SS Imperator
Encyclopedia
SS Imperator was an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
built for the Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft (HAPAG)
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...
(Hamburg America Line) launched in 1912. She was the first of a trio of successively larger Hamburg America ships that included and built by the line for transatlantic passenger service. At the time of her launch in May 1912, she was the largest passenger ship in the world, superseding the RMS Olympic
RMS Olympic
RMS Olympic was the lead ship of the Olympic-class ocean liners built for the White Star Line, which also included Titanic and Britannic...
.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the ship remained in port in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. After the war, she was briefly commissioned into the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as USS Imperator (ID-4080) and employed as a transport, returning American troops from Europe. Following her U.S. Navy service, Imperator was handed over to Britain's Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
as part of war reparations
World War I reparations
World War I reparations refers to the payments and transfers of property and equipment that Germany was forced to make under the Treaty of Versailles following its defeat during World War I...
, and she sailed as the flagship RMS Berengaria for the final decade of her career.
History
The first plates of her keelKeel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
were laid in 1910 at the Vulcan Shipyards
Stettiner Vulcan AG
Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin was a German shipbuilding and locomotive builder company, located in Stettin . AG Vulcan Stettin played a significant role in both World Wars, building U-boats and warships for the Kaiserliche Marine...
in Hamburg, Germany, and made her maiden voyage in 1913. At 51,680 gross tons, Imperator was the largest ship in the world until Vaterland sailed in 1914.
Before her launch on 23 May 1912, Cunard announced that their new ship, , which was under construction at the time at the John Brown shipyards in Glasgow, would be longer by one foot. There was an instant uproar in Hamburg. Several weeks later, she was fitted with a large bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
figurehead, created by Professor Bruno Kruse of Berlin, which graced her forepeak with a banner emblazoned with HAPAG's motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
Mein Feld ist die Welt (My field is the world); this extension increased the Imperator's length sufficiently to (easily) surpass the Aquitania. The eagle's wings were later torn off in an Atlantic storm during the 1914 season, after which it was removed and replaced with gold scrollwork which was similar to what was on her stern.
On her initial sea trials, the ship ran aground (similar to the Queen Mary's first journey) on the Elbe river due to insufficient dredging and a flash fire in the engine room which resulted in eight crewmen being taken to hospital. On her official trials, she suffered overheating of the turbines and some stability issues were discovered. The trials were therefore abandoned and the builders were called in to carry out emergency work. At the same time, the overnight cruise for the Kaiser was cancelled; it was eventually carried out in July that year.
Imperator left on her maiden voyage on Tuesday, 10 June 1913, with Commodore Hans Ruser in command and Hamburg-Amerika appointing four other captains for the journey to make sure that everything went smoothly. On the way, she stopped at Southampton and Cherbourg before proceeding across the Atlantic to New York, arriving on 19 June 1913. On board were 4,986, consisting of 859 first-class passengers, 647 second-class passengers, 648 third-class passengers, 1,495 in the steerage, and 1,332 crew. The ship returned to Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
on 25 June 1913.
On her first arrival the harbour pilot assigned to bring her into the Ambrose channel, Captain George Seeth, noted that the ship listed from side to side when the helm made changes to the ship's direction. She was soon nicknamed "Limperator".
In October 1913, Imperator returned to the Vulkan shipyard to facilitate drastic work to improve her handling and stability, as it had been discovered that her centre of gravity was too high (see metacentric height
Metacentric height
The metacentric height is a measurement of the static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre . A larger metacentric height implies greater stability against overturning...
). To correct the problem, all the marble bathroom suites in first class were removed and all the heavy furniture was replaced with lightweight wicker cane.
The ship's funnels were reduced in height by three metres. Finally, 2000 tons of cement was poured into the ship's double bottom to resolve the seaworthiness issues. This work cost £200,000, which had to be borne by the shipyard as part of their five-year warranty to the shipowners. At the same time, an advanced fire sprinkler system was fitted throughout the ship as several fires had occurred on board since the vessel had entered service.
During the 1914 refit of Imperator, Commodore Ruser handed over command of the ship to Captain Theo Kier and left to take command of the new larger flagship Vaterland
SS Leviathan
SS Leviathan, originally built as SS Vaterland, was an ocean liner which regularly sailed the North Atlantic briefly in 1914 and from 1917 to 1934...
, which was nearing completion. Imperator returned to service on 11 March, arriving at New York five days later on the 19th.
Among her luxurious features, Imperator introduced a two-deck-high, Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
an-style swimming pool for her first-class passengers.
