In the late 1880s competition for the Blue Riband, the award for the fastest Atlantic crossing, was fierce amongst the top steamship lines, and White Star decided to order two ships from Harland and Wolff that would be capable of an average Atlantic crossing speed of 20 knots (37km/h; 23mph). Construction of Teutonic and Majestic began in 1887. White Star had sought to fund the construction of both Majestic and Teutonic through the British government, a proposal which was accepted with the stipulation that the Royal Navy would have access to the two liners in a time of war.[1]*[2] Together, the two new ships replaced the aging SSBaltic and the SSRepublic, which had both been in service with White Star since 1872. They participated in the Spithead Naval Review on 5 and 6 August, in conjunction with the state visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
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The Teutonic-class ocean liners were both known as the first modern liners because of their modifications to passenger accommodation. Whereas all of White Star's previous liners had only carried two classes of passengers (Saloon and Steerage), Teutonic and Majestic introduced changes to that paradigm to include a middle class and improvement of accommodation.[3] Unlike the previous White Star Liners, the Teutonic and Majestic used propellers as the ship's main propulsion instead of square-rigged sails. They were also the last ships of the White Star Line to compete for the Blue Riband.
During the first 18 years of service, both Teutonic and Majestic, along with their older cousins Britannic and Germanic sailed on the route from their home port of Liverpool to New York City. Once passengers were disbursed at either the White Star Line pier in New York or the immigration centre at Castle Garden, and later on Ellis Island, the ship would be prepared for her return voyage.[1] Transatlantic races between the Teutonic and liner City of New York were common in the 19th-century. On 14 August 1890, the Teutonic beat the City of New York by over three hours, and broke the ocean record by coming from Queenstown in 5 days, 19 hours, and 5 minutes, and breaking the record by 13 minutes.[3]
In 1897 Teutonic reassumed her military role for a review commemorating Victoria's 60th anniversary. During the Second Boer War in 1900, she served as a troop transport. In 1901, Teutonic encountered a rogue wave, which washed two lookouts out of the crows nest who survived. In 1905, the Teutonic was in New York Harbor when a fire (which started in the electrical room) broke out which threatened the ship. The firemen managed to control the situation and the fire was put out.[4] In 1907 Teutonic, along with Majestic, was transferred to White Star's new 'Express Service' between Southampton and New York. In 1911, the ship was replaced in the White Star lineup by the new Olympic and transferred to the Dominion Line for Canadian service. By 1913 Teutonic's age meant that she no longer attracted the top class passengers, and so was refitted to carry only second and third class passengers. In October 1913 the ship narrowly avoided the same fate as Titanic when, at 172 miles (277km) east of Belle Isle off the Newfoundland coast, she ran so close to an iceberg that she avoided collision only by reversing her engines and putting the helm hard aport.[1]
In 1914, with the start of World War I, Teutonic became an armed merchant cruiser once again, being commissioned into the 10th Cruiser Squadron. In 1916, she was refitted with 6-inch guns, and served as a convoy escort ship as well as being used for troop transport. She was scrapped at Emden in 1921.[3]
On 2 April 1890, Majestic left Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York City. There was a strong desire among the White Star management to regain the coveted Blue Riband, the award for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic, from City of Paris. Majestic failed, but eventually achieved the goal on a westbound voyage between 30 July and 5 August 1891, with an average speed of 20.1 knots (37.2km/h; 23.1mph).[5]Majestic held the honour for a mere two weeks, as Teutonic completed a crossing on 19 August with a speed of 20.35 knots (37.69km/h; 23.42mph). City of Paris regained the Blue Riband a year later.[2]
In 1895, Majestic was captained by Captain Edward Smith, who commanded her for nine years. When the Boer War started in 1899, Smith and Majestic were called upon to transport troops to Cape Colony. Two trips were made to South Africa, one in December 1899 and one in February 1900, both without incident. Charles Lightoller served as a deck officer under Smith during this period.[6] In 1902–1903, the ship underwent a refit, which included updates to much of her passenger accommodations, new boilers and taller twin funnels, after which she returned to the Liverpool–New York run. When Titanic entered service in April 1912, Majestic was retired from White Star's New York service, biding her time at Birkenhead's Bidston Dock. When Titanic was lost on her maiden voyage, Majestic was returned to service in her former role. She was scrapped on 5 May 1914.[6]
RMS Olympic was a British ocean liner and the lead ship of the White Star Line's trio of Olympic-class liners. Olympic had a career spanning 24 years from 1911 to 1935, in contrast to her short-lived sister ships, Titanic and Britannic. This included service as a troopship during the First World War, which gained her the nickname Old Reliable. She returned to civilian service after the war, and served successfully as an ocean liner throughout the 1920s and into the first half of the 1930s, although increased competition, and the slump in trade during the Great Depression after 1930, made her operation increasingly unprofitable.
The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. The record is based on average speed rather than passage time because ships follow different routes. Also, eastbound and westbound speed records are reckoned separately, as the more difficult westbound record voyage, against the Gulf Stream and the prevailing weather systems, typically results in lower average speeds.
The White Star Line was a former British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between the British Empire and the United States. While many other shipping lines focused primarily on speed, White Star branded their services by focusing more on providing comfortable passages for both upper class travellers and immigrants.
