SS Cleveland: Cargo and Cruises

In addition to the floating palaces like Imperator, Hamburg American Line (HAPAG) also operated many smaller, less glamorous, but highly profitable vessels.  Such ships, in fact, made up the bulk of most of the fleet.  In 1908, HAPAG owned a series of vessels designed to offer comfortable amenities for first class but had a large capacity for cargo and steerage passengers.  These vessels were built in a style then in vogue:  medium sized ships with two funnels and four masts (equipped with booms to handle cargo) arranged in a balanced profile.  The multitude of masts were meant to remind potential passengers of sailing vessels. 

SS Cleveland in New York harbor.  1:1250 scale model by Mercator.

The rival White Star Line built a quartet of ships, dubbed “the big four” which were popular and profitable.  HAPAGs’ vessels were competitive in design and accommodation.  They also carried American names in a successful effort to attract emigrants to HAPAG vessels.  These ships included Amerika, President Lincoln, George Washington, and Cincinnati.  The SS Cleveland is one of the most successful of these vessels.

Cleveland passing a freighter.

Cleveland entered service in 1909 on the Hamburg-New York service and also took wealthy passengers on cruises in the off season.  In 1912, she was involved in a collision on approach to New York when the harbor pilot quite literally dropped dead and left the ship without guidance. That was the most dramatic incident of her career.  Unlike many other German liners, Cleveland was in Hamburg at the outbreak of World War I and she spend the duration of the war laid up. 

Note the four masts with sets of cargo booms for handling cargo.

In 1919, she was seized by the Americans and used as a troop ship.  In 1920 she was briefly renamed King Alexander when sailed by the Byron Steamship Company on Mediterranean routes.  In 1923, she was sold to an American company and renamed Cleveland and sold once again in 1926 to her original owners, HAPAG. 

1:1250 scale model and Hamburg American Line advertisement for an around the world cruise, 1912-1913.

Once again under the German flag, she resumed the Hamburg-New York route until 1931 when she was laid up due to the Depression.  As passenger numbers declined during the 1930s, Cleveland was deemed excess tonnage and sold for scrap in 1933.

SS Cleveland (1909-1933) built for HAPAG by Bloom & Voss Shipbuilders, Hamburg, Germany.  16,960 gross tons; 607 feet long, 63 feet wide.  Steam quadruple expansion engines geared to twin screw.  Service speed 15.5 knots.  As built, 2,841 passengers (239 first class, 224 second class, 496 third class, 1,882 steerage).

Lafayette: French Motor Liner Style

The French Line (Companie Generale Transatlantique) had a developed a reputation for outstanding service and elegant interior design in their liners.  Beginning with the France of 1912 through the France of 1961, each vessel built for the Atlantic run was unique and showcased the spirit and image of France. With the success of the Swedish America Lines diesel powered liner Gripsholm (1925), and White Star Line’s Britannic (1930) and Georgic (1932), the French Line decided to built motorships to compete on the New York run and also be used for cruises.  When she entered service in 1930, Lafayette was designed to be one of the largest diesel electric vessels built to date.

Lafayette 1:1250 resin model by Hein Muck

In 1932 the 28,094-ton Champlain, joined Lafayette on the Atlantic run. This similar sized ship was the French Line’s first liner to incorporate the new sweeping hull design which would be perfected with the legendary Normandie.

Note the rounded lines to the hull and superstructure.

On a return crossing from New York in March 1934, Lafayette was caught up in a severe North Atlantic storm. Huge waves crashed through about 50 of her promenade windows causing injuries to many of the passengers. Lafayette’s return to France saw her undergo a few weeks of repairs before being re-deployed on the Atlantic run. Four years later, a fire destroyed the liner during an overhaul.  She was in service about eight years and is one of several outstanding French liners to be destroyed by fire. 

Lafayette underway at sea.

Champlain also had a short life as she hit a German mine near La Pallice on the French coast June 17th 1940 and sank soon after.

