Cities class

Cities class
A steamship of the NDL city class - like the Karlsruhe
Launch :	August 31, 1889
Commissioning:	?. October 1889
Builder:	Fairfield , Glasgow
Passengers:	44 1st class 36 2nd class 1955 between deck
Crew:	105 men
Sister ships:	Stuttgart, Darmstadt, Gera, Oldenburg, Weimar
similar:	Dresden, Munich
Technical specifications
Measurement:	5,347 GRT
Load capacity:	3966 dw
Length (overall):	131.62 m
Width:	14.50 m
Draft :	9.40 m
Machinery:	Triple expansion steam engine
Number of screws:	1
Power:	3,200 PSi
Top speed:	13 kn
Whereabouts
Canceled in 1908

Eight steamships belonging to the North German Lloyd are referred to as the city ​​class and were built in the years 1889 to 1891 in the Fairfield shipyard in Glasgow . These eight ships were the last major order from the NDL abroad. They were used on all lines of the NDL. The combined passenger and cargo ships were used in the North Atlantic, South America and Australia, as well as East Asia. The Munich was used from Australia to East Asia; from 1903 the Weimar and the Gera also in regular service from Mediterranean ports to the USA.

As early as May 1889, the NDL and Dresden, in agreement with the government, used a ship of this class on the Reichspostdampferlinie . Originally, the steamers did not meet the requirements of the Reichspostdampfervertrag due to their construction abroad. With their small passenger facilities and their carrying capacity, however, they proved to be very suitable for the service and (in some cases up to 1906) made a significant contribution to the economic efficiency of the imperial post lines, especially in times of low traffic. On these lines they were replaced by the general class .

The ships

Dresden

As the first ship of the class, the Dresden was delivered on January 5, 1889. She made her maiden voyage to South America and arrived in Montevideo for the first time on February 14, 1889 . On April 10, 1889, she drove across the North Atlantic to the USA in Baltimore .

On May 29, 1889, she was the first ship in the series to be used on the Reichspostdampferlinie to East Asia with the approval of the imperial government, as it could only be used on these lines as a new build abroad with a permit. On July 11th, she entered Hong Kong . In the first year of operation, she made two more trips to South America. After two more voyages to the port of Baltimore, the Dresden ran for the first time on July 9, 1890 on the Reichspostdampferlinie to Australia, where it arrived in Adelaide on August 27 . This was followed by further trips to South America with the ports of Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo. On May 15, 1892, she ran for the first time to New York . On May 30, the ship reached New York.

On March 10, 1900, the Dresden from Wilhelmshaven left with the replacement transport for the garrison in Tsingtau and returned to the naval base on the North Sea on May 8, after a week there. On July 27, 1900, she was sent again to China as a troop transport because of the Boxer Rebellion .

On November 15, 1902, she sailed for the fifth and last time to South America and on May 12, 1903 for the nineteenth and last time across the North Atlantic.

In 1903 the ship was sold to England and renamed the Helius . In 1906 she went to the Turkish Navy as Bezm-i Alem and was sunk on November 6, 1914 by a Russian ship of the line off Ereğli in the Black Sea.

Munich

The second ship in the series, the Munich , was delivered on February 25, 1889 and began its maiden voyage to the Río de la Plata on March 11 , where it entered Montevideo on April 8. The first trip to the USA followed on June 5, 1890, and she went to New York for the first time on September 25, 1890. On November 10, 1892, the sixth and last voyage to South America and on March 24, 1900, the nineteenth and last voyage across the North Atlantic.

On May 23, 1900, their use began on the Reichspostdampferlinie to Australia, after all seven other steamers had already been used on both Reichspostdampferlinien. However, she did not make the return journey, but tried out a new line along the Australian east coast, to Herbertshöhe , Friedrich-Wilhelm-Hafen , Ponape and Saipan and then to Shanghai . The return trip from September 12 to October 12, 1900 in Sydney was an economic failure, as the trip lasted too long and was not fully utilized because of the detour via Saipan. There were three competing British and one Japanese lines on this route. On January 25, 1901, her third journey was to take her directly to Hong Kong via Yap .

On February 3, 1901, she ran aground in the driveway of Yap. In order to be released again, most of the cargo was dismissed, for example the tobacco harvest of the first tobacco plantation in New Guinea. Eventually two auxiliary steamers from Hong Kong, the Natuna and Wonghoi, met . a. The government steamer Stephan also helped with the salvage work. The Imperial Navy sent despite the unrest in China the cruiser Eagle to support. The warship did not arrive from Amoy until May 3rd. In the meantime the Munich was able to swim again.

The ship was apparently sold in the run-up condition. The ship was repaired in Shanghai and resold to a Russian shipping company and renamed Gregory Mörch . Under this name she made two round trips from Odessa via Piraeus to New York on October 27, 1906 and January 18, 1907 . In 1910 it was scrapped.

Karlsruhe

The Karlsruhe, which was delivered in October 1889, was, like all the following ships, somewhat larger than the first two steamers.

