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).