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).

Vive la France! Vive la Normandie!

It is hard, perhaps even unfair to, label a ship as the most magnificent of all.  Deciding what is, or is not exceptional, is much a matter of aesthetics and personal taste.  Yet, most ocean liner experts and enthusiasts do not shy from elevating one ship above all-- the Normandie.  Much admired and greatly anticipated in her day, the Normandie was one of a kind and the ship of the 1930s. 

1:1250 model of Normandie by Mercator with tugboats by Tri-ang Minic.

Planned and built during the Great Depression, the state subsided CGT spend $60 million on the most technologically advanced and artistically designed ocean liner.  She was to be a true floating symbol of France.  The press and public were amazed by her particulars:  over 1,000 feet long, heaver than 80,000 tons, three deck high public spaces, advanced fire and safety systems, and a streamlined hull.  The French Line did not publicly state that Normandie would try to win the Blue Ribband, many speculated that she was built with that objective in mind.

Adolphe Cassandre's famed 1935 depiction of the SS Normandie.

Her clipper ship hull design was unlike that of any other ocean liner, and combined with a bulbous forefoot, and powerful turbo electric engines, she was meant to be a fast ship.  Her designer, Vladimir Yourkevitch, designed the hull to be fuel efficient as well.  She would use considerably less fuel and need 1/5 less horsepower than her British rival, Queen Mary. Yourkevitch approached Cunard with his hull design, but the conservative British company decided on a more conventional approach (some design elements from Normandie were incorporated in QueenElizabeth).  More than 200,000 people came to watch the launching of the world’s largest ship.

Note the clipper shaped bow.

The interiors were unabashedly modern and elegant.  The major first class public rooms, such as the dining saloon, featured Lalique, hammered glass, aluminum, and steel.  Enormous brass doors with fantastic etchings led to and from the room into the lounge.  The dining saloon was three decks high and longer that the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles (300 feet long).  The room seated 1,000 guests at 400 tables.  The dinner menu was just as impressive with seven hors d’oeuvres, five soups, six salad choices, and delectable entrees.  Everything was oversized to impress:  the theater had 380 seats on two levels, the garage held 100 touring cars, and the swimming pool was 80 feet long with graduated depths.

Normandie's main dining room, decorated with Lalique glass and compared to the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

The major first class public rooms were arranged along major corridors and flowed from room to room.  There was a grill room and bar, and forward, a winter garden with birds and tropical plants.  Passengers could relax in comfort while watching the liner push through the Atlantic ahead. 

Bow-on view of Normandie.  The observation lounge is behind the front-facing windows on the lowest deck of the superstructure.

All of the cabins, even in third class, were ahead of the competition in size and comfort.  The most expensive suites, located on the promenade deck included private verandas, living rooms and dining rooms.  Each of the four bedrooms included a private bathroom.  On a special 24-day cruise to Rio in 1939, one of these suites cost $9,175 for each of the eight passengers.  Such cost and opulence was thought to intimidate many but the most fashionable travelers.

Mercator model and chair from Normandie's dining saloon.  The chairs are used in the Normandie Room at the Chicago Conrad Hilton, which purchased some furnishings in 1945.  The chairs are reupholstered and still in use.

Indeed, the ship barely averaged half of her carrying capacity and never made a profit.  The cost of operation and maintenance was astronomical, particularly in the tough economy.  The ship was a success however, conveying the strength and ingenuity of France, and maintaining competition on the Atlantic.

Note the tiered superstructure gradually easing down each deck level.

Normandie’s construction was ahead of her British rival, Queen Mary, but it was clear that the builders in France and Scotland were closely watching each other.  Changes were made to each vessel as facts and figures became public (additional superstructure was added to increase her tonnage to 83,000 to best the Mary’s 81,000).  The two ships became linked in the public mind as national symbols and as ocean greyhounds racing like yachts on the open sea.

Maiden voyage arrival in New York. Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3b36522.

The maiden voyage of Normandie in May 1935 went smoothly and she arrived in New York shattering all records: 4 days 3 hours and 14 minutes at an average speed of 32 knots.  The arrival was cheered by thousands of people gathered on the shores of New York and New Jersey and thousands more on a flotilla of ferries, excursion boats, and tugs.  Even though the French never made a formal challenge for the record, they were very confident of their vessel as each passenger was given a medallion at the end of the voyage celebrating the capture of the Blue Ribband!  She also was the first ship to fly a blue pennant from her mainmast upon arrival.  The Italians sadly, but graciously, surrendered the record set by the Rex, but the Germans boasted that Bremen and Europa would be unleashed with their full power and reclaim the prize.  Neither ship would win another speed record.  The Queen Mary challenged her in 1936 and again in 1938, winning the record once and for all.

Overhead view of Normandie at sea.  From Wikimedia commons, public domain.

The two ships enjoyed an exciting rivalry until war clouds gathered in 1939.  When Britain and France entered the war against Nazism in September, Normandie was in New York.  Her furnishings were covered and a skeleton crew of 100 watched over the ship.  She was safest here lest she fall into Axis hands.  When France fell, the Vichy government claimed Normandie was theirs, but Washington had already prepared to seize the vessel.  On December 16, 1941, Normandie was seized by the US Navy, renamed Lafayette and commandeered as a troopship.  Her fittings were stripped and work began in earnest.  A shipment of highly flammable life vests caught fire on February 9, 1942.  Like the Paris a few years earlier, the fire spread quickly and attempts to put the fire out dangerously overloaded the vessel with water. 

The wreck of the USS Lafayette (ex-Normandie).  National Archives Photograph, 80-G-410243. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Normandie capsized along the pier and declared a loss.  In order to begin war service, she would need millions of dollars worth of repair.  In 1943 the hull, with superstructure cut down, was re floated. The Navy deemed Lafayette unnecessary for the war effort. The hull was sold for scrap in 1946 and towed away.  An ignominious end to one of the most magnificent liners ever built.

Normandie (1935-1942) built for CGT by Chantiers d’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France.  82,799 gross tons, 1,028 feet long, 117 feet wide.  Steam turboelectric turbines geared to quadruple screw.  Service speed 29 knots.  1,972 passengers (848 first class, 670 tourist class, 454 third class).