SS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm
Encyclopedia
SS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm 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...
for North German Lloyd (NDL) from her launch in 1907 until the end of 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...
. After the war, she briefly served as USS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm (ID-4063) for 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...
returning American troops from France. The vessel was first charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
ed—and later purchased outright—by Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP) and operated under the names Empress of China, Empress of India, Montlaurier, Monteith, and Montnairn. She was scrapped in 1929.
History
The ship's keel was laid down to be the SS Washington, but she was renamed SS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm before her launch. She was built in 1907-1908 for Norddeutscher Lloyd LineNorddeutscher 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...
by J. C. Tecklenborg in Gestemunde, Germany. The 16,992-ton vessel had a length of 590.1 feet, and her beam was 68.3 feet. She had two funnels, two masts, propellers and a service speed of 17-knots. The ocean liner provided accommodation for 46 first-class passengers and for 338 second class passengers. There was also room for up to 1,726 third-class passengers.
SS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm
The SS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm was launched on October 21, 1907. The ship left BremenBremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
on June 6, 1908 on her maiden voyage, stopping at 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...
, Cherbourg and 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...
. Her last voyage as Prinz Frederick Wilhelm was begun on June 13, 1914. At the outbreak of war in August 1914, she cut short a pleasure cruise and sought refuge at Odda
Odda
is a municipality and town in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Odda was separated from Ullensvang on 1 July 1913 and on 1 January 1964 Røldal was merged with Odda. The town of Odda is the centre of the landscape of Hardanger, located at the end of the Hardangerfjord.In 1927, Erling Johnson,...
, Norway. After the war, the ship was surrendered on March 31, 1919 to the British.
For a short period, she was commissioned in the US Navy as a troop transport. From April into August Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm made five trips from France and the U.S., carrying over 15,000 passengers, mainly U.S. Army personnel. She was decommissioned in November 1919 and transferred to the U.S. Shipping Board.
In 1920, she was chartered to Canadian Pacific; and she sailed between Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
beginning on July 14, 1920.
On May 13, 1921, the vessel was bought outright by Canadian Pacific. She was then reconditioned at Glasgow, and rebuilt to 17, 282-tons. On August 2, 1921 she was renamed the SS Empress of China
RMS Empress of China (1921)
Two ships of the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company were named RMS Empress of China in 1921: was briefly the Empress of China in 1921. She was a 17,500-gross ton ship built for the Norddeutscher Lloyd Line and launched in 1907 from Geestemunde, Bremenhaven, Germany as the SS Prince Freidrich Wilhelm...
, but she never sailed with that name. This ship became the second of three CP vessels to be named Empress of China.
Within weeks, the vessel would be re-named yet again as the SS Empress of India, becoming the second of two CP vessels to be named Empress of India. As a ship in the Canadian Pacific fleet, this Empress and her sister ships would have been distinguished by the Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship , usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, a designation which dates back to 1840, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract by Royal Mail...
(RMS) prefix in front of her name while in commercial service -- the RMS Empress of India. When not carrying mail, she would have been identified as SS Empress of India.
CP
Empresses of China and Empresses of India In 1921, Canadian Pacific added two German-built vessels to the Empress fleet; and initially, both were confusingly re-named Empress of China. A quick explanation will help distinguish these the quite different ships which each sailed with the same name.- The first SS Empress of ChinaRMS Empress of China (1891)RMS Empress of China was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction & Armament Co., Barrow, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships...
was a 5,905-ton vessel launched in 1891 from BarrowBarrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, England. She was wrecked on a reef at Tokyo Bay in 1911, and subsequently scrapped in 1912.- A CP sister-ship, the first SS Empress of IndiaRMS Empress of India (1891)RMS Empress of India was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction & Armament Co., Barrow, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships...
was also a Barrow-built, 5,905-ton vessel; but she was launched a few months earlier, in 1890. She would be sold to the Maharajah of Gwalior and re-named SS Loyalty in 1915. The vessel would be scrapped in Bombay in 1919.
