ss kaiser wilhelm der grosse of 1897
in 1897, norddeutscher lloyd launched ss kaiser wilhelm der grosse. followed 3 years later 3 sister ships. ship both luxurious , fast, managing steal blue riband british. first of fourteen ocean liners 4 funnels have emerged in maritime history. ship needed 2 funnels, more funnels gave passengers feeling of safety , power.
in 1900, hamburg america line competed own four-funnel liner, ss deutschland. obtained blue riband company. race speed, however, detriment passengers comfort , generated strong vibration, made owner lose interest in after lost blue riband ship of norddeutscher lloyd. used ten years transatlantic crossing before being converted cruise ship. until 1907 blue riband remained in hands of germans.
in 1902, j. p. morgan embraced idea of maritime empire comprising large number of companies. founded international mercantile marine co., trust comprised american shipping companies. trust absorbed leyland line , white star line. british government decided intervene in order regain ascendancy.
the new british giants
rms mauretania of 1907
the sinking of rms titanic in 1912 led serious re-examination of safety measures @ sea.
although german liners dominated in terms of speed, british liners dominated in terms of size. rms oceanic , big 4 of white star line first liners surpass ss great eastern largest passenger ships. however, ultimately, owner american (as mentioned above, white star line had been absorbed j. p. morgan s trust). faced major competition, british government contributed financially cunard line s construction of 2 liners of unmatched size , speed, under condition available conversion armed cruisers when needed navy. result of partnership completion in 1907 of 2 sister ships: rms lusitania , rms mauretania, both of won blue riband during respective maiden voyages. latter retained distinction twenty years. great speed achieved use of turbines instead of conventional expansion machines. in response competition cunard line, white star line ordered olympic-class liners @ end of 1907. first of these 3 liners, rms olympic, completed in 1911, had fine career, although punctuated incidents. not case sister, infamous rms titanic, sank on maiden voyage on 15 april 1912, resulting in several changes maritime safety practices.
at same time, france tried mark presence completion in 1912 of ss france owned compagnie générale transatlantique. germany responded competition british. 1912 1914, hamburg america line completed trio of liners larger white star line s olympic-class ships. first completed, in 1913 ss imperator. followed ss vaterland in 1914. construction of third liner, ss bismarck, paused outbreak of world war i.
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