Lafayette (1930-1938) Built for the French Line (CGT) by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France.  25,178GRT, 613 feet long, 77 feet wide.  M.A.N. Diesels, twin screw.  Service speed 17 knots.  1,079 total passengers (583 cabin class, 388 tourist class, 108 third class). 

The Berry: Cunard Line's First Queen

Berengaria was the first Cunard vessel to be named for a queen (the wife of Richard the Lion-Heart). She was originally built for HAPAG as the Imperator. Named in honor of the Kaiser, this was a ship that aimed to impress every way.  In designing the first vessel to exceed 50,000 gross tons, the architects thought big in every dimension.  The mast had two crow’s nests, a powerful searchlight poised to scan in every direction over the bow, a 90-ton rudder, a two-deck high swimming pool, capacity for 4,594 passengers, and more than eighty-three lifeboats including two motor launches. 

Imperator at anchor, circa 1913. Note her huge figurehead, which was removed early in the ship's career after being damaged in a storm. This ship served as USS Imperator (ID # 4080) in 1919.  U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

The Imperator was the first of three successively larger near-sisters.  The Vaterland followed with 54,000 gross tons, and the Bismarck was expected to weigh in at an astonishing 56,000.    HAPAGs’ plans came to nothing. At the end of WWI, the ships were seized by the allies as reparations for their losses during the war.  

Berengaria in the Hudson.

The Vaterland, renamed Leviathan by the US Navy, became the flagship of the United States Lines.  Bismarck was completed for the White Star Line as the Majestic.  Imperator served briefly as a troopship before Cunard took ownership of the vessel.  In April 1921, she was officially renamed Berengaria and began sailing out of the new express service terminal at Southampton.

Berengaria passes Bishop Rock, the westernmost outpost of the British Isles.  Model lighthouse by Coastlines. 

Nicknamed “the Berry,” she settled into largely successful career and proved to be a popular ship, although she never achieved the cache of her fleet mates Mauretania and Aquitania.   She had power, size, and commodious spaces that attracted a wealthy clientele including the Prince of Wales, Will Rogers, Mary Pickford, Doglas Fairbanks, and Henry Ford.

Tugs assist Berengaria.  1:1250 model by Carlo Marquardt.  Tugs and quayside accessories by Tri-ang Minic.

When Cunard refurbished the liner, they had to contend with a serious stability problem.  Imperator was known as a “tender ship” with a tendency to roll and a permanent list.  Famed designer Charles Mewes lavished the first class staterooms and public areas with quite literally tons marble and gold.  

Postcard depicting Second Class Dining Saloon.

Early in her service the stability problems became a serious issue.  The weight of this material high above the waterline combined with the 69-foot high funnels rendered the vessel top heavy.  Initially HAPAG engineers replaced much of this heavy material, cut the funnels down to 60 feet, and filled in much of the double bottom with cement.  This helped tremendously, but the ship remained slightly unbalanced.  Skippers knew to handle her gingerly and the stability problems remained an issue throughout her career.

Berengaria entering the floating dry dock in Southampton in January 1937.  Recreation of an archival photo in Frank O. Braynard and Willaim Miller, Jr.  Picture History of the Cunard Line (Dover, 1991) page 33.  Floating dock model, tugs, and quayside models by Tri-ang Minic.

In the tough years of the Depression, Berengaria ferried passengers on cruises to Bermuda and on weekend excursions.  To attract passengers, the fares were incredibly low, sometimes as little as $1 per day.  As budget vacationers took to the sea, they called her “Bargain Area.” 

Booklet advertising accommodation updates to Tourist Class, circa 1936.

In March 1938, Berengaria caught fire at her berth in New York.  American authorities decided the vessel was a safety risk and the vessel made her last crossing later in the month.  With passenger revenues declining and smaller vessels laid up to make way for a single large ship (QueenElizabeth), Cunard decided to sell Berengaria.  She was sold to John Jarvis and like the Olympic three years earlier, departed for Jarrow, Scotland to be scrapped.  Demolition was slowed during the war and the final pieces were dismantled in 1946.

