At the turn of the century, North German Lloyd owned the express Kaiser-class liners but also a fleet of
moderate sized vessels with sizable cargo capacity and bare-bones accommodation
for the emigrant traffic. One such
vessel was the Berlin, which entered
service in 1909. She sailed from
Bremerhaven to New York, but also Mediterranean routes as well. Berlin
was a successful vessel for NDL, but her career, like so many other fine
vessels was cut short by the Great War.
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| Berlin's balanced profile with two masts and two funnels. |
At the outbreak of World War I, she was converted to an auxiliary
cruiser and minelayer. She was part
of a mine laying operated off Scapa Flow and one of her mines sank HMS Audacious. Her career was brief, operating through autumn
of 1914 before being forced to shelter from a story by in Trindheim and hence
interned by the Norwegians.
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| Berlin, still in peacetime colors docked next to the grey and black Kaiser Wilhelm der Groose. |
At the end of the war, she was given to the British as war
reparations and joined the White Star Line fleet on North Atlantic routes as
the Arabic. White Star chartered her
to the Red Star Line in 1926 and she remained in their service until 1930. In 1931, she was sold for scrap and
dismantled in Genoa.
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| SS. Berlin (1909-1914, Arabic 1921-1930) Built for North German Lloyd by A.G. Weser Shipbuilders, Bremen, Germany. 17,323 GRT, 613 feet long, 69 feet wide. Steam quadruple expansion engines geared to twin screw. Service speed 16.5 knots. 3,212 total passengers (266 first class, 246 second class, 2,700 third class). |
