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82-533: SS Friedrich der Grosse (or Friedrich der Große ) was a Norddeutscher Lloyd liner built in 1896 which sailed Atlantic routes from Germany and sometimes Italy to the United States and on the post run to Australia. At the outset of World War I the ship was interned by the U.S. and, when that country entered the conflict in 1917, was seized and converted to a troop transport, becoming USS Huron (ID-1408) . Originally commissioned as USS Fredrick Der Grosse ,

164-533: A "coastal shipping and stevedoring company," it started again, as after World War I, practically from zero, offering tugboat and daytripper services. Kulenkampff and Bertram constituted the Board and there were at first only 350 employees. In 1948, the first Hapag-Lloyd travel agency opened. Business initially consisted of emigration and a limited amount of tourism. Beginning in 1949, German companies were permitted to order and to build ships of up to 7,200 GRT. In 1950,

246-530: A board member since 1932, and Richard Bertram, a board member since 1937, became Chairman in 1942. At the end of World War II the company's headquarters (which had in any case been sold in 1942 ) had been severely damaged by bombing and all its large vessels either destroyed or seized. It was left with only the freighter Bogotá , which was in Japan. Relicensed by the American military administration on November 29, 1945 as

328-773: A fire at the Hoboken docks. So began the "decade of Germans" in transatlantic shipping, in which the NDL and the HAPAG dominated the routes with several record-breaking ships and vied with the British Cunard Line and the White Star Line as the largest shipping companies in the world. In 1902 and 1904, two NDL ships again won the Blue Riband: Kronprinz Wilhelm , now with an average speed of 23.09 kn (42.76 km/h) for

410-559: A merger of the two largest German shipping companies was entirely logical. On September 1, 1970, the North German Lloyd merged with Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) to form Hapag-Lloyd AG, based in Hamburg with secondary headquarters in Bremen. On 20 February 2007, a small group of dedicated, former member of the North German Lloyd organized for the 150th anniversary of the foundation of

492-544: A program of systematic destruction calculated to take the longest possible time to repair. The United States Navy inspected Grosser Kurfürst , designated her "Id. No. 3005", and earmarked her for service with the Cruiser and Transport Force to carry troops to France. She commissioned as Grosser Kurfürst on 4 August 1917, at the New York Navy Yard . While the ship was undergoing the repairs and alterations necessitated by

574-502: A size of 50,000 GRT. The NDL responded with smaller but prestigious vessels such as Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm and George Washington , and transferred Berlin from Mediterranean service to the New York run. Finally in 1914 the company ordered two 33,000 GRT liners of the Columbus -class ; World War I prevented their completion. In this era of "open borders" to transatlantic travel,

656-450: A steering gear casualty in the transport Siboney forced that ship to leave her assigned place in the formation. Aeolus , to avoid collision with Siboney , altered course radically, and in so doing struck the transport Huron at about 21:00 hours, 25 April. There were no deaths; but both transports were damaged which necessitated their turning back. Aeolus reached Hoboken on 28 April. The second event occurred on 1 August 1918, while

738-431: A steering gear casualty in the transport Siboney forced that ship to leave her assigned place in the formation. To avoid collision with Siboney , transport Aeolus altered course radically and in so doing struck Huron at about 21:00 on 25 April. Fortunately, there were no deaths; but both transports were damaged, which necessitated their turning back. While the signing of the armistice of 11 November 1918 signalled

820-892: The Barbarossa -class (mode than 10,000 GRT, for Australia, the Far East, and the North Atlantic) and the Generals class (about 8,500  GRT , for the Far East and Australia). Beginning in 1899, the NDL expanded into the Pacific, acquiring the entire fleets of two small British lines, the Scottish Oriental Steamship Company and the Holt East Indian Ocean Steamship Company, and setting up between 14 and 16 passenger and freight routes in conjunction with

902-690: The Deutsche Afrika-Linien and the Deutsche Levante Linie . In 1935, the Scharnhorst , Gneisenau , and Potsdam , each with about 18,000 GRT, were placed in service for the Far East. The modernization of the fleet continued and in 1937 the line made modest profits. In 1939 the Erlangen slipped out of Lyttelton Harbour (New Zealand) on 28 August, on the eve of World War II , ostensibly for Port Kembla, New South Wales , where she

