Kaiser Wilhelm II (ship, 1889)
| Kaiser Wilhelm II (1889) Hohenzollern (II)  .svg){kind=small}
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| Launching ( ship christening ): | April 23, 1889 | |
| Commissioning: | August 26, 1889 | |
| Builder: | AG Vulcan Stettin , Building No. 184 | |
| Passengers: | 180 1st class 86 2nd class 644 tween deck |
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| Crew: | 191 men | |
| Building-costs: | 3.5 million gold marks | |
| Technical specifications | ||
| Measurement: | 6990 GRT | |
| Load capacity: | 3675 dw | |
| Length over all: | 141.9 m | |
| Width: | 15.12 m | |
| Draft : | 8.3 m | |
| Machinery: | Triple expansion steam engine | |
| Number of screws: | 1 | |
| Power: | 6,650 PSi | |
| Top speed: | 16 kn | |
| Whereabouts | ||
| Stranded April 10, 1908 | ||
The imperial mail steamer Kaiser Wilhelm II was built for the imperial mail steamer service to Australia. At that time it was the largest ship of the North German Lloyd (NDL) and above all should win many passengers for the still quite new line.
Use as Kaiser Wilhelm II
With 6990 GRT, the Kaiser Wilhelm II , almost twice as large as the first mail steamers , remained a single ship. She started her maiden voyage on August 27, 1889 on the main route of the NDL from Bremerhaven to New York . It was larger than the high-speed steamers usually used and only slightly slower. On October 2, 1889, she started as the largest ship on this route to Australia for the first time. In Sydney , the large and fast ship was viewed by 20,000 people. As a partner, the NDL pulled its oldest express steamer Elbe (4510 BRT, 1881, 330 passengers, 2255 dwt, 16 kn) from the North Atlantic , built by John Elder in Glasgow , and deployed it three times to Australia.
However, there were difficulties in utilizing the couple's passenger capacity, as the small cargo capacity did not allow economical operation. So the Elbe was withdrawn after three trips and the Kaiser Wilhelm II only made six tours on the route for which it was built.
On June 24, 1890, she made her first cruise to Norway.
Somewhat rebuilt and now measured at 6661 GRT, it was used on the North Atlantic from October 22, 1892 and drove from New York to Genoa and Naples on November 30, 1892 . The NDL opened this route on October 24, 1891 with the express steamer Fulda (4814 GRT), which also made the first voyage from New York to the Mediterranean. On January 4, 1892, the express steamer Werra (4815 BRT) was used as the second ship on the new line.
On June 5, 1893, the Kaiser Wilhelm II sank due to a valve damage on the quay in Genoa, but was quickly restored and resumed service in the North Atlantic from Bremen on July 8. From November 8, 1893, she was used again on the Mediterranean route and left New York for the last time on December 18, 1900 for the Mediterranean.
In addition to her, there were usually three high-speed steamers in use. The Ems (first deployed April 16, 1896), the Aller (first deployed October 21, 1897) and the Trave (first deployed on March 20, 1900) were used on the Mediterranean - New York route alongside the two aforementioned.
There were also trips by other ships, such as those of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and Neckar (I), who had been withdrawn from the East Asia Service . The NDL managed to achieve the top position in the Mediterranean New York service. In 1897, the NDL carried 18,480 passengers to New York and even 18,565 to the Mediterranean. He was able to handle over 38% of the traffic on this route.
Use as Hohenzollern (II)
Renamed on December 31, 1900, the former Kaiser Wilhelm II resumed service as Hohenzollern on January 9, 1901, and was last used there on May 21, 1906. The partner ships of the Hohenzollern (II) were initially the Werra (until August 1901), the Aller (until November 1902) as well as the Schnelldampfer Lahn (first use November 13, 1901) and the converted Empress Maria Theresia (ex Spree , seven voyages 1901-1904 )
In 1903 the Hohenzollern was renovated again, received new boilers and could now run 18 knots. In addition to two remaining old express steamers, the two Barbarossa steamers König Albert and Prinzess Irene, previously used to East Asia, were now used on the Mediterranean - New York line. In addition to the liner service, the Hohenzollern also made cruises, for example a trip from Barcelona via Marseille to Alexandria in 1904 and then took over the guests of a cruise in Genoa in June 1904 that was carried out by the express steamer Empress Marie Theresia , which had been sold to the Russian Navy. The Hohenzollern continued the journey to Venice and Alexandria and back to Bremerhaven.
Final fate
From June 1906 the Hohenzollern was only used for cruises and occasionally on the Marseille - Alexandria route. On April 10, 1908, she was stranded on a cruise off Alghero / Sardinia and was sold for demolition in Italy after being salvaged.
Remarks
- ↑ Fulda delivered by John Elder in 1883, 336 cabin passengers / 865 tween deck spaces, 2600 dwt, 16 knots, November 1898 to Spain
- ^ Werra 1882 von Elder, 334 cabin passengers / 868 tween deck places, 2680 dwt, 16 kn, November 1898 to Spain
- ↑ Ems 1884 Elder, 4728 BRT, 328 cabin passengers, 876 tween deck spaces, 16 kn.
- ↑ All 1886 Fairfield, 4964 GRT, 314 cabin passengers, 660 tween deck seats, 17.5 knots, December 1902 out of service
- ↑ Trave 1886 Fairfield, 4966 BRT, 314 cabin passengers, 660 tween deck spaces, 17.5 kn, laid up in May 1903
- ^ Lahn 1887 Fairfield, 5097 BRT, 328 cabin passengers, 600 tween deck spaces, 18 kn, 4th February 1904 last voyage
- ↑ Kaiserin Maria Theresia 1890 AG Vulcan, 8278 BRT, 519 cabin passengers, 387 tween deck spaces, 18 kn, June 1904 last voyage
literature
- Arnold Kludas : The History of German Passenger Shipping. Volume 2: Expansion on all seas 1890 to 1900. Ernst Kabel Verlag, Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-8225-0038-0 ( writings of the German Maritime Museum 19).
- Arnold Kludas : The ships of the North German Lloyd. Volume 1: 1857 to 1919. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford 1991, ISBN 3-7822-0524-3 .
- Christine Reinke-Kunze: History of the Reichs-Post-Steamers. Connection between the continents 1886–1914. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford 1994, ISBN 3-7822-0618-5 .
- Otto J. Seiler: Trip to Australia. Verlag ES Mittler & Sohn, Herford 1988, ISBN 3-8132-0270-4 .