The Adventures of the Kronprinz Wilhelm

Following the success of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) and then bested by upstart

speed ship from HAPAG, Deutschland, North German Lloyd commissioned a second four-stacker.  The new ship, Kronprinz Wilhelm (in honor of the crown prince) was an improved

version of the Kaiser.  She was slightly larger and boasted even more luxurious first class accommodation.

When the she entered service in 1901, NDL aimed to recapture the Blue Ribband.  She never succeeded in besting the Deutschland’s record, but settled into profitable service for the company.

Kronprinz Wilhelm at sea.  1:1250 model by Carlo Marquardt.

The most exciting phase of the liner’s life came during the Great War.  Kronprinz Wilhelm was at sea when war broke out in the summer of 1914.  The crew scrambled to convert their vessel into an armed merchant cruiser, and with (albeit a small) passengers went on patrol.  

Over the course of several months’ non-stop sailing, including risky at sea refueling, she sank 15 Allied merchant vessels while commerce raiding in the South Atlantic.  German-friendly South American officials provided the ship with coal and provisions were obtained from captured vessels.  The crews of the ships joined the passengers on the “cruise” partly as prisoners, but strangely also as holidaymakers.  Amazing not a single life was lost but many people fiel ill to seasickness and poor nutrition.

In April 1915, a worn down vessel, exhausted crew, and sick and hungry passengers arrived in Newport News.  America was still neutral but authorities impounded the vessel.  After the war, Lieutenant Alfred von Niezychowski, wrote of the adventure, The Cruise of the Kronprinz Wilhelm.

Kronprinz Wilhelm passes Augusta Victoria.

In 1917, the US Navy renamed her U.S.S. Von Stueben and outfitted her for trooping duty.  This service was not without drama as she collided with U.S.S. Agamemnon (ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II) and resulting in serious damage and loss of life.  The vessel was in Halifax when the explosion of a French munitions carrier rocked the harbor.  The explosion was so powerful it caused a tsunami that and caused the death of 2,000 people. 

U.S.S.  Von Steuben.  US Navy Photograph in public domain.

In 1918 Von Steuben avoided a torpedo fired by U-151 by timely evasive action.  During another trooping run she came to the rescue of the U.S.S. Henderson battling a fire and transferring her troops to safety. 

After the war, Von Stueben sailed for the United States Shipping Board until 1923 when she was sold for scrap and broken up.

 

Kronprinz Wilhelm (1901-1915, U.S.S. Von Stueben 1917-1923) built by Vulkan Shipyards, Stettin, Germany for North German Lloyd.  14,908 GRT, 664 feet long, 66 feet wide.  Steam quadruple expansion engines geared to twin screw.  Service speed 22 knots.  As built: 1,761 total passengers (367 first class, 340 second class, 1,054 steerage).

Deutschland, the Second Four Funneled Liner

North German Lloyd’s envious rival, HAPAG, decided to enter the competition for the Blue Ribband as would-be passengers were attracted to North German Lloyd’s Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.  Traveling on the world’s fastest (merchant) ship had special cache.  This competition between shipping lines was also one of ports:  Bremen versus Hamburg.  Albert Ballin, HAPAG’s brilliant director had revolutionized the industry by placing emphasis on service and comfort for all passengers, and exclusive luxuries for first class.  Ballin was not fully convinced that entering the speed competition was best for the company, but the board of directors overruled him and HAPAG went to Vulcan Shipyards and commissioned a vessel to beat the Kaiser. 

The new ship, Deutschland, was similar in overall appearance and design to the Kaiser except with more powerful engines and HAPAG-quality luxury.  The first class accommodations were particularly splendid and outdid the NDL ships in most respects.

Deutschland sailing at full steam.   1:1250 model by Carlo Marquardt.
This is the first attempt using cotton to simulate smoke.

