SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Große
Encyclopedia
The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (Kaiser Wilhelm der Große) was a German
transatlantic
ocean liner
named after Wilhelm I, German Emperor, the first ruler of united Germany
. Constructed in Stettin for the North German Lloyd (NDL)
, she entered service in 1897 and was the first liner to have four funnels
. The first of four sister ship
s built between 1903 and 1907 by NDL (the others being Kronprinz Wilhelm
, the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II
and the Kronprinzessin Cecilie
) she marked the beginning of a huge change in the way maritime supremacy was demonstrated in Europe
at the beginning of the 20th century.
The ship began a new era in ocean travel and the novelty of having four funnels was quickly associated with size, strength, speed and above all luxury. Quickly established on the Atlantic, she gained the Blue Riband
for Germany, a notable prize for the quickest trip from Europe
to America
which had been previously dominated by the British
. In 1900, she was involved in a fire
in the port of New York
which resulted in several deaths. She was also the victim of a Naval ram
in the French
port of of Cherbourg in 1906. With the advent of her sister ships, she was then converted to an all third class ship to take advantage of the lucrative immigrant market travelling to the United States.
Converted into an auxiliary cruiser during World War I
, she was given orders to capture and destroy enemy ships within the first months of the war. Relatively successful, she destroyed several enemy ships before eventually being destroyed in the Battle of Rio de Oro
in August 1914 by the British cruiser Highflyer
. Her wreck was rediscovered in 1952 and then dismantled. A once popular ship, she has largely been forgotten, having been overshadowed by her British counterparts.
At the end of the 19th century, the United Kingdom
dominated maritime trade with the ocean liners of the principal maritime companies such as the Cunard
and the White Star Line
. Having gained more influence in Europe after his grandfather had created the German Empire
in 1870, Emperor Wilhelm II
wished to consolidate German influence on the waves and thus decrease that of the British. In 1889, the Emperor himself had attended a naval review in honour of the jubilee of his grandmother Queen Victoria. There he saw the strength and size of these British ships, notably the latest and then largest liner owned by White Star, the SS Teutonic. He particularly admired that these ships could easily be converted to auxiliary cruisers in time of conflict. Leaving a lasting impression, the emperor was heard to say that "We must have some of these..." clearly showing they had had a lasting effect.
The Norddeutscher Lloyd
, commonly known as NDL or North German Lloyd, was one of only two German maritime companies which had any influence in the hugely profitable transatlantic
shipping
market
. Neither of these lines had up until now shown any interest in operating large liners. NDL, however, was the first company to name any of their liners in honour of members of the Imperial family, purely to flatter the emperor. The company also had important links with the naval architects AG Vulkan of Stettin
. NDL then approached Vulkan and commissioned them to construct a new "superliner", which was to be named the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. The new ship would set a new style for ocean liners. She was the largest and longest liner afloat and would have been the largest ever had it not been for the Great Eastern
of 1860.
The launching of the ship took place on 4 May 1897 in the presence of the Imperial family; it was the emperor who baptised the ship whose name honoured his grandfather Emperor William I, "the Great". Construction and the internal decoration of the liner took place in Bremerhaven
and before long she was ready to begin her regular crossings, her maiden voyage
being scheduled for September the same year. The most striking feature of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was her four funnels, the first ship ever to sport such a quartet, which for the next two decades, would be a symbol of size and safety.
to Southampton
and thence to New York
. With a capacity of 800 third class passengers, the NDL had ensured that they would profit greatly from the immigrants wishing to leave the continent for a better standard of living
in the United States
. From her maiden voyage, she was the only superliner to cross the Atlantic with such speed and such media attention. In March 1898, she successfully gained the Blue Riband
with an average crossing speed of 22.3 knot
s, thus establishing the new German competitiveness. The Blue Riband, an award given for the fastest crossing of the North Atlantic, east and westbound, had previously been held by the Cunard liner RMS Lucania
. This turn of events was closely watched by the maritime world of the era, who were eager to see how the British would retaliate. However, the NDL soon lost the riband in 1900 to the new German superliner, the aptly named Deutschland
of the Hamburg America Line
. This change in events was acceptable to Germans, who were able to relax in the knowledge that they were still the owners of the fastest liner; however, NDL promptly ordered that the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse undergo a refit to ensure that they were the dominant German company. This refit included the installation of wireless communication, then new technology which allowed the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse to transmit telegraphic messages to a port, emphasising her image of security.