RMS Oceanic was a transatlantic ocean liner built for the White Star Line. She sailed on her maiden voyage on 6 September 1899 and was the largest ship in the world until 1901. At the outbreak of World War I she was converted to an armed merchant cruiser. On 8 August 1914 she was commissioned into Royal Navy service.
RMS Oceanic was the White Star Line's first liner and first member of the Oceanic-class, she was an important turning point in passenger liner design. Entering service in 1871 for Atlantic crossings, she was later chartered to Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company (O&O) in 1875. The ship provided passenger service for O&O in the Pacific until 1895 when she was sold for scrap.
SS Britannic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line. It was the first of three ships of the White Star Line to sail with the Britannic name.
RMS Celtic was an ocean liner owned by the White Star Line. The first ship larger than SS Great Eastern by gross register tonnage, Celtic was the first of a quartet of ships over 20,000 tons, the dubbed The Big Four. She was the last ship ordered by Thomas Henry Ismay before his death in 1899. The second liner of her name she was put into service in 1901. Her large size and her low but economical speed inaugurated a new company policy aiming to favour size, luxury and comfort, to the detriment of speed.
RMS Cedric was an ocean liner owned by the White Star Line. She was the second of a quartet of ships over 20,000 tons, dubbed the Big Four, and was the largest vessel in the world at the time of her entering service. Her career, peppered with collisions and minor incidents, took place mainly on the route from Liverpool to New York.
RMS Adriatic was a British ocean liner of the White Star Line. She was the fourth of a quartet of ships of more than 20,000 GRT, dubbed The Big Four. The ship was the only one of the four which was never the world's largest ship. However, she was the largest, the fastest, and the most luxurious of the Big Four, being the first ocean liner to have an indoor swimming pool and a Turkish bath.
City of New York was a British built passenger liner of the Inman Line that was designed to be the largest and fastest liner on the Atlantic. When she entered service in August 1888, she was the first twin screw express liner and while she did not achieve the westbound Blue Riband, she ultimately held the eastbound record from August 1892 to May 1893 at a speed of 20.11 knots. City of New York and her sister City of Paris are considered especially beautiful ships and throughout their careers were rivals to the White Star Teutonic and Majestic. In February 1893, the Inman Line was merged into the American Line and by act of Congress, the renamed New York was transferred to the US flag. Beginning in the mid-1890s, New York and Paris were paired with St Louis and St Paul to form one of the premier Atlantic services. New York continued with the American Line until 1920 and was broken for scrap in 1923. She served the US Navy as Harvard during the Spanish–American War and Plattsburg in World War I. She is also remembered for nearly colliding with the RMS Titanic as the latter ship began her doomed maiden voyage in 1912.
SS Adriatic was the first of two White Star Line ocean liners to carry the name Adriatic. The White Star Line's first four steamships of the Oceanic-class, the met with great success in the trans-Atlantic market, and the line decided to build two more. The first of these was the SS Adriatic, which was built by Harland and Wolff and launched on 17 October 1871; the second was the SS Celtic.
SS Baltic was an Oceanic-class ocean liner owned and operated by the White Star Line. Baltic was one of the first four ships ordered by White Star from shipbuilders Harland and Wolff after Thomas Ismay bought the company, and the third ship of the Oceanic-class to be delivered.
RMS Majestic was a steamship built in 1890 and operated by the White Star Line.
SS Republic was an ocean liner built in 1871 by Harland and Wolff for White Star Line. It was intended to be the last of four vessels forming the Oceanic-class, before two new ships were commissioned. After a rough maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York City on 1 February 1872, the ship was chosen to be on White Star Line's first voyage on the South Atlantic and Pacific line with four other ships, destined for Chile. In 1874, the construction of modern ships SS Germanic and SS Britannic led to SS Republic's becoming the standby vessel of White Star Line. It occupied this position for 15 years, and attempts were made to modernise it in 1888. When RMS Teutonic and RMS Majestic entered service in the following year, the Republic became surplus to White Star's needs.
The RMS Teutonic was an ocean liner built for the White Star Line in Belfast and was the first armed merchant cruiser.
SS La Touraine was an ocean liner that sailed for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique from the 1890s to the 1920s. Built in France in 1891, she was primarily employed in transatlantic service on the North Atlantic. The liner was scrapped in Dunkirk in October 1923.
SS Cymric was a steamship of the White Star Line built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast and launched on 12 October 1897.
SS Lapland was a steam ocean liner built in Ireland for the Belgian Red Star Line. When new she was Red Star's flagship: similar in appearance to the company's SS Samland, SS Gothland and SS Poland, but far larger. She was a half sister to White Star Line's "Big Four", just smaller and not as luxurious. They are similar in many ways, such as the island bridge, 4 masts, 2 funnels. But Lapland had a less luxurious interior.
SS Calgaric was a steam ocean liner that was completed in 1917, assumes service in 1918 and scrapped in 1934. She was built for the Pacific SN Co Line as Orca. In 1923 she was transferred to the Royal Mail Line. In 1927 she was transferred to White Star Line and renamed Calgaric.
The Oceanic class were a group of six ocean liners built by Harland and Wolff at Belfast, for the White Star Line, for the transatlantic service. They were the company's first generation of steamships to serve the North Atlantic passenger trade, entering service between 1871 and 1872.
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