She made her maiden voyage to the Río de la Plata on November 10, 1889. The first trip to New York and Baltimore followed on February 13, 1890. On September 28, the Karlsruhe was used as the second ship of the modified type for the first time on the Reichspostdampferlinie to Australia and on January 31, 1894, the first use of a total of seven to East Asia took place.

On December 8, 1902, the Karlsruhe departed for the last and 37th round trip to the USA. On May 16, 1906, she started her nineteenth and final trip to Australia. She was the most frequently used ship of the class on this route and, like her sister ships, was mainly used in times of low traffic. The large Barbarossa class passenger ships were used in autumn and winter . On September 22, 1906, she began her third and final round trip to South America.

On May 25, 1908, it was sold for demolition.

Stuttgart

The sister ship Stuttgart was delivered on December 30, 1889 and made her maiden voyage to South America on January 10, 1890. The first trip to the USA to Baltimore followed on August 28, and it was not until January 11, 1891 that she called for the first time in New York. On April 1, 1891, she started as the second ship in the city class for the first time on the Reichspostdampferlinie to Shanghai. On July 1, 1896, the first departure to Australia took place.

On December 3, 1899, the Stuttgart sailed for the last time to the USA on her 35th round trip. On April 7, 1903, she began a round trip to East Asia for the eighth and last time and on July 13, 1904 for the ninth and last time to Australia. Between January 12 and December 14, 1907, she was deployed to South America again.

In May 1908 the Stuttgart was sold for demolition with the sister ship Karlsruhe .

Darmstadt

Departure of the "Darmstadt" in 1904 in Wilhelmshaven

The Darmstadt was delivered on November 26, 1890 and ran on its maiden voyage to the Río de la Plata. On July 22, 1891, she ran for the first time to Shanghai. On March 8th, she began her first trip to the USA, which was followed by three more; and on April 10, 1895 the first trip to Australia followed. In 1897/98 she was in service with the Imperial Navy . First she transported 1200 men of the III. Sea battalion to Tsingtau , where they arrived on January 26, 1898 to relieve the naval landing departments in the new German base occupied in the autumn. After her return she ran out on May 4th with the exchange crews for the ships of the East Asian Cruiser Squadron , which this time took place in Manila . On August 4th the ship returned to Wilhelmshaven. The following year, from March 4 to May 25, 1899, the garrison's first scheduled relocation transport in the Kiautschou protected area followed . During the Boxer Rebellion , Darmstadt was sent back to China as a troop transport on August 31, 1900 , and on November 26, 1902, a replacement transport to the troops still deployed in China to Tsingtau and back to Hamburg began until March 20, 1903.

On April 27, 1905, Darmstadt drove for the sixth and last time on the post line to East Asia and on March 21, 1906 for the 16th and last time to Australia. On February 28, 1910, she started the 27th and last North American voyage and from 1905 to November 12, 1911 (?), Several more voyages to South America followed.

On March 7, 1911, she was sold to the Turkish government together with the sister ship Oldenburg and the steamer Roland (3724 BRT, 1893) and started sailing there as Karadeniz . Confiscated in Bombay in 1914 , it came back to Turkey in 1919 and was broken up in 1923.

Gera

Departure of the Gera to China (July 1900)

The Gera was delivered by the shipyard on December 13, 1890. On New Years Day 1891, she began her maiden voyage to the Río de la Plata. On April 2, 1891, she ran for the first time to Baltimore. On July 19, 1893, she drove for the first time on the Reichspostdampferlinie to East Asia and on November 22nd for the first time to Australia. From July 26, 1900 to May 24, 1901, she served the East Asian Expeditionary Corps as a hospital ship . On her departure (reached Shanghai on October 6th) she was accompanied by torpedo boats S 90 , S 91 , and S 92 . In June 1901 she ran back to Germany with the German commander-in-chief of the international expeditionary corps, Alfred von Waldersee , and overtook the retreating liner division in Colombo .
From March 25, 1903, the Gera was used three times between Genoa and New York as the second ship of the city class . The last time the Gera started on December 10, 1905, was to East Asia and on August 8, 1906 to Australia on its 18th round trip. The 22nd and last North Atlantic round trip took place on April 12, 1907 and then the last round trip to South America on September 7th.

In January 1909 the Gera was sold to Italy, where it was renamed Valpareiso and sunk off Libya by U 48 on October 11, 1917 .

Oldenburg

The Oldenburg

The Oldenburg was delivered on January 27, 1891 and began her maiden voyage from Bremerhaven to South America on February 11, where she arrived in Montevideo on March 13 . On June 11, she ran for the first time from Bremerhaven to the USA (arrival in Baltimore on June 24), in the same year to Adelaide in Australia and on February 18, 1892 for the first time to New York. The first use in the Reichspostdampferdienst took place on June 22, 1892 to Shanghai and then on October 26 to Sydney.

