Kronprinz Wilhelm (1901)

Later names
USS Von Steuben ID-3017 (1917)
Baron Von Steuben (1919)
Von Steuben (1921)


Built for:
North German Lloyd
Bremen, Germany


Builder:
AG Vulcan
Stettin, Germany
Ordered:
N/A
Keel Laid:
1901
Year Built:
1901
Launched:
March 30, 1901
Sister Ships:
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse
Maiden Voyage:
September 17, 1901
Fate:
Scrapped in 1923 by Boston Iron & Metals Co.


Dimensions, machinery and performance

Length:
663' 2"
Engines:
2 four cylinder quadruple expansion by AG Vulcan
Beam:
66' 1"
Boilers:
16 cylindrical type (coal fired)
Draft:
28' 8"
Shafts:
2
Gross Tons:
14,908
HP:
33,000
Displacement:
21,300
Speed:
22.5 knots
Crew:
528 (see notes)
Funnels:
4
Passengers:
1,761
Masts:
2


Armament as SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm
Number Carried
Type
Arrangement
Maximum Range / Ceiling
2
3.5"/30 (88mm)
single mounts
12,900 yards @ 45° (7.3 miles)
22 lb. HE shell

2 (a)
120mm
single mounts
N/A
1
machine gun
N/A
Armament notes:
(a) Guns captured with no ammunition. They were used as warning guns by modifying
an 88mm shell.


Armament as USS Von Steuben
Number Carried
Type
Arrangement
Maximum Range / Ceiling
8
5"/40 (127mm)
single mounts
16,000 yards @ 30° (9 miles)
50 lb. shell

2
3"/50 (76mm)
single mounts
14,600 yards @ 43° (8.2 miles)
AA ceiling 30,400'
13 lb. HE shell

4
1.5" (37mm)
single mounts
3,500 yards @ 11.4° (1.9 miles)
1 lb. HE shell

8
machine guns


Combat Victories
Date
Name
Type
Tons
Nationality
Notes
Sept. 4, 1914
Indian Princess
Freighter
2,846
UK
Captured (A)
Oct. 7, 1914
La Correntina
Freighter
8,528
UK
Captured (B)
Oct. 28, 1914
Union
Bark
2,183
France
Captured (C)
Nov. 21, 1914
Anne de Bretagne
Sailing Vessel
2,063
France
Captured (D)
Dec. 4, 1914
Bellevue
Freighter
3,814
UK
Captured (E)
Dec. 4, 1914
Mont Agel
Freighter
4,803
France
Dec. 28, 1914
Hemisphere
Freighter
3,486
UK
Captured (F)
Jan. 10, 1915
Potaro
Passenger
4,419
UK
Captured (G)
Jan. 14, 1915
Highland Brae
Freighter
7,634
UK
Captured (H)
Jan. 14, 1915
Wilfried M
Sailing Vessel
251
UK
Damaged (I)
Feb. 3, 1915
Semantha
Bark
2,280
Norway
Feb. 23, 1915
Chasehill
Freighter
4,583
Britain
Captured (J)
Mar. 9, 1915
Guadeloupe
Freighter
6,600
France
Mar. 24, 1915
Tamar
Passenger
3,207
UK
(K)
Mar. 27, 1915
Coleby
Freighter
3,824
UK
Sunk by gunfire
Totals:
     
Sunk:
15
55,938
   
Released:
1
4,583
   
Combat record notes
(A) Indian Princess: captured without a shot being fired, the crew was taken POW and she was scuttled
with 3 charges on Sept. 9 or 10 1914.

(B) La Correntina: Two 120mm guns were removed and mounted on KPW however, no ammunition was found
and the guns were only used to fire blank warning shots. She was scuttled by 3 charges on Oct. 10. 1914.

(C) Union: Scuttled by charges Nov. 20, 1914.
(D) Anne de Bretagne: Scuttled by charges Nov. 24. 1914.
(E) Bellevue: Scuttled Dec. 20, 1914.
(F) Hemisphere: Scuttled Jan. 7, 1915.
(G) Potaro: Built in 1904 and owned by Royal Mail Lines. She was used as a scout ship by KPW until
scuttled on Jan. 30, 1915. (some sources give date as Mar. 6)
(H) Highland Brae: Scuttled Jan. 31, 1915.
(I) Wilfried M: Rammed and left in sinking condition, wreck later drifted ashore.
(J) Chasehill: Captured but released on Mar. 9, 1915.
(K) Tamar: Owned by Royal Mail Lines, sunk by gunfire.


Commanders
From
To
Name
Aug. 6, 1914:
Kurt Grahn (remained as 1st officer after conversion to aux. cruiser)
Aug. 6, 1914
Apr. 11, 1915:
KptLt. Paul Wolfgang Thierfelder
June 9, 1917
Lt. Charles H. Bullock (USN)


History
Sept. 17, 1901
Maiden voyage, Bremerhaven-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York.
1901-1914:
Passenger service from Bremerhaven-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York.
Sept. 16, 1902:
Won Blue Riband (westbound) 5 days, 11 hrs. 57 min. 23.09 knots.
Taken from Deutschland and held until Sept. 8, 1903 when Deutschland
reclaimed the record.

Oct. 8, 1902:
1902:
Collided with HMS Wizard [torpedo boat] Wizard was pulled into the Kronprinz Wilhelm
by the hydrodynamic forces of the screws, Wizard was severely damaged while the
Kronprinz Wilhelm received only minor damage.

July 8,1907:
Hit iceberg at position 42.50N - 50.-31W 292 miles SSE of Cape Race, Newfoundland,
only 75 miles north of where the Titanic would sink 5 years later. KPW received only
minor damage and continued to port under her own power.