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984-669: The Grand Central Air Terminal at Glendale, California — followed City of Los Angeles out to sea and, off the California coast, dropped a bag containing 12,527 envelopes onto the passenger liner's deck. The March 1931 issue of the Merchant Marine Bulletin speculated that this was probably the largest single consignment of airmail ever to pass through the Honolulu Post Office. City of Los Angeles plied

1066-573: The Huns . Though not initially a participant in the hostilities, on the outbreak of what was then called the Great War, the United States Government interned German and Austro-Hungarian ships wherever they had put into port, and seized Friedrich der Grosse , leaving it anchored in New York harbour, but still under German ownership. During this time, in 1915, German spy Franz von Rintelen used

1148-726: The National Socialist Rudolph Firle . Bremen State Councillor Karl Lindemann was chairman of the board from 1933 to 1945. A programme of economic recovery by divestments and restructuring was initiated. HBAL and the Roland Line became independent companies once more, and other lines took over services to Africa and the Mediterranean. The Nazi regime ordered both NDL and HAPAG to relinquish ships to other lines which were to operate in their regions without competition from other German companies, in particular to Hamburg Süd ,

1230-560: The Panic of 1907 led to a sharp fall-off of migrant traffic to America, only partially offset by increased steerage flows back to Europe, and this was the main contributing factor to "one of the blackest years in the Company's history." In 1914, NDL employed approximately 22,000 people. Its success thus directly influenced the rapid growth of the city of Bremerhaven , which had been founded only in 1827. Director General Dr. Wiegand died in 1909, and

1312-484: The Schleppschifffahrtsgesellschaft Unterweser (Unterweser Tug Association, now Unterweser Reederei ). H. H. Meyer stood down from the board in 1888; he was succeeded by Friedrich Reck. Johann Georg Lohmann became director of the company; following his death in 1892, Reck stepped down and Georg Plate became chairman. The lawyer Heinrich Wiegand became Director; from 1899 onwards, his title

1394-569: The Swedish American Line , with a capacity of 843 passengers. These vessels were first placed in scheduled service to America but soon transferred to cruising. In 1967, the 10,481 GRT express freighter Friesenstein (21.5 knots) inaugurated the Friesenstein class and replaced Nabob and Schwabenstein . Passenger service was running at an increasing deficit, and the rapidly growing container traffic required cost-intensive retooling in

1476-527: The Treaty of Versailles at war's end, all ships over 1,600 GRT and half of all units from 100 to 1,600 GRT were confiscated. The United States had already confiscated in 1917 the facilities in Hoboken and the NDL ships at the dock there. The prewar NDL fleet no longer existed. The company was left with some small ships totalling 57,000 GRT. With these the company restarted daytrip passenger service, tug service, and freight service in 1919. The 'flagship'

1558-535: The Weser region (where Bremen is located) and England. On 28 October 1857, it made its maiden voyage from Nordenham to London. Just one year later, regular, scheduled services were started between the new port in Bremerhaven and New York using two 2,674  GRT steamships, Bremen and New York . International economic crises made the start of the NDL extremely difficult, and the company took losses until 1859. In

1640-675: The Westfalen . On 12 February 1922, service to New York with NDL's own ships resumed with Seydlitz . The other ship of the Columbus class, the 32,354 GRT former Hindenburg , was completed in 1924 and named Columbus ; she was placed in scheduled transatlantic passenger service. A brief post-war boom was followed by severe inflation in Germany, despite which NDL continued to expand their fleet. Twelve new ships of between 8,700 and 11,400 GRT were placed in service for South and Central America and

1722-414: The 9th largest. In 1970, NDL had a turnover of 515 million DM and share capital of 54 million DM, and employed 6,200 people, 3,500 of them at sea. In 1967, Claus Wätjen and Dr. Horst Willner, and in 1969 Karl-Heinz Sager, joined the Board. Kulenkampff served on the Board until 1968 and Bertram until 1970. Since the NDL was already executing three quarters of its freight business in association with HAPAG,

