SS Potsdam (1899)

Last updated

Fred Pansing Potsdam 1910.jpg
Painting of Potsdam in about 1910
History
Name
  • 1900: Potsdam
  • 1915: Stockholm
  • 1928: Solglimt
  • 1941: Sonderburg
Namesake
Owner
Operator
  • 1928: Christian Nielsen & Co
  • 1930: A/S Thor Dahl
  • 1941: Erste Deutsche Wahlfang Ges
  • 1942: Trossschiffverband
Port of registry
Route
  • 1900: Rotterdam – New York
  • 1915: Gothenburg – New York
Builder Blohm+Voss
Yard number139
Laid down4 May 1899
Launched15 December 1899
Completed5 May 1900
Maiden voyage17 May 1900
Refit1928
Identification
  • 1900: code letters PQLF
  • ICS Papa.svg ICS Quebec.svg ICS Lima.svg ICS Foxtrot.svg
  • by 1913: call sign MHM
  • 1914: call sign PEE
  • 1915: code letters JVMC
  • ICS Juliet.svg ICS Victor.svg ICS Mike.svg ICS Charlie.svg
  • by 1918: call sign SGL
  • 1928: code letters LHNB
  • ICS Lima.svg ICS Hotel.svg ICS November.svg ICS Bravo.svg
  • by 1934: call sign LDMD
  • ICS Lima.svg ICS Delta.svg ICS Mike.svg ICS Delta.svg
Nickname(s)"Funneldam"
Fate scuttled 1944, partly blown up 1946, raised and scrapped 1947
General characteristics
Type
Tonnage
  • 1900: 12,606  GRT, 8,018  NRT, 12,649  DWT
  • 1930: 12,279  GRT, 7,123  NRT
Length
  • 573.0 ft (174.65 m) overall
  • 550.0 ft (167.6 m) registered
Beam62.0 ft (18.9 m)
Draught31 ft 10 in (9.70 m)
Depth34.6 ft (10.5 m)
Decks3
Installed power1,355 NHP, 7,600 ihp
Propulsion
Speed15 knots (28 km/h)
Capacity
  • passengers, 1900: 282 × 1st class, 208 × 2nd class, 1,800 × 3rd class
  • cargo: 612,000 cubic feet (17,330 m3) grain, 559,000 cubic feet (15,829 m3) bale
Crew186
Sensors and
processing systems
Notes sister ships: Rijndam, Noordam

SS Potsdam was a steam ocean liner that was launched in Germany in 1899 for Holland America Line. In 1915 Swedish American Line acquired her and renamed her Stockholm.

Contents

In 1929 Norwegian owners acquired her, had her converted into a whaling factory ship, and renamed her Solglimt. In 1941 a German auxiliary cruiser captured her and she was renamed Sonderburg. She was scuttled in 1944, and raised and scrapped in 1947.

When new, Potsdam was the largest ship in the Holland America Line fleet. She was the only Holland America Line ship ever to be named after the German city of Potsdam. She was the first of four Swedish American liners to be named after the Swedish capital city Stockholm.

Building

Blohm+Voss built Potsdam in Hamburg as yard number 139. She was laid down in 4 May 1899, launched on 15 December 1899 and completed on 5 May 1900. Her length overall was 573.0 ft (174.65 m) and her registered length was 550.0 ft (167.6 m). Her beam was 62.0 ft (18.9 m) and her depth was 34.6 ft (10.5 m). Her tonnages were 12,606  GRT, 8,018  NRT and 12,649  DWT. Her passenger accommodation had berths for 282 first class, 208 second class and 1,800 third class passengers. Her holds had cubic capacity of 612,000 cubic feet (17,330 m3) for grain and 559,000 cubic feet (15,829 m3) for cargo in bales. [1]

Potsdam had twin screws, each driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 1,355 NHP [2] or 7,600 ihp, and gave her a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h). [1]

Potsdam

Holland America Line registered Potsdam at Rotterdam. Her Dutch code letters were PQLF. [2]

Her regular route was between Rotterdam and New York via Boulogne. [3] She began her maiden voyage on 17 May 1900. [4]

At first, Potsdam's speed was unsatisfactory, and she was found not to steam well enough. In her winter overhaul of 1900 to 1901 her funnel was increased in height by 23 feet (7.0 m) to improve the draught through her furnaces and boilers. The modification succeeded in improvingher steaming and her speed. Her taller funnel earnt her the nickname "Funneldam". [4]

