167-720: SS George Washington was an ocean liner built in 1908 for the Bremen -based North German Lloyd and was named after George Washington , the first President of the United States. The ship was also known as USS George Washington (ID-3018) and USAT George Washington in service of the United States Navy and United States Army , respectively, in World War I . In the interwar period, she reverted to her original name of George Washington . During World War II ,
334-810: A cargo liner or cargo-passenger liner. The advent of the Jet Age and the decline in transoceanic ship service brought about a gradual transition from passenger ships to modern cruise ships as a means of transportation. In order for ocean liners to remain profitable, cruise lines modified some of them to operate on cruise routes, such as the SS ; France . Certain characteristics of older ocean liners made them unsuitable for cruising, such as high fuel consumption, deep draught preventing them from entering shallow ports, and cabins (often windowless) designed to maximize passenger numbers rather than comfort. The Italian Line 's SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello ,
501-461: A commerce raider . The torpedoing and sinking of Lusitania on 7 May 1915 caused the loss of 128 American lives at a time when the United States was still neutral. Although other factors came into play, the loss of American lives in the sinking strongly pushed the United States to favour the Allied Powers and facilitated the country's entry into the war. The losses of the liners owned by
668-591: A Continental Navy ship during the American Revolution. The first ships of the Continental Navy were Alfred , Cabot , Andrew Doria , and Columbus . These were former merchantmen, and their names were assigned during conversion and outfitting. Later, Congress authorized the construction of thirteen frigates, and no names were assigned until after four had launched. The first description that we have of an American warship christening
835-665: A German press contingent; Philipp Heineken, the Generaldirektor of North German Lloyd; and a chimpanzee named Consul, billed as "his Darwinian Highness", the "Almost Monkey-Man", who was coming to America under contract for the William Morris Vaudeville circuit. Upon her arrival in New York on 20 June, George Washington was greeted by the unfurling of the official banner of the League of Peace from
1002-520: A U-boat when tugs tried to tow her to safety. Out of all the innovative and glamorous inter-war superliners, only the Cunard Queens and Europa would survive the war. After the war, some ships were again transferred from the defeated nations to the winning nations as war reparations. This was the case of the Europa , which was ceded to France and renamed Liberté . The United States government
1169-429: A United States Navy vessel. The contemporaneous account does not name her. The first identified woman sponsor was Lavinia Fanning Watson, daughter of a prominent Philadelphian. She broke a bottle of wine and water over the bow of sloop-of-war Germantown at Philadelphia Navy Yard on August 22, 1846. Women as sponsors became increasingly the rule, but not universally so. As sloop-of-war Plymouth "glided along
1336-678: A commemorative bronze tablet. Stewart L. Woodford , a former Congressman and ambassador, spoke at the ceremony dedicating the tablet, which was placed at the base of the staircase in the first-class smoking room. Beginning 24 June, the North German Lloyd opened George Washington to the public for five days of viewing of the new ship. Sailing on her first eastbound journey on 1 July, George Washington commenced regular service between Bremen and New York with intermediate stops in Southampton and Cherbourg. North German Lloyd considered
1503-544: A competition between world powers of the time, especially between the United Kingdom , the German Empire , and to a lesser extent France . Once the dominant form of travel between continents, ocean liners were rendered largely obsolete by the emergence of long-distance aircraft after World War II . Advances in automobile and railway technology also played a role. After Queen Elizabeth 2 was retired in 2008,
1670-448: A conflict rich in events involving liners. From the start of the conflict, German liners were requisitioned and many were turned into barracks ships. It was in the course of this activity that the Bremen caught fire while under conversion for Operation Sea Lion and was scrapped in 1941. During the conflict, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary provided distinguished service as troopships. Many liners were sunk with great loss of life; in
1837-513: A cruise ship over the years and was in active service for Cruise & Maritime Voyages until operations ceased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In August, 2021 she was purchased by Brock Pierce to be transformed into a hotel along with MV Funchal . These plans were ultimately abandoned and the ship was again made available for sale, never having left port in Rotterdam. Astoria
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#17327937507202004-531: A dry berthed luxury hotel on Bintan Island , Indonesia. Post-war ocean liners still existent include MV Astoria (1948), United States (1952), MV Brazil Maru (1954), Rotterdam (1958), MV Funchal (1961), MS Ancerville (1962), Queen Elizabeth 2 (1967), and Queen Mary 2 (2003). Out of these eight ocean liners, only one is still active and three of them have since been preserved. The Rotterdam has been moored in Rotterdam as
2171-445: A few former ocean liners were still in existence; some, like SS Norway , were sailing as cruise ships while others, like Queen Mary , were preserved as museums , or laid up at pier side like SS United States . After the retirement of Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2008, the only ocean liner in service was Queen Mary 2 , built in 2003–04, used for both point-to-point line voyages and for cruises. A proposed and planned ocean liner,
2338-458: A fixed schedule, so must be faster and built to withstand the rough seas and adverse conditions encountered on long voyages across the open ocean. To protect against large waves they usually have a higher hull and promenade deck with higher positioning of lifeboats (the height above water called the freeboard ), as well as a longer bow than a cruise ship. Additionally, for additional strength they are often designed with thicker hull plating than
2505-522: A kennel master; a 70-by-50-foot (21 by 15 m) solarium decorated with green and gold tapestry, palms, and flowers of all kinds; and an open air cafe on the awning deck for taking after-dinner coffee. Second-class passengers had a separate dining room, a drawing room , and a smoking room, and third-class passengers had similar amenities. George Washington began her maiden voyage on 12 June 1909, sailing from Bremen to New York via Southampton and Cherbourg . On board were 1,169 passengers which included
2672-425: A large portion of the population of cities and built hulls, machines, furnitures and lifeboats. Among the other well-known British shipyards were Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson , the builder of RMS Mauretania , and John Brown & Company , builders of RMS Lusitania , RMS Aquitania , RMS Queen Mary , Queen Elizabeth , and Queen Elizabeth 2 . Germany had many shipyards on
2839-562: A lever to similarly smash a bottle, of single malt from the Ardgowan distillery at nearby Inverkip . Shipyard ephemera is a rich source of detail concerning a launch and this was often material produced for the audience of the day and then thrown away. Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums has many of these items from Tyne and Wear shipyards. A number can be seen in Commons . The 1900 piece for Eidsvold reproduced in this article lists
3006-693: A mobilized American industry. The historic christening and launching ceremonies continued, but travel restrictions, other wartime considerations, and sheer numbers dictated that such occasions be less elaborate than those in the years before the war. On 15 December 1941, the United States Maritime Commission announced that all formal launching ceremonies would be discontinued for merchant ships being constructed under its authority, though simple informal ceremonies could continue without reimbursement to builders. In recent history, all U.S. Navy sponsors have been female. In addition to
3173-583: A museum and hotel since 2008, while the Queen Elizabeth 2 has been a floating luxury hotel and museum at Mina Rashid, Dubai since 2018. The Ancerville was refurbished as a hotel for use at the Sea World development in Shenzhen, China in 1984. The first of these, Astoria (originally the ocean liner MS Stockholm, which collided with Andrea Doria in 1956 ) has been rebuilt and refitted as
3340-650: A museum ship, since 1961. Queen Mary (1934) was preserved in 1967 after her retirement, and became a museum/hotel in Long Beach, California . In the 1970s, SS Great Britain (1843) was also preserved, and now resides in Bristol , England as another museum. The latest ship to undergo preservation is MV Doulos (1914). While originally being a cargo ship, it served as the Italian ocean liner Franca C. for Costa Lines from 1952 to 1959, and in 2010 it became