On March 3, 1904, the eighth and last mission to East Asia and on April 18, 1906, the eighteenth and last to Australia. On April 10, 1910, the Oldenburg was the last city steamer to sail to the USA on her 24th round trip. Since 1905 (under Captain R. Heintze) she made trips to South America again and on November 12th (?) Her last tour in the service of the NDL to South America.

In 1909, the Oldenburg was the last ship in the city class to be used for a replacement transport to the cruiser squadron. It started on April 24th in Bremen and returned home on July 28th after the usual one week stay in Tsingtau

In 1911 the ship was sold to the Turkish government together with the sister ship Darmstadt and the steamer Roland (3724 BRT, 1893) and renamed Akdeniz . It was confiscated in Bombay in 1914, returned in 1919 and used to repatriate German troops from southern Russia and German prisoners of war from Egypt. In 1930 the ship was scrapped.

Weimar

The Weimar , the last steamer in the city class, was delivered on March 10, 1891. Her maiden voyage took her to Baltimore on May 21st. On December 17, she sailed for the first time with the destination port New York. Her first trip on the Reichspostdampferlinie began on June 2, 1897 to Sydney. She only made two verifiable trips to East Asia. The first trip to Japan began on February 7, 1900 from Hamburg to Yokohama. From May 12 to August 7, 1899, the Weimar also carried out the replacement transport for the cruiser squadron.

On February 25, 1903, the Weimar was the first city steamer on the Mediterranean – New York route. On May 11, 1905, she began her eighth and final round trip between Genoa and New York. On June 13, 1906, she left for the ninth and final departure to Australia. For her 57th and last North Atlantic voyage, the ship left her home port on May 11, 1907. In 1908 trips to South America followed.

In 1908 the Weimar was sold to Italy and renamed Santiago . In 1909 it was sold to Chile and renamed Armonia . In 1915 the ship was sold to Canada. On March 15, 1918, the former Weimar was sunk in the Mediterranean by UC 67 .

Use in the Reichspostdampferdienst

to East Asia
Dresden	1 ? Round trip	from May 29, 1889	last sv?
Stuttgart	8 round trips	from April 1, 1891	last April 7, 1903
Oldenburg	8 round trips	from June 22, 1892	last March 3, 1904
Darmstadt	6 round trips	from October 11, 1892	last April 27, 1905
Gera	5? Round trips	from July 19, 1893	last December 10, 1903
Karlsruhe	7 tours	from January 31, 1894	last ??
Weimar	2? Round trips	from February 7, 1900	last ??

to Australia
Dresden	1 ? Round trip	from July 9, 1890	last sv?
Karlsruhe	19 tours	from September 28, 1892	last May 16, 1906
Oldenburg	18 round trips	from October 26, 1892	last April 18, 1906
Gera	18 round trips	from November 22, 1893	last August 8, 1906
Darmstadt	16 round trips	from April 10, 1895	last March 21, 1906
Stuttgart	9 round trips	from July 1, 1896	last July 13, 1904
Weimar	9 round trips	from June 2, 1897	last June 13, 1906
Munich	1 outward journey	from May 23, 1900	last see before

Remarks

1. ^ Postcard Dresden
2. ↑ differently Kludas , who sees the maiden voyage in the following trip to New York.
3. ↑ at Bonsor wrongly Tirimujghian ; the Tir-i Müjgan was in service as an Ottoman workshop ship until 1919, cf. Langensiepen / Nottelmann / Krüsmann, p. 238
4. ↑ engl. Article on the use of the Dresden after sale
5. ^ Map of Karlsruhe
6. ↑ Postcard
7. ↑ Postcard from Gera
8. ↑ colored postcard
9. ↑ Langensiepen / Nottelmann / Krüssmann p. 211
10. ↑ Manfred Meißner (ed.), Five years of my youth. Otto Meißner's diary, written during his service in the First World War. Leipzig 2013, p. 142 ff.
11. ^ Postcard from Weimar
12. ↑ Bild der Weimar ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

literature

• Bernd Langensiepen: The NDL Darmstadt class from 1890 in "Ship and Time 3", Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford, 1976, p. 9/10.
• Bernd Langensiepen, Dirk Nottelmann, Jochen Krüsmann: Half moon and imperial eagle. Goeben and Breslau on the Bosporus 1914–1918. Verlag ES Mittler & Sohn, Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0588-6 .
• Noel RP Bonsor: North Atlantic Seaway , Volume 2.
• Hildebrand, Röhr, Steinmetz: The German warships . Koehler's Publishing Company, 1983.
• Arnold Kludas : The History of German Passenger Shipping 1850 to 1990 . Ernst Kabel Verlag, 1986.
• Arnold Kludas : The ships of the North German Lloyd 1857 to 1919 . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, 1991, ISBN 3-7822-0524-3 .
• Christine Reinke-Kunze: History of the Reichspostdampfer. Connection between the continents 1886–1914 . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, 1994, ISBN 3-7822-0618-5 (3782206185).