Germany (ship, 1900)

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Germany
The twin-screw fast steamer Germany of the Hamburg-America line
The twin-screw fast steamer Germany of the Hamburg-America line
Ship data
flag German EmpireThe German Imperium German Empire
other ship names
  • Victoria Luise
  • Hansa
Ship type Passenger steamship
home port Hamburg
Shipping company HAPAG
Shipyard AG Vulcan , Szczecin
Launch January 10, 1900
Whereabouts Canceled in 1925
Ship dimensions and crew
length
208.5 m ( Lüa )
width 20.4 m
Draft Max. ~ 8.00 m
measurement 16,502, later 16,333 GRT
 
crew 536
Machine system
machine two 6-cylinder quadruple compound machines , counter-rotating
Machine
performance 		37,800 hp (27,802 kW)
Top
speed 		23.15 kn (43 km / h)
propeller 2
Transport capacities
Permitted number of passengers 450 Class I
300 Class II
350 Class III
after renovation 1920
36 cabin passengers
487 Class I
1350 III. class

The twin-screw express steamer Germany was used from 1900 by the Hamburg-American Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG) in transatlantic traffic. It was the second German steamer to win the Blue Ribbon . From 1911 the express steamer was used as the cruise ship Victoria Luise .

Due to the poor condition of the ship, it was not claimed by the victorious powers of World War I and was the only remaining large steamer flying the German flag. Rebuilt and renamed Hansa , the former Germany served as an emigration ship from October 1921 to 1925 , only to be scrapped.

history

The Germany was built from 1898 by the Stettiner Maschinenbau AG "Vulcan" for HAPAG . The HAPAG supervisory board pushed the plans for this ship ahead in order to outdo its competitors Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) and White Star Line in the competition for transatlantic traffic. The concerns of the general manager Albert Ballin about a possible inefficiency of such a ship were not heard.

The launch of the 16,502 gross register tons ship took place on January 10, 1900 in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm II in Bredow near Stettin ; Foreign Minister Count Bernhard von Bülow gave the baptismal address . Already on its maiden voyage from Eddystone to Sandy Hook on July 4, 1900, it conquered the Blue Ribbon for the first time in a westerly direction with an average speed of 22.42 knots and a time of 5 days, 15 hours and 46 minutes . In 1901 the Deutschland achieved the Blue Ribbon eastwards with a journey time of 5 days, 7 hours and 38 minutes at a top speed of 23.36 knots. The high mileage also caused technical problems. The vibrations of the engine system, which began at high speed levels, caused the rudder to be lost on April 22, 1902 on the return trip from New York to Hamburg and the stern post , made of cast iron , broke. The ship was able to reach Hamburg on its own, but was at Blohm & Voss for repairs for the entire summer season . After the overhaul, on September 8, 1903, the ship was able to recapture the Blue Ribbon for the fastest journey west from the NDL express mail steamer Kronprinz Wilhelm . Germany retained this title until October 1907, when Lusitania took it over.

The Germany in 1903 before New York

Due to the high consumption of coal, the Deutschland was taken out of service in October 1910 and rebuilt. The engines were throttled and the interior was converted into a cruise ship. On September 23, 1911, she set sail with a new white hull under the name Victoria Luise as the largest cruise ship in the world from Hamburg.

Planned use as an auxiliary cruiser

For the First World War it was converted into an auxiliary cruiser , but could not be used due to its boiler system, which is not suitable for high-performance operation. Due to the poor condition of the ship in 1919, it was not claimed by the victorious powers of World War I, making it the only remaining large steamer flying the German flag.

Post-war use

After a general overhaul, during which two of the four chimneys were removed, the ship began its first voyage as an emigrant ship under the name Hansa in October 1921 . With the US limiting immigration soon after, this business turned out to be no longer profitable. The Hansa was scrapped at AG Vulcan Hamburg in 1925 .

gallery

  • Section through the ship

  • Under construction on May 28, 1899

  • Under construction on September 24, 1899

  • Insertion of the rudder into the rudder stem

  • Model of the quadruple expansion machine

  • Steam engine

  • Section through the ship's steam engine

  • View over the boat deck

  • The dome over the dining room

  • The smoking room

  • Part from the smoking room

  • Rowing machine in the model of Germany

literature

  • The world of ships , Bassermann Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8094-2186-3 , p. 156.
  • Ships , Neuer Kaiserverlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-7043-1422-2 , p. 174.
  • Prometheus No. 542, published by Rudolf Mückenberger, Berlin 1900, p. 343 f.
  • Prometheus No. 565, published by Rudolf Mückenberger, Berlin 1900, p. 711 f.
  • The decorative equipment of the steamer "Deutschland". In: Hamburger Nachrichten , July 6, 1900, p. 9 (digitized version)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Coron Chronicle - the 20th Century: 1900–1903 . Coron Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-577-17101-4 .
  2. ↑ a b Alfred Dudszus, Alfred Köpcke: The Big Book of ship types. Steam ships, motor ships, marine technology from the beginnings of machine-driven ships to the present day. transpress Pietsch, Berlin Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-344-00374-7 , pp. 93-94.

Web links

Commons : Germany  - collection of images, videos and audio files