The NDL took the battle even further. 1901 saw the addition to their fleet of another four-funnel liner, named the Kronprinz Wilhelm
in honour of Crown Prince William, heir to the German throne, and they subsequently commissioned another two superliners, the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II
and the SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie
of 1903 and 1907 respectively. From 1903 to 1907 the Blue Riband was held by the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. The company stated that the four liners were of the renowned Kaiser class and decided to market them as the Four Flyers, a reference to their speed and associations with the Blue Riband.
The career of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, despite its prestige, was not without incident. In June 1900 at her quay in Hoboken, New Jersey
, she was the victim of a fire
which killed one hundred staff who were trying to remove the threat. Six years later, on 21 November 1906, she was the victim of a naval ram inflicted by the Orinoco, a British ship of the Royal Mail
, in Cherbourg. Five passengers lost their lives in the incident and the liner was found to have an 8 metre rip in her hull. To make matters worse, ever growing technological evolution of steamships soon made NDL's express steamers outdated. Cunard's RMS Lusitania
and her sister the Mauretania
outmatched their German rivals on all fields, and when the future White Star's RMS Olympic
entered service in 1911, luxury on the high seas was taken one step further. As a result, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was rebuilt in 1913 to carry Third Class passengers only. It seemed that her glory was fading regardless of her career as the first "four stacker". From 26 January 1907, she was charged with carrying passengers between the Mediterranean Sea
and New York, effectively ending the public career of the first of the "four flyers".
Reymann soon sank three ships, the Tubal Cain, the Kaipara and the Nyanza, but only after taking their occupants onboard. Further south in the Atlantic, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse encountered two passenger liners: the Galician and the Arlanza. Reymann's first intention was to sink both vessels, but, discovering that they had many women and children on board, he let them go. In this early stage of the war, it was thought that it could be fought in a chivalrous fashion. However, soon it was to become a total war and ships would no longer be warned before being fired upon. As the Kaiser approached the west coast of Africa, her coal bunkers were almost empty and needed refilling. She stopped at Río de Oro
, located between modern Mauritania
and Morocco
and once a Spanish
colony, where German and Austrian colliers started the task of refuelling her.
The task of coaling was still going on on 26 August, when suddenly the British cruiser HMS Highflyer
appeared. Reymann quickly prepared his ship and crew for battle and steamed out to engage the enemy after disembarking his prisoners of war. A fierce battle took place, but came to a dramatic end when the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse ran out of ammunition. According to the Germans, rather than let the enemy capture the onetime pride of Germany, Reymann ordered the ship to be scuttled using dynamite, which was already in position should this situation ever arise. On detonation, the explosives tore a massive hole in the ship, causing her to capsize
. This version of events was disputed by the British, who stated that the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse had been badly damaged and sinking when Reymann ordered it to be abandoned. The British firmly believed that it was gunfire from HMS "Highflyer" which sank the German ship. In any case, she earned the dubious distinction of being the first passenger ship sunk during World War I.
Reymann managed to swim to shore, and he made his way back to Germany by working as a stoker on a neutral vessel. The downfall of such great liners in the event of war was their huge fuel consumption. Most liners were subsequently converted from cruisers to hospital ships or troopships.
The special improvement in the arrangement of this steamer, as compared with other express steamers previously built by the NDL or other companies, consisted in the entire upper deck. Like many four-funnelled liners, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse did not actually require that many. She had only two uptake shafts from the boiler rooms, which then each branched into two to connect to the four funnels—this design is the reason for the funnels being unequally spaced.
