Wittekind (ship)
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.jpg) Wittekind as USS Freedom |
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| Launch : | February 3, 1894 | |
| Commissioning: | April 8, 1894 | |
| Builder: | Blohm & Voss , Hamburg | |
| Build number: | 100 | |
| Sister ship: | Willehad (1894) | |
| Passengers: | 1114 between deck | |
| Crew: | 70 men | |
| Technical specifications | ||
| Measurement: | 4,997 GRT | |
| Load capacity: | 5,683 dwt | |
| Length over all: | 122.22 m, after conversion 140.51 m | |
| Width: | 14.03 m | |
| Draft : | ||
| Machinery: | 2 triple expansion steam engines | |
| Number of screws: | 2 | |
| Power: | 2,500 PSi | |
| Top speed: | 12 kn | |
| Whereabouts | ||
| Confiscated by the USA in Boston in 1917. 1924 Demolition |
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The Wittekind (1894) and her sister ship Willehad were built by Blohm & Voss for the mixed passenger and freight service of North German Lloyd (NDL), Bremen, to North and South America. The two twin screw steamers were the first newbuildings that the NDL ordered from the Hamburg shipyard . They were single-chimney ships with two masts .
Use at the NDL
The Wittekind built by Blohm & Voss was launched on February 3, 1894 and was delivered to the NDL on April 8. Six days later she began her maiden voyage to New York. After eight round trips to the North Atlantic, it was first used in South America on September 21, 1895. By 1912 she made a total of 33 tours of South America.
In 1900 it was extended and the possibility of equipping 2nd class cabins was created. A section over 18 m long was added behind the bridge, which increased the cargo space. It is unclear whether this work, which was completed in March 1900, took place at the Seebeck shipyard or in Great Britain ( Wigham Richardson , Wallsend-on-Tyne). The conversion made 1366 tween deck passengers possible. If required, however, up to 177 second class passengers could now be accommodated, whereby the possible number of tween deck passengers was reduced to 1039.
On July 2, 1900, she sailed to China with the first reinforcements of the marine infantry because of the Boxer Rebellion and served there as a hospital ship until April 1901 .
In 1906 the Wittekind first called at Baltimore, in 1911 via Philadelphia to Galveston, Texas and on June 16 to Quebec and Montreal.
On July 24, 1914, the Wittekind sailed for the last time from Hamburg to Quebec and Montreal under the German flag. Because of the impending danger of war, the neutral Boston was called, where the ship was laid up. The passengers were not allowed to enter the USA; Canada had to organize immigration processing and onward transport.
When the USA entered the war in 1917, the ship was confiscated and renamed Iroquois, renamed again USS Freedom in 1919 and served in the US Navy from January 24 to September 23, 1919 . It made three round trips to France and carried out the repatriation of 4,983 soldiers to the USA. After that it was as part of the US Army Reserve Transportation launched .
In 1924 the former Wittekind in Baltimore was demolished .
literature
- Bonsor, Noel RP: North Atlantic Seaway , vol. 2, Newton Abbey & Jersey, 1976
- Herbert, Carl: War voyages of German merchant ships. Broschek & Co, Hamburg, 1934
- Arnold Kludas : The History of German Passenger Shipping 1850 to 1990 . Ernst Kabel Verlag, 1986.
- Kludas, Arnold: The ships of the North German Lloyd 1857 to 1919 . Koehler's publishing company, 1991.
- Hans Georg Prager: Blohm + Voss - Ships and Machines for the World , Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford 1977.
- Reinke-Kunze, Christine: History of the Reichspostdampfer. Connection between the continents 1886–1914 . Koehler's publishing company, 1994.
- Rothe, Claus: German ocean passenger ships 1896 to 1918 . Steiger Verlag, 1986.