Holland America Line ordered two sister ships for Potsdam, built by Harland & Wolff in Ireland. [4] Rijndam was launched in May 1901 and completed that October. [5] Noordam was launched in September 1901 and completed in March 1902. [6]

By 1910 Potsdam was equipped for submarine signalling, and the Marconi Company had equipped her for wireless telegraphy. [7] By 1913 her wireless telegraph call sign was MHM, [8] but by 1914 it had been changed to PEE. [9]

On 15 April 1912 White Star Line's RMS Titanic sank with the loss of 1,517 lives. Under public scrutiny after the disaster, other companies admitted that their passenger ships carried too few lifeboats. Holland America Line was one of them, and the company duly had two more pairs of lifeboats installed aboard Potsdam, positioned aft on a deckhouse. [4]

Early the First World War, the ship's name and home port "Potsdam Rotterdam" were painted on her side in large capital letters to identify her as a neutral ship. But passenger numbers declined, and Holland America Line laid Potsdam up in Rotterdam and advertised her for sale. [4]

Stockholm

Part of Stockholm's crew on deck in Gothenburg in 1915 Dacksvy med befal och besattning - Sjofartsmuseet Akvariet - SMGF3702.tif
Part of Stockholm's crew on deck in Gothenburg in 1915

In September 1915 Swedish America Line acquired Potsdam, [1] renamed her Stockholm, and registered her in Gothenburg. [10] Her passenger accommodation was improved, particularly in Third Class, to appeal to Swedish emigrants to the USA. [4] Her Swedish code letters were JVMC, [10] and by 1918 her call sign was SGL. [11] She began her first voyage from Gothenburg to New York on 11 December 1915. [4]

At first Stockholm prospered. However, on 1 February 1917 the Imperial German Navy resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. This increased the danger for neutral shipping, so Stockholm was laid up in Gothenburg from May 1917 until June 1918. [4]

Stockholm arriving in New York in 1919, repatriating members of the 369th Infantry Regiment. Note the lettering "Stockholm Sverige" on her side, identifying her as a neutral ship in the First World War. Famous (African American) regiment arrives home on the "Stockholm". "Stockholm" as she entered port . . . - NARA - 533515.tif
Stockholm arriving in New York in 1919, repatriating members of the 369th Infantry Regiment. Note the lettering "Stockholm Sverige" on her side, identifying her as a neutral ship in the First World War.

In 1919 the United States chartered Stockholm to repatriate troops from France. [4] She brought 1,000 members of the Afro-American 369th Infantry Regiment home from Europe to New York.

In 1922 Götaverken converted Stockholm from coal to heavy fuel oil. This improved the performance of her furnaces and boilers, so the height of her funnel was reduced by 7 feet (2 m). [4]

Stockholm began her final transatlantic voyage for Swedish American Line on 29 September 1928. [4]

Solglimt

The whaling factory ship Solglimt. Note the new masts, and the stern chute for hauling whale carcasses aboard. Flytende kokeri Solglimt Fs.00230.jpg
The whaling factory ship Solglimt. Note the new masts, and the stern chute for hauling whale carcasses aboard.

In November 1928 Hvalfangerstakjeselskabet 'Atlas' ("The Atlas Whaling Company") acquired Stockholm and had her refitted as a whaling factory ship. [1] Her tonnages were revised to 12,279  GRT and 7,123  NRT. [12] Atlas registered her in Larvik and appointed Christian Nielsen & Co to manage her. [13] She entered service in her new role on 12 September 1929. [4]

By 1930 her Norwegian code letters were LHNB, and she was equipped with wireless direction finding. [12] In 1930 A/S Odd acquired Solglimt, registered her in Sandefjord, and appointed A/S Thor Dahl to manage her. [1] By 1934 her call sign was LDMD. [14]

On 14 January 1941 the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin captured a Norwegian fleet of 11 whalers and three factory ships in the Southern Ocean. They included Solglimt, which was laden with whale oil. [4] On 25 January Pinguin sent Solglimt to German-occupied France under a German prize crew. She reached Bordeaux on 16 March. [1]

Sonderburg

The Kriegsmarine kept the ship as a prize, renamed her Sonderburg, after Sønderborg in North Schleswig, and registered her in Hamburg. [1]

In 1941 the Erste Deutsche Wahlfang Gesellschaft ("First German Whaling Company") managed Sonderburg. By 1942 the Trossschiffverband ("Supply Ship Association") was her manager. [1] Also in 1942, she was in Cherbourg Harbour during a RAF Bomber Command. [4] At least two bombs hit and damaged her.