3507-724: A naval lieutenant completed the ceremony with a bottle of sea water. Champagne came into popular use as a christening fluid as the 19th century closed. A granddaughter of Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy wet the bow of Maine , the Navy's first steel battleship, with champagne at the New York Navy Yard on November 18, 1890. The effects of national prohibition on alcoholic beverages were reflected to some extent in ship christenings. Cruisers Pensacola and Houston , for example, were christened with water;
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#17327937507203674-459: A new technology, and during much of the trip Wilson was able converse with officials back in Washington. The radio transmitter was also used to broadcast entertainment to the troops, and it was planned to broadcast Wilson's 4 July Independence Day speech to accompanying vessels, which would have been the first radio address by a US President. However, Wilson stood too far from the microphone, and
3841-458: A religious element was returned to naval christenings by Princess Alexandra , wife of the Prince of Wales , when she introduced an Anglican choral service in the launching ceremony for battleship Alexandra . The usage continues with the singing of Psalm 107 with its special meaning to mariners: They that go down to the sea in ships; That do business in great waters; These see the works of
4008-409: A sacrificial bottle of champagne over the bow as the ship is named aloud and launched. There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching". The oldest, most familiar, and most widely used is the end-on launch, in which the vessel slides down an inclined slipway , usually stern first. With the side launch, the ship enters
4175-537: A screw propeller was SS Great Britain , a creation of Brunel. Her career was disastrous and short. She was run aground and stranded at Dundrum Bay in 1846. In 1884, she was retired to the Falkland Islands where she was used as a warehouse, quarantine ship, and coal hulk until she was scuttled in 1937. The American company Collins Line took a different approach. It equipped its ships with cold rooms, heating systems, and various other innovations but
4342-581: A separate lounge, a reading room decorated by Bruno Paul , a two-story smoking room , and their own dining room that spanned the width of the ship. The upper and lower floors of the smoking room were joined by a broad staircase which helped, according to a report in The New York Times , make it "one of the most attractive parts" of the first-class areas. The dining saloon seated 350 diners at small tables designed for between two and six diners in "roomy and moveable" red Morocco chairs. The dining room
4509-502: A series of inflated tubes underneath the hull, which deflate to cause a downward slope into the water. This procedure has the advantages of requiring less permanent infrastructure, risk, and cost. The airbags provide support to the hull of the ship and aid its launching motion into the water, thus this method is arguably safer than other options such as sideways launching. These airbags are usually cylindrical in shape with hemispherical heads at both ends. A Babylonian narrative dating from
4676-505: A set route are called "line voyages" and vessels (passenger or cargo) trading on these routes to a timetable are called liners. The alternative to liner trade is "tramping" whereby vessels are notified on an ad hoc basis as to the availability of a cargo to be transported. (In older usage, "liner" also referred to ships of the line , that is, line-of-battle ships, but that usage is now rare.) The term "ocean liner" has come to be used interchangeably with "passenger liner", although it can refer to
4843-679: A shipboard press, measured about 9 by 8 inches (23 by 20 cm). The newspaper's motto: "We Cannot Tell a Lie". Its front page claimed it had "The Largest Circulation on the Atlantic Ocean". After her delivery to the United States Shipping Board (USSB), George Washington was used to transport 250 members of the American Legion to France as guests of the French Government in 1921. The ship
5010-641: A six-month tour of Europe in August 1923. She was traveling First Class to England. Her daughter Saidee Grant and her husband New York Banker Rollin Grant, along with their servants accompanied her for the journey. They returned to New York in February 1924. George Washington continued operating on the Bremen ;– New York route until World War I when she sought refuge in New York, a neutral port in 1914. With
5177-526: A speed of 27 knots. Their records seemed unbeatable, and most shipping companies abandoned the race for speed in favor of size, luxury, and safety. The advent of ships with diesel engines, and of those whose engines were oil-burning, such as the Bremen , in the early 1930s, relaunched the race for the Blue Riband . The Normandie won it in 1935 before being snatched by RMS Queen Mary in 1938. It
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5344-557: A steamship was capable of crossing the ocean, the public was not yet prepared to trust such means of travel on the open sea, and, in 1820, the steam engine was removed from the vessel. Work on this technology continued and a new step was taken in 1833. Royal William managed to cross the Atlantic by using steam power on most of the voyage; sail was used only when the boilers were cleaned. There were still many skeptics, and in 1836, scientific writer Dionysius Lardner declared that: As
5511-534: A stop to them for a time in Protestant Europe. By the 17th century, for example, English launchings were secular affairs. The christening party for the launch of the 64-gun ship of the line Prince Royal in 1610 included the Prince of Wales and famed naval constructor Phineas Pett , who was master shipwright at the Woolwich yard. Pett described the proceedings: The noble Prince… accompanied with
5678-471: A swimming pool. In the 1920s, SS Paris was the first liner to offer a movie theatre. The British and the German shipyards were the most famed in shipbuilding during the great era of ocean liners. In Ireland, Harland & Wolff shipyard of Belfast were particularly innovative and succeeded in winning the trust of many shipping companies, such as White Star Line . These gigantic shipyards employed
5845-452: A tonnage of 79,280. In 1940, RMS Queen Elizabeth raised the record of size to a tonnage of 83,673. She was the largest passenger ship ever constructed until 1997. In 2003, RMS Queen Mary 2 became the largest, at 149,215 GT. In the early 1840s, the average speed of liners was less than 10 knots (a crossing of the Atlantic thus took about 12 days or more). In the 1870s, the average speed of liners increased to around 15 knots
6012-655: A total of 2,900 passengers, and made her maiden voyage in January 1909 to New York. In June 1911, George Washington was the largest ship to participate in the Coronation Fleet Review by the United Kingdom's newly crowned king, George V . On 14 April 1912, George Washington passed a particularly large iceberg south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and radioed a warning to all ships in
6179-614: A visit to the United States. Prince Tsai Tao, the uncle of the Emperor of China, departed in one of George Washington 's imperial suites after a four-day visit to New York in May; the Chinese Imperial flag flew from the mainmast in his honor as the ship departed. In October, Henry W. Taft , brother of US President William Howard Taft returned from a visit to Europe. In December, disgraced Arctic explorer Frederick Cook arrived on
6346-539: A voyage to Panama . After her return on 5 September 1942 the WSA assigned George Washington to be converted to an oil-burner at Todd Shipbuilding 's Brooklyn Yard. When she emerged on 17 April 1943, the transport was bareboat chartered by the United States Army and made a voyage to Casablanca and back to New York with troops between April and May 1943. In July, George Washington sailed from New York to
6513-415: A warning to all ships in the area. The White Star steamship Titanic , some 250 nautical miles (460 km) east of George Washington 's position, acknowledged receipt of the warning, one of several her radio operators received. On 15 April, George Washington received garbled transmissions that informed that Titanic had struck an iceberg less than twelve hours later, and in nearly the same position as
6680-633: A woman performing the launch. Ceremonial practices for christening and launching ships in the United States have their roots in Europe. Descriptions are not plentiful for launching American Revolutionary War naval vessels, but a local newspaper detailed the launch of Continental frigate Raleigh at Portsmouth, New Hampshire , in May 1776: On Tuesday the 21st inst. the Continental Frigate of thirty-two guns, built at this place...