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the first liner to have a commercial wireless telegraphy system when the Marconi Company installed one in February 1900. Communications were demonstrated with systems installed at the Borkum Island lighthouse and Borkum Riff lightship 30 km (0.0083 nmi; 0.0096 mi) northwest of the island, as well as with British stations. The ship was powered by with two triple expansion reciprocating engines as well as and had two propellers, allowing her to reach speeds of over 20 knots. The engines were noted for their stability. The engines were balanced on the Schlick system, which prevented movement being transferred to the body of the ship, thus reducing unpleasant vibration.
, who carried out all of the interior decoration. This was unique as usually a ship would have several interior designers.
The interiors were graced with statues, mirrors, tapestries, gilding and various portraits of the Imperial family. The interiors of her sister ships were also placed in the hands of Poppe. The first class salon was noted for its tapestries and its blue seating. The smoking room, a traditionally male preserve, was made to look like a typical German inn. The dining room, capable of holding all passengers in one sitting, rose several floors and was crowned with a dome. The room also had columns and had its chairs fixed to the floor, a typical feature of older ocean liners.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
transatlantic
Transatlantic
Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between the Americas and Europe. Prior to the 19th century, transatlantic crossings were undertaken in sailing ships, which was a time consuming and often perilous journey. Transatlantic crossings became faster,...
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...
named after Wilhelm I, German Emperor, the first ruler of united Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Constructed in Stettin for the North German Lloyd (NDL)
Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutsche Lloyd was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on February 20, 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was instrumental in the economic...
, she entered service in 1897 and was the first liner to have four funnels
Four funnel liner
A four funnel liner, four funnelled liner or four stacker is an ocean liner with four funnels. The SS Great Eastern, launched on January 31st 1858 , became the only ocean liner to ever sport five funnels. As one funnel was later removed, the Great Eastern, by default, became the first ocean liner...
. The first of four sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
s built between 1903 and 1907 by NDL (the others being Kronprinz Wilhelm
SS Kronprinz Wilhelm
SS Kronprinz Wilhelm was a German passenger liner built for the Norddeutscher Lloyd, a former shipping company now part of Hapag-Lloyd, by the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin, in 1901...
, the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II
The second SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, was a 19,361 gross ton passenger steamer built at Stettin, Germany, completed in the spring of 1903. A famous photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz called The Steerage as well as descriptions of the conditions of travel in the lowest class have conflicted with her...
and the Kronprinzessin Cecilie
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie was an ocean liner built in Stettin, Germany in 1906 for North German Lloyd that had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted to a ship. The last of four ships part of the kaiser class, she was also the last German ship to have been built with four funnels....
) she marked the beginning of a huge change in the way maritime supremacy was demonstrated in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
at the beginning of the 20th century.
The ship began a new era in ocean travel and the novelty of having four funnels was quickly associated with size, strength, speed and above all luxury. Quickly established on the Atlantic, she gained the Blue Riband
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
for Germany, a notable prize for the quickest trip from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
which had been previously dominated by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In 1900, she was involved in a fire
1900 Hoboken Docks Fire
The 1900 Hoboken Docks Fire killed at least 326 persons in and around the Hoboken, New Jersey piers of the Norddeutscher Lloyd shipping company...
in the port of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
which resulted in several deaths. She was also the victim of a Naval ram
Naval ram
A naval ram was a weapon carried by varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon consisted of an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between six and twelve feet in length...
in the French
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...
port of of Cherbourg in 1906. With the advent of her sister ships, she was then converted to an all third class ship to take advantage of the lucrative immigrant market travelling to the United States.
Converted into an auxiliary cruiser 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...
