Deutschland (1900) |
Later names |
|
Victoria Luise (1911) |
|
Hansa (1920) |
Owner: |
Hamburg America Line Hamburg Germany |
Builder: |
AG Vulcan Stettin, Germany |
Ordered: |
N/A |
Keel Laid: |
N/A |
||
Year Built: |
1900 |
Launched: |
January 10, 1900 |
Sister Ships: |
None |
Maiden Voyage: |
July 4 - 12, 1900 |
Fate: |
Scrapped at AG Vulcan, Hamburg, Germany beginning in May 1925. |
Dimensions, machinery and performance |
Length: |
686' 6" |
Engines: |
2 six cylinder quadruple expansion by Vulcan |
Beam: |
67' 2" |
Boilers: |
16 cylindrical type (coal fired) |
Draft: |
28' 9" |
Shafts: |
2 |
Gross Tons: |
16,502 |
HP: |
34,000 |
Displacement: |
23,600 |
Speed: |
22.5 knots |
Crew: |
557 |
Funnels: |
4 |
Passengers: |
1,934 |
Masts: |
2 |
History |
|
July 4-12, 1900: |
Maiden Voyage, Hamburg - Plymouth - New York. (the maiden voyage was delayed for two weeks because Deutschland grounded in the Oder River on her delivery voyage from Stettin to Swinemunde.) |
July 12, 1900: |
Won Blue Riband on maiden voyage (westbound) 5 days, 15 hrs. 46 min. 22.42 knots, taking it from the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. Held it until Sept. 16, 1902 loosing to Kronprinz Wilhelm. On later runs speed was increased to 23.06 knots. |
Apr. 22, 1901: |
Hit by a large wave during a storm about 400 NM from Bishop Rock, Scilly Islands. The wave caused the loss of the rudder and Capt. Albers had to make Plymouth, England using only the screws to maneuver. From there he took the ship back to Cuxhaven, Germany. Upon arrival he died of a heart attack. Deutschland was laid up for repair at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg until Nov. 7, 1902. |
Sept. 8, 1903: |
Held Blue Riband (westbound) 5 days, 11 hrs. 54 min. 23.15 knots, taking it from Kronprinz Wilhelm. Held it until Oct. 10, 1907 loosing to Lusitania. This was the last time a German liner held the Blue Riband until July 22, 1929 when Bremen took it from Mauretania. |
July 3, 1906: |
Rammed the pier at Dover, England causing damage to the bow. Deutschland was towed to Southampton by the tug Hector and repaired by London & South Western. The total cost over £40,000. |
Oct. 1910- Sept. 1911: |
Refit at AG Vulcan as cruise ship. Renamed Victoria Luise, 16,703 grt., new engines installed (lower power 15,000 hp), 8 boilers removed. Speed reduced to 17.5 knots, passenger cap. reduced to 487 in one class. |
Sept. 23, 1911: |
First voyage as Victoria Luise. |
1911-1914: |
Used for cruising West Indies, Mediterranean and Scandinavia. Her hull was painted white sometime in 1912. |
June 27, 1914: |
The opening ball of Kiel Week was held onboard the Victoria Luise, guests included Kaiser Wilhelm II and the German Ambassador to Vienna. On the 28th. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Sarajavo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the event which sparked World War 1. The German Ambassador, who was still onboard Victoria Luise, was informed and took a destroyer to the other side of the bay to inform the Kaiser who was on the Yacht Meteor. |
Aug. 1914: |
Requisitioned as auxiliary cruiser by Imperial German Navy. Conversion never completed because the ship was determined to be in unsuitable condition. The ship remained in Hamburg for the remainder of the war. After the war Victoria Luise was the only large liner not taken as war reparations, once again because of the poor condition of the ship. |
1920- Jan. 10, 1921: |
Refit at AG Vulcan as an emigrant ship to 16,393 grt. Renamed Hansa 2 funnels removed passenger accommodations 36 1st. 1,350 3rd. |
Oct. 27, 1921: |
First voyage as Hansa. |
1922: |
Passenger accommodations changed to 224 cabin class and 1,065 3rd. |
1924: |
Withdrawn from service and laid up. |
May 28, 1925: |
Arrived in Hamburg for scrapping. |
Builder's Data |
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Page published Mar. 26, 2007 |