6847-429: Is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships ). The Queen Mary 2 is the only ocean liner still in service to this day. The category does not include ferries or other vessels engaged in short-sea trading, nor dedicated cruise ships where
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7014-481: Is found on cruise ships, as well as a deeper draft for greater stability, and have large capacities for fuel, food, and other consumables on long voyages. On an ocean liner, the captain's tower ( bridge ) is usually positioned on the upper deck for increased visibility. The first ocean liners were built in the mid-19th century. Technological innovations such as the steam engine, Diesel engine and steel hull allowed larger and faster liners to be built, giving rise to
7181-540: Is that of Constitution at Boston, October 21, 1797, famous as "Old Ironsides." Her sponsor was Captain James Sever, USN, who stood on the weather deck at the bow. "At fifteen minutes after twelve she commenced a movement into the water with such steadiness, majesty and exactness as to fill every heart with sensations of joy and delight." As Constitution ran out, Captain Sever broke a bottle of fine old Madeira over
7348-405: Is time to prepare for launching, a pair of standing ways is erected under the hull and out onto the barricades. The surface of the ways is greased. ( Tallow and whale oil were used as grease in sailing ship days.) A pair of sliding ways is placed on top, under the hull, and a launch cradle with bow and stern poppets is erected on these sliding ways. The weight of the hull is then transferred from
7515-637: The Avro Lancaster and Boeing B-29 Superfortress , with their range and massive carrying capacity, were natural prototypes for post-war next-generation airliners . Jet engine technology also accelerated due to wartime development of jet aircraft . In 1953, the De Havilland Comet became the first commercial jet airliner; the Sud Aviation Caravelle , Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 followed, and much long-distance travel
7682-575: The Big Four of the White Star Line were the first liners to surpass Great Eastern as the largest passenger ships . Ultimately their owner was American (as mentioned above, White Star Line had been absorbed into J. P. Morgan's trust). Faced with this major competition, the British government contributed financially to Cunard Line's construction of two liners of unmatched size and speed, under
7849-550: The Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, which has built ships including RMS Queen Mary 2 . France also had major shipyards on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea . Ship naming and launching Ceremonial ship launching involves the performing of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back millennia, to accompany
8016-542: The Falkland Islands to recover the Falklands from the invading Argentine forces . The P&O educational cruise ship and former British India Steam Navigation Company liner Uganda was requisitioned as a hospital ship, and served after the war as a troopship until the RAF Mount Pleasant station was built at Stanley , which could handle trooping flights. By the first decade of the 21st century, only
8183-523: The Far East , India, Australia, etc. The birth of the concept of international water and the lack of any claim to it simplified navigation. In 1818, the Black Ball Line , with a fleet of sailing ships, offered the first regular passenger service with emphasis on passenger comfort, from England to the United States. In 1807, Robert Fulton succeeded in applying steam engines to ships. He built
8350-777: The Panama Canal , thence to Los Angeles and Brisbane , Australia. Returning to Los Angeles, she sailed again in September to Bombay and Cape Town , and arrived at New York to complete her round-the-world voyage in December 1943. In January 1944 George Washington began regular service to the United Kingdom and the Mediterranean , again carrying troops in support of the Allies in Europe. She made frequent stops at Le Havre , Southampton , and Liverpool . George Washington
8517-807: The Paris Peace Conference . George Washington was decommissioned in 1920 and handed over the United States Shipping Board (USSB), who reconditioned her for passenger service. George Washington sailed in transatlantic passenger service for both the United States Mail Steamship Company (one voyage) and United States Lines for ten years, before she was laid up in the Patuxent River in Maryland in 1931. During World War II,
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#17327937507208684-542: The SS Andrea Doria , which later sank in 1956 after a collision with MS Stockholm . Before the Second World War, aircraft had not posed a significant economic threat to ocean liners. Most pre-war aircraft were noisy, vulnerable to bad weather, and/or incapable of the range needed for transoceanic flights; all were expensive and had a small passenger capacity. The war accelerated development of large, long-ranged aircraft. Four-engined bombers, such as
8851-605: The Singer Building , and docked at 18:30 at the North German Lloyd piers in Hoboken, New Jersey . Coincidentally, Martha Washington , an ocean liner of the unrelated Austro-American Line , was in port when George Washington docked in New York for the first time. On 22 June, the liner hosted a press luncheon, and, the next afternoon, hosted some 3,000 members of the Daughters of the American Revolution who presented
9018-576: The Titanic II , is a modern replica of the original RMS Titanic , which sank in 1912. The ship is owned by Blue Star Line and is bought by Australian businessman Clive Palmer , the ship is set to be launched by 2027. Four ocean liners made before the Second World War survive today as they have been partially or fully preserved as museums and hotels . The Japanese ocean liner Hikawa Maru (1929), has been preserved in Naka-ku, Yokohama , Japan, as
9185-500: The Washington , as her crew affectionately called her, such a success that they soon ordered another liner of similar, but slightly larger, size. On 24 June 1911, George Washington participated in the Coronation Fleet Review by the United Kingdom's newly crowned king, George V . Stationed at the head of the second row of merchant ships , George Washington full dressed for the occasion—was reported by The Times as "by far
9352-604: The flagship of the company's fleet. Because all U.S. registered ships counted as an extension of U.S. territory, the National Prohibition Act made American liners alcohol-free, causing alcohol-seeking passengers to choose other liners for travel and substantially reducing profits for the United States Lines. In 1929, Germany returned to the scene with the two ships of Norddeutscher Lloyd, SS Bremen and SS Europa . Bremen won
9519-427: The puja ceremony at launch. In the 20th century, ships were launched with a lady breaking a coconut on the bow of the vessel, which is sometimes followed by a small Puja . Japanese ship launchings incorporate silver axes which are thought to bring good luck and scare away evil. Japanese shipbuilders traditionally order the crafting of a special axe for each new vessel; and after the launching ceremony, they present
9686-523: The submarine V-6 with cider. However, battleship California appropriately received her name with California wine in 1919. Champagne returned in 1922, but only for the launch of light cruiser Trenton . Rigid naval airships Los Angeles , Shenandoah , Akron , and Macon were built during the 1920s and early 1930s, carried on the Naval Vessel Register , and each was formally commissioned . The earliest First Lady of
9853-519: The 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h) guaranteed by her builders. Because she was designed to emphasize comfort over speed, George Washington 's engines consumed an economical 350 long tons (360 t) of coal daily, or about one-third as much as the Cunard speedsters Lusitania and Mauretania . By using less coal, and, consequently, needing less space to carry it, the liner was able to carry up to 13,000 long tons (13,000 t) of cargo. The liner also featured
10020-670: The 3rd millennium BC describes the completion of a ship: Openings to the water I stopped; I searched for cracks and the wanting parts I fixed: Three sari of bitumen I poured over the outside; To the gods I caused oxen to be sacrificed. It is believed that ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans called on their gods to protect seamen. Favor was evoked from the monarch of the seas— Poseidon in Greek mythology , Neptune in Roman mythology . Ship launching participants in ancient Greece wreathed their heads with olive branches, drank wine to honor
10187-399: The Allied Powers were compensated by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. This led to the awarding of many German liners to the victorious Allies. The Hamburg America Line's trio ( Imperator , Vaterland , and Bismarck ) were divided between the Cunard Line, White Star Line, and the United States Lines , while the three surviving ships of the Kaiser class were requisitioned by the US Navy in