, she was given orders to capture and destroy enemy ships within the first months of the war. Relatively successful, she destroyed several enemy ships before eventually being destroyed in the Battle of Rio de Oro
Battle of Rio de Oro
The Battle of Río de Oro was a single-ship action fought in August of 1914 during the First World War. The British protected cruiser HMS Highflyer attacked the German auxiliary cruiser SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse off the small Spanish Saharan territory of Río de Oro.-Background:Under the command...
in August 1914 by the British cruiser Highflyer
HMS Highflyer
Four vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Highflyer.* The first Highflyer was an 8-gun schooner operating as an American privateer. In January 1813 HMS Poictiers captured her. The Royal Navy took Highflyer into service, retaining her name...
. Her wreck was rediscovered in 1952 and then dismantled. A once popular ship, she has largely been forgotten, having been overshadowed by her British counterparts.
Origins, conception and construction
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
dominated maritime trade with the ocean liners of the principal maritime companies such as the Cunard
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...
and the White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
. Having gained more influence in Europe after his grandfather had created the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in 1870, Emperor Wilhelm II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
wished to consolidate German influence on the waves and thus decrease that of the British. In 1889, the Emperor himself had attended a naval review in honour of the jubilee of his grandmother Queen Victoria. There he saw the strength and size of these British ships, notably the latest and then largest liner owned by White Star, the SS Teutonic. He particularly admired that these ships could easily be converted to auxiliary cruisers in time of conflict. Leaving a lasting impression, the emperor was heard to say that "We must have some of these..." clearly showing they had had a lasting effect.
The Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutsche Lloyd was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on February 20, 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was instrumental in the economic...
, commonly known as NDL or North German Lloyd, was one of only two German maritime companies which had any influence in the hugely profitable transatlantic
Transatlantic
Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between the Americas and Europe. Prior to the 19th century, transatlantic crossings were undertaken in sailing ships, which was a time consuming and often perilous journey. Transatlantic crossings became faster,...
shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
. Neither of these lines had up until now shown any interest in operating large liners. NDL, however, was the first company to name any of their liners in honour of members of the Imperial family, purely to flatter the emperor. The company also had important links with the naval architects AG Vulkan of Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
. NDL then approached Vulkan and commissioned them to construct a new "superliner", which was to be named the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. The new ship would set a new style for ocean liners. She was the largest and longest liner afloat and would have been the largest ever had it not been for the Great Eastern
Great Eastern
-Transport:, a steamship built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1858, one of the largest ships in its era* Great Eastern Railway, a defunct English railway company formed in 1862** First Great Eastern, a defunct train operating company on the Great Eastern Main Line...
of 1860.
The launching of the ship took place on 4 May 1897 in the presence of the Imperial family; it was the emperor who baptised the ship whose name honoured his grandfather Emperor William I, "the Great". Construction and the internal decoration of the liner took place in Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
and before long she was ready to begin her regular crossings, her maiden voyage
Maiden voyage
The maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....
being scheduled for September the same year. The most striking feature of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was her four funnels, the first ship ever to sport such a quartet, which for the next two decades, would be a symbol of size and safety.
Career
The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse set out on her maiden voyage on 19 September 1897, travelling from BremerhavenBremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
and thence to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. With a capacity of 800 third class passengers, the NDL had ensured that they would profit greatly from the immigrants wishing to leave the continent for a better standard of living
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. From her maiden voyage, she was the only superliner to cross the Atlantic with such speed and such media attention. In March 1898, she successfully gained the Blue Riband
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
with an average crossing speed of 22.3 knot
Knot
A knot is a method of fastening or securing linear material such as rope by tying or interweaving. It may consist of a length of one or several segments of rope, string, webbing, twine, strap, or even chain interwoven such that the line can bind to itself or to some other object—the "load"...
s, thus establishing the new German competitiveness. The Blue Riband, an award given for the fastest crossing of the North Atlantic, east and westbound, had previously been held by the Cunard liner RMS Lucania
RMS Lucania
RMS Lucania was a British ocean liner owned by the Cunard Steamship Line Shipping Company, built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Scotland, and launched on Thursday, 2 February 1893....
