The SS Bremen was a German-built ocean liner constructed for the Norddeutscher Lloyd line (NDL) to work the transatlantic sea route. Bremen was notable for her bulbous bow construction, high-speed engines, and low, streamlined profile. At the time of her construction, she and her sister ship Europa were the two most advanced high-speed steam turbine ocean liners of their day. The German pair sparked an international competition in the building of large, fast, luxurious ocean liners that were national symbols and points of prestige during the pre-war years of the 1930s. She held the Blue Riband, and was the fourth ship of NDL to carry the name Bremen.
History
Also known as TS Bremen - for Turbine Ship - Bremen and her sister were designed to have a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, allowing a crossing time of 5 days. This speed enabled Norddeutscher Lloyd to run regular weekly crossings with two ships, a feat that normally required three. It was claimed that Bremen briefly reached speeds of 32 knots (59km/h) during her sea trials.
At the beginning of World War I the ship was in New York and was interned by the United States. She was seized when that country entered the conflict in 1917 and converted to a troop transport. As the USS Pocohantas, she carried 24,573 servicemen to Europe, and after the war returned 23,296 servicemen to the United States.
Decommissioned by the U.S. Navy, the United States Shipping Board sold her back to the North German Lloyd line, where she saw mercantile service until being broken up in 1932.
SS Prinzess Irene
She was launched as Prinzess Irene on 19 June 1900 by Aktiengesellschaft Vulkan, Stettin, Germany for North German Lloyd Lines. On 9 September 1900, she started her maiden voyage to New York City. On 30 October 1900, she began the first of seven trips on the German Empire mail run to the Far East to Yokohama, the route she was built for.
SS Pasteur was a turbine steam ship built for Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique. She later sailed as Bremen for Norddeutscher Lloyd. In the course of her career, she sailed for 41 years under four names and six countries' flags.
Construction
In 1936 the French shipping company Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique planned to order a new ship to carry passengers and freight on their South Atlantic routes. Her main competition was the German liner Cap Arcona owned by the Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft. Building began in 1938 at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, in Saint-Nazaire, France. On 15 February 1938, she was christened Pasteur after the scientist Louis Pasteur. A fire in March 1939 delayed her fitting out and she was not completed until August 1939, just before World War II broke out.
Pasteur was 29,253 gross tons. She was 212.4 m long and 26.8 m wide. She had 11 decks and possessed extensive loading spaces. She was designed to carry 751 passengers. She could reach around 50,000 HP and speeds up to 26 Knots, but her usual service speed was around 22 knots, making her the third fastest ship of her time. Her draft was 9.3 m. She had four propellers.
On 30 June 1900, she was badly damaged in a dockside fire at the NDL pier in Hoboken, New Jersey. The fire was started by spontaneous combustion of a bale of cotton. The Lloyd ships SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, SS Saale and SS Main were also damaged in the fire, with the SS Saale sinking, whilst the Bremen ran aground. After the fire she was rebuilt by AG Vulcan Stettin, lengthened to 575ft, and her tonnage was increased to 11,540GRT. She reentered service in October 1901.
On 20 April 1912, while sailing from Bremen to New York, SS Bremen passed through the debris field left by the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Passengers and crew reported seeing hundreds of bodies floating in the water as well as many deck chairs and pieces of wood. Since there was already a ship specially chartered by White Star line to retrieve any bodies, the Bremen did not stop to recover any.
... of the SS Algonquin from 1841,” he said ... That ship is now on display in Algonquin’s Village Hall and Kusy is laboring on another major work, a sculpture of the SS Bremen, a German ship built in 1929.
... of the SS Algonquin from 1841,” he said ... That ship is now on display in Algonquin’s Village Hall and Kusy is laboring on another major work, a sculpture of the SS Bremen, a German ship built in 1929.
Dispatch Argus
07 Apr 2022
Dispatch Argus
07 Apr 2022