SS Kaiser Franz Joseph I
{{Short description|Passenger liner ship}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Other ships|Kaiser Franz Joseph I (ship)}}
{{Expand German|Kaiser Franz Joseph I.|date=December 2021}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=File:KaiserFranzJoseph Schiff.jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country= |Ship flag= |Ship name=*Kaiser Franz Joseph I (1912-1918)
|Ship owner= |Ship operator=*Austro-American line (1912-1918) {{cite web |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsK.shtml |title=SHIP DESCRIPTIONS - K - ship list |work=Ship List}}
|Ship registry= |Ship route= |Ship builder=Cantiere Navale Triestino |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=9 September 1911 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed=February 1912 |Ship acquired= |Ship maiden voyage=25 May 1912 |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship fate=Scuttled, raised, and scrapped in 1949 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Ship class= |Ship type=Ocean liner |Ship tonnage=12,567 GRT |Ship displacement= |Ship length={{convert|145.54|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|18.35|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship height= |Ship draft={{convert|7.9|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=triple expansion steam engines, dual shaft, 2 Propeller |Ship speed={{Convert|19|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity=1,905 total passengers |Ship crew= |Ship notes= }} |
SS Kaiser Franz Joseph I was an Austro-Hungarian passenger liner built by Cantiere Navale Triestino for the Cosulich Line. Launched in February 1912, she was put into service and embarked on her maiden voyage from Trieste to New York City. During World War I, she was laid up in Trieste but was commissioned by the Italian Navy after the war.
Renamed Presidente Wilson under the Cosulich Line, the ship was later sold to another Italian company before the outbreak of World War II. During the war, she was recommissioned by the navy and subsequently laid up in La Spezia in 1943. On 12 May 1944, as the Allies advanced through Italy, the ship was scuttled by the Germans to prevent capture. Her wreck was raised and scrapped in 1949.{{cite web |url=http://www.giulianovaweb.it/nonno_d'america/navi/k_navi/Kaiser_Franz_Josef_I.htm |title=La nave Kaiser Franz Josef I|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217223734/http://www.giulianovaweb.it/nonno_d'america/navi/k_navi/Kaiser_Franz_Josef_I.htm |archive-date=17 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}
History
The keel of the ship was laid down at the Cantiere Navale Triestino shipyard in Monfalcone. She was christened on 9 September 1911 by Archduchess Maria Josepha and Navy Commander Admiral Count Rudolf Montecuccoli and was launched on the same day.{{cite web |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=h1MuAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22SS+Kaiser+Franz+Joseph+I%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA12&article_id=4441,2992171 |title=Kaiser Franz Josef I mention in The Montreal Gazette |work=google books}} The following year, she embarked on her maiden voyage from Trieste to New York City. When World War I broke out, Kaiser Franz Joseph I was laid up in Trieste for the duration of the war. In 1918, following the Armistice of Villa Giusti and the surrender of Austria-Hungary, the ship was commissioned by the Italian Navy as a troopship and renamed Generale A. Diaz.
In 1919, she was sold to the Cosulich Line and renamed Presidente Wilson. On 5 May 1919, she set off on her first post-war voyage from Genoa to New York City, carrying primarily returning U.S. soldiers. On 12 September 1919, she departed Trieste on her third peacetime voyage, carrying 97 passengers in first class, 371 in second class, and 623 in third class. In 1929, she completed her final voyage for the Cosulich Line before being sold to Lloyd Triestino and renamed Sarasvati after the Indian river of the same name. She was later sold to Adriatica di Navigazione and renamed Marco Polo after undergoing modernization.
Following her modernization, she resumed service on routes between Trieste, Venice, Brindisi, and Alexandria, as well as Haifa and Beirut. In 1940, when World War II broke out, the ship was decommissioned from passenger service and repurposed as a troop transport. She was laid up in La Spezia in 1943. On 12 May 1944, as the Allies advanced through Italy, the ship was scuttled by the Germans to prevent capture. The wreck was raised and scrapped in 1949.
Design
Upon her launch, Kaiser Franz Joseph I was the largest ocean liner in Austro-Hungary. She had a passenger capacity of 1,905, accommodating 125 in first class, 550 in second class, and 1,230 in third class. The ship had a gross registered tonnage (GRT) of 12,567, a length of 145.54 m (477 ft 6 in), and a beam of 18.35 m (60 ft 2 in).
She was powered by two four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, which drove a dual shaft connected to two screw propellers, giving the ship a speed of approximately 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web|url=https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/austro-americana-kaiser-franz-joseph-i-color|title=AUSTRO-AMERICANA-KAISER FRANZ JOSEPH I-COLOR}}
- {{cite web|url=https://www.italianliners.com/italian-liners/Kaiser|title=Kaiser Franz Joseph I in italian liners}}
Gallery
File:KFJ Stapellauf Monfalcone.tif|Kaiser Franz Joseph I under Construction in Cantiere Navale Triestino Shipyard
File:PRESIDENTE WILSON STN Cosulich - vormals KAISER FRANZ JOSEPH I. Austro-Americana.jpg|SS Presidente Wilson
File:PRESIDENTE WILSON (ex KAISER FRANZ JOSEPH I. der Austro-Americana) in Venedig.jpg|Postcard of the Presidente Wilson
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Category:All articles to be expanded
Category:World War I passenger ships of Austria-Hungary