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1804-498: The Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossings. In 1929, Columbus was completely refitted. From 1928 to 1939, the volume of passengers travelling between the US and Europe declined sharply. In 1928, the NDL transported about 8% of a passenger volume of 1,168,414 passengers; in 1932, 16.2% of the 751,592 passengers transported; in 1938, around 11% of 685,655 passengers. In addition, there

1886-447: The British Cunard Line and White Star Line . 42% of NDL's passenger traffic was to New York, and 15% to other US ports, but only 16.2% eastward-bound from New York. Its westbound South Atlantic service represented 17.3% of its passengers; eastbound from South America, only 1.7%. In 1887, the NDL withdrew from the route to England in favor of Argo Reederei , but continued to provide tug services through participation beginning in 1899 in

1968-523: The Canary Islands, and beginning in 1953 to the Far East. Passenger service resumed in 1955 using a rebuilt 1924 Swedish ship, the 17,993 GRT Gripsholm . Renamed Berlin , she was the sixth German ship of that name, the fourth at NDL, and sailed North Atlantic routes. In 1959, the company added the 32,336 GRT Bremen (formerly Pasteur ), and in 1965, the 21,514 GRT Europa (formerly Kungsholm ), Gripsholm' s sister ship bought from

2050-574: The Far East, then in addition to Columbus three new ships of between 13,000 and 15,000 GRT for the North Atlantic (the München , Stuttgart and Berlin ), and in 1927 the former Zeppelin was bought back from Great Britain and placed in service as the Dresden . In 1920, Carl Stimming became director general of NDL, while his predecessor Heineken became chairman of the board. Between 1925 and 1928,

2132-670: The German Empire mail route. Her last start to Australia was 7 January 1912. Over these years she was the biggest ship sailing to Australia. At this time she made some cruises for US tourists. Max Spangenberg was her captain in 1913 when she rescued passengers from the burning SS Volturno in the Atlantic. When World War I broke out in Europe, Grosser Kurfürst was forced to seek shelter in American waters. The United States Government interned these ships wherever they had put into port, and upon

2214-679: The German Empire, the NDL expanded greatly. Thirteen new ships of the "Strassburg class" were ordered. A route to the West Indies offered from 1871 to 1874 proved unprofitable, but was followed by a permanent line to the east coast of South America. On the transatlantic route, the HAPAG , the Holland-America Line , and the Red Star Line were now all fierce rivals. Beginning in 1881 with Elbe , eleven fast steamships of from 4500 to 6,900 GRT of

2296-793: The German sabotage and in light of her expected role carrying troops across the Atlantic , General Order No. 320 of 1 September 1917 changed her name to Aeolus . On 26 November 1917, the erstwhile luxury steamship, now wearing warpaint, left the Port of Embarkation at Hoboken, New Jersey , bound for Europe on the first of eight round-trip voyages in World War I, carrying troops to the Old World. She reached St. Nazaire , France, on 10 December and spent Christmas in that French port before she headed home on 28 December, bringing

2378-562: The NDL of six smaller ships which had spent the war years in South America: the mail steamships Seydlitz and Yorck , the Gotha , and the cargo ships Göttingen , Westfalen and Holstein . The company also began to build new freighters and passenger ships and to buy back other ships. In late 1921, service to South America was resumed with the Seydlitz , and in early 1922, East Asian service with

2460-729: The NDL placed its first post-war orders at the Bremer Vulkan shipyard, the Rheinstein class (2,791 GRT, 13 knots). After the limitations on German shipping imposed by the Allies were lifted in 1951, the NDL commenced building a new fleet. First it bought older freighters (for example the Nabob , a former American auxiliary aircraft carrier) and had new freighters built between 4,000 and 9,000 GRT and 5,000 and 13,000 DWT , all with names ending in - stein . The line had routes to Canada, New Orleans,

2542-406: The North Atlantic. The first signs of a merger were visible. By 1932, the NDL was in an economic crisis, with about 5,000 employees let go, salary cuts, and red ink. Glässel was dismissed. The government placed both NDL and HAPAG in trusteeship under Siegfried von Roedern , and following the death of Stimming, Heinrich F. Albert briefly became head of the NDL, followed after some eighteen months by

