SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie (1906)

Last updated

EB1911 Ship, North German Lloid Liner, Kronprinzessin Cecilie.jpg
Kronprinzessin Cecilie
History
Flag of the German Empire.svg German Empire
NameKronprinzessin Cecilie
Namesake Crown Princess Cecilie
Owner North German Lloyd
Port of registry Bremen
RouteTransatlantic
Builder AG Vulcan, Stettin, Germany
Launched1 December 1906
Maiden voyage6 August 1907
FateInterned, 1914; Seized by US, 1917
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameMount Vernon
Namesake Mount Vernon
Acquired
  • by Navy: 3 February 1917
  • by Army: 17 October 1919
Commissioned28 July 1917
Decommissioned29 September 1919
FateReturned to Shipping Board by Army August 1920; scrapped 13 September 1940
General characteristics
Class and type Kaiser-class ocean liner
Tonnage
Length
  • 215.29 m (706 ft 4 in) LOA [2] [3]
  • 208.89 m (685 ft 4 in) LBP
Beam22.00 m (72 ft 2 in)
Draft31 ft 1 in (9.47 m)
PropulsionFour quadruple-expansion steam engines, two screw propellers
Speed23–24 knots (43–44 km/h; 26–28 mph)
Capacity1,741
Complement1,030 (as USS Mount Vernon)
Armament
Notes four funnels, three masts

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 in a ship. [2] [4] The last of four ships of the Kaiser class, she was also the last German ship to have been built with four funnels. She was engaged in transatlantic service between her home port of Bremen and New York until the outbreak of World War I.

Contents

On 4 August 1914, at sea after leaving New York, she turned around and put into Bar Harbor, Maine, where she later was interned by the neutral United States. After that country entered the war in April 1917, the ship was seized and turned over to the United States Navy, and renamed USS Mount Vernon (ID-4508). While serving as a troop transport, Mount Vernon was torpedoed in September 1918. Though damaged, she was able to make port for repairs and returned to service. In October 1919 Mount Vernon was turned over for operation by the Army Transport Service in its Pacific fleet based at Fort Mason in San Francisco. USAT Mount Vernon was sent to Vladivostok, Russia to transport elements of the Czechoslovak Legion to Trieste, Italy and German prisoners of war to Hamburg, Germany. On return from that voyage, lasting from March through July 1920, the ship was transferred to the United States Shipping Board and laid up at Solomons Island, Maryland until September 1940 when she was scrapped at Boston, Massachusetts.

History

Concept

Kronprinzessin Cecilie, built at Stettin, Germany, in 1906 by AG Vulcan Stettin, was the last of a set of four liners built for North German Lloyd, and the last German liner to carry four smokestacks. She was the product of ensuing competition between Germany and the United Kingdom for supremacy in the North Atlantic. Her older sister, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse had been introduced in 1897 and was a great success. [5] Her popularity prompted North German Lloyd to build three more superliners, namely Kronprinz Wilhelm (1901), Kaiser Wilhelm II (1903) and, finally, Kronprinzessin Cecilie. [5]

As designed the ship had 287 first-class, 109 second-class cabins and 7 compartments for steerage passengers. [3] Passenger capacity was 775 first-class, 343 second-class and 770 steerage passengers for a total of 1,888 supported by a crew of 679 that included 229 stewards and stewardesses and 42 cooks, pantrymen, barbers, hairdressers and other passenger service people. [3] [note 1] Two "Imperial suites" had a parlor, private dining room, bedroom and bath room with toilet while eight other suites had all but the dining room. [3] Twelve deluxe rooms had a large bedroom with bathroom and toilet. [3]

The liner was 19,400  GRT and was 215.29 metres (706 ft 4 in) length overall, [2] [3] 208.89 metres (685 ft 4 in) length between perpendiculars, by 22.00 metres (72 ft 2 in) abeam. She had four reciprocating, quadruple-expansion steam engines, two per shaft. There were two screw propellers. Kronprinzessin Cecilie sailed at a comfortable 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph).

Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge's design for the Bremen ship Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge Design Bremen 4 funnel Ship.png
Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge's design for the Bremen ship

In 1907 Wiegard trusted Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge with the interior design of the ship. They designed luxury cabins where the beds would convert to sofas and the washstands would convert into tables. All of the metalwork was gilded; the surfaces were generally white while the wooden surfaces of violet amaranth were inlaid with agate, ivory and citron wood. [6]

First-Class passengers had access to a smoking room, music room, reading, library and writing room, bookshop, and two "Vienna Cafés" decorated in the Louis XVI style. One café was for smokers and the other ladies-only. [7] The smokers' café had an open-air section which could be enclosed in bad weather by bronze and glass doors. The ladies' café was modeled after the boudoir of Marie Antoinette at the Palace of Fontainebleau. The First-class smoking room was decorated in the "modern Roman style", according to The Marine Review, with painted scenes of Mecklenburg, the home of the ships' namesake Crown Princess Cecilie, decorating the walls. The dining saloon was illuminated from a skylight four decks above and its walls were upholstered in blue silk tapestry. The saloon's seating was innovative in that it dispensed with the long tables typical of other liners, instead featuring 76 round tables seating two, five or seven people. There was also a separate children's dining room aboard. [7]

German career

Named after Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia, she was launched by her father in law Wilhelm II, German Emperor. In July 1907, the new Kronprinzessin Cecilie was planned to leave Bremerhaven on her maiden voyage. However, before the voyage could take place, the ship sank in Bremerhaven harbour. It was not until the next month on 6 August, had the ship been pumped out and repaired, before finally setting out. [5]

The so-called "Vienna Cafe" on Kronprinzessin Cecilie Vienna Cafe on the SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie.jpg
The so-called "Vienna Café" on Kronprinzessin Cecilie

In comparison with a $2,500 first-class-suite ticket, the immigrant could sail on Kronprinzessin Cecilie for a mere $25—one hundred times cheaper. [5]

The interiors of the "four flyers", [5] as they were called, were special. The entire ship was fitted with the best of craftsmanship Germany could offer; the salons were full of ornamented wood and gilded mirrors. While her sister, Kaiser Wilhelm II was thought by some to be too extravagant, Kronprinzessin Cecilie was a popular ship. [5] Some of her first-class suites were fitted with dining rooms so the passengers who booked the suite could dine in private if they did not wish to take their meals in the main restaurant. Also, a fish tank was placed in the kitchen, providing first-class passengers with the freshest of fish. [5] In what was a novelty at the time, first-class passengers in the dining saloon could choose à la carte dishes for no extra charge instead of being limited to a fixed menu. [7]

The liner operated on North German Lloyd's transatlantic route travelling from Bremen, with occasional calls at other ports, including Boston and New Orleans. The ship was steaming toward Germany from America with Captain Charles Polack, [8] who had succeeded Dietrich Hogemann in 1913, [9] when she received word of the outbreak of war. In addition to 1,216 passengers, including some British reservist, she was carrying US$10,679,000 in gold and US$3 million in silver. [10] The ship, bound for Bremen, was nearing Liverpool when directed to head back to the closest port in the neutral United States to avoid capture by the British Navy and French cruisers. [10] [11] Captain Polack had her normally all-buff funnels painted with black tops so as to resemble the liner Olympic or another ship of the British White Star Line as a form of disguise. [4] [12]

Kronprinzessin Cecilie at Bar Harbor, Maine with black funnel tops painted in order to imitate the British liner Olympic Kronprinzessin Cecilie at Bar Harbor, Maine with black funnel tops.jpg
Kronprinzessin Cecilie at Bar Harbor, Maine with black funnel tops painted in order to imitate the British liner Olympic

Due to the liner's dwindling fuel Bar Harbor, Maine, though not a large port, was selected with the ship being brought on 4 August 1914 piloted by a local banker and yachtsman as none of the ship's officers were familiar with the port. [10] North German Lloyd representatives met in Washington with officials of the departments of State, Treasury, Commerce and the United States Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS) with the result USRC Androscoggin was ordered to Bar Harbor to prevent unauthorized departure of foreign vessels but primarily to protect the transfer of gold and silver, as well as all mail and passengers, from Kronprinzessin Cecilie to shore to be transported by train to New York. [10] Androscoggin, joined by the destroyer USS Warrington, arrived at Bar Harbor on 6 August with wild speculation in the press. [10] On 7 November the ship moved to Boston where she was to remain while civil suits against the ship were resolved in federal court. [13]

American career: Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon in a drydock in Brest for repairs after being torpedoed by U-82, September 1918. USS Mount Vernon 1918 im Trockendock.jpg
Mount Vernon in a drydock in Brest for repairs after being torpedoed by U-82, September 1918.