Aug. 1, 1914:
Tied up at the NDL pier in Hoboken, New Jersey when Germany declared war on Russia.
Aug. 3, 1914:
Departed New Jersey.
Aug. 6, 1914

Rendezvoused with SMS Karlsruhe north of the Bahamas and converted into an
auxiliary cruiser. 2 x 88mm guns, 290 rounds of ammunition and a machine gun
were mounted. Commander KaptLt. Paul Wolfgang Thierfelder came aboard and
former Captain Kurt Grahn was made 1st officer.

Aug. 6, 1914:
Commissioned as an auxiliary cruiser in Imperial German Navy.
Aug. 17, 1914:
Rendezvoused with the supply ship SS Walhalla off St. Miguel Island, Azores.
Sept. 3, 1914:
Rendezvoused with SS Asuncion near Cape San Roque, Brazil.
Sept. 1914 -
Apr. 1915:
Operated off South America capturing and sinking 13 ships, capturing and releasing
one, and ramming one. (see record above)

Apr. 11, 1915:
Arrived at Newport News, Virginia ship and crew interned.
Oct. 1, 1916:
Moved to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard under escort of USS Minnesota BB-22
and USS Vermont BB-20.

Mar. 17, 1917:
Interned crew transferred from custody of Navy to the War dept. and sent
to Ft. McPherson, Georgia.

Apr. 6, 1917:
USA declares war on Germany and KPW is seized by USA.
May 22, 1917:
President Woodrow Wilson signs executive order #2624 giving the ship to the Navy.
Converted into an auxiliary cruiser at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
(see armament details above)

June 9, 1917:
Commissioned into US Navy at Philadelphia and renamed USS Von Steuben
Lt. Charles H. Bullock in command.

Sept. 21, 1917:
Under orders from the Office of the Chief of Navy Operations converted for
trooping duty. Conversion took place at Philadelphia Navy yard reclassified as ID# 3017.

Sept. 29, 1917:
Conversion completed and put to sea for trials.
Oct. 31,1917:
First trooping voyage, New York to Brest, France.
1,223 troops and passengers were carried.

Nov. 9, 1917:
Collided with USS Agamemnon ID# 3004 (former Kaiser Wilhelm II) both ships lost men
overboard. Two of the 5" and one of the 3" guns were damaged, the ships bow was
damaged but she remained with convoy.

Nov. 12, 1917:
Arrived at Brest, France. Temporary repairs were made to the bow.
Nov. 28, 1917:
Departed Brest, France bound for Philadelphia.
Dec. 6, 1917:
40 miles off Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada when the Mount Blanc exploded in Halifax Harbor.
Von Steuben arrived in port about 14:30 landed officers and men to patrol the city and
aid in rescue efforts. She departed Dec. 10 for Philadelphia.

Dec. 13, 1917:
Arrived at Philadelphia.
Dec. 20, 1917:
Departed Newport News for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba with a contingent of US Marines .
Dec. 27, 1917:
Departed Guantanamo Bay for Canal Zone.
Dec. 29, 1917:
Entered drydock at Balboa, Panama and had damage to bow repaired.
Jan. 20, 1918:
Departed Balboa.
Jan 28-31, 1917:
At Newport News, Virginia for replacement of guns damaged in the Nov. 9 collision.
Feb. 10, 1918:
Departed in convoy for Brest, France.
Feb. 24, 1918:
Arrived at Brest, France.
Feb. 29, 1918:
Departed Brest, France.
Mar. 5, 1918:
Believing they were being shadowed by U-Boat they opened fire. One shell exploded
upon leaving gun, 3 men struck by fragments, 1 died instantly 2 died later object was
not U-boat.

Mar. 16, 1918:
Arrived at Norfolk, Virginia.
May-June, 1918:
Made 2 round trips to France.
June 18, 1918:
On return leg of third voyage to France came upon 7 lifeboats from British
ship Dwinsk that had been sunk by U-151 earlier in the day. U-151 fired a torpedo at
Von Steuben but she avoided it successfully and depth charged the U-boat.
Did not pick up survivors because of threat of further attack and because the boats
appeared to be empty. This was because the Capt. of the Dwinsk had ordered everyone
to lay low in the boats to keep allied ships from being attacked by U-151 which was
using them as a decoy to lure ships to the area. Survivors were eventually rescued.

June 20, 1918:
Arrived in New York.
June 30, 1918:
Departed New York on 6th convoy bound for Brest, France.
July 3, 1918:
En route to Brest a fire broke out on USS Henderson [transport #1] Von Steuben
embarked all of her over 2,000 troops Henderson returned safely to USA.

July 9, 1918:
Arrived Brest, France.
July 12, 1918:
Departed Brest, France.
July 21, 1918:
Arrived New York.
July-Aug,1918:
Under repair.
Aug-Nov,1918:
3 round trips New York-France
Return leg of 1st voyage, lost 3 men overboard in hurricane.
First leg 2nd voyage influenza outbreak killed 34 dead and laid up 400.

Nov. 8, 1918:
Arrived at New York from 9th and last wartime voyage.
Nov. 10, 1918:
Entered drydock at Morse Drydock and Repair Co. Brooklyn, New York for repairs.
Repairs completed on Mar. 2, 1919.

1919:
Used to return troops from Europe.
Oct. 13, 1919:
Decommissioned from US Navy and turned over to the US Shipping Board.
Oct. 14, 1919:
Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.
Oct. 1919:
Renamed Baron Von Steuben by USSB.
After 1921:
Renamed Von Steuben.
1923:
Scrapped.


Notes
Crew cap.
528 as built, 420 as aux. cruiser, 975 as troopship.


Builder's Data
Page published Mar. 26, 2007