She captured the Blue Ribband on her maiden voyage and despite attempts by the Kaiser to win the record back.  In September 1900, the two ships held an unofficial race.  The Deutschland left New York an hour and half later than Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.  The following day, with both ships under full steam, Deutschand passed her rival.  Passengers on both vessels delighted in the spectacle, but the captains denied there was a race at sea.  Deutschland proved to be the faster ship but at the cost of severe vibration at high speed. 

Deutschland passes Cunard Line's Campania (1893).

The vibration problem turned passengers away and subsequent HAPAG vessels were designed with size, luxury and stability in mind rather than speed.  Deutschland held her speed record for six years, losing it briefly to NDL’s Kronprnz Wilhelm in 1902 but won it back in 1903. However, Lusitania recaptured the Blue Ribband for the British in 1907.

First Class Smoking room.
(Photographer unknown.  Credit: http://www.gjenvick.com/HistoricalBrochures/Steamships-OceanLiners/HamburgAmericanLine/1905-AcrossTheAtlantic-Photos-Deutschland.html)  

In 1911, she emerged from the shipyards with less powerful engines and a new name, Victoria Luise.  She was an all first-class cruise ship with accommodations for 487 holidaymakers.  She proved a remarkable success as she toured the West Indies, Mediterranean, and Scandinavian waters despite enduring mechanical problems.

Deutschland circa 1900.  A. Loeffler, Tompkinsville, NY.  Copyright expired.
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b16663

She remained in port during the Great War and was the only large steamer to remain with her German owners after the war.  In 1921 she was rebuilt a second time as an immigrant ship and renamed Hansa complete with only two funnels.  Her work dried up with U.S. immigration restrictions and general prosperity in the mid 1920s and she was retired in 1925.  Of all five German four-stackers, this vessel served her owners the longest.

Deutschland (1900-1911, Victoria Luise 1911-1921, Hansa 1921-1925) built by Vulcan Shipyards for Hamburg American Line.  16,502 GRT, 684 feet long, 67 feet wide.  As built: steam quadruple expansion engines geared to twin screw.  Service speed; 22 knots.  2,050 total passengers (450 first class, 300 second class, 1,000 steerage).

Emigrant Vessel SS Berlin

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.

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. 

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.

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).

Liners at War: Armed Merchant Cruisers

Germany dominated the Atlantic ferry for a decade from 1897.   In that year, the North German Lloyd liner Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse entered service and was the largest and fastest ship in the world.  This was the first “super liner” (although that superlative did not yet exist) one that embodied the latest in maritime engineering, luxurious appointments, sheer size and four funnels.  At the time, the new liner marked a culmination of Germany’s efforts to best the British steamship lines and win national prestige on the seas.  

A revolutionary design: four funnels and two masts.  Mercator 1:1250 model of Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in auxiliary cruiser colors.

She was also the first major liner built in Germany and proved the capabilities of the nation’s shipyards (although the running mate, Kaiser Frederick was a disappointment to NDL and returned to her builders).  The new ship was powered by the most powerful reciprocating engines yet built.  The four funnels, grouped in pairs, allowed better ventilation of exhaust from the boilers but also allowed for grand public rooms (such as the dining saloon) to be uninterrupted by funnel uptakes.  The profile balanced by two masts set her apart from all other vessels to-date and created a new standard.

 SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in 1897.

The new ship was an unqualified success and Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse won the coveted Blue Ribband in March 1898 voyage at a speed of 22.3 knots.  The speed and splendor of the ship attracted passengers away from British lines.  The four funnels were seen as a symbol of speed and safety and images, clearly showing the funnels, was marketed to emigrants.  In fact, nearly two decades later, many steerage passengers refused to board the newer and much better liner Imperator because she only had three funnels.  Such was the significance of four stacks!

First class smoking room.  Reproduction number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-02202 from Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Photochrom Prints Collection

The luxury of Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was decorated in Baroque revival.  The fittings featured rich woods, plush leather chairs, friezes, scrollwork, and nearly excessive detail.  The male preserves, such as the smoking room, echoed Bavarian hunting lodges.  All of the spaces echo shore side spaces and none remind travelers of the sea (except for the bolted down furniture).