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2624-572: The beginning of the 20th century, the U.S. banking magnate J. P. Morgan began to acquire a number of shipping companies, including the White Star Line , the Leyland Line , and the Red Star Line , to build a transatlantic monopoly. He succeeded in signing both HAPAG and NDL to an alliance, but was unable to acquire the British Cunard Line , and the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). HAPAG and NDL gave Morgan

2706-624: The company acquired a number of German shipping companies: HABAL, the Roland Line , and Argo. The acquisition of the Roland Line brought Ernst Glässel onto the board of directors, where he was to have increasing influence. In 1926, the company were once more able to pay a dividend . American credit financed continuing expansion and orders for new ships. In 1929 and 1930, the company put its two largest ships in service, Bremen (51,656 GRT) and Europa (49,746 GRT). With an average speed of about 27.9 knots (51.7 km/h), both were to take

2788-464: The director of NDL was Johann Georg Lohmann . He established a new policy for the company, emphasizing fast liners. Eventually H. H. Meier and Lohmann fell out over the direction of the company. In 1892, a 5,481 GRT twin-screw steamship, the company's first, was christened the H.H. Meier after the founder; this helped to heal the breach between them. During the Gründerzeit at the beginning of

2870-465: The end of hostilities, it only meant the beginning of the task of returning American troops from "over there". During the war, Huron had transported 20,871 men to the European battlefront in her eight voyages. In the postwar months, Huron conducted a further seven turn-around voyages, bringing back some 20,582 healthy veterans, and some 1,546 wounded and sick. Huron reached New York City on 23 August and

2952-467: The entrance of the United States into the hostilities on the side of the Allied and Associated Powers — on 6 April 1917 — took them over for "safe keeping." US Customs agents boarded Grosser Kurfürst in the port of New York, along with 30 other German and Austro-Hungarian vessels, and sent their crews to an internment camp on Ellis Island . However, before these sailors left their ships, they carried out

3034-587: The first completed liner in the Barbarossa-class , as the largest German ship upon completion. Her maiden voyage took her to Sydney, Australia. She sailed the Atlantic for North German Lloyd until being interned in New York Harbor in 1914. On 27 July 1900, Friedrich der Grosse provided the backdrop when Kaiser Wilhelm II held his infamous speech where he compared the military of the German Empire to

3116-448: The freight business. In 1968 NDL inaugurated container service to the USA with the 13,384 GRT Weser-Express ; two more container ships were soon added. Around 1960, NDL had 47 ships, a number that remained almost unchanged until 1970. In 1968, the fleet totaled 343,355 GRT (in 1970, 391,313 GRT) and was the 16th largest shipping company worldwide; HAPAG, with 410,786 GRT, was

3198-434: The high investment costs and an international economic crisis, the shipping company celebrated at this time but also had considerable financial difficulties. Despite the financial difficulties, between 1907 and 1910 the company built a new headquarters on Papenburgstrasse in Bremen, the prestigious NDL Building to plans by architect Johann Poppe , who was also the lead interior designer for the company's liners. The building,

3280-464: The history of the United States, to the Baltimore Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company , of Baltimore, Maryland , to renovate the ship. Over the next few months, Aeolus underwent massive alterations at a cost of nearly $ 3,000,000. Remodelled quarters, an extensive refrigeration system to preserve cargoes of frozen meats as well as the food to be consumed during the voyage, and the conversion of

3362-441: The hulk of City of Honolulu . When towing proved to be impossible, Shawnee fired 25 rounds at the stricken ship and sank her on 17 October 1922 at position 32°30′N 129°45′W  /  32.500°N 129.750°W  / 32.500; -129.750  ( USS Huron wreck ) , some 185 mi (298 km) from the location of her fire. Norddeutscher Lloyd The German shipping company North German Lloyd (NDL)

