SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse

{{For|the World War I battleship of the same name|SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse}}

{{Infobox ship image

| Ship image = Kaiser wilhelm der grosse 01.jpg

| Ship caption = Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse

}}

{{Infobox ship career

| Hide header =

| Ship country = German Empire

| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|German Empire}}

| Ship name = Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse

| Ship namesake = William I, German Emperor

| Ship owner = North German Lloyd

| Ship operator =

| Ship registry = {{flagicon|German Empire}} Bremen, Germany

| Ship route = Hamburg, German Empire — New York City, United States

| Ship ordered =

| Ship builder = Stettiner Vulcan, Stettin

| Ship original cost =

| Ship yard number =

| Ship way number =

| Ship laid down = 1896

| Ship launched = 4 May 1897

| Ship completed =

| Ship christened = 4 May 1897

| Ship identification = *Code letters QGLF

{{ICS|Quebec}}{{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Foxtrot}}
1913: call sign DKW

| Ship acquired =

| Ship maiden voyage = 19 September 1897

| Ship refit = 1913

| Ship in service = 1897–1914

| Ship out of service = 26 August 1914

| Ship fate = Scuttled in battle, 26 August 1914

| Ship notes = First Four-Funnelled liner

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

| Hide header =

| Header caption =

| Ship class = {{sclass2|Kaiser|ocean liner}}

| Ship tonnage = {{GRT|14349}}, {{NRT|5521}}

| Ship displacement = {{cvt|24300|LT|t}}

| Ship length = *{{cvt|649|ft|abbr=on}} overall

{{cvt|627.4|ft|abbr=on}} registered

| Ship beam = {{cvt|66.0|ft|abbr=on}}

| Ship draft = {{cvt|27|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}

| Ship depth = {{cvt|35.8|ft|abbr=on}}

| Ship decks = 4

| Ship power = 3,094 NHP, {{cvt|33000|ihp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}}

| Ship propulsion = *2 triple expansion engines

2 screw propellers

| Ship speed = {{cvt|22.5|kn|lk=in|abbr=on}}

| Ship capacity = 1,506 passengers

| Ship crew = 488

| Ship armament = *In World War I

6 × {{cvt|105|mm|abbr=on}} guns
2 × {{cvt|37|mm|abbr=on}} guns

| Ship notes =

}}

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse ("Emperor William the Great") was a German transatlantic ocean liner in service from 1897 to 1914, when she was scuttled in battle. She was the largest ship in the world for a time, and held the Blue Riband until Cunard Line’s {{RMS|Lusitania}} entered service in 1907. The vessel’s career was relatively uneventful, despite a refit in 1913.

The liner was built in Stettin for Norddeutscher Lloyd, and entered service in 1897. She was the first liner to be a Four funnel liner and is considered to be the first "super liner."Miller (1987), pp. 11–13. The first of four sister ships built between 1903 and 1907 for Norddeutscher Lloyd (the others being {{SS|Kronprinz Wilhelm||2}}, {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm II||2}} and {{SS|Kronprinzessin Cecilie|1906|2}}), she marked the beginning of a 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 fastest trip from Europe to America which had been previously dominated by the British.

In 1900, she was damaged in a massive and lethal multi-ship fire in the port of New York. She was also in a collision in the French port of Cherbourg in 1906. With the advent of her sister ships, she was modified to an all-third-class ship to take advantage of the lucrative immigrant market travelling to the United States.

Converted into an auxiliary cruiser at the outbreak of World War I, she was given orders to capture and destroy enemy ships. She destroyed several before being defeated in the Battle of Río de Oro by the British cruiser {{HMS|Highflyer|1898|6}} and scuttled by her crew, just three weeks after the outbreak of war. Her wreck was discovered in 1952 and partly dismantled.

Origin, concept and construction

File:Teutonic leaving Liverpool.jpg's RMS Teutonic, the inspiration for the "Four Flyers"]]

File:Front cover of North German Lloyd Steamship passenger book (cropped).jpg

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 William I, German Emperor, his grandfather, had created the German Empire in 1871, Emperor Wilhelm II wished to consolidate German influence on the sea and thus decrease that of the British.Mars, p. 36 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, {{RMS|Teutonic}}. He particularly admired the fact 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..."[http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/teutonic.html « Teutonic »] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007014931/http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/teutonic.html |date=7 October 2011 }}, The Great Ocean Liners. 15 July 2010

Norddeutscher Lloyd, commonly called NDL, or in English, North German Lloyd, was one of only two German maritime companies which had any influence in the hugely profitable North Atlantic shipping market. Neither of these lines had 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 build a new "superliner", which was to be named 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 {{SS|Great Eastern||2}} of 1860.Ferulli, p. 117 She was the first liner to have suites with sleeping quarters including a private parlor and bath. She was built with decks strengthened to mount eight {{cvt|15|cm|abbr=on}} guns, four {{cvt|12|cm|abbr=on}} guns, and fourteen machine guns; although fewer and smaller guns were actually mounted in her ultimate wartime conversion.{{cite book |last=Halsey |first=Francis Whiting |title =History of the World War |publisher =Funk & Wagnalls Company |volume =Ten |date =1920 |location =New York |pages =15–17 }}

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". The liner was completed and internally decorated at Bremerhaven. Her maiden voyage was scheduled for September the same year.Ferulli, p. 116 Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was the first ship to have four funnels. For the next two decades they were a symbol of size and safety.