Built by Vulcan Werkes, Hamburg, Germany for HAPAG as Imperator (1913-1914).  Cunard Line as Berengaria (1921-1938).  52,226 GRT, 919 feet long, 98 feet wide.  Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw.  Service speed 23 knots.  2,723 total passengers (972 first class, 630 second class, 606 third class, 515 tourist class).

RMS Homeric

In 1913 HAPAG completed liners of enormous size (Imperator, Vaterland, Bismarck) to compete with Cunard and White Star, North German Lloyd began to complete modern vessels, not as fast or as large, but economical to run and designed to be very luxurious and the most stable at sea. NDL would offer the most comfortable crossings. Two ships were laid down in Danzig, the Columbus  and Hindenberg.  Construction was well advanced but halted because of the war.  Both vessels remained in the yards for the duration of the war. 

 The launching of Columbus (Norddeutscher Lloyd) at Schichau shipyard, Danzig.  December 17, 1913.
Photographer unknown, Weltrundschau zu Reclams Universum 1913.

At war’s end, the Columbus was nearer completion than her sister and was seized by the allies as reparations (with many other German vessels).  The completed vessel was handed over to White Star Line in 1922 and renamed Homeric.  The new owners made many alterations to the vessel and make her appeal more to British tastes.  She was one of the most “plush” vessels of her day and the largest ship built in the world with twin screws (in an era when all of the express liners had three or four).

First class gallery (long corridor).

Homeric made her maiden voyage in February, 1924. She was one of White Star’s “Big Three” of the 1920s alongside Olympic and Majestic. She was a fitting match for her fleet mates in terms of luxury, but not speed.  Her 18 knot service speed (increased to 19 with oil conversion in 1923) rendered her unable to keep pace with the faster vessels. 

Diorama scene. 1:1250  Homeric model by Carlo Marquart (CM) and 1:1200 Aquitania model and harbor accessories by Tri-ang Minic.

However, travelers appreciated the stability of the vessel and she quickly gained a following. The stability was due to fine hull design and able seamanship of the crew.  There were no anti-roll tanks, gyro-stabilizers, or anything of the kind.

White Star Line postcard, ca. 1924.

Yet, White Star could not maintain a reliable weekly schedule with such a slow vessel.  In 1930, she was replaced on the transatlantic route by Britannic and Georgic, smaller vessels with faster service speeds.  Homeric became White Star’s full-time cruise ship.

 

Homeric in port.  Note the cargo booms alongside the foremast.

Unfortunately, she was one of the hardest hit by the Depression.  When Cunard and White Star merged in May 1934, Homeric continued with cruise services.  Laid up in September 1935, had sold for scrap in February, 1936.

Homeric  and Aquitania quayside.  Aquitania is raising steam for departure.

Meanwhile, the Hindenberg remained with her German owners.  Work progressed slowly and the completed ship was re-named Columbus in 1924.  Her machinery was reconfigured to steam turbines, rather than reciprocating engines as installed in the former sister ship.  In 1929 her funnels were redesigned to match those of Bremen and Europa.  She was converted to oil fuel as well (rather late compared to other liners of the day which were converted earlier in the decade).  She re-entered service in 1930 and made an around the world cruise. She was intercepted by a British cruiser in December, 1939 and scuttled by her crew to avoid capture. 

RMS Homeric (ex-Columbus) built by Schichau Shipyards, Danzig, Germany, 1913-1922.  Sailed for White Star Line, 1922-1935.  34,351 GRT, 774 feet long, 82 feet wide.  Steam triple-expansion engines geared to twin screw.  Service speed 19 knots.  2,766 total passengers (529 first class, 487 second class, 1,750 third class).  Later changed to a total of 1,678 passengers in the 1930s, most of them in second, now “cabin” class.