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3444-517: The interned ship as an offshore bomb-making laboratory for manufacturing the newly invented pencil bomb devices that were used to destroy cargoes on 36 ships. Later, upon the entrance of the United States into the hostilities on the side of the Allied and Associated Powers – on 6 April 1917 – the ship was permanently seized and assigned to the United States Shipping Board (USSB). U.S. Customs agents boarded Friedrich der Grosse in

3526-729: The largest U.S. rail company, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and so Morgan offered to divide the market. The Holland-America Line and the Red Star Line together divided a contract for the passengers of the four companies. Ruinous competition was prevented. In 1912, the Morgan Agreement was terminated. In 1907, the Norddeutscher Lloyd's fiftieth anniversary, it had 93 vessels, 51 smaller vessels, two sail training vessels and other river steamers. NDL had around 15,000 employees. Because of

3608-422: The largest in the city at the time, was in eclectic Renaissance Revival style with a tower. It was sold in 1942 to Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau and when the company was broken up into its constituent parts after World War II, passed to AG Weser . The building had been severely damaged by bombing and was demolished and a Horten department store built on the site in 1969. The adjacent new shopping mall bears

3690-409: The largest passenger group making the transatlantic crossing were immigrants from Europe to the United States, and NDL carried more than any other steamship line. During 1900–1914, the three NDL vessels carrying the most transatlantic migrants, Rhein , Main and Neckar , each brought over 100 thousand steerage passengers to New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The economic downturn following

3772-520: The lifeboats after it became apparent that the fire could not be brought under control. None of the passengers or crew were killed or seriously injured during either the firefighting attempts or the orderly evacuation of the liner. The passengers were rescued by freighter West Faralon , the first ship on the scene, but transferred to United States Army transport ship Thomas for return to Los Angeles. United States Coast Guard Cutter Shawnee and tug Tamaroa were dispatched to either tow or sink

3854-613: The line followed with three further twin-screw and four-funnel steamships of the Kaiser-class , of 14,000  GRT to 19,000  GRT : SS  Kronprinz Wilhelm , SS  Kaiser Wilhelm II and SS  Kronprinzessin Cecilie . With these the company offered a regular service across the Atlantic to its docks at Hoboken, New Jersey , across the Hudson River from New York. On June 30, 1900 over 300 Dock workers and people were killed in

3936-668: The name Lloyd Passage . The lucrative North Atlantic route was extremely competitive in this period, with new, attractive ships from other large companies including the RMS ; Lusitania , Mauretania , and Aquitania , of the Cunard Line, and the RMS  Olympic , Titanic , and Britannic of the White Star Line. The HAPAG introduced three new vessels of the Imperator class , Imperator , Vaterland , and Bismarck , with

4018-455: The port of New York, along with 30 other German and Austro-Hungarian vessels, and sent their crews to an internment camp on Ellis Island . However, before these sailors left their ships, they carried out a program of systematic destruction calculated to take the longest possible time to repair. Friederich der Grosse was taken to Robins Drydock Co. in Brooklyn for repairs. The USSB then turned

4100-796: The postal service. In 1900, 14 of NDL's passenger ships were requisitioned as troop transports due to the Boxer Rebellion in China; on 27 July, Kaiser Wilhelm II delivered his infamous Hun speech , in which he compared the military of the German Empire to the Huns, at the departure ceremony for the SS Friedrich Der Grosse . This inspired Britain later, when they seized a number of German ships, to rename them to names beginning with "Hun", such as "Huntsgreen" and "Huntsend". In German, these ships were collectively named "Hunnendampfer" (Huns' steamers). At

4182-400: The predecessor of Lufthansa . In August 1920, the NDL made an agency agreement with the U.S. Mail Steamship Co. (beginning in 1921, United States Lines ). This made it possible to resume transatlantic service from Bremerhaven to New York with the former Rhein , now sailing under the US flag as the Susquehanna . The unfinished Columbus had been awarded to Great Britain after the war and

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4264-476: The ship from coal to oil fuel, all helped to make Aeolus one of the best-equipped liners afloat. Resplendent in her new livery — a battle gray hull with a white superstructure — Aeolus left Baltimore on 20 November 1920 and proceeded to New York City where, shortly thereafter, she was turned over to her operators, the Munson Steamship Line . Aeolus sailed under the Munson Line's house flag, carrying passengers and freight to and from South American ports until