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#173279375072010354-459: The American entry into the war in 1917, George Washington was taken over 6 April and towed to the New York Navy Yard for conversion into a transport. She commissioned 6 September 1917. George Washington sailed with her first load of troops 4 December 1917 and during the next 2 years made 18 round trip voyages in support of the American Expeditionary Forces . During this period she also made several special voyages. President Woodrow Wilson and
10521-437: The American representatives to the Paris Peace Conference sailed for Europe in George Washington 4 December 1918. On this crossing she was protected by Pennsylvania , and was escorted into Brest , France, 13 December by ten battleships and twenty-eight destroyers in an impressive demonstration of American naval strength. After carrying 4000 soldiers back home to the US, George Washington carried Assistant Secretary of
10688-470: The Atlantic. Constructing large ships was therefore more profitable. Moreover, migration to the Americas increased enormously. These movements of population were a financial windfall for the shipping companies, some of the largest of which were founded during this time. Examples are the P&O of the United Kingdom in 1822 and the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique of France in 1855. The steam engine also allowed ships to provide regular service without
10855-406: The Blue Riband for her company. This race for speed, however, was a detriment to passengers' comfort and generated strong vibration, which made her owner lose any interest in her after she lost the Blue Riband to another ship of Norddeutscher Lloyd. She was only used for ten years for transatlantic crossing before being converted into a cruise ship. Until 1907 the Blue Riband remained in the hands of
11022-428: The Blue Riband from Britain's Mauretania after the latter had held it for twenty years. Soon, Italy also entered the scene. The Italian Line completed SS Rex and SS Conte di Savoia in 1932, breaking the records of both luxury and speed ( Rex won the westbound Blue Riband in 1933). France reentered the scene with SS Normandie of the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). The ship
11189-416: The Bowmore distillery on the island of Islay instead of champagne because the ship had been built and launched in Scotland. The Duchess of Rothesay similarly launched HMS Prince of Wales by pulling a lever which smashed a bottle of single malt Scotch whisky at the side of the ship. At the 2024 launching of CalMac ferry Glen Rosa , newly-qualified welder Beth Atkinson named the ship and pulled
11356-413: The British. From 1912 to 1914, Hamburg America Line completed a trio of liners significantly larger than the White Star Line's Olympic -class ships. The first to be completed, in 1913 was SS Imperator . She was followed by SS Vaterland in 1914. The construction of the third liner, SS Bismarck , was paused by the outbreak of the First World War. The First World War was a hard time for
11523-507: The Germans. In 1902, J. P. Morgan embraced the idea of a maritime empire comprising a large number of companies. He founded the International Mercantile Marine Co. , a trust which originally comprised only American shipping companies. The trust then absorbed Leyland Line and White Star Line. The British government then decided to intervene in order to regain the ascendancy. Although German liners dominated in terms of speed, British liners dominated in terms of size. RMS Oceanic and
11690-417: The Line on the transatlantic route until 1931 when she was laid up in the Patuxent River , Maryland. George Washington was reacquired for Navy use from the United States Maritime Commission on 28 January 1941 and commissioned as USS Catlin (AP-19) on 13 March 1941. She was named in honor of Brigadier General Albertus W. Catlin , USMC . It was found, however, that the coal-burning engines did not give
11857-427: The Lord Admiral and the great lords, were on the poop , where the standing great gilt cup was ready filled with wine to name the ship SO soon as she had been afloat, according to ancient custom and ceremony performed at such times, and heaving the standing cup overboard. His Highness then standing upon the poop with a selected company only, besides the trumpeters, with a great deal of expression of princely joy, and with
12024-654: The Lord, and His wonders in the deep. In 1969, Queen Elizabeth II named the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 after herself, instead of the older liner RMS Queen Elizabeth , by saying, "I name this ship Queen Elizabeth the Second . May God bless her and all who sail in her." On 4 July 2014, the Queen named the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth with a bottle of single malt Scotch whisky from
12191-596: The Navy Franklin Roosevelt and the Chinese and Mexican peace commissions to France in January 1919. On 24 February, she returned President Wilson to the United States. The President again embarked on board George Washington in March 1919; arriving France 13 March, and returned at the conclusion of the historic conference 8 July 1919. During this voyage, the ship carried radiotelephone equipment, then
12358-596: The Second World War the three worst disasters were the loss of the Cunarder Lancastria in 1940 off Saint-Nazaire to German bombing while attempting to evacuate troops of the British Expeditionary Force from France, with the loss of more than 3,000 lives; the sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff , after the ship was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, with more than 9,000 lives lost, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in history; and
12525-571: The Spectators) this noble fabrick was completely to her anchors in the main channel, in less than six minutes from the time she run, without the least hurt; and what is truly remarkable, not a single person met with the least accident in launching, tho' near five hundred men were employed in and about her when run off. It was customary for the builders to celebrate a ship launching. Rhode Island authorities were charged with overseeing construction of frigates Warren and Providence . They voted
12692-529: The Stone-Lloyd system of hydraulically operated bulkhead doors for her thirteen watertight compartments. George Washington had accommodations for nearly 2,900 passengers, with 900 divided between first and second class and the balance as third class or steerage . The ship had only eight decks rather than a more typical nine, which gave her passenger accommodations a spacious feel. The first-class passenger section included 31 cabins with attached baths, and
12859-544: The United Kingdom and the Mediterranean from 1944 to 1947, and was laid up in Baltimore after ending her Army service. A fire in January 1951 damaged the ship severely, and she was sold for scrapping the following month. George Washington was an ocean liner built within two years (1907–1908) by AG Vulcan of Stettin , Germany (now Szczecin , Poland), for North German Lloyd (German: Norddeutscher Lloyd or NDL). Intended for Bremen – New York passenger service,
13026-525: The United Kingdom and the United States. Over time, the paddle wheel, impractical on the high seas, was abandoned in favour of the propeller. In 1840, Cunard Line's RMS Britannia began its first regular passenger and cargo service by a steamship, sailing from Liverpool to Boston , Massachusetts. As the size of ship increased, the wooden hull became fragile. Beginning with the use of an iron hull in 1845, and then steel hulls, solved this problem. The first ship to be both iron-hulled and equipped with
13193-473: The United States to act as sponsor was Grace Coolidge who christened the airship Los Angeles . Lou Henry Hoover christened Akron in 1931, but the customary bottle was not used. Instead, the First Lady pulled a cord which opened a hatch in the airship's towering nose to release a flock of pigeons. Thousands of ships of every description came off the ways during World War II , the concerted effort of
13360-535: The United States during this time. The year 1858 was marked by a major accident: the sinking of SS Austria . The ship, built in Greenock and sailing between Hamburg and New York twice a month, suffered an accidental fire off the coast of Newfoundland and sank with the loss of all but 89 of the 542 passengers. In the British market, Cunard Line and White Star Line (the latter after being bought by Thomas Ismay in 1868), competed strongly against each other in
13527-431: The United States. The ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board on 28 January 1920. Started in February 1918; as a means to relieve the stress the troops, sailors, and officers were under aboard a ship in the danger zone; it was written by officers who had previous literary experience and produced by men who had printing and publishing experience. It was printed on a small hand press – 5,000 copies with
13694-438: The added amenity of large portholes, electricity and running water. The size of ocean liners increased from 1880 to meet the needs of immigration to the United States and Australia. RMS Umbria and her sister ship RMS Etruria were the last two Cunard liners of the period to be fitted with auxiliary sails. Both ships were built by John Elder & Co. of Glasgow, Scotland, in 1884. They were record breakers by
13861-412: The area, including White Star Line ocean liner Titanic , which sank near the same location. Throughout her German passenger career, contemporary news accounts often reported on notable persons—typically actors, singers, and politicians—who sailed on George Washington . At the outbreak of World War I , George Washington was interned by the then-neutral United States, until that country entered into