. This turn of events was closely watched by the maritime world of the era, who were eager to see how the British would retaliate. However, the NDL soon lost the riband in 1900 to the new German superliner, the aptly named Deutschland
SS Deutschland (1900)
SS Deutschland was a passenger liner owned by the Hamburg America Line of Germany. She sailed for over 25 years under three different names. The second ship to have been built as a four funnel liner, she was built by Hamburg America as a response to the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. She was the...
of the Hamburg America Line
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...
. This change in events was acceptable to Germans, who were able to relax in the knowledge that they were still the owners of the fastest liner; however, NDL promptly ordered that the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse undergo a refit to ensure that they were the dominant German company. This refit included the installation of wireless communication, then new technology which allowed the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse to transmit telegraphic messages to a port, emphasising her image of security.
SS Kronprinz Wilhelm
SS Kronprinz Wilhelm was a German passenger liner built for the Norddeutscher Lloyd, a former shipping company now part of Hapag-Lloyd, by the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin, in 1901...
in honour of Crown Prince William, heir to the German throne, and they subsequently commissioned another two superliners, the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II
The second SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, was a 19,361 gross ton passenger steamer built at Stettin, Germany, completed in the spring of 1903. A famous photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz called The Steerage as well as descriptions of the conditions of travel in the lowest class have conflicted with her...
and the SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie was an ocean liner built in Stettin, Germany in 1906 for North German Lloyd that had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted to a ship. The last of four ships part of the kaiser class, she was also the last German ship to have been built with four funnels....
of 1903 and 1907 respectively. From 1903 to 1907 the Blue Riband was held by the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. The company stated that the four liners were of the renowned Kaiser class and decided to market them as the Four Flyers, a reference to their speed and associations with the Blue Riband.
The career of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, despite its prestige, was not without incident. In June 1900 at her quay in 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...
, she was the victim of a fire
1900 Hoboken Docks Fire
The 1900 Hoboken Docks Fire killed at least 326 persons in and around the Hoboken, New Jersey piers of the Norddeutscher Lloyd shipping company...
which killed one hundred staff who were trying to remove the threat. Six years later, on 21 November 1906, she was the victim of a naval ram inflicted by the Orinoco, a British ship of the Royal Mail
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by Scot James Macqueen. After good and bad times it became the largest shipping group in the world in 1927 when it took over the White Star Line....
, in Cherbourg. Five passengers lost their lives in the incident and the liner was found to have an 8 metre rip in her hull. To make matters worse, ever growing technological evolution of steamships soon made NDL's express steamers outdated. Cunard's RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
and her sister the Mauretania
RMS Mauretania
Two ocean liners of the Cunard Line have been named RMS Mauretania, after the ancient territory of Mauretania:* RMS Mauretania , launched in 1906 and remained in service until 1934...
outmatched their German rivals on all fields, and when the future White Star's 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...
entered service in 1911, luxury on the high seas was taken one step further. As a result, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was rebuilt in 1913 to carry Third Class passengers only. It seemed that her glory was fading regardless of her career as the first "four stacker". From 26 January 1907, she was charged with carrying passengers between the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and New York, effectively ending the public career of the first of the "four flyers".
First World War
From 1908, German naval captains had been receiving orders to make preparations in the event of a sudden war. In fact, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was soon fitted with cannons and thus transformed into an auxiliary cruiser. Across the world, supply ships carrying weapons and provisions were ready to convert merchant vessels into armed auxiliary cruisers. In August 1914, international relations reached crisis point. Germany declared war on the British as well as the French. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was requisitioned and turned into an armed cruiser, painted in grey and black. Her commander at the time, Captain Reymann, operated not only under the rules of war, but also the rules of mercy.Río de Oro
Río de Oro , is, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it was originally taken as a Spanish colonial possession in the late 19th century...