Kronprinzessin Cecilie was commandeered by the United States on 3 February 1917 and transferred from the United States Shipping Board (USSB) to the U.S. Navy when America entered the war that April. She was commissioned 28 July 1917 and renamed USS Mount Vernon after George Washington's Virginia home. She was fitted out at Boston to carry troops and materiel to Europe. [2]

Mount Vernon left New York for Brest on 31 October 1917 for her first U.S. Navy crossing, and during the war made nine successful voyages carrying American troops to fight in Europe. However, early on the morning of 5 September 1918, as the transport steamed homeward in convoy some 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the French coast, her No. 1 gun crew spotted a periscope some 500 yards (460 m) off her starboard bow. Mount Vernon immediately fired one round at German U-boat U-82. The U‑boat simultaneously submerged, but managed to launch a torpedo at the transport. Mount Vernon's officer of the deck promptly ordered right full rudder, but the ship could not turn in time to avoid the missile, which struck her amidships, knocking out half of her boilers, flooding the midsection, and killing 36 sailors and injuring 13. Mount Vernon's guns kept firing ahead of the U‑boat's wake and her crew launched a pattern of depth charges. Damage-control teams worked to save the ship, and their efforts paid off when the transport was able to return to Brest under her own power. Repaired temporarily at Brest, she proceeded to Boston for complete repairs. [2]

Mount Vernon rejoined the Cruiser and Transport Service in February 1919 and sailed on Washington's Birthday for France to begin returning veterans to the United States. Mount Vernon pulled out of port on 3 March 1919 at 11 PM to return to the United States. Some of her notable passengers during her naval service were: Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations; General Tasker H. Bliss, Chief of Staff of the United States Army; Col. Edward M. House, Special Adviser to President Wilson; and Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War. [2]

Army

USAT Mount Vernon at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, September 1920 USAT Mount Vernon.jpg
USAT Mount Vernon at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, September 1920
Czech Legion officers aboard Mount Vernon headed for Norfolk, Virginia in 1920 Officers of Czech Legion aboard Mt. Vernon 1920.jpg
Czech Legion officers aboard Mount Vernon headed for Norfolk, Virginia in 1920

On 17 October 1919 Mount Vernon was transferred to the War Department for operation by the Army Transport Service where the ship was assigned to the Army's Pacific fleet based at Fort Mason in San Francisco. [14] USAT Mount Vernon made one trip between March and July 1920 to Vladivostok, Russia embarking elements of the Czechoslovak Legion to be disembarked at Trieste, Italy and 300 German prisoners of war for Hamburg, Germany. [14] On return the ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board and laid up at Solomons Island, Maryland. [14]

Scrapping

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Americans offered the former Kronprinzessin Cecilie to the British as a troop transport, who refused on the pretext that she was too old. [5] The ship was scrapped in Boston, Massachusetts on 13 September 1940. [2] [14]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The Great Ocean Liners web page on the ship notes "1,970 people" without breakdown of classes or indication of source.

Related Research Articles

SS <i>Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse</i> German ocean liner

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse 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.

RMS <i>Aquitania</i> British ocean liner (in service 1914–1950)

RMS Aquitania was an ocean liner of the Cunard Line in service from 1914 to 1950. She was designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 30 May 1914. She was given the title of Royal Mail Ship (RMS) like many other Cunard ocean liners since she carried the royal mail on many of her voyages. Aquitania was the third in Cunard Line's grand trio of express liners, preceded by RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania, and was the last surviving four-funnelled ocean liner. Shortly after Aquitania entered service, the First World War broke out, during which she was first converted into an auxiliary cruiser before being used as a troop transport and a hospital ship, notably as part of the Dardanelles Campaign.

SS <i>Kaiser Wilhelm II</i> German-built ocean liner

SS Kaiser Wilhelm II was a Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) Kaiser-class ocean liner. She was launched in 1902 in Stettin, Germany. In the First World War she was laid up in New York from 1914 until 1917, when the US Government seized her and renamed her USS Agamemnon. In 1919 she was decommissioned from the Navy and laid up. In 1927 she was transferred to the United States Army, who renamed her USAT Monticello. She was scrapped in 1940.

USS <i>Freedom</i> (ID-3024) Cargo and transport ship in the United States Navy in World War I

USS Freedom (ID-3024) was a cargo and transport ship in the United States Navy in World War I. Originally Wittekind for the North German Lloyd line, the ship also served as USAT Iroquois and USAT Freedom after being seized by the United States in 1917.