Postcard mailed May 30, 1909.

North German Lloyd built three more four-funnel ships, marketed together as “the four flyers,” and each was a little larger, more luxurious, and marginally faster than the Kaiser.  The second vessel was Kronprinz Wilhelm (1901), followed by Kaiser Wilhelm II (1903) and the fourth vessel, Kronprinzessin Cecilie (1906).

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse passes Kaiser Wilhelm II, still in peace time colors.

North German Lloyd’s rival, Hamburg-America Line (HAPAG) made an attempt to compete for the Blue Ribband and attract the cream of the passengers to boot.  In 1900, the Deutschland, a strikingly similar vessel emerged from HAPAG's builders.  The vessel did briefly capture the speed record, but at an enormous cost of fuel and excessive vibration.  HAPAG’s director of passenger service, Albert Ballin, decided that the line should maintain focus on passenger comfort and let other lines compete for speed records.  Deutschland’s hull shook under slower speeds and the liner was eventually recalled from Atlantic service and rebuilt.  She emerged with a white hull and a new name, Victoria Luise, and was the first all first class cruise ship.

The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse at sea.

The Kaiser-class reign on speed records came to an end when the Lusitania (also not without vibration problems) and Mauretania entered service in 1907.  All four liners continued on the Atlantic run, but were losing popularity with first and second class passengers to larger and more stable vessels such as Olympic and Imperator. The narrow beam to length ratio made the ships roll much more in the frequently rough North Atlantic.  Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse tended to roll severely in storms earning her the nickname, “Rolling Billy.”

Postcard ca. 1903.

Her career was not uneventful.  In 1906 she collided with the British steamer Orinoco near Cherbourg.  The Kaiser was badly damaged and five passengers were killed.  In 1907, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was refitted with larger third class capacity and catered to emigrant traffic from the Mediterranean to New York.

When war erupted in 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was refitted for her alternate purpose as an armed merchant cruiser.  Painted in battle grey, she prowled the Atlantic and engaged enemy shipping.  Her commander and crew played by the accepted rules of gentlemanly war and never fired without warning.  During her service as a cruiser, she sank three ships and stopped two passenger liners for inspection. 

The notion of ocean liners as cruisers proved to be a less than realistic idea.  The ships used large amounts of coal to maintain the fast speeds needed for passenger service.  They were not fuel-efficient.  Replacing coal in wartime proved difficult and bunkering at sea was a time consuming process that rendered vessels exceedingly vulnerable to enemy fire as well as damage from collision between ships.  It was also dangerous for the men carrying buckets, hand over hand from one ship to another.  This was arduous enough dockside, let alone on a rolling sea.

Battle with HMS Highflier. This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3b16662.

It was coaling that proved the demise of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.  On Auhust 26, 1914, HMS Highflier intercepted her off the coast of Rio del Oro in Spanish West Africa.  Despite the bunkering process, the vessels exchanged fire until the Kaiser ran out of ammunition.  Unable to flee, the crew scuttled their damaged vessel and surrender to the British cruiser.  She was one of the few liners to enter naval service as a combatant and among the hundreds of merchant vessels sunk during the war.

In the end, authorities on both sides determined that the best use of ocean liners in war was as troop transports and hospital ships. This was a key decision that saved many of the ships from destruction and changed the outcome of key campaigns.  This was a lesson not lost on the combatants during World War II as the largest vessels brought millions of men to war and back but were also the most sought targets on the seas.

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897-1914) built by Vulcan Shipyards, Stettin, Germany for North German Lloyd.  14,349 gross tons; 655 feet long, 66 feet wide.  Steam triple expansion reciprocating engines geared to twin screw.  Service speed 22 knots.  1,970 total passengers (558 first class, 338 second class, 1,074 steerage).