Characteristics

=Technical aspects=

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse{{'}}s registered length was {{cvt|627.4|ft|abbr=on}}, her beam was {{cvt|66.0|ft|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|35.8|ft|abbr=on}}. Her tonnages were {{GRT|14349}}, {{NRT|5521}}Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1898, KAI–KAL and {{cvt|24300|LT|t}} displacement.Schmalenbach, p. 48 Her dimensions were similar to those of the 1860 Great Eastern, which was the largest ship of its time.Ferulli, p. 118 As already noted, her four funnels were her most unusual 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.Ferulli, p. 119

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 each branched into two to connect to the four funnels—this design is the reason for the funnels being unequally spaced.Miller, p. 4

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 {{cvt|30|km|nmi mi}} northwest of the island, as well as with British stations, and the first ship-to-shore message was sent on 7 March.{{Cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1900/03/08/archives/messages-from-a-vessel-experiments-made-by-the-kaiser-wilhelm-der.html |title=Messages from a Vessel |date=8 March 1900 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=5 March 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} By 1911 her call sign was DKW.The Marconi Press Agency Ltd, p. 238

The ship was propelled by two had two {{cvt|22|ft|3.75|in|m|1}} propellers,{{Cite web |url= https://archive.org/stream/monetarytimes31torouoft#page/351/mode/1up |title=The Monetary Times |publisher=Toronto}} each powered by a four-cylinder triple expansion engine. Between them her two engines were rated at 3,094 NHP and gave her a speed of more than {{cvt|20|kn}}. The engines were noted for their stability.[http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=kaiwi « SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Norddeutscher Lloyd »], Norway Heritage. Consulté le 15 July 2010 The engines were balanced on the Schlick system, which prevented movement being transferred to the body of the ship, thus reducing vibration.

=Interiors=

File:First Class Restaurant of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.jpg

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was built to carry a maximum of 1,506 passengers: 206 first class; 226 second class; 1,074 third class. When she was completed, her crew numbered 488. However, after her refit in 1913, her crew space was increased to 800. The décor of ship was in the style of Baroque revival, overseen by Johann Poppe, 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.Server, p. 19 The smoking room, a traditionally male preserve, was made to look like a typical German inn.Piouffre, p. 108 The dining room, capable of holding all passengers in one sitting, rose several decks and was crowned with a dome. The room also had columns and had its chairs fixed to the deck, a typical feature of ocean liners of the era.Piouffre, p. 110

Career

File:Colour drawing of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse by an unknown painter.jpg

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse set out on her maiden voyage on 19 September 1897, travelling from Bremerhaven to Southampton and thence to New York.Miller, p. 2 With a capacity of 800 third-class passengers, the NDL had ensured that they would profit greatly from migrants from Europe to 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 {{cvt|22.3|kn|lk=in}}, thus establishing the new German competitiveness.Mars, p. 47 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}}.Mars, p. 39 This turn of events was closely watched by the maritime world of the era, who were eager to see how the British would retaliate.Piouffre, p. 109 However, the NDL soon lost the riband in 1900 to the new German superliner, {{SS|Deutschland|1900|2}} of the Hamburg America Line.Le Goff, p. 25 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 Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse undergo a refit to ensure that they were the dominant German company.Burgess, p. 36 This refit included the installation of wireless telegraphy, then new technology which allowed Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse to transmit telegraphic messages to a port, emphasising her image of security.Le Goff, p. 23

File:The Four Flyers.jpg's "Four Flyers"]]

The NDL took the competition even further. 1901 saw the addition to their fleet of another four-funnel liner, named {{SS|Kronprinz Wilhelm||2}} in honour of Crown Prince William, heir to the German throne, and they subsequently commissioned another two superliners, {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm II||2}} and {{SS|Kronprinzessin Cecilie||2}} of 1903 and 1907 respectively.Ferulli, p. 121 From 1904 to 1907 the east-bound speed rekord was held by 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.[http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/kpc.html SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie »] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191954/http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/kpc.html |date=3 March 2016 }}, The Great Ocean Liners. 15 July 2010

In June 1900 at her quay in Hoboken, New Jersey, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was the victim of a fire which killed one hundred staff who were trying to remove the threatServer, p. 43 as the ship was towed to safety in the Hudson River. Six years later, on 21 November 1906, she was in collision with the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company liner {{RMS|Orinoco}} in Cherbourg Harbour. Five passengers aboard Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and three crewmen aboard Orinoco were killed, and Orinoco{{'}}s clipper bow made a {{cvt|8|m|ft|adj=on}} tear in the starboard side of Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse{{'}}s hull.Le Goff, p. 22{{cite web |title= Orinoco |url= http://clydeships.co.uk/view.php?official_number=&imo=&builder=&builder_eng=&year_built=&launch_after=&launch_before=&role=&type_ref1=&propulsion=&category=&owner=&port=&flag=&disposal=&lost=&ref=3917&vessel=ORINOCO |work=Clyde Built Ships |publisher= Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=26 February 2017}} A court of inquiry found Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse wholly responsible for the collision.Nicol, p. 226 New York City mayor William Jay Gaynor was embarking on a European vacation when he was shot aboard the ship on 9 August 1910.