4346-448: The ship over to the U.S. Navy, and she was commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 25 July 1917 as Fredrick Der Grosse . The ship, Commander S. H. R. Doyle in command, was renamed Huron on 1 September 1917 after the center lake of the Great Lakes . Huron acted as a troop transport during the remaining years of the war. During the beginning of one voyage to France. Huron , in convoy, departed Hoboken on 23 April 1918. Two days out,

4428-444: The ship was renamed Aeolus — after the god of wind in Greek mythology — while undergoing repairs and conversion at a US Navy yard. The ship carried almost 25,000 men to France during the hostilities, and returned over 27,000 healthy and wounded men after the Armistice . After decommissioning by the US Navy, the ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board and underwent a $ 3,000,000 refit in Baltimore, Maryland , and

4510-402: The ship was renamed Huron – after Lake Huron , the center lake of the Great Lakes – while undergoing repairs and conversion at a U.S. Navy yard. The ship carried almost 21,000 men to France during the hostilities, and returned over 22,000 healthy and wounded men after the Armistice . After decommissioning by the U.S. Navy, the ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board and

4592-430: The ship was returning to the United States from Brest. At 06:05, lookouts spotted what looked to be the wake of a submarine periscope, some 6,000 yards (5,500 m) distant. Changing course, Aeolus stood to general quarters and within a minute of the sighting, her number one and three guns commenced firing. For the next few minutes, her gunners fired at the diminishing target until it pulled out of range at 06:15. While

4674-442: The shipbuilding firm of F. Schichau for the North German Lloyd . The liner boasted "enormous carrying capacity" and "excellent passenger accommodation" for all classes from first to steerage. She made her maiden voyage to Asiatic and Australian ports before commencing regularly scheduled voyages in spring 1900 between Bremen and New York City; these lasted until summer 1914. In winter seasons she did eight more tours to Australia on

4756-516: The shipping company a meeting at the Bremer Ratskeller. This event was very popular, so it was decided to carry out in the following years further meetings. – Meanwhile, the meetings take place annually on the twentieth of February in Bremen in the former Lloyd's building – today Courtyard Marriott hotel. This is a list of all ships in service of the NDL. Some of the ships were owned previously by other companies. USS Aeolus (ID-3005) USS Aeolus (ID-3005) , sometimes also spelled Æolus ,

4838-612: The signing of the armistice of 11 November 1918 signalled the end of hostilities — an occasion that found the ship en route from St. Nazaire to Newport News — it only meant the beginning of the task of returning American troops from "over there." During the war, Aeolus had transported 24,770 men to the European battlefront in her eight voyages. In the postwar months, Aeolus conducted a further seven turn-around voyages, bringing back some 22,080 healthy veterans, and some 5,018 wounded and sick. Commencing her last voyage from Brest on 26 August 1919, Aeolus reached New York City on 5 September and

4920-489: The so-called " Rivers-class " (all named for German rivers), were introduced to serve the North Atlantic trade. In 1885, the NDL won the commission to provide postal service between the German Empire and Australia and the Far East. The associated subsidy underwrote further expansion, beginning with the first large-scale order placed with a German shipyard, for three mail steamships for the major routes and three smaller steamships for branch service from AG Vulcan Stettin . It

5002-428: The succeeding years, passenger connections to Baltimore and New Orleans were added to the schedule, and the company first rented and then in 1869 bought facilities on the waterfront in Hoboken, New Jersey . In 1867–1868, NDL began a partnership with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , which initiated the Baltimore Line ; until 1978, this had its own ships. In 1869, Crüsemann died at only 43 years old. From 1877 to 1892,

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5084-479: The summer of 1922. In August of that year, she came under the flag of the Los Angeles Steamship Company and was renamed City of Los Angeles . After being thoroughly reconditioned for her new operators, the liner sailed on 11 September 1922 for her maiden voyage under her new name, bound for Honolulu, Hawaii , in a new dazzling white paint scheme. In January 1931, the handsome liner figured in an experimental shore-to-ship air mail flight. A Ford Trimotor — flying from