, located between modern Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and once a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
colony, where German and Austrian colliers started the task of refuelling her.
The task of coaling was still going on on 26 August, when suddenly the British cruiser HMS Highflyer
HMS Highflyer
Four vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Highflyer.* The first Highflyer was an 8-gun schooner operating as an American privateer. In January 1813 HMS Poictiers captured her. The Royal Navy took Highflyer into service, retaining her name...
appeared. Reymann quickly prepared his ship and crew for battle and steamed out to engage the enemy after disembarking his prisoners of war. A fierce battle took place, but came to a dramatic end when the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse ran out of ammunition. According to the Germans, rather than let the enemy capture the onetime pride of Germany, Reymann ordered the ship to be scuttled using dynamite, which was already in position should this situation ever arise. On detonation, the explosives tore a massive hole in the ship, causing her to capsize
Capsize
Capsizing is an act of tipping over a boat or ship to disable it. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
. This version of events was disputed by the British, who stated that the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse had been badly damaged and sinking when Reymann ordered it to be abandoned. The British firmly believed that it was gunfire from HMS "Highflyer" which sank the German ship. In any case, she earned the dubious distinction of being the first passenger ship sunk during World War I.
Reymann managed to swim to shore, and he made his way back to Germany by working as a stoker on a neutral vessel. The downfall of such great liners in the event of war was their huge fuel consumption. Most liners were subsequently converted from cruisers to hospital ships or troopships.
Technical aspects
The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse measured 200 meters long and had a width of 20 meters. Her overall weight was 14,349 gross tonnes. In fact, her dimensions were similar to those of the 1860 Great Eastern, which was the largest ship of its time. As already noted, her four funnels were her most unique feature. People associated the safety of an ocean liner with the number of "stacks" or funnels they had. Some passengers would in fact refuse to board ships if they did not have four funnels. In an age when ocean travel was not as safe as today, it was important to ensure that passengers felt at ease.The special improvement in the arrangement of this steamer, as compared with other express steamers previously built by the NDL or other companies, consisted in the entire upper deck. Like many four-funnelled liners, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse did not actually require that many. She had only two uptake shafts from the boiler rooms, which then each branched into two to connect to the four funnels—this design is the reason for the funnels being unequally spaced.
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the first liner to have a commercial wireless telegraphy system when the Marconi Company installed one in February 1900. Communications were demonstrated with systems installed at the Borkum Island lighthouse and Borkum Riff lightship 30 km (0.0083 nmi; 0.0096 mi) northwest of the island, as well as with British stations. The ship was powered by with two triple expansion reciprocating engines as well as and had two propellers, allowing her to reach speeds of over 20 knots. The engines were noted for their stability. The engines were balanced on the Schlick system, which prevented movement being transferred to the body of the ship, thus reducing unpleasant vibration.
Interiors
As a large passenger ship, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was built to carry a maximum of 1,506 passengers: 206 first class; 226 second class; 1,074 third class. At the time of her construction, she had a crew numbering a mere 488. However following her refit of 1913, her crew space was increased to 800. The décor of ship was in the style of Baroque revival, overseen by Johann PoppeJohann Poppe
Johann Georg Poppe , often called Johannes Poppe by English-speaking writers, was a prominent architect in Bremen during the German Gründerzeit and an influential interior designer of ocean liners for Norddeutscher Lloyd...
, who carried out all of the interior decoration. This was unique as usually a ship would have several interior designers.
The interiors were graced with statues, mirrors, tapestries, gilding and various portraits of the Imperial family. The interiors of her sister ships were also placed in the hands of Poppe. The first class salon was noted for its tapestries and its blue seating. The smoking room, a traditionally male preserve, was made to look like a typical German inn. The dining room, capable of holding all passengers in one sitting, rose several floors and was crowned with a dome. The room also had columns and had its chairs fixed to the floor, a typical feature of older ocean liners.