Norddeutscher Lloyd was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 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 development of Bremen and Bremerhaven. On 1 September 1970, the company merged with Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) to form Hapag-Lloyd AG.

Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin was a German shipbuilding and locomotive building company. Founded in 1851, it was located near the former eastern German city of Stettin, today Polish Szczecin. Because of the limited facilities in Stettin, in 1907 an additional yard was built in Hamburg. The now named Vulcan-Werke Hamburg und Stettin Actiengesellschaft constructed some of the most famous civilian German ships and it played a significant role in both World Wars, building warships for the Kaiserliche Marine and the Kriegsmarine later.

SS <i>Kronprinz Wilhelm</i> German ocean liner and warship

Kronprinz Wilhelm was a German ocean liner built for Norddeutscher Lloyd, a shipping company now part of Hapag-Lloyd, by the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin, Germany, in 1901. She was named after Crown Prince Wilhelm, son of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, and was a sister ship of SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.

SS <i>Deutschland</i> (1900)

SS Deutschland was a passenger liner built in Stettin and launched on 10 January 1900 for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) of Germany. She was officially the second ocean liner to have four funnels on the transatlantic route, the first being Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse of 1897.

SS <i>Manhattan</i> (1931) American Ocean Liner Built By United States Lines

SS Manhattan was a 24,189 GRT luxury ocean liner built for the United States Lines, named after the Manhattan borough of New York City. On 15 June 1941 she was commissioned as USS Wakefield (AP-21) and became the largest ship ever operated by the US Coast Guard. In 1942 she caught fire and was rebuilt as a troop ship. Post-war, she was moored in New York in May, before decommissioning in June 1946. She was laid up in reserve at Jones Point, New York. She never saw commercial service again, and was sold for scrap in 1965.

RMS <i>Teutonic</i> Ocean liner

RMS Teutonic was an ocean liner built for the White Star Line in Belfast and was the first armed merchant cruiser.

SS <i>George Washington</i> Ocean liner built in 1908 for the North German Lloyd

SS George Washington was an ocean liner built in 1908 for the Bremen-based North German Lloyd and was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. The ship was also known as USS George Washington (ID-3018) and USAT George Washington in service of the United States Navy and United States Army, respectively, during World War I. In the interwar period, she reverted to her original name of SS George Washington. During World War II, the ship was known as both USAT George Washington and, briefly, as USS Catlin (AP-19), in a short, second stint in the U.S. Navy.

USS <i>America</i> (ID-3006)

USS America (ID-3006) was a troop transport for the United States Navy in World War I. She was launched in 1905 as Amerika by Harland & Wolff in Belfast for the Hamburg America Line of Germany. As a passenger liner, she sailed primarily between Hamburg and New York. On 14 April 1912, Amerika transmitted a wireless message about icebergs near the same area where RMS Titanic struck one and sank less than three hours later. At the outset of the war, Amerika was docked at Boston; rather than risk seizure by the British Royal Navy, she remained in port for the next three years.

USS <i>Pequot</i> (ID-2998) German-built cargo steamship that served in the US Navy

USS Pequot (ID-2998) was a cargo steamship that was built in 1910 for DDG Hansa of Germany as Ockenfels. She was the second of three DDG Hansa ships to be named after Ockenfels in the Rhineland-Palatinate.

USS <i>Princess Matoika</i> United States Navy transport ship

USS Princess Matoika (ID-2290) was a transport ship for the United States Navy during World War I. Before the war, she was a Barbarossa-class ocean liner that sailed as SS Kiautschou for the Hamburg America Line and as SS Princess Alice for North German Lloyd. After the war she served as the United States Army transport ship USAT Princess Matoika. In post-war civilian service she was SS Princess Matoika until 1922, SS President Arthur until 1927, and SS City of Honolulu until she was scrapped in 1933.

USS <i>Covington</i> (ID-1409) United States transport ship

USS Covington (ID-1409) was a German transatlantic ocean liner that was launched in 1908 for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) as Cincinnati. In 1917 the United States seized her, had her converted into a troop ship and renamed her Covington. In 1918 SM U-86 torpedoed her, killing six of her complement. Three tugs towed her about 1/3 the way to Brest, but she sank the afternoon of 2 July 1918.

