Oct 1907 | 23.99 kn | Oct 1907 | 23.61 kn | 76,000 PSw | 31,550 GRT | UK |
| Mauretania | Cunard Line | Sep 1909 | 26.06 kn | Dec 1907 | 23.69 kn | 78,000 PSw | 31,938 GRT | UK |
| Bremen | North German Lloyd | July 1929 | 27.83 kn | July 1929 | 27.91 kn | 130,000 PSw | 51,656 GRT | D. |
| Europe | North German Lloyd | March 1930 | 27.91 kn | - | - | 130,000 PSw | 49,746 GRT | D. |
| Rex | Italia SAN | Aug 1933 | 28.92 kn | - | - | 142,000 PSw | 51,062 GRT | Italy |
| Normandy | Compagnie Générale Transatlantique | June 1935 | 29.98 kn | June 1935 | 30.31 kn | 165,000 PSw | 79,280 GRT | F. |
| Queen Mary | Cunard-White Star | Aug 1936 | 30.14 kn | Aug 1936 | 30.63 kn | 200,000 PSw | 80,774 GRT | UK |
| United States | United States Lines | July 1952 | 34.51 kn | July 1952 | 35.59 kn | 240,000 PSw | 53,329 GRT | United States |
- ↑ PSi : indicated power for piston steam engines; measured with the indicator on the machine (product of pressure, piston area and piston speed)
- ↑ PSw : shaft power in turbines; measured on the propeller shaft (product of torque and speed)
The catamaran ferries
Since 1989, the record runs on the transatlantic route have been continued by catamaran ferries.
- 1989 Hoverspeed Great Britain , Great Britain, 36.97 kn (68.5 km / h )
- 1990 Sea Cat Great Britain, 37.99 kn (70 km / h)
- 1996 Catalonia , Spain, 38.65 kn (72 km / h).
- 1998 Cat Link V , Denmark, 41.025 kn (76 km / h)
The recognition of these records is, however, controversial. The New York Maritime Museum refused to issue the Hales trophy and recognize the Hoverspeed Great Britain record . The trophy was only handed over to the major US shipowner James B. Sherwood following a court order. What speaks against the catamarans is that the Blue Ribbon was intended exclusively for ships that are used on a regular liner service from Europe to North America. This clearly does not apply to the catamarans, they are intended for ferry services in the English Channel , Kattegat or in the Strait of Gibraltar and are now all in use there. Each catamaran has made the Atlantic crossing only for advertising purposes.
See also
Web links
- Peter Maxwill: world record in the rattle barge. One day illustrated report on the first award of the Blue Ribbon.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Facta om fartyg. Retrieved August 12, 2012 (Swedish).