The Dawn of the New Age
1900 ~ 1910
It was a glorious time, a time when the high seas of the North Atlantic were alive with behemoths of steel designed by men of vision and built by men of iron. The great ships of the post dawn 20th century, the ships of Cunard, White Star, Nordeutscher Lloyd, and Hamburg Amerika became the epitome of their breed; from which all others that followed would be fashioned and compared; though rarely surpassed. It was the era of the legends, of the greatest and most luxurious ocean liners to ever sail the seas.
It's 4 July 1900 and the Hamburg-Amerika Line puts to sea the 16,000-ton ocean liner DEUTSCHLAND. She is not the biggest liner of the day, but at 23 knots she is fast enough to strip the Blue Riband from the rival German line Norddeutscher Lloyd and their 1897 liner the KAISER WILHELM DER GROSSE.
The new HAPAG liner DEUTSCHLAND is exquisite, and sports significant upgrades in luxury and design over the KASIER WILHELM DER GROSSE. The public rooms are broad and the spacious and cozy café has a splendid squared skylight with intricate and decorative cross framing. She is the perfect ship with which to usher in a new century. But for all her grandeur there is a problem. The placement of the DEUTSCHLAND'S propellers is in serious conflict with the ship's inner design, and their incompatibility creates cabin vibration within the ship, which disturbs many passengers. The problem is common among large liners and serious enough that Albert Ballin, director of the Hamburg Amerika Line decides to forgo speed as a primary element on all future ships and instead will focus on size and luxury.
In 1901, a year after her inception, the DEUTSCHLAND loses the Blue Riband Atlantic speed record to German rival Nordeutscher Lloyd and their newest liner, the KRONPRINZ WILHELM. But the record taking by the slower KRONPRINZ WILHEM is a fluke and the faster DEUTSCHLAND has no problem in quickly regaining the Blue Riband and keeping it. She will continue to be the record holder for another five years.
The first display of Hamburg Amerika's new strategy for luxury over speed is the AMERIKA of 1905, which sets out on her maiden voyage 11 October. At 22,225 tons, she is the second largest ship in the world behind White Star's BALTIC of 1904 which weighs in at 23, 876 tons.
AMERIKA'S luxurious interiors are stunning and include the first ever set of electrical elevators, and the ala carte restaurant the Ritz Carlton, designed by world-renowned architect, Charles Mewes, who would figure prominently in future projects for the Hamburg Amerika Line.
The year 1906 arrives and on May 10th Hamburg Amerika's 705 foot, 24,581 ton giantess KAISERIN AUGUSTE VICTORIA (named after the Empress of Germany), takes to the ocean on her maiden voyage. On the outside her too numerous decks lend her an unattractive appearance, but on the inside, however, her luxury is exquisite. Like the AMERIKA, she is designed by Charles Mewes, ("Le patron" as he is affectionately known throughout design circles in Europe) whose most memorable work aboard is the Ritz Carlton ala carte restaurant. With this latest addition to the fleet, the Hamburg Amerika Line can now lay claim to operating the fastest liner in the world in the DEUTSCHLAND and the largest liner in the world with the KAISERIN AUGUSTE VICTORIA. But the size and speed of these great liners prove stability and prestige for only a year before the Hamburg Amerika line as well as her competitors Norddeutscher Lloyd and White Star Line are confronted by two new formidable contenders to the Atlantic trade.
The year 1907 arrives like a bullet and unbeknownst to most it will be remembered as one of the glory years in ocean liner history. This is the year when the epitome of luxury and size weds state-of-the-art speed to create two heavyweight British behemoths, one of which will survive to endure time and trend for decades to come. They are the LUSITANIA and the MAURETANIA.
Powered by the latest in turbine technology, the 31,938 ton, 790 foot MAURETANIA becomes the biggest and the fastest liner in the world with an average service speed of 25 knots (and she even made an awesome 27.75 knots during her seas trials). Her superior speed over her sister is made possible by an engine upgrade in 1908.
To build these two great liners, the fledging Cunard Line was forced to use government subsides. But the plan worked. They rescued themselves from power-hungry White Star Line and also put a dent in German superiority of the North Atlantic.
With the advent of Cunard's LUSITANIA and MAURETANIA it becomes all too apparent that a new age in ocean liners has arrived, and to be the best now means creating ships that are nothing less than masterpieces in their own right. Cunard has ignited the flame of a new commercial race and the stakes rise significantly thereafter.
Cunard's rival White Star Line realizes this immediately and orders up three ships of unrevealed dimensions to usurp the Atlantic throne from Cunard. They are known as the Olympic, Titanic, and Gigantic. Hamburg Amerika, despite having the largest inventory of liners, is now in jeopardy of never again having the prestige of operating an ocean liner that is either the biggest or the fastest. This could mean a great loss in national prestige as well as business. Albert Ballin, the director of the Hamburg Amerika line decides to take action. In late 1907, Ballin cancels plans for a 44,000-ton ship to be built by Harland & Wolff of Belfast. He feels that the ship would not be big enough or impressive enough in comparison to the 25-knot MAURETANIA and soon-to-be 44,000-ton White Star liner, OLYMPIC and TITANIC. Ballin sets forth a new strategy. His plans call for the construction of a triplicate of giants that will weigh over 50,000 tons each, span over 900 feet in length, and be more luxurious than any ship before them. They will be a sea-going symphony of steel that will put the Hamburg Amerika Line in the forefront of merchant shipping for the next decade and beyond. They will be realized by the names IMPERATOR, VATERLAND, and BISMARCK.