<i>Barbarossa</i>-class ocean liner Ocean liner class of the German Empire

The Barbarossa class was a class of ocean liners of North German Lloyd and the Hamburg America Line of the German Empire. Of the ten ships built between 1896 and 1902, six were built by AG Vulcan Stettin, three were built by Blohm & Voss, and one was built by Schichau-Werke; all were built in Germany. They averaged 11,000 gross register tons (GRT) and featured twin screw propellers driven by quadruple-expansion steam engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four-funnel liner</span> Ocean liner with four funnels

A four-funnel liner, also known as a four-stacker, is an ocean liner with four funnels.

SS <i>Kronprinzessin Cecilie</i> (1905)

Kronprinzessin Cecilie was a Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) ocean liner. She was launched in Schleswig-Holstein in 1905. Her scheduled route was between Hamburg and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dietrich Hogemann</span>

Dietrich Hogemann (1852–1917) was Commodore of the Norddeutscher Lloyd fleet of ocean liners. He retired in May 1913 after 44 years at sea. He died in 1917 in Bremen, Germany.

Kaiser-class ocean liner

The Kaiser-class ocean liners or Kaiserklasse refer to four transatlantic ocean liners of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, a German shipping company. Built by the AG Vulcan Stettin between 1897 and 1907, these ships were designed to be among the largest and best appointed liners of their day. These four ships, two of which held the prestigious Blue Riband, were known as the "four flyers" and all proved to be popular with wealthy transatlantic travellers. They also took great advantage of the masses of emigrants who wished to leave Europe.

References

  1. ↑ Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register 1930–31" (PDF). Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData). Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Naval History And Heritage Command. "Mount Vernon iii". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 International Marine Engineering (1907). "The Hamburg-American Steamser Kronprinzessin Cecilie". International Marine Engineering. 12 (December). New York: Marine Engineering Incorporated: 414–417. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 Frank Osborn Braynard and William H. Miller (writer) (1982). Fifty Famous Liners. W. W. Norton and Company. p. 34. ISBN   0-393-01611-0 . Retrieved 16 October 2010. ... had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted to a ship.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie , The Great Ocean Liners". The Great Ocean Liners. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Studio Magazine, Vol 42, 15 October 1907, retrieved 9 February 2014
  7. 1 2 3 "Kronprinzessin Cecilie". Vol. 36, no. 8. The Marine Review. 22 August 1907. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Captain With a Great Record". Boston Evening Transcript . 16 March 1914. Retrieved 16 October 2010. when Captain Charles Polack of the North German Lloyd arrives in New York tomorrow, In command of the Cecilie, from London, Paris and Bremen, ...
  9. ↑ "Capt. Hogemann Makes His Last Voyage After 44 Years Spent at Sea" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 May 1913. Retrieved 2 December 2010. After the North German Lloyd liner Kronprinzessin Cecilie, arriving from Bremen yesterday, had been made fast to her pier in Hoboken Capt. Dietrich Hogemann, Commodore of the fleet, announced that it was his last voyage, and that Capt. Charles Polack of the George Washington would succeed him.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. "Androscoggin, 1908" (PDF). United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  11. ↑ "The vagaries of war: A treasure-ship in Bar Harbor". The Independent. 17 August 1914. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  12. ↑ Arnold Kludas, Die Geschichte der deutschen Passagierschiffahrt Volume 4: Vernichtung und Wiedergeburt 1914 bis 1930, Schriften des Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseums 21, Hamburg: Kabel, 1989, ISBN   978-3-8225-0047-7, p. 36 (in German)
  13. ↑ "German Gold Ship To Quit Bar Harbor. Kronprinzessin Cecilie Starts Today for Boston Under Escort to Face Libel Actions". New York Times. 6 November 1914. Retrieved 15 October 2010. The steamer Kronprinzessin Cecilie of the North German Lloyd Line, which has been interned here for three months, will sail at 4 o'clock tomorrow morning for Boston, where she will remain pending the determination of civil suits against her owners in the Federal courts.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Clay, Steven E. (2011). U. S. Army Order Of Battle 1919–1941 (PDF). Volume 4. The Services: Quartermaster, Medical, Military Police, Signal Corps, Chemical Warfare, And Miscellaneous Organizations, 1919–41. Vol. 4. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 2172. ISBN   9780984190140. LCCN   2010022326 . Retrieved 24 May 2015.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.