14028-415: The axe to the vessel's owner as a commemorative gift. The axe is used to cut the rope which tethers the ship to the place where she was built. Sponsors of British warships were customarily members of the royal family, senior naval officers, or Admiralty officials. A few civilians were invited to sponsor Royal Navy ships during the nineteenth century, and women became sponsors for the first time. In 1875,
14195-467: The birth of a vessel; and people throughout history have performed launching ceremonies, in part to appeal for good fortune and the safety of each new vessel. In Canada, Aboriginal peoples will perform ceremonies at the launching of vessels along with other methods of launching. French ship launchings and christenings in the 18th and early 19th centuries were accompanied by unique rites closely resembling marriage and baptismal ceremonies. A godfather for
14362-441: The build cribbing onto the launch cradle. Provision is made to hold the vessel in place and then release it at the appropriate moment in the launching ceremony; common mechanisms include weak links designed to be cut at a signal and mechanical triggers controlled by a switch from the ceremonial platform. On launching, the vessel slides backwards down the slipway on the ways until it floats by itself. Some slipways are built so that
14529-438: The cabin class and the steerage class. The passengers travelling on the former were wealthy passengers and they enjoyed certain comfort in that class. The passengers travelling on the latter were members of the middle class or the working class. In that class, they were packed in large dormitories. Until the beginning of the 20th century, they did not always have bedsheets and meals. An intermediate class for tourists and members of
14696-482: The ceremony of drinking in the standing cup, threw all the wine forwards towards the half-deck, and solemnly calling her by name of the Prince Royal, the trumpets sounding the while, with many gracious words to me, gave the standing cup into my hands. The "standing cup" was a large cup fashioned of precious metal. When the ship began to slide down the ways, the presiding official took a ceremonial sip of wine from
14863-597: The coast of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea , including Blohm & Voss and AG Vulcan Stettin . Many of these shipyards were destroyed during World War II; some managed to recover and continue building ships. In France, major shipyards included Chantiers de Penhoët in Saint-Nazaire , known for building SS Normandie . This shipyard merged with Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire shipyard to form
15030-525: The competition from Cunard Line, White Star Line ordered the Olympic -class liners at the end of 1907. The first of these three liners, RMS Olympic , completed in 1911, had a fine career, although punctuated by incidents. This was not the case for her sister, the RMS ; Titanic , which sank on her maiden voyage on 15 April 1912, resulting in several changes to maritime safety practices. As for
15197-531: The condition that they be available for conversion into armed cruisers when needed by the navy. The result of this partnership was the completion in 1907 of two sister ships: RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania , both of which won the Blue Riband during their respective maiden voyages. The latter retained this distinction for twenty years. Their great speed was achieved by the use of turbines instead of conventional expansion machines. In response to
15364-625: The conflict in April 1917. George Washington was seized by the United States and taken over for use as a troop transport by the US Navy. Commissioned as USS George Washington (ID-3018), she sailed with her first load of American troops in December 1917. In total, she carried 48,000 passengers to France, and returned 34,000 to the United States after the Armistice . George Washington also carried US President Woodrow Wilson to France twice for
15531-588: The construction of the Queen Mary while progressively sending their older ships to the scrapyard. The Queen Mary was the fastest ship of her time and the largest for a short amount of time, she captured the Blue Riband twice, both off Normandie . The construction of a second ship, the Queen Elizabeth , was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War . The Second World War was
15698-485: The context of the conflict and then retained. The Tirpitz , whose construction was delayed by the outbreak of war eventually became the RMS Empress of Australia . Of the German superliners, only Deutschland , because of her poor state, avoided this fate. After a period of reconstruction, the shipping companies recovered quickly from the damage caused by the First World War. The ships, whose construction
15865-409: The crowding of passengers, and faster ships, to reduce the duration of transatlantic crossings. The iron and steel hulls and steam power allowed for these advances. Thus, SS Great Western (1,340 GRT) and SS Great Eastern (18,915 GRT) were constructed in 1838 and 1858 respectively. The record set by SS Great Eastern was not beaten until 43 years later in 1901 when RMS Celtic (20,904 GT)
16032-427: The cup, and poured the rest on the deck or over the bow. Usually the cup was thrown overboard and belonged to the lucky retriever. As navies grew larger and launchings more frequent, economy dictated that the costly cup be caught in a net for reuse at other launchings. Late in 17th century Britain, the standing-cup ceremony was replaced by the practice of breaking a bottle across the bow. Launching could be said to mark
16199-619: The daughter of US President Woodrow Wilson , sailed in November 1913 for a European honeymoon. The couple, wed at the White House , traveled in one of George Washington 's imperial suites. The following January, English playwright W. Somerset Maugham quietly slipped out of New York on George Washington . Maugham had arrived in New York in mid November to see Billie Burke in the New York premiere of his play, The Land of Promise . Socialite and philanthropist Sarah Polk Fall , left for
16366-417: The dawn of the jet age . Such routes included Europe to African and Asian colonies, Europe to South America, and migrant traffic from Europe to North America in the 19th and first two decades of the 20th centuries, and to Canada and Australia after the Second World War. Shipping lines are companies engaged in shipping passengers and cargo, often on established routes and schedules. Regular scheduled voyages on
16533-409: The duration of a transatlantic crossing shortened to around 7 days, owing to the technological progress made in the propulsion of ships: the rudimentary steam boilers gave rise to more elaborate machineries and the paddlewheel gradually disappeared, replaced first by one screw then by two screws. At the beginning of the 20th century, Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania reached
16700-403: The first auxiliary cruiser in history. In the time of war, ships could easily be equipped with cannons and used in cases of conflict. Teutonic succeeded in impressing Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, who wanted to see his country endowed with a modern fleet. In 1870, the White Star Line's RMS Oceanic set a new standard for ocean travel by having its first-class cabins amidships, with
16867-587: The first issue but this was increased to 7,000 – and titled The Hatchet (a reference to the tale about George Washington and the cherry tree). News from the ship and news received by radio were in the single-sheet newspaper. The masthead in 1919 listed the ship chaplain as managing editor and three reporters—one each from the Associated Press, International News Service and the United Press as "associate editors". The newspaper pages, printed on
17034-558: The first ship that was powered by this technology, the Clermont , which succeeded in travelling between New York City and Albany, New York in thirty hours before entering into regular service between the two cities. Soon after, other vessels were built using this innovation. In 1816, the Élise became the first steamship to cross the English Channel . Another important advance came in 1819, when SS Savannah became
17201-505: The first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She left the U.S. city of the same name and arrived in Liverpool, England in 27 days. Most of the distance was covered by sailing; the steam power was not used for more than 72 hours during the travel. The public enthusiasm for the new technology was not high, as none of the thirty-two people who had booked a seat boarded the ship for that historic voyage. Although Savannah had proven that
17368-406: The form of a reinforced concrete mat of sufficient strength to support the vessel, with two "barricades" that extend well below the water level taking into account tidal variations. The barricades support the two launch ways. The vessel is built upon temporary cribbing that is arranged to give access to the hull's outer bottom and to allow the launchways to be erected under the complete hull. When it
