RMS Campania
_(LOC)_(16801704191)_(cropped).jpg) The Campania in Liverpool
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The RMS Campania ran for Liverpool - New York Service of Cunard Line in 1892 from the stack. Her sister ship was the Lucania . They were the first new builds for the Cunard Line after an eight-year break in construction. At the end of 1914, the British Admiralty took over the ship to be scrapped in order to convert it into a escort aircraft carrier.
history
The ship, built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., was to be used for the Cunard Line on the prestigious North Atlantic route and to play a role in the voyages for the Blue Ribbon . As early as 1893, on her return from her maiden voyage , the Campania won the Blue Ribbon in an easterly direction and repeated this success in the following year in a westerly direction. Together with the Lucania they dominated the Europe-New York route until 1897. In that year the Kaiser Wilhelm der Große was put into service and the ship of the North German Lloyd took over this leading position. In 1914 the Campania was transferred to the Anchor Line and replaced the Aquitania for some trips across the Atlantic . Due to the neglected condition of the ship, it was sold for scrapping in the same year. However, the Admiralty intervened and took over the ship to convert it into an aircraft carrier. It received a flight deck, which was extended to 37 meters and later to 60 meters, as well as aircraft hangars and workshops. Her military service (tactical identifier: D48) passed without any special events. In November 1918 there was a collision with the battleship Revenge in the Firth of Forth, as a result of which she sank.
With the use of the Campania and the Lucania , the Cunard Line was able to regain its dominance on the North Atlantic route for a short period of time.
The ship
The Cunard Line received partial financing from the British Admiralty for the construction of the ship . This financing gave the British government a say in the construction of special specifications in order to be able to use it immediately as an auxiliary cruiser in the event of a military conflict without serious modifications. The plans were submitted to Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. The shipyard was one of the largest suppliers of warships to the Royal Navy . Only 43 days after the start of planning, the shipyard began building the ship in 1891. On September 22, 1891, the hull was laid on the keel. A large two-screw ship, powered by triple expansion steam engines, was to be built with a length of 189.60 meters and a width of 19.80 meters. The maximum draft is given as 7.90 meters. Two five-cylinder steam engines with vertical triple expansion were installed in the ship. They were among the largest propulsion engines of their type ever to be used on ships, and they represented the limits for this type of steam engine technology. In the following new ships, this technology was replaced by steam turbines. The size of the steam engines went over three decks of the ship. At full power they brought together almost 31,000 hp. The average speed of the Campania was 22 knots. The maximum value measured was 23.5 knots. Each machine was operated in a separate, watertight, sealed machine room. This type of construction was a stipulation of the Ministry of the Navy in order to be able to guarantee the ability of the ship to drive in the event of water ingress in an engine room. The ship was further divided into 16 watertight transverse bulkheads.
In 1901 the Campania and the sister ship Lucania were the first ships of the Cunard Line to be equipped with radios from the Marconi system. The first exchange of messages at sea took place between the two ships using the new wireless telegraph. Iceberg sightings were exchanged to aid safe navigation in the North Atlantic. From 1905 she was the first ship in the world to be in constant contact with the coastal radio stations that had just been set up. A newspaper was published on board, which was only possible with the introduction of telegraphy.
Equipment
The equipment of the ship offered every imaginable luxury, especially to its first class passengers. The interior design represented the culmination of the display of Victorian abundance that was not repeated on any other ship. The cabins and public rooms of the 1st class were lavishly clad with precious woods and covered with carpets. Velvet curtains in front of the windows and portholes as well as lavishly upholstered furniture ensured a pleasant stay during the ship's passage. The smoking room was decorated in Elizabethan style and had an open fireplace. It was the first chimney of its kind on a ship. The first class dining room was described as the most spectacular room on board. Its height went over three decks. It was furnished in the Italianizing, antiqueizing style , with a white / gold coffered ceiling, supported by Ionic columns and walls decorated with carvings and ivory.
Events
On July 21, 1900, the Campania collided with the sailing ship Embleton from Liverpool . The force of the collision tore the three-master into two parts and sank. In this accident, eleven sailors of the sailing ship were killed. The Cunard Line has so far been able to claim that it has never lost a passenger at sea. That changed on October 11, 1905. In the middle of the Atlantic, overcoming sea destroyed parts of the tween deck. Doors were crushed and five passengers were thrown outboard. They could not be found again. 29 other passengers were injured, some seriously. After arriving in New York, another passenger died of his injuries.
Service as an aircraft carrier
With the planned scrapping of the ship at the end of 1914, the Royal Navy took over the Campania . The conversion work to an aircraft carrier took place in the shipyard Cammell, Laird & Company in Birkenhead on the River Mersey . Originally, the ship was only intended as a carrier vehicle for seaplanes. These should be lowered to the surface of the water by crane and start from there. The interior of the ship was completely gutted to make room for the planes and workshops. At least 14 aircraft should be given space in the hangar. Armament was installed on board. After completion of the conversion work and tests, the Campania ran to Scapa Flow , the then main naval base of the Royal Navy. The naval command was dissatisfied with the uses of the seaplanes and decided to equip the ship with a flight deck. First attempts were made with a 49 meter long taxiway. However, this was then extended to 67 meters. Parts of the superstructure were removed and the formative windscreens were also rebuilt. The mast was removed from the stern to make room for the operation of tethered balloons. To do this, extensive reconstructions were necessary and the earlier ship contours were lost. An aircraft took off from this carrier for the first time while the ship was in motion. The ship's service in the Royal Navy was unspectacular until November 5, 1918.
The downfall
On November 5, 1918, a few days before the armistice was signed and the fighting ended, the ship was anchored in the Firth of Forth. A sudden onset of magnitude 10 storms loosened the anchor and the ship began to drift away. There was a collision with the bow of the battleship Revenge . Other sources cite the battleship Royal Oak . Then she scraped along the battle cruiser Glorious . While the two ships suffered only minor damage, the Campania leaked, an engine room filled with water and the on-board electrical supply failed. The ship began to sink over the stern. It took five hours for the ship to sink completely. All crew members were rescued from the surrounding ships. The officer on watch was blamed for the loss. The accident could possibly have been prevented by deploying the second anchor.
literature
- Tony Gibbons: The Ships of the World . Bassermann, 2007, ISBN 978-38094-2186-3 , page 143 ff