5166-403: The term in the same context was the Trieste-based Österreichischer Lloyd , originally intended to be modelled on Lloyd's of London). H. H. Meier became NDL's first chairman of the supervisory board, and Crüsemann became the first director of the company ( German Aktiengesellschaft – AG). Crüsemann was in charge of both cargo services and passenger transport, which, as a result of emigration,

5248-407: The voyage to a close when mooring at Newport News, Virginia , nine days into 1918. Shifting thence to Hoboken, Aeolus again sailed to France and returned from Brest again to Hoboken. Two events highlighted the ship's wartime convoy experiences. The first occurred in the beginning of what was to be the ship's third voyage to France. Aeolus , in convoy, left Hoboken on 23 April 1918. Two days out,

5330-472: The westbound passage from Cherbourg to New York and Kaiser Wilhelm II at 23.58 kn (27.14 mph; 43.67 km/h) on the eastbound passage. In 1907, RMS  Lusitania , and then in 1909, RMS  Mauretania , both of the British Cunard Line, won the Blue Riband back for the British, and Mauretania then retained it until 1929. Between 1894 and 1908, NDL ordered many other freight and passenger steamships from several German yards. These included

5412-440: The world. However, most ships were able to reach neutral ports. The logistical operations of NDL in Bremerhaven were placed almost exclusively at the service of the German Navy. NDL owned a majority interest in the Deutsche Ozean-Reederei ("German Ocean Shipping Service"), which used U-boats for trade and made some successful Atlantic crossings. At the start of the war, the NDL's fleet totaled more than 900,000 GRT. Under

5494-445: Was Director General. He held this position until 1909, and presided over appreciable expansion. In 1897, with the commissioning of Kaiser Wilhelm der Große , the NDL finally had a major ship for the North Atlantic. This was the largest and fastest ship in the world, and the company benefited from the reputation advantage of the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing, with an average speed of 22.3 knots. Between 1897 and 1907,

5576-448: Was a United States Navy troopship in World War I . She was formerly the North German Lloyd liner Grosser Kurfürst , also spelled Großer Kurfürst , launched in 1899 that sailed regularly between Bremen and New York. At the outset of World War I the ship was interned by the United States and, when the US entered the war in 1917, was seized and converted to a troop transport. Originally commissioned as USS Grosser Kurfürst ,

5658-417: Was bought in 1920 by White Star, which had lost significant tonnage in the war and also wished to make up for the pre-war loss of the Titanic . Work at Danzig proceeded very slowly. Finally in autumn 1921 the so-called Columbus Agreement was reached, under which the German government and NDL undertook to facilitate rapid completion of the Columbus in exchange for the British government returning ownership to

5740-652: Was decommissioned on 2 September for return to the USSB. Huron operated on Atlantic South American routes for the United States Mail Steamship Company from 1920 to 1922. Renamed City of Honolulu in May 1922, she was turned over to the Los Angeles Steamship Co. for passenger service from Los Angeles to Honolulu . After departing on her maiden voyage, the ship caught fire around 05:30 on 12 October 1922 at position 31°07′N 131°40′W  /  31.117°N 131.667°W  / 31.117; -131.667  ( USS Huron fire ) , some 670 mi (1,080 km) from Los Angeles. The captain ordered everyone to

5822-473: Was either lost during the war or awarded to the Allies as reparations. Columbus had to be sunk in 1939; Bremen burned in 1941; Steuben was sunk in the Baltic in 1945 with the loss of some 4,000 lives; Europa , claimed by France, became the Liberté in 1947. The Reich was the primary stockholder in the company, but in 1941/42, NDL was once more privatized and cigarette manufacturer Philipp Reemtsma became primary stockholder. Dr. Johannes Kulenkampff ,

5904-544: Was founded by the Bremen merchants Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann on 20 February 1857, after the dissolution of the Ocean Steam Navigation Company , a joint German-American enterprise. The new shipping company had no direct association with the British maritime classification society Lloyd's Register ; by the mid-19th century, "Lloyd" was used as a term for a shipping company (an earlier user of

