If the Rest of the World Could Watch..
... They Would
Maiden Voyage of the Imperator
The date is 10 June 1913, the place is Hamburg, Germany, and the day belongs to the maiden voyage of the SS Imperator. If the rest of the world could watch, they would.
It is remarkably warm today, with a slight refreshing sea air breeze that whisks about the docks welcoming all. The sail time is 9:00 a.m. and the dock is a meshing of excited passengers and their families and friends whom have come to see them off. The First Class passengers are rolling up in their cars in regal splendor and presenting themselves on the dock in their Sunday best. They have more bags and trunks and baggage than any five steerage passengers combined. They are wealth and class of a high rank but their personal magnificence is trivial next to the Imperator, a towering monster of steel, luxury, and speed.
A young couple can be seen in short conversation with assistant purser B. Voss.
"She's the biggest liner in the world. The "Colossus of the Ocean", that's what they call her. 919 feet. Over 52,000 tons. A marvel she is."
How correct Mr. Voss is. In a recent survey, the German public ranked the Imperator as the seventh wonder of the world.
On the bridge is Commodore Ruser, who is joined by four captains, three second officers, and three third officers. The crew of the Imperator includes 26 engineers, 400 stewards and hostesses, and 118 cooks and kitchen personnel. For this voyage there are 3,014 passengers: 323 First Class, 251 Second Class, and 2,440 in Third and Steerage. On board there are two giant 75-foot masts, one flying the Hamburg Amerika flag, and the other the flag of the destination country, America.
With the last passenger aboard the tumultuous sound of the Imperator's horn signaled the moment of glory. The five anchors were raised, a total weight, including their chains, of 484,082 pounds. The heaviest anchor weighs an astounding 26,455 pounds. Suddenly a climbing thunder of steam rumbled in her stacks and thousands looked on awe struck as a surge of gushing white smoke billowed upward to the heavens. The huge oval-shaped stack openings measure 29 feet by 18 feet. Like so many things about the Imperator, her 69-foot steam stacks are similarly unique as they number only three. At the Hamburg~Amerika Line, we feel that a triple stacker is more esthetically pleasing than that the traditional four-stack design as used on the Lusitania, Mauretania, and White Star's Olympic class.
As the Imperator steamed to the westward from Cuxhaven to New York her charging bow chewed through the oncoming water with the ravenous zeal of the biggest predator the world has ever seen. She displaces much more than her launching weight of 27,000 tons, nearly 60,000 tons. And the test of her seagoing qualities commenced at once with a head sea and wind of a strength of 8 out of a possible 12. Writer J. Bernard Walker of Scientific American was on board for this maiden voyage and had this to say in regard to the Imperator's steadiness.
"It is impressive, the remarkable steadiness and quietness of the world's latest and largest liner. The wing propellers, which in quadruple-propeller turbine liners have been hitherto a source of troublesome vibration, are in this ship placed well away from the hull, with the result that they rotate in comparatively quiet water, and well away from the belt of water which is drawn along by the skin friction of the hull, and is now known to be a prolific cause of propeller vibration".
The Imperator is a magnificent ship in so many ways. As per design, she carries a staggering amount of passengers - 4595, more than any ship before or since. First Class takes up most of the Imperator's length, stretching from the bridge to the last funnel. Second Class extends aft from there, Third Class is in the stern, and Steerage in the foremost part of the hull. With such immense occupancy, 12 service elevators have been installed for loading all the baggage onto the ship. Once inside the ship there are four passenger elevators that run up through five decks. The number of elevators is an absolute necessity as the volume of freight carried on a single capacity voyage represents that of a freight train of 44 cars in length.
The various decks cater to the First Class passenger in supreme style. B Deck offers the Ritz Carlton, the Wintergarden, the Social Hall, Ladies Room, Writing Room, and the Library, which has 2400 books in German, English, and French. F Deck houses the First Class restaurant, and G Deck the swimming pool.
For strolling on deck, the First Class class passenger has a choice of three promenades on which to retreat. The promenade decks range in width size from 16 feet to 23 feet, and two of them are partially enclosed. What makes promenading on the Imperator that much better is that there are no ventilating funnels on the upper promenade as on other transatlantic liners.
To placate the worries of nervous passengers, the Imperator has been designed to successfully combat any system that may jeopardize the safety of the passengers. The life boat system is just the beginning. An iceberg-warning device on the Imperator's main control board in the engine room sounds an alarm if any ice comes near her hull. She also has a "reverse steam whistle" on the after side of steam stack #3, and a non-magnetic gyroscope compass, the first ever on a ship. A similar advancement that exceeds the abilities of other liners is the height of the Imperator's masts. The mast trucks (top most end piece) that are made of maple, gilt, and with two bronze sheaves, house the most powerful wireless equipment of the time, and enables the sending of messages clear across the Atlantic to the mainland.
In case of passenger illness there is a pharmacy and a fully equipped, sixty-two bed hospital on board, with three doctors, two assistants, and certified nurse in attendance.
Your Comfort and Absolute Safety
is Our Greatest Priority.