- A CP sister-ship, the first SS Empress of India
- The second SS Empress of China was a 16,992-ton vessel launched in 1907 from Gestemunde, Germany as the SS Prinz Freidrich Wilhelm. The ship was purchased in 1921 by Canadian Pacific and then immediately, the ship was re-named Empress of China for only a short time.
- The second SS Empress of India is this same vessel, re-named in 1921. Subsequent names for this vessel were: the SS Montlaurier (1922); and the SS Montnairn (1925). The ship was scrapped 1929.
- The third SS Empress of China was a 21,860-ton vessel launched in 1913 from StettinSzczecinSzczecin , 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....
, Germany, as the SS Tirpitz. The ship was purchased in 1921 by Canadian Pacific and curiously, this ship was immediately renamed the Empress of China. Then next year, in 1922, the ship was re-named Empress of Australia after re-fitting at ClydebankClydebankClydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
. The ship was ultimately scrapped in 1952.
In other words, this vessel from Gestemunde was the second of three ships named Empress of China and she was also the second of two ships named Empress of India.
SS Empress of India
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...
. She completed two round-trip voyages between Southampton and New York. Then Cunard returned her to Canadian Pacific. On June 23, 1922, she set out on what would be the first of only two Liverpool-Quebec voyages. On August 21, 1922, the Empress set out for what would become her sole opportunity to sail the Southampton-Cherbourg-Quebec route.
SS Montlaurier
The ship was re-named once more -- this time as the SS Montlaurier. She was rebuilt to carry cabin-class and 3rd-class passengers. On May 4, 1923, she sailed from Liverpool for Quebec; but she was forced to return to England because of boiler trouble. After repairs were completed, she left port again on June 29, 1923. Her last voyage from Liverpool to Saint John, New BrunswickSaint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
began on January 24, 1925. What was expected to have been a return voyage was cut short in February when she encountered stearing gear trouble near Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Rock is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and the most southerly point of Ireland. It lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland...
off the southern coast of Ireland. The mechanical malfunction forced the ship to return to Queenstown
Cobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
(now known as Cobh). She was then towed to Liverpool. On April 14, 1925, she was damaged by fire as she lay in port under repair by Cammell, Laird & Co., but the fire-damage was not so extensive that she couldn't be restored.
SS Monteith
On June 5, 1925, the ship was re-named the SS Monteith, but she never sailed under this name.SS Montnairn
On July 2, 1925, the ship was again re-named -- this time as the SS Montnairn. She sailed for the next few months between Liverpool and Quebec. In July 1926, she was converted to cabin-class, tourist-class and 3rd-class accommodations. On May 4, 1927, she began sailing the Antwerp - Southampton - Quebec route. On 16/9/1928 she commenced her final sailing from Hamburg to Southampton, Cherbourg and Quebec.This ship was laid up at Southampton, having successfully completed 62 round-trip North Atlantic voyages as a CP-flagged ocean liner. On December 23, 1929, SS Montnairn was sold for the last time, and the vessel was scrapped at Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
.
Timeline
- 1907 -- October 21, launched as the SS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm for NDL
- 1908 -- June 6, maiden voyage Bremen - Southampton - Cherbourg - New York
- 1914 -- August, cruising Norwegian coast when WWI broke out; took refuge at prot of Odda
- 1919 -- March, surrendered to Britain, chartered to US Navy Depot
- 1920 -- July, chartered by CP
- 1921 -- May 13, purchased by CP; re-built to 17,282 gross tons
- 1921 -- August 2, re-named Empress of China
- 1921 -- August, re-named Empress of India
- 1921 -- August, chartered by Cunard LineCunard LineCunard 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...
. - 1922 -- June 23, resumed sailing CP's Liverpool-Quebec route.
- 1922 -- December, re-named SS Montlaurier.
- 1925 -- April, damaged by fire at Cammell, Laird & Co.
- 1925 -- July, re-named SS Montnairn.
- 1929 -- December, scrapped at Genoa.
External links
- Naval Historical Center: USS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm (ID # 4063), 1919-1919.