Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (1897) |
Later names: |
|
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse |
Builder: |
Stettiner Maschinenbau AG Vulcan Stettin, Germany |
Ordered: |
N/A |
Keel Laid: |
N/A |
||
Year Built: |
1897 |
Launched: |
May 4, 1897 |
Type: |
Passenger |
Completed: |
September 12, 1897 |
Fate: |
Sunk Aug. 26, 1914 scuttled after gun battle with HMS Highflyer. Location: North Atlantic off the coast of Rio del Oro, Spanish West Africa (Western Sahara). Aprox. 104 crewmen killed, 480 survivors. Hulk scrapped in 1952. |
Owner |
Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd) Bremen, Germany |
Dimensions, machinery and performance |
Length: |
648' 5" |
Engines: |
2 four cylinder triple expansion |
Beam: |
66' |
Boilers: |
14 cylindrical |
Draft: |
27' 9" |
Shafts: |
2 |
Gross Tons: |
14,349 (a) |
HP: |
27,000 |
DWT: |
6,400 |
Speed: |
22 knots (22.29 forced) |
Crew: |
488 (b) |
Funnels: |
4 |
Passengers: |
1,749 (c) |
Masts: |
2 |
Construction notes |
|||
(a): |
13,952 after 1913-14 refit. | ||
(b): |
584 as Aux. Cruiser |
||
(c): |
2,130 after 1913-14 refit. |
Captains
|
||
From
|
To
|
Name
|
Aug. 2, 1914 |
Aug. 26, 1914 |
Fregattenkapitän Max Reymann |
Combat Victories | |
Aug. 7, 1914: |
Tubal Cain (captured, crew taken POW, sunk) |
Aug. 15, 1914 |
Galician (captured and released due to high number of women and children) |
Aug. 16, 1914: |
Kaipara (captured, crew taken POW, sunk) |
Aug. 16, 1914: |
Nyanga (captured, crew taken POW, sunk) |
Aug. 16, 1914: |
Arlanza (captured and released due to high number of women and children) |
Timeline |
|
Sept. 19, 1897: |
Maiden voyage Bremerhaven-Southampton-New York. |
June 30, 1900: |
At Hoboken, New Jersey when fire broke out at the North German Lloyd Pier. |
Nov. 21, 1906: |
Collided with the Royal Mail Line's Orinoco in the English Channel off Cherbourg, France. A British inquiry blamed the excessive speed of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse as the cause for the collision. Five passengers on the Kasier Wilhelm der Grosse and 3 crewmen of the Orinoco were killed. |
1913-14: |
Refit to 13,952 grt as an emigrant ship with only 3rd class and steerage accommodations. Used on Bremerhaven to New York route (direct). |
July 21, 1914: |
Final departure from New York. |
July 1914: |
Refitted as Auxiliary Cruiser in Bremerhaven, Germany four 105mm guns installed. |
Aug. 2, 1914: |
Commissioned into Imperial German Navy (Operated near the Canary Islands). |
Aug. 2, 1914: |
Commissioned as Auxiliary cruiser in Imperial German Navy. |
Roll of Remembrance |
In memory of those who lost their lives in SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse |
Name |
Rate |
||
Nov. 21, 1906 |
Groiscant, Samuel |
Passenger |
|
Koucelik, Anna |
Passenger |
||
Muhlbeier, George |
Passenger |
||
* |
Steurer, Maria |
Passenger |
age 11 |
Zimbelmann, Michael |
Passenger |
||
* |
Died in hospital |
Builder's Data |
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Page published Jan. 8, 2007 |