World War I and U.S. Navy service
In August 1914, as World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
began, she was laid up at Hamburg and remained inactive for more than four years where she fell into a dilapidated state. Following the 11 November 1918 Armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
, Imperator was taken over by the Allied Food Shipping and Finance Agreement, and allocated to the United States for temporary use as a transport alongside Vaterland now renamed USS Leviathan bringing American service personnel home from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
She was commissioned as USS Imperator (ID-4080) in early May 1919 under Captain Casey. After embarking 2,100 American troops and 1,100 passengers, Imperator departed Brest, France
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
on 15 May 1919, arriving at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
one week later. Operating with the Cruiser and Transport Force
Cruiser and Transport Force
The Cruiser and Transport Service was a unit of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet during World War I that was responsible for transporting American men and materiel to France.- Composition :...
from 3 June to 10 August, she made three cruises from New York to Brest, returning over 25,000 troops, nurses, and civilians to the United States.
While en route to New York City 17 June, Imperator assisted the French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc
French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc (1901)
The Jeanne d'Arc was an armoured cruiser of the French Navy. At the time, she was the largest and most powerful of the French cruisers.In 1903, she ferried President Émile Loubet to Algeria...
, which had broken down in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. The President of Brazil
President of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...
was on board Jeanne d'Arc and Imperator received him and his party for transport to the United States, arriving there several days later.
Decommissioned at Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
in early 1919, Imperator was transferred to the British shipping controller on 20 September, and it was decided that she would be operated by Cunard. Captain Charles A. Smith and a full crew was sent out to New York on the Carmania
RMS Carmania (1905)
The RMS Carmania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company for the Cunard Line. In World War I the Carmania was converted to an armed merchant cruiser.-History:...
by her new operators and the official handover from the American board of shipping to Cunard took place on November 24 where the vessel was officially received by Cunard's Marine superintendent Captain Miller accompanied by his assistant Captain Palfrey. Imperator was then transferred to Cunard's pier 54 for Cunard service.
Cunard service
Carmania
Carmania may refer to* Carmania, ancient satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian empire.* Carmania - a diecast model producer.* Kermān Province in the south-east of Iran.* RMS Carmania , a Cunard liner built 1905...
.
Due to the extent of the work that had to be carried out, Imperator remained at Liverpool until the 21 February and during this time the company's annual dinner was held on board, before the ship returned to service on the North Atlantic.
On 2 March 1920, the ship left New York and took nine days to reach Southampton. During the voyage, Imperator developed a severe list which was found to be caused by a faulty ash ejector. At this point, Cunard decided that the ship was in need of a major overhaul and was withdrawn from service.
The ship was named after Queen Berengaria
Berengaria of Navarre
Berengaria of Navarre was Queen of the English as the wife of King Richard I of England. She was the eldest daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile. As is the case with many of the medieval queens consort of the Kingdom of England, relatively little is known of her life...
, the wife of Richard the Lionheart. Many Cunard ships had been named for parts of the Roman Empire and had names that ended in "ia". RMS Berengaria, like many, but not all, Cunard ships, kept the "ia" ending to her name but, like several Cunard ships before and after, was not named after a province of the ancient world.
RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...
took command of Berengaria on July 1920. The following year both Berengaria and Aquitania were sent to Armstrong Whitworth shipyards to be converted from coal fired to oil.
In September 1925, a security alert at sea was triggered when the Cunard company offices in New York received a message stating there was a bomb aboard the Berengaria; the vessel was then 1200 miles out from New York, bound for Southampton. The ship was searched, although the passengers and most of the crew were not informed as to the reason. A fire–drill was held just before the supposed time of detonation, so passengers could be placed close by their lifeboat stations without arousing suspicion; the bomb–threat was a hoax. The Berengaria was again in the headlines in May 1934, when she ran aground on the mud banks at Calshot on the Solent. She was pulled free from the mud by four Southampton tugs. The vessel suffered no damage and the incident did not affect her sailing schedule.
Despite her German heritage, Berengaria served as flagship of the Cunard fleet until she was replaced by her sister ship, Majestic - ex-Bismarck, in 1934 after the merger of Cunard with White Star Line. In later years, she was used for discounted prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
- dodging cruises, which earned her the unfortunate nickname "Bargain-area".
Towards the end of her service life, she suffered several electrical fires caused by aging wiring and Cunard-White Star opted to retire her in 1938. She was sold to Sir John Jarvis
Sir John Jarvis, 1st Baronet
Sir John Jarvis, 1st Baronet was a British industrialist and philanthropist who became a Conservative Party politician...
, who also purchased Olympic, to provide work for his local region. She sailed for the River Tyne under the command of Captain George Gibbons and scrapped down to her waterline. Final demolition took place in 1946.
Further reading
- SS Imperator / RMS Berengaria
- Atlantic Liners: A Trio of Trios, by J. Kent Layton
- Ocean Liners, by Oliver le Goff
- The Beautiful and Damned, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
External links
- S.S. Imperator at FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
via Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and... - S.S. Imperator (German Passenger Liner, 1913) - Served as USS Imperator (ID # 4080) in 1919. - Later the British Passenger Liner Berengaria
- USS Imperator (ID # 4080), 1919-1919.
- Imperator / Berengaria Home at Atlantic Liners.
- Ship's page at ocean-liners.com
- The Ultimate Imperator
- Chris' Cunard Page