17535-485: The frigate. Everything being prepared, and the most profound silence prevailing,... At a given signal she glided into the waters, a sublime spectacle of gracefulnes and grandeur. Immediately on touching the water federal salutes were fired from the sloop of war Portsmouth , the revenue cutter Jay and the Aspasia , Indiaman. These were returned by the uniform companies on shore, who fired a feu-de-joye , and marched off
17702-566: The gods, and poured water on the new vessel as a symbol of blessing. Shrines were carried on board Greek and Roman ships, and this practice extended into the Middle Ages. The shrine was usually placed at the quarterdeck , an area which continues to have special ceremonial significance. Different peoples and cultures shaped the religious ceremonies surrounding a ship launching. Jews and Christians customarily used wine and water as they called upon God to safeguard them at sea. Intercession of
17869-410: The ground to the battery... and were dismissed. As the 19th century progressed, American ship launchings continued to be festive occasions, but with no set ritual except that the sponsor(s) used some "christening fluid" as the ship received her name. Sloop of war Concord was launched in 1828 and was "christened by a young lady of Portsmouth." This is the first known instance of a woman sponsoring
18036-533: The heel of the bowsprit . Frigate President had an interesting launching on April 10, 1800, at New York: Was launched yesterday morning, at ten o'clock, in the presence of perhaps as great a concourse of people as ever assembled in this city on any occasion. At nine, captain Ten-Eyck's company of artillery..., accompanied by the uniform volunteer companies of the sixth regiment and the corps of riflemen, marched in procession... and took their station alongside
18203-473: The inclined plane" in 1846, "two young sailors, one stationed at each side of her head, anointed her with bottles, and named her as she left her cradle for the deep." As late as 1898, the torpedo boat MacKenzie was christened by the son of the builder. Wine is the traditional christening fluid, although numerous other liquids have been used. Princeton and Raritan were sent on their way in 1843 with whisky . Seven years later, "a bottle of best brandy
18370-438: The largest ship present". While headed to New York on the morning of 14 April 1912, crew aboard George Washington observed a large iceberg as the ship passed south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland . By noon the ship passed within a half-mile (900 m) of the iceberg, estimated by the crew at 112 feet (34 m) above the waterline and 410 feet (120 m) long. After recording the ship's position, George Washington radioed
18537-581: The last ocean liners to be built primarily for crossing the North Atlantic, could not be converted economically and had short careers. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution and the inter-continental trade rendered the development of secure links between continents imperative. Being at the top among the colonial powers, the United Kingdom needed stable maritime routes to connect different parts of its empire :
18704-399: The late 1860s. The struggle was symbolised by the attainment of the Blue Riband, which the two companies achieved several times around the end of the century. The luxury and technology of ships were also evolving. Auxiliary sails became obsolete and disappeared completely at the end of the century. Possible military use of passenger ships was envisaged and, in 1889, RMS Teutonic became
18871-430: The liner's imperial suites were designed by German architect Rudolf Alexander Schröder . The second-class, third-class, and steerage compartments were fitted out in a "comfortable manner" suitable for each class. The first class public rooms were "sumptuously appointed", and included murals by German fresco artist Otto Bollhagen that commemorated the life and times of George Washington. First-class passengers could visit
19038-581: The liner; conflicting opinions on the veracity of his claims of reaching the North Pole nearly caused a fight to erupt on board. On the same voyage as Cook, German actor Ernst von Possart arrived for his first stage performances in New York in over 20 years. Composer Engelbert Humperdinck , after attending the debut of his opera Königskinder at the Metropolitan Opera , sailed on George Washington in early January 1911 in order to attend
19205-534: The liners. Some of them, like the Mauretania , Aquitania , and Britannic were transformed into hospital ships during the conflict. Others became troop transports, while some, such as the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse , participated in the war as warships. Troop transportation was very popular due to the liners' large size. Liners converted into troop ships were painted in dazzle camouflage to reduce
19372-409: The men in the yard during the time of her building, every man with pleasure exerting himself to the utmost: and altho' the greatest care was taken that only the best of timber was used, and the work perform'd in a most masterly manner, the whole time from her raising to the day she launched did not exceed sixty working days, and what afforded a most pleasing view (which was manifest in the countenances of
19539-438: The middle class gradually appeared. The cabins were then divided into three classes. The facilities offered to passengers developed over time. In the 1870s, the installation of bathtubs and oil lamps caused a sensation on board SS Oceanic . In the following years, the number of amenities became numerous, for example: smoking rooms, lounges, and promenade deck. In 1907, RMS Adriatic even offered Turkish baths and
19706-402: The new ship presented a godmother with a bouquet of flowers as both said the ship's name. No bottle was broken, but a priest pronounced the vessel's name and blessed it with holy water. In India , ships have historically been launched with a Puja ceremony that dedicates the ship to a Hindu god or goddess, and seeks blessings for her and her sailors. Historically, Hindu priests would perform
19873-582: The number of people crossing the Atlantic and at the same time reducing the number of profitable transatlantic voyages. In response, shipping companies redirected many of their liners to a more profitable cruise service. In 1934, in the United Kingdom, Cunard Line and White Star Line were in very bad shape financially. Chancellor of the Exchequer Neville Chamberlain proposed to merge the two companies in order to solve their financial problems. The merger took place in 1934 and launched
20040-553: The ocean liners came to an end. By the early 1970s, many passenger ships continued their service in cruising. In 1982, during the Falklands War , three active or former liners were requisitioned for war service by the British Government . The liners Queen Elizabeth 2 and Canberra , were requisitioned from Cunard and P&O to serve as troopships, carrying British Army personnel to Ascension Island and
20207-637: The one that George Washington had reported. Edwin Drechsel, in his two-volume chronicle of North German Lloyd, draws comparisons between the iceberg photographed by George Washington (and first published in his book), and a better-known photo taken from the Hamburg America Line ship Prinz Adalbert , purportedly of the Titanic iceberg. Drechsel suggests that the iceberg photographed and reported by George Washington may have been one and
20374-403: The only ship still in service as an ocean liner is RMS Queen Mary 2 . Ocean liners were the primary mode of intercontinental travel for over a century, from the mid-19th century until they began to be supplanted by airliners in the 1950s. In addition to passengers, liners carried mail and cargo. Ships contracted to carry British Royal Mail used the designation RMS . Liners were also
20541-608: The opera's Berlin premiere. US sculptor George Grey Barnard returned to New York in April amidst controversy over some of his works. An organization called the National Society for Protection of Morals was protesting the presence of nude figures in sculptures he executed for the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg . July saw George Washington transporting a menagerie of sorts. The liner
20708-606: The operation was expensive. The sinking of two of its ships was a major blow to the company which was dissolved in 1858. In 1858, Brunel built his third and last giant, SS Great Eastern . The ship was, for 43 years, the largest passenger ship ever built . She had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers. Her career was marked by a series of failures and incidents, one of which was an explosion on board during her maiden voyage. Many ships owned by German companies like Hamburg America Line and Norddeutscher Lloyd were sailing from major German ports, such as Hamburg and Bremen, to
20875-410: The opposite bank. Normally, ways are arranged perpendicular to the shore line (or as nearly so as the water and maximum length of vessel allows) and the ship is built with its stern facing the water. Where the launch takes place into a narrow river, the building slips may be at a shallow angle rather than perpendicular, even though this requires a longer slipway when launching. Modern slipways take
