Prussia (ship, 1886)
Imperial mail steamer Prussia
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| Launching ( ship christening ): | July 10, 1886 | |
| Commissioning: | October 1886 | |
| Builder: | AG Vulcan Szczecin | |
| Passengers: | 100 1st class 28 2nd class 202 between deck |
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| Crew: | 122 men | |
| Building-costs: | 3.732 million marks | |
| Technical specifications | ||
| Measurement: | 4577 GRT 5295 GRT |
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| Load capacity: | 3530 dw | |
| Length (registered): | 118.92 m 139.39 m |
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| Width: | 13.9 m | |
| Draft : | 9.4 m | |
| Machinery: | Triple expansion steam engine | |
| Number of screws: | 1 | |
| Power: | 3,800 PSi | |
| Top speed: | 14 kn | |
| Whereabouts | ||
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The Reichspostdampfer Preussen was the first newly built ship of the North German Lloyd (NDL) for service to East Asia and Australia. After signing the contract with the German Reich, the NDL ordered three steamers each for the main and branch lines from AG Vulcan, Stettin .
One of the goals of the Reichspostdampfergesetz, a major contract for the German shipbuilding industry, had already been achieved. Until then, the NDL had only ordered six small steamers for the trip to England from German shipyards. AG Vulcan, Stettin, became a main contractor for the NDL and delivered 24 ocean liners to the NDL until 1914, u. a. all four four-chimney express steamers and the largest pre-war Lloyd ship, the George Washington .
commitment
The Prussians left for their maiden voyage to Australia on November 3, 1886 , after the old Atlantic steamers Salier and Hohenzollern had been used from July 7, 1886 . The trip was not a lucky star. Several passengers fell ill with smallpox between Suez and Australia . This prompted the Australian authorities to impose a strict quarantine on the ship , so that the first passengers could only go ashore after 2 months. This delay resulted in a significant financial loss.
On June 1, 1887, the Prussians began their first East Asia voyage after their sister ships Bavaria (from February 9) and Saxony (from April 6) had made their maiden voyages on this route. The use of the new mail steamers led to the withdrawal of the old steamers Neckar , Nuremberg and Braunschweig of the Strasbourg class . It turned out that the Reichspostdampfer were designed too much for the transport of passengers. Although they showed themselves to be superior to the ships of the competition, the few travelers mostly preferred ships from their home countries. However, there was often a lack of cargo space.
As early as May 1889, the NDL and Dresden, in agreement with the government, used a ship of its city class on the post line. These eight steamers built at Fairfield in Glasgow in 1889-91 did not meet the contractual provisions because they were built abroad. With their small passenger facility and their carrying capacity (4800–5300 GRT, 58–87 passengers, 3200–3900 tdw, 13 kn), they proved to be very suitable for the service and contributed (partly until 1906) to the profitability of the imperial post lines .
An extension of the Reichspostdampfer in 1893/94 at Blohm & Voss was also intended to serve this purpose. The Preussen was rebuilt as the third ship, received new boilers, was 5 m longer than her sister ships and was the only one to keep her second chimney. With the newly commissioned Prince Heinrich , she stayed on the line to East Asia. In 1902 the Prussians collided with the Danish steamer Orrik when leaving Hamburg , which then sank.
The sister ships Bavaria and Saxony
The Bayern began its maiden voyage to East Asia on February 9, 1887th In 1893 it was lengthened by 15 m at Blohm & Voss and lost a chimney. In September 1895 she made her first trip to Australia.
The Saxons left on April 6, 1887 on her maiden voyage to East Asia. In 1893/94 it was also extended by 15 m at Blohm & Voss. A chimney was dismantled and the ship was re-measured with 5027 GRT. In February 1895 she made her first trip to Australia. King Chulalongkorn of Siam chartered the ship for 650,000 ~ ℳ for his second trip to Europe in 1907.
Last use and end
In 1908 the Prussians and their sister ships Bavaria and Saxony were withdrawn from the Reichspostdampferdienst and were used on a new line from Marseille to the Black Sea ( Odessa , Batumi ). The Prussians also made some trips from Marseille to Alexandria .
In 1909 the three ships were sold to Italy for demolition.
literature
- Arnold Kludas : The History of German Passenger Shipping. Volume 1: The pioneering years from 1850 to 1890. Ernst Kabel Verlag, Hamburg 1986, ISBN 3-8225-0037-2 ( publications of the German Maritime Museum 18).
- 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 .
Web links
Footnotes
- ↑ Plan of the main line steamers
- ↑ Early picture of the Prussians with rake rigging
- ^ Image of Bavaria as a chimney with schooner rigging
- ↑ Klaus Hahlweg, Erich W. Reinhold (ed.): Hundred Years of German-Thai Friendship , Bangkok 1962 (Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany) [Thai a. German], p. 30