In June 1944, German forces scuttled Sonderburg in the English Channel at Cherbourg. [1] In August 1946 the French used explosives to demolish part of the ship to clear the port. [4] In January 1947 the remains of her wreck were raised and towed to Britain, where the British Iron & Steel Corporation scrapped her. [1]

British bombing raid in Cherbourg, France in 1942, a stick of bombs falling across the whale-oil factory ship Solglimt NGA photo.jpg
RAF photographs of Cherbourg Harbour during and after an air raid in 1942, showing Sonderburg during and after being bombed

Related Research Articles

SS <i>Georgia</i> Oil tanker lost at Haisborough Sands off the coast of Norfolk, England

SS Georgia was an oil tanker that was built in the United States in 1908 as Texas and spent most of her career in the United States Merchant Marine. In 1917 she was renamed Georgia. In 1927 she was transferred to Dutch ownership, and shortly thereafter ran aground and was lost on Haisborough Sands off the coast of Norfolk, England.

SS <i>Dwinsk</i> 1897 ocean liner sunk by a U-boat in 1918

SS Dwinsk was a transatlantic ocean liner that was launched in Ireland in 1897 as Rotterdam, renamed C. F. Tietgen in 1906, and renamed Dwinsk in 1913. A U-boat sank her in 1918, with the loss of 23 lives. The ship was built for Holland America Line, but was successively owned by Scandinavian America Line and Russian American Line, and after the Russian Revolution she was managed by Cunard Line.

SS <i>Noordam</i> (1902) Dutch ocean liner built in Ireland & chartered to Sweden

SS Noordam was a steam ocean liner that was launched in Ireland in 1901 and scrapped in the Netherlands in 1928–29. Holland America Line owned her throughout her career. From 1923 to 1924 Swedish American Line chartered her and renamed her Kungsholm.

USS <i>Rijndam</i> Dutch ocean liner that was a US troop ship in the First World War

USS Rijndam (ID–2505) was the Holland America Line (HAL) ocean liner Rijndam, also spelt Ryndam, which was launched in Ireland in 1901 and scrapped in the Netherlands in 1929. The US requisitioned her as the United States Navy troopship USS Rijndam from 1918 until 1919. She was the first of four Holland America Line ships to be called Ryndam.

USS <i>Bali</i> Dutch cargo steamship that served in the United States Navy

USS Bali was a Dutch cargo steamship that was built for Stoomvaart Mattschappij Nederland in 1917. She served in the United States Navy, with the ID number ID–2483, from March 1918 until May 1919. She supplied the American Expeditionary Forces in France, and in 1919 she took food relief to Europe.

USS <i>Zeelandia</i> Dutch-owned ocean liner that was a US Navy troopship in 1918 and 1919

USS Zeelandia was an ocean liner that was built in Scotland in 1910 and scrapped in the Netherlands in 1936. She was the largest ship in the Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd (KHL) fleet from 1910 until the liners Gelria and Tubantia were completed in 1913 and 1914. She was USS Zeelandia from April 1918 until October 1919, when she was a United States Navy troopship.

SS <i>Statendam</i> (1898) Ocean liner operated by Holland America Line, Allan Line and Canadian Pacific

SS Statendam was a transatlantic ocean liner that was launched in Ireland in 1898 for Holland America Line. She was the first of several ships in the company's history to be called Statendam. She was NASM's first ship of more than 10,000 GRT, and she was the largest ship in the company's fleet until Potsdam was completed in 1900.

USS <i>Charlton Hall</i> Cargo steamship that served in the US Navy in World War I

USS Charlton Hall (ID-1359) was a cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1907 and served in the merchant fleets of the United Kingdom, United States and Greece. She served in the United States Navy in 1918. She was renamed Atlantis and then Anastasis in 1930. She was scrapped in China in 1934.

USS <i>Munwood</i> Cargo steamship that served in the United States Navy

USS Munwood (ID-4460) was a cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1914 and was part of the United States Merchant Marine until 1928. From 1918 to 1919 she served in the United States Navy. In 1928 Yugoslav interests bought her and renamed her Vila. In 1935 she sank as the result of a collision in the Adriatic Sea.

USS <i>Oosterdijk</i> Dutch cargo ship that served in the United States Navy in 1918

USS Oosterdijk was a Holland America Line cargo steamship that was built in 1913 and sank as a result of a collision in 1918. She served in the United States Navy, with the Naval Registry Identification Number ID–2586, from March 1918 until her loss that July. Some sources anglicise her name as Oosterdyk, but Lloyd's Register registered her with the Dutch spelling Oosterdijk.