21042-487: The physical process with ceremonies which have been observed as public celebration and a solemn blessing, usually but not always, in association with the launch itself. Ship launching imposes stresses on the ship not met during normal operation and in addition to the size and weight of the vessel represents a considerable engineering challenge as well as a public spectacle. The process also involves many traditions intended to invite good luck , such as christening by breaking
21209-465: The preferred way to move gold and other high-value cargoes. The busiest route for liners was on the North Atlantic with ships travelling between Europe and North America. It was on this route that the fastest, largest and most advanced liners travelled, though most ocean liners historically were mid-sized vessels which served as the common carriers of passengers and freight between nations and among other countries and their colonies and dependencies before
21376-404: The project of making the voyage directly from New York to Liverpool, it was perfectly chimerical, and they might as well talk of making the voyage from New York to the moon. The last step toward long-distance travel using steam power was taken in 1837 when SS Sirius left Liverpool on 4 April and arrived in New York eighteen days later on 22 April after a turbulent crossing. Too little coal
21543-567: The protection of infants held in Berlin. Congressman Richard Bartholdt , charged by President Taft to deliver a statue of Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben to the German government, sailed with the statue, which was a gift from the American people. Financier and philanthropist J. P. Morgan, Jr. returned from a two-month trip to Europe in November 1912; his wife followed him home the next month. Also arriving on George Washington 's November crossing
21710-449: The required speed for protection against submarines , and she was decommissioned on 26 September 1941. Because of their great need for ships in 1941, Great Britain took the ship over under Lend-Lease on 29 September 1941 as George Washington , but they found after one voyage to Newfoundland that her aging boilers could not safely maintain sufficient steam pressure to drive her otherwise serviceable engines. A secondary contributing factor
21877-533: The risk of being torpedoed by enemy submarines . The war was marked by the loss of many liners. Britannic , while serving as a hospital ship, sank in the Aegean Sea in 1916 after she struck a mine. Numerous incidents of torpedoing took place and large numbers of ships sank. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was defeated and scuttled after a fierce battle with HMS Highflyer off the coast of west Africa, while her sister ship Kronprinz Wilhelm served as
22044-578: The saints and the blessing of the church were asked by Christians. Ship launchings in the Ottoman Empire were accompanied by prayers to Allah , the sacrifice of sheep, and appropriate feasting. Chaplain Henry Teonge of Britain's Royal Navy left an interesting account of a warship launch, a "briganteen of 23 oars," by the Knights of Malta in 1675: Two fryers and an attendant went into
22211-468: The same. Throughout her Lloyd transatlantic career George Washington carried notable passengers to and from Europe. In August 1909 Sigmund Freud sailed from Bremen bound for New York on his one and only trip to the US. He was accompanied by his colleagues Carl Jung and Sándor Ferenczi . In February 1910, banker Edgar Speyer , a Privy Counsellor appointed by Edward VII of the United Kingdom , arrived for
22378-417: The ship was known as both USAT George Washington and, briefly, as USS Catlin (AP-19) , in a short, second stint in the US Navy. When George Washington was launched in 1908, she was the largest German -built steamship and the third-largest ship in the world. George Washington was built to emphasize comfort over speed and was sumptuously appointed in her first-class passenger areas. The ship could carry
22545-484: The ship was named after George Washington , the first President of the United States as a way to make the ship more appealing to immigrants, who then made up the majority of transatlantic passengers and believed formalities on arrival would be easier on a ship with an American name. George Washington was launched on 10 November 1908 by the United States Ambassador to Germany, David Jayne Hill . At
22712-474: The ship was re-commissioned by the US Navy as USS Catlin (AP-19) for about six months and was operated by the British under Lend-Lease , but her old coal-fired engines were too slow for effective combat use. After her boilers were converted to oil fuel, the ship was chartered to the US Army as USAT George Washington and sailed around the world in 1943 in trooping duties. The ship sailed in regular service to
22879-427: The sinking of SS Cap Arcona with more than 7,000 lives lost, both in the Baltic Sea , in 1945. SS Rex was bombarded and sunk in 1944, and Normandie caught fire, capsized, and sank in New York in 1942 while being converted for troop duty. Many of the superliners of the 1920s and 1930s were victims of U-boats , mines or enemy aircraft. Empress of Britain was attacked by German planes, then torpedoed by
23046-685: The standards of the time, and were the largest liners then in service, plying the Liverpool to New York route. SS Ophir was a 6,814-ton steamship owned by the Orient Steamship Co. , and was fitted with refrigeration equipment. She plied the Suez Canal route from England to Australia during the 1890s, up until the years leading to World War I when she was converted to an armed merchant cruiser . In 1897, Norddeutscher Lloyd launched SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse . She
23213-484: The sum of fifty dollars (equivalent to $ 1,300 in 2023) to the master builder of each yard "to be expended in providing an entertainment for the carpenters that worked on the ships." Five pounds (equivalent to $ 100 in 2023) was spent for lime juice for the launching festivities of frigate Delaware at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , suggesting that the "entertainment" included a potent punch with lime juice as an ingredient. No mention has come to light of christening
23380-481: The technicians were too intimidated to try to get him to stand in the correct spot. During the fall of 1919, George Washington carried another group of distinguished passengers— King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of Belgium and their party. Arriving New York 2 October, the royal couple paid a visit before returning to Brest 12 November. Subsequently, the ship was decommissioned 28 November 1919 after having transported some 48,000 passengers to Europe and 34,000 back to
23547-560: The third sister, HMHS Britannic , she never served her intended purpose as a passenger ship, as she was drafted in the First World War as a hospital ship , and sank to a naval mine in 1916. At the same time, France tried to mark its presence with the completion in 1912 of SS France owned by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique . Germany soon responded to the competition from
23714-478: The time of her launch, she was the third-largest ocean liner in the world, behind only Cunard Line ships Lusitania and Mauretania . George Washington also became the largest German-built steamship, surpassing the Hamburg America Line 's Kaiserin Auguste Victoria , and held that distinction until the 1913 launch of Hamburg America's Vaterland . After George Washington was completed, she
23881-460: The use of sail. This aspect particularly appealed to the postal companies, which leased the services of ships to serve clients separated by the ocean. In 1839, Samuel Cunard founded the Cunard Line and became the first to dedicate the activity of his shipping company to the transport of mails, thus ensuring regular services on a given schedule. The company's vessels operated the routes between
24048-430: The vessel is side-on to the water and is launched sideways. This is done where the limitations of the water channel would not allow lengthwise launching, but occupies a much greater length of shore. The Great Eastern designed by Brunel was built this way, as were many landing craft during World War II . This method requires many more sets of ways to support the weight of the ship. Sometimes ships are launched using
24215-530: The vessel, and kneeling down prayed halfe an houre, and layd their hands on every mast, and other places of the vessel, and sprinkled her all over with holy water. Then they came out and hoysted a pendent to signify she was a man of war; then at once thrust her into the water. The liturgical aspects of ship christenings, or baptisms, continued in Catholic countries, while the Reformation seems to have put
24382-488: The voyage itself, and not transportation, is the primary purpose of the trip. Nor does it include tramp steamers , even those equipped to handle limited numbers of passengers. Some shipping companies refer to themselves as "lines" and their container ships , which often operate over set routes according to established schedules, as "liners". Though ocean liners share certain similarities with cruise ships, they must be able to travel between continents from point A to point B on
24549-400: The water broadside. This method came into use in the 19th century on inland waters, rivers, and lakes, and was more widely adopted during World War II. The third method is float-out , used for ships that are built in basins or dry docks and then floated by admitting water into the dock. If launched in a restrictive waterway, drag chains are used to slow the ship speed to prevent it striking