5986-480: Was growing significantly. The company was also active in other areas, including tugboats , bathing, insurance, and ship repair (the last of which it still provides). The first office of the shipping company was located at number 13 Martinistraße in Bremen. The company started with a route to England prior to starting a transatlantic service. In 1857, the first ship, the Adler (Eagle), began regular passenger service between

6068-554: Was immediately detached from the Cruiser and Transport Force. Decommissioned at Newport News on 22 September 1919 and turned over to the United States Shipping Board , Aeolus was presumably struck simultaneously from the Navy list . Early in 1920, the Shipping Board let what one contemporary marine engineering journal called "one of the most extensive ship repair contracts ever awarded" in

6150-651: Was in fact a requirement of the commission that the ships be built in Germany. By 1890, with 66 ships of a total 251,602 GRT, NDL was the second largest shipping company in the world, after the British Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company , with 48 ships of a total 251,603 GRT, and dominated shipping to Germany, with 31.6% of the traffic. NDL was also carrying more transatlantic passengers to New York than any other company, due to its dominance in steerage , which consisted mostly of immigrants. In cabin class, it carried only slightly more passengers than

6232-483: Was intercepted off Montevideo by HMS  Newcastle and scuttled by her crew. In 1939 NDL had in service 70 vessels with a total of 562,371 GRT, including the sail training vessel Kommodore Johnsen (now the Russian STS Sedov ), 3 daytrip ships, 19 tugs and 125 small ships, and employed 12,255, 8,811 on vessels. Nine further freighters were completed after the outbreak of World War II. This entire fleet

6314-600: Was later transferred to the United States Mail Steamship Company , for whom she sailed in the Atlantic as SS Huron . In May 1922 the ship was allocated to the Los Angeles Steamship Co. and renamed SS City of Honolulu . The ship caught fire on 12 October 1922 during her maiden voyage, and sank with no loss of life. SS Friedrich der Grosse (or Friedrich der Große ) was built in 1896 by Vulcan Shipbuilding Corp. of Stettin , Germany as

6396-654: Was significant new competition from new Italian, French and British superliners: the Italian Rex (51,062 GRT) and Conte di Savoia (48,502 GRT), the French Normandie (79,280 GRT), and the British Queen Mary (80,744 GRT). The 1929 economic crisis which began in the US affected the German shipping companies. The NDL and the HAPAG therefore entered into a cooperation agreement in 1930, and beginning in 1935, instituted joint operations in

6478-408: Was succeeded by Director Phillip Heineken until 1920. This is a list of routes served by NDL in 1907. Europe – America Mediterranean Europe – Asia/Australia Asia / Australia (including coastal routes) German coast For NDL as a civilian shipping line, the beginning of World War I was a trial, as well as a logistical challenge because a large part of the fleet was at sea around

6560-525: Was the 781-ton Grüß Gott . From 1920 to 1939, NDL participated in the Seedienst Ostpreußen passenger and goods service to East Prussia . In 1920, an air transport subsidiary was founded and soon merged with Sablatnig Flugzeugbau GmbH to form Lloyd Luftverkehr Sablatnig. In 1923 this combined with HAPAG's air transport subsidiary to form Deutscher Aero Lloyd, which on 6 January 1926 merged with Junkers Luftverkehr AG to become Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.,

6642-542: Was to have filled her coal bunkers for the homeward passage to Europe. She then headed for the subantarctic Auckland Islands , where she successfully evaded the cruiser HMNZS  Leander , and re-stocked with food and wood. The freighter then made a desperate and successful escape, using jury-rigged sails, to Valparaíso , Chile, in South America. She then made her way into the South Atlantic where, on 24 July 1941, she

6724-563: Was transferred to the Munson Steamship Line for whom she carried passengers and freight to and from South American ports as Aeolus . In 1922 the ship was assigned to the Los Angeles Steamship Co. and renamed City of Los Angeles and sailed to and from Los Angeles and Honolulu . In 1937, the ship was sold for scrapping in Japan. Grosser Kurfürst was a steel-hulled, twin-screw, passenger-and-cargo steamship launched on 2 December 1899 at Danzig , Germany (now Gdańsk , Poland), by

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