SS <i>Polar Chief</i> British merchant steamship

SS Polar Chief was a merchant steamship that was built in England in 1897 and scrapped in Scotland in 1952. In its 55-year career it had previously been called Montcalm, RFA Crenella, Crenella, Rey Alfonso, Anglo-Norse and Empire Chief. Early in the First World War it spent eight months pretending to be the battleship HMS Audacious.

SS <i>Themistocles</i> (1911)

SS Themistocles was a UK steam ocean liner and refrigerated cargo ship. She was launched in 1910 in Ireland and scrapped in 1947 in Scotland. She was built for Aberdeen Line, White Star Line managed her for a few years, and she spent the latter part of her career with Shaw, Savill & Albion Line.

USS <i>St. Francis</i> Cargo steamship from 1914 to 1942

USS St. Francis (ID-1557) was a cargo steamship. She was built in Ireland in 1914 as San Francisco, and renamed St. Francis in 1918 when she was commissioned into the United States Navy. In 1933 she was renamed Lammot du Pont. In 1942 she was sunk by a U-boat, and 19 of her crew were lost.

SS <i>Grampian</i> British ocean liner, in service 1907–1921

SS Grampian was a transatlantic ocean liner that was built in Scotland in 1907 and scrapped in the Netherlands in 1925. She was operated originally by Allan Line, and later by Canadian Pacific Steamships. In the First World War she remained in commercial service but carried Canadian troops. In 1919 she survived a collision with an iceberg. In 1921 she was gutted by fire while being refitted. The refit was abandoned, and in 1925–26 she was scrapped.

SS <i>Rotterdam</i> (1908) Dutch passenger ship

SS Rotterdam was a steam ocean liner that was launched and completed in Ireland in 1908, and scrapped in the Netherlands in 1940. Holland America Line (HAL) owned and operated her throughout her career. She was the fourth of seven HAL ships to have been named after the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Until Statendam entered service in 1929, Rotterdam was the largest and swiftest ship in the company's fleet, and was the company's flagship.

Vasari was a 1908 steam ocean liner that was built in England, operated by the British Lamport and Holt Line and used on its service between New York and the River Plate.

SS <i>Costa Rica</i> Dutch passenger steamship that was a troopship in both world wars

SS Costa Rica was a Dutch passenger steamship. She was built in 1910 as Prinses Juliana for Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland, which ran scheduled passenger and mail services between Amsterdam and Java.

SS <i>Aquileia</i> Dutch-built ocean liner that became a troopship and hospital ship, and blockship

SS Aquileia was a Dutch-built steamship that was launched in 1913 as the ocean liner and mail ship Prins der Nederlanden for Netherland Line. She ran scheduled services between Amsterdam and the Dutch East Indies until 1930, when she was laid up.

SS <i>Goentoer</i> Dutch mail steamship that was a UK troopship in the First World War

SS Goentoer was a Dutch passenger and mail ship that was built for Rotterdamsche Lloyd in 1902 and scrapped in 1925. Her regular route was between Rotterdam and the Dutch East Indies. She was a UK troop ship from 1918 to 1919, after being seized under angary in Singapore.

SS <i>Westerdijk</i> Dutch cargo ship that served in the United States Navy in 1918–19

SS Westerdijk was a Holland America Line cargo steamship that was completed in 1913 and scrapped in 1933. She served in the United States Navy, with the Naval Registry Identification Number ID–2514, from March 1918 until September 1919. Some sources anglicise her name as Westerdyk, but Lloyd's Register registered her with the Dutch spelling Westerdijk.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Potsdam – ID 5248". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 Lloyd's Register 1901, POR–POV.
  3. Dowling 1909, p. 321.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Reimertz, Henrik (21 March 2018). "Potsdam". The Great Ocean Liners. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. "Rijndam". Harland & Wolff The Yard. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  6. "Noordam". Harland & Wolff The Yard. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  7. Lloyd's Register 1910, POT–PRA.
  8. The Marconi Press Agency Ltd 1913, p. 270.
  9. The Marconi Press Agency Ltd 1914, p. 415.
  10. 1 2 Lloyd's Register 1917, STE–STO.
  11. The Marconi Press Agency Ltd 1918, p. 759.
  12. 1 2 Lloyd's Register 1930, SOL.
  13. Lloyd's Register 1928, S.
  14. Lloyd's Register 1934, SOL.

Bibliography