Enduring Amerika

Amerika was launched in April 1905 at Belfast, Northern Ireland, by the shipbuilding firm of Harland and Wolff. Built for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG), she entered transatlantic service in October and departed Hamburg on her maiden voyage to the United States. A slightly larger companionship, Kaiserin Auguste Victoria was being built at the same time in Stettin.  These ships were developed in the wake of the record-breaking (but otherwise disappointing) Deutschland and marked HAPAG’s commitment to luxurious and comfortable service.  Under Albert Ballin’s direction this was a successful strategy for the company.

SS Amerika underway.  1:1250 model by Mercator.

Amerika was one of the most luxurious passenger vessels in service at the time.  For the first time, landed architects designed a ship’s key public rooms.  The firm of Mewes and Davis designed such first class spaces as the lounge, dining saloon, and winter garden (Verandah Café). Amerika boasted of a couple of unique shipboard features; the first electrically operated passenger elevator, and an a-la-carte restaurant supplied and staffed by Cesar Ritz.  This was a unique innovation, and despite the added cost and exclusivity, proved popular among first class passengers.

Amerika was widely advertised in the press as her construction progressed.  Details about her splendid accommodations and machinery were circulated in company brochures and newspapers.  When she arrived at her Hoboken pier some 2,000 people turned out to watch her as she tied up to the HAPAG pier. 

Amerika in harbor.  A freighter is docked astern and ahead is Deutschland.

From 1905 to the outbreak of World War I, she prospered on the Hamburg, Cherbourg, New York run.  She made calls at Southampton and Boston as well.  The war caught Amerika at Boston, where HAPAG ordered her to remain for the duration of hostilities. 

 

Amerika passes a freighter.  Her two funnels and four masts are similar to White Star Line's "Big Four."

In 1917, Amerika was seized by American officials.  Upon inspecting the liner, American agents found her filthy and discovered that her crew had sabotaged certain elements of the ship's engineering plant. Nevertheless, with her officers and men detained on Deer Island, Amerika was earmarked by the United States Navy for service in the Cruiser and Transport Force as a troop transport. Given the identification number 3006, she was placed in commission as USS Amerika (ID-3006).  Converted to a troopship, was renamed America (most German ships were renamed at this time).  She began carrying U.S. troops to Europe at the end of October 1917.

Her trooping career was largely uneventful until late in the war, when, due to open hatches and coaling ports, she sank at her dock.  She was raised and refloated after the armistice and underwent extensive repairs.

Salvage of the America.

Once repaired and refurbished, America entered service with the United States Lines. She sailed on her maiden voyage as an American passenger liner on June 22, 1921, sailing for Bremen, Germany, with stops at Plymouth, England, and Cherbourg, France, en route.  For the next 11 years, America crossed Atlantic as the third largest American passenger liner (Leviathan and George Washington, both ex-Germans, were larger).

America in United States Lines livery.

In early 1930s two modern ships, Washington and SS Manhattan, entered service for United States Lines, and America was laid up on the Patuxent River, along with a number of older German liners.  She stayed there for nearly a decade until October 1940, when America was acquired by the US Army for use as a floating barracks.

With the ship's new role came a new name. To avoid confusion with the brand new liner America, her name was changed to United States Army Transport (USAT) Edmund B. Alexander, in keeping with the Army's policy of naming its oceangoing transports for famous general officers.  She was overhauled, and fitted with a single funnel and was converted to burn fuel oil instead of coal.  Edmund B. Alexander carried troops between New York and the European and Mediterranean theaters and was awarded a battle star for being part of Convoy KMF-25A that came under attack on 6 November 1943.

From 1946 to 1949, she carried military dependents back from Europe and the Pacific.

She was formally laid up again in 1951 and never called back to active service. The ship was sold to the Bethlehem Steel Company of Baltimore in 1957 and was broken up.  The long service with three names, three owners, and two near fatal disasters is a testament to the sound workmanship of the Harland and Wolff craftsmen and the character of this plucky ship.

Amerika (1905-1917, America 1917-1940, Edmund B. Alexander 1940-1957) built for Hamburg America Line by Harland and Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland.  As built:  22,225 GRT, 700 feet long, 74 feet wide.  Steam quadruple expansion engines geared to twin screw.  Service speed 17.5 knots.  2,662 total passengers (420 first class, 254 second class, 223 third class, 1,765 steerage).