24716-767: Was Mary Garden , a Scottish -born soprano , who was returning from a sabbatical in Scotland. The next month, opera singers Frieda Hempel and Leon Rains , both headed for appearances with the Metropolitan Opera, arrived on the same voyage as Mrs. Morgan. Hempel, a German soprano , was with the Berlin Royal Opera , and American tenor Rains was with the Saxon Royal Opera of Dresden . Newlyweds Francis B. Sayre , an assistant district attorney in New York, and Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre ,
24883-525: Was Launched amidst the acclamation of many thousand spectators. She is esteemed by all those who are judges that have seen her, to be one of the compleatest ships ever built in America. The unwearied diligence and care of the three Master-Builders... and the good order and industry of the Carpenters, deserve particular notice; scarcely a single instance of a person's being in liquor, or any difference among
25050-673: Was beached in Zhanjiang, China as a tourist attraction called Hai Shang Cheng Shi in 1998, though has been closed as of 2022. Funchal was purchased by Brock Pierce in 2021, with the intent of turning her into a hotel. Her future is uncertain as it was reported in July 2021 that no progress has been made since then. Since their beginning in the 19th century, ocean liners needed to meet growing demands. The first liners were small and overcrowded, leading to unsanitary conditions on board. Eliminating these phenomena required larger ships, to reduce
25217-533: Was broken over the bow of steam sloop San Jacinto ." Steam frigate Merrimack earned her place in naval history as Confederate States of America ironclad Virginia , and she was baptized with water from the Merrimack River . Admiral David Farragut 's famous American Civil War flagship steam sloop Hartford was christened by three sponsors; two young ladies broke bottles of Connecticut River water and Hartford, Connecticut spring water, while
25384-402: Was carrying a shipment from India of 6 white peacocks, 2 lions, 2 elephants, 150 monkeys, and some 2,000 canaries destined for the recently organized Saint Louis Zoological Park . In August, two men of note—both headed for Berlin—sailed on George Washington . Nathan Straus , co-owner with his brother Isidor of R.H. Macy & Company , sailed as the US delegate to the third world congress for
25551-435: Was commenced, and, with it, the tradition of the Blue Riband . With Great Western , Isambard Kingdom Brunel laid the foundations for new shipbuilding techniques. He realised that the carrying capacity of a ship increases as the cube of its dimensions, whilst the water resistance only increases as the square of its dimensions. This means that large ships are more fuel-efficient, something very important for long voyages across
25718-557: Was completed. The tonnage then grew profoundly: the first liners to have a tonnage that exceeded 20,000 were the Big Four of the White Star Line . The Olympic -class ocean liners , first completed in 1911, were the first to have a tonnage that exceeded 45,000 and the Imperator -class ocean liners first completed in 1913 became the 1st liners with tonnage exceeding 50,000. SS Normandie , completed in 1935, had
25885-426: Was decorated in white and gold, with a gilded dome rising above, while its walls featured floral designs executed against a blue background. Other first-class passenger amenities aboard George Washington included a gymnasium with machines for "Swedish exercises", and two electric elevators for those who did not want to exercise at all. There was also a darkroom open to amateur photographers; 20 dog kennels, along with
26052-402: Was done by air. The Italian Line's SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello , launched in 1962 and 1963, were two of the last ocean liners to be built primarily for liner service across the North Atlantic. Cunard's transatlantic liner, Queen Elizabeth 2 , was also used as a cruise ship. By the early 1960s, 95% of passenger traffic across the Atlantic was by aircraft. Thus the reign of
26219-479: Was followed three years later by three sister ships . The ship was both luxurious and fast, managing to steal the Blue Riband from the British. She was also the first of the fourteen ocean liners with four funnels that have emerged in maritime history. The ship needed only two funnels, but more funnels gave passengers a feeling of safety and power. In 1900, the Hamburg America Line competed with its own four-funnel liner, SS Deutschland . She quickly obtained
26386-669: Was not until 1952 that SS United States set a record that remains today: 34.5 knots (3 days and 12 hours of crossing the Atlantic). In addition, since 1935, the Blue Riband is accompanied by the Hales Trophy , which is awarded to the winner. The first ocean liners were designed to carry mostly migrants. On-board sanitary conditions were often deplorable and epidemics were frequent. In 1848, maritime laws imposing hygiene rules were adopted and they improved on-board living conditions. Gradually, two distinct classes were developed:
26553-600: Was prepared for the crossing, and the crew had to burn cabin furniture in order to complete the voyage. The journey took place at a speed of 8.03 knots. The voyage was made possible by the use of a condenser, which fed the boilers with fresh water, avoiding having to periodically shut down the boilers in order to remove the salt. The feat was short-lived. The next day, SS Great Western , designed by railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel , arrived in New York. She left Liverpool on 8 April and overtook Sirius ' s record with an average speed of 8.66 knots. The race of speed
26720-487: Was reported in contemporary news accounts as being 27,000 gross register tons (GRT), though present-day sources agree on a figure of 25,570 GRT . Her displacement was reported as being approximately 37,000 long tons (38,000 t), more than twice the 18420 t displacement of the British battleship Dreadnought . She was powered by two quadruple-expansion steam engines that generated 20,000 horsepower (15,000 kW) and propelled her considerably faster than
26887-552: Was reported to have been sold for scrap in January 2023, but this has been denied by the ship's owner. United States has been docked in Philadelphia since 1996, but following a legal dispute between the organization that owns United States and the pier owners, she was purchased by Okaloosa County , Florida to be turned into the world's largest artificial reef. There are plans for a land-based museum and several pieces of United States are planned to be preserved. Brazil Maru
27054-621: Was started before the war, such as SS Paris of the French Line , were completed and put into service. Prominent British liners, such as the Olympic and the Mauretania , were also put back into service and had a successful career in the early 1920s. More modern liners were also built, such as SS Île de France (completed in 1927). The United States Lines , having received the Vaterland , renamed her Leviathan and made her
27221-740: Was taken out of service and returned to the Maritime Commission 21 April 1947. She remained tied to a pier at Baltimore , until a fire damaged her 16 January 1951. She was subsequently sold for scrap to the Boston Metals Corporation of Baltimore on 13 February 1951. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . [REDACTED] Media related to George Washington (ship, 1909) at Wikimedia Commons Ocean liner An ocean liner
27388-564: Was the difficulty in manning her with sufficient skilled stokers – the role having been supplanted with the steady introduction of oil fired ships in the 1930s. With the ship unfit for combat service the British returned her to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 17 April 1942. The ship was next operated under General Agency Agreement by the Waterman Steamship Co. , Mobile, Alabama , and made
27555-400: Was the largest ship afloat at the time of her completion in 1935. She was also the fastest, winning the Blue Riband in 1935. A crisis arose when the United States drastically reduced its immigrant quotas, causing shipping companies to lose a large part of their income and to have to adapt to this circumstance. The Great Depression also played an important role, causing a drastic decrease in
27722-539: Was then reconditioned by the USSB for transatlantic service, and chartered by the U.S. Mail Steamship Company , for whom she made one voyage to Europe in March 1921. The company was taken over by the government August 1921 and its name changed to the United States Lines . In 1930, she transported the first group of American Gold Star Mothers to France to visit the graves of their sons. George Washington served
27889-674: Was very impressed with the service of the Cunard's Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth as troopships during the war. To ensure a reliable and fast troop transport in case of a war against the Soviet Union, the U.S. government sponsored the construction of SS United States and entered it into service for the United States Lines in 1952. She won the Blue Riband on her maiden voyage in that year and held it until Richard Branson won it back in 1986 with Virgin Atlantic Challenger II. One year later, in 1953, Italy completed
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