USS Imperator

4 May 1919 – 10 Dec 1919

When the war ended four years and nine months later, Germany under the Treaty of Versailles had to surrender every merchant marine vessel built or being built over 16,000 tons. That included the yet unfinished SS Bismarck, which was to be the completion of Ballin's trio of ships, fondly referred to as the Big Three. The second of the Big Three, the Vaterland, had long since become the prized possession of the USA, and had been used towards the end of the war as a trooper.

One of the more crushing days in the history of the Big Three came on 8 November 1918. Albert Ballin was indeed in a bad way. The collapse of all that he had pioneered and the realization that the pre-war empire as he knew it was about to drastically change left him distraught with sickening worry. Afterall, Ballin never wanted war and in fact entered political circles in 1914 in an attempt to prevent it. He was very much an innocent player in this sad tragedy. Alas, other Germans did not see it that way. His situation was worsened by the fact that he was receiving threats by the socialistic-communistic underground that despised the anti-labor agenda of which he embraced pre-war. A revolution was afoot in Germany. That night, Ballin ended his life ended with an overdose of sleeping pills. Then one day later, Wilhelm II and his family abdicated and spent the rest of their life in Holland. There the former Kaiser went on to write two autobiographies; Memoirs 1878-1918 in 1922, and My Early Life in 1926. Wilhelm died in 1941.

The Armistice was signed at 5 a.m. on 11 November 1918, but it took until 11 am for the word to spread and for the guns to stop firing. By 1 p.m. Liberty embraced the globe. 
The Imperator was seized by American naval personnel and became the property of the United States on 27 April 1919. While not exactly in pristine condition, the Imperator's boilers had little trouble raising steam enough for her final sailing out of Hamburg. The crew consisted of American Navel personnel who oversaw a skeleton crew of German seamen, including a commodore, two captains and a score of officers. The great ship charted a course for Brest in France.

The first crew of the U.S.S. Imperator was drawn up from several naval bases in France, London, and Cardiff, Wales. The Imperator was officially named the USS Imperator on 4 May 1919, and officially placed in commission on the 5 May 1919. Captain John K. Robinson, U.S. Navy, was ordered from Admiral Sim's headquarters in London to be her first commanding officer. Flanking him was Commander Liard, U.S. Navy, in the position of first executive officer, and 2500 fighting men comprised her crew. Many of the Imperator's officers and enlisted men had been on foreign station for some time. Remarkably, the Imperator is refitted for military duty in only 10 days, and made able to carry 9,000 troops and 1,400 First Class passengers.
On 15 May, the USS Imperator sailed from Brest in France with 1500 officers of the Army, 300 enlisted men of the Army, 841 French wives of US soldiers, and 500 nurses onboard. She arrived in New York on 22 May, and docked beside her sister, the Vaterland, now renamed the USS Leviathan. On 23 May 1919, the Imperator was assigned her new commanding officer Casey B. Morgan, Captain, U.S. Navy, and her executive officer was Commander R.A. White. 

The Imperator remained in New York until 3 June, at which time she sailed on her return voyage to Brest, France. During her stay in New York she took on tons of fresh provisions and supplies, and her interiors were given a substantial overhaul. Standee bunks were installed by the thousands, a new wireless outfit was placed on board, as was a complete and up-to-date printing department, installed by John F. Kennedy, chief printer.

In the end, the Imperator troop carrying capacity was 1,000 officers, 966 non-commissioned officers, and 7,939 enlisted men of the Army. Her total Navy complement was 2200 officers and enlisted men of the regular navy. During her course of service, which lasted from 15 May until 10 August 1919, the Imperator shipped home a total of 28,030 troops, 147 wounded, and sailed 161 passengers back to Europe. On one trip, 13 July 1919, she broke her own record with a 12,000-passenger load. While docked in Hoboken on 10 August 1919, the official word came that the Imperator had finished war duty and on that day the US Navy released her to the US Shipping Board.