A technological evolution of steamships soon made NDL's express steamers outdated. Cunard's {{RMS|Lusitania}} and {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|6}} outmatched their German rivals in 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, 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".{{cite web |url= http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/kwdg.html |title= SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, The Great Ocean Liners |work= The Great Ocean Liners |access-date= 15 July 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091010100752/http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/kwdg.html |archive-date= 10 October 2009 |url-status= dead }} 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".{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

=World War I=

From 1908, German naval captains had been receiving orders to make preparations in the event of a sudden war. In fact, 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. On 4 August 1914, Great Britain declared war on Germany after the Germans invaded Belgium and Luxembourg. 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.{{dead link|date=May 2018}}

File:Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse fight painting 1914.jpg

File:Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse's Wreck.jpg

Reymann soon sank three ships, Tubal Cain, Kaipara, and Nyanza, but only after taking their occupants on board. Further south in the Atlantic, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse encountered two passenger liners: Galician and {{RMS|Arlanza|1911|2}}. 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 Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse approached the west coast of Africa, her coal bunkers were almost empty and needed refilling. She stopped at Río de Oro, (Villa Cisneros, former Spanish Sahara) where German and Austrian colliers started the task of refuelling her.Ferulli, p. 120

The task of coaling was still going on on 26 August, when the British cruiser {{HMS|Highflyer|1898|6}} 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 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 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.Kludas' Great Passenger Ships of the World Reymann managed to swim to shore, and he made his way back to Germany by working as a stoker on a neutral vessel. Most of the crew were taken prisoner and held in the Amherst Internment Camp in Nova Scotia for the remainder of the war.

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.Burgess, p. 231

Wreck

On 6 September 2013, the [https://web.archive.org/web/20131126062101/http://www.dakhla.org/ Salam Association] for the Protection of the Environment and Sustainable Development in Morocco captured [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t1oqxOhg1k underwater footage] of what was left of the wreck, with the ship's name on the hull visible. This was confirmed by the Moroccan Ministry of Culture on 8 October 2013.

Notes and references

Sources

Burgess. Douglas D. Seize the Trident: The race for superliner supremacy and how it altered the Great War. McGraw-Hill Professional, 1999. {{ISBN|9780071430098}}
[https://archive.org/details/HECROS1899ST/page/n497/mode/1up Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping]. Volume I. – Steamers. London, Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 1898.
The Marconi Press Agency Ltd The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony. London, The St Katherine Press, 1913.
Miller, William H. The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs. Courier Dover Publications, 1984. {{ISBN|9780486245744}}
Miller, William H. Famous Ocean Liners. Patrick Stephens, 1987. {{ISBN|0 85059 876 1}}.
{{in lang|fr}} Ferulli, Corrado. Au cœur des bateaux de légende. Hachette Collections. 1998. {{ISBN|9782846343503}}
Nicol, Stuart. MacQueen's Legacy; A History of the Royal Mail Line. Volume One. Brimscombe Port and Charleston, SC: Tempus Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|0-7524-2118-2}}
{{in lang|fr}} Le Goff, Olivier Les Plus Beaux Paquebots du Monde. {{ISBN|9782263027994}}
{{in lang|fr}} Mars, Christian. Paquebots. Sélection du Reader's Digest. 2001. {{ISBN|9782709812863}}
{{in lang|fr}} Piouffre, Gérard. L'Âge d'or des voyages en paquebot. Éditions du Chêne. 2009. {{ISBN|9782812300028}}
{{in lang|fr}} Server, Lee. Âge d'or des paquebots. MLP. 1998. {{ISBN|2-7434-1050-7}}
{{in lang|de}} Trennheuser, Mattias Die innenarchitektonische Ausstattung deutscher Passagierschiffe zwischen 1880 und 1940. Hauschild-Verlag, Bremen 2010. {{ISBN|978-3-89757-305-5}}.

External links

[http://www.navegar-es-preciso.com/news/el-trasatlantico-kaiser-wilhelm-der-grose-un-express-steamer-imperial-de-finales-del-siglo-xix/ El trasatlántico "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" un express liner del siglo XIX] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225084811/http://www.navegar-es-preciso.com/news/el-trasatlantico-kaiser-wilhelm-der-grose-un-express-steamer-imperial-de-finales-del-siglo-xix |date=25 December 2017 }} (Spanish)

{{Commons category-inline|Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (ship, 1897)|SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse}}

{{S-bef|rows=2|before={{RMS|Lucania|3=2}}}}

{{S-ttl|title=Holder of the Blue Riband (Westbound record)|years=1898–1900}}

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