 Kronprinzessin Cecilie | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Name | Kronprinzessin Cecilie |
| Namesake | Crown Princess Cecilie |
| Owner | North German Lloyd |
| Port of registry | Bremen |
| Route | Transatlantic |
| Builder | AG Vulcan,Stettin, Germany |
| Launched | 1 December 1906 |
| Maiden voyage | 6 August 1907 |
| Fate | Interned, 1914; Seized by US, 1917 |
 United States | |
| Name | Mount Vernon |
| Namesake | Mount Vernon |
| Acquired |
|
| Commissioned | 28 July 1917 |
| Decommissioned | 29 September 1919 |
| Fate | Returned to Shipping Board by Army August 1920; scrapped 13 September 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Kaiser-classocean liner |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 22.00 m (72 ft 2 in) |
| Draft | 31 ft 1 in (9.47 m) |
| Propulsion | Fourquadruple-expansionsteam engines, twoscrew propellers |
| Speed | 23–24 knots (43–44 km/h; 26–28 mph) |
| Capacity | 1,741 |
| Complement | 1,030 (as USSMount Vernon) |
| Armament |
|
| Notes | four funnels,three masts |
SSKronprinzessin Cecilie was anocean liner built in Stettin, Germany in 1906 forHapag-Lloyd that had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted in a ship at the time of construction.[2][4] The last of four ships of theKaiser class, she was also the last German ship to have been built withfour funnels. She was engaged in transatlantic service between her home port ofBremen andNew York until the outbreak ofWorld War I.
On 4 August 1914, at sea after leaving New York, she turned around and put intoBar Harbor, Maine, where she later was interned by the neutral United States. After that country entered the war in April 1917, the ship was seized and turned over to theUnited States Navy, and renamedUSSMount Vernon (ID-4508). While serving as a troop transport,Mount Vernon was torpedoed in September 1918. Though damaged, she was able to make port for repairs and returned to service. In October 1919Mount Vernon was turned over for operation by theArmy Transport Service in its Pacific fleet based atFort Mason in San Francisco. USATMount Vernon was sent toVladivostok, Russia to transport elements of theCzechoslovak Legion toTrieste, Italy and German prisoners of war toHamburg, Germany. On return from that voyage, lasting from March through July 1920, the ship was transferred to theUnited States Shipping Board and laid up atSolomons Island, Maryland until September 1940 when she was scrapped atBoston, Massachusetts.
Kronprinzessin Cecilie, built atStettin, Germany, in 1906 byAG Vulcan Stettin, was the last of a set of four liners built for North German Lloyd, and the last German liner to carry four smokestacks. She was the product of ensuing competition between Germany and the United Kingdom for supremacy in the North Atlantic. Her oldersister,Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse had been introduced in 1897 and was a great success.[5] Her popularity prompted North German Lloyd to build three moresuperliners, namelyKronprinz Wilhelm (1901),Kaiser Wilhelm II (1903) and, finally,Kronprinzessin Cecilie.[5]
As designed the ship had 287 first-class, 109 second-class cabins and 7 compartments for steerage passengers.[3] Passenger capacity was 775 first-class, 343 second-class and 770 steerage passengers for a total of 1,888 supported by a crew of 679 that included 229 stewards and stewardesses and 42 cooks, pantrymen, barbers, hairdressers and other passenger service people.[3][note 1] Two "Imperial suites" had a parlor, private dining room, bedroom and bath room with toilet while eight other suites had all but the dining room.[3] Twelve deluxe rooms had a large bedroom with bathroom and toilet.[3]
The liner was 19,400 GRT and was 215.29 metres (706 ft 4 in) length overall,[2][3] 208.89 metres (685 ft 4 in) length between perpendiculars, by 22.00 metres (72 ft 2 in)abeam. She had four reciprocating,quadruple-expansionsteam engines, two per shaft. There were twoscrew propellers.Kronprinzessin Cecilie sailed at a comfortable 23knots (43 km/h; 26 mph).
In 1907 Wiegard trustedEduard Scotland andAlfred Runge with the interior design of the ship. They designed luxury cabins where the beds would convert to sofas and the washstands would convert into tables. All of the metalwork wasgilded; the surfaces were generally white while the wooden surfaces of violetamaranth were inlaid with agate, ivory andcitron wood.[6]
First-Class passengers had access to a smoking room, music room, reading, library and writing room, bookshop, and two "Vienna Cafés" decorated in theLouis XVI style. One café was for smokers and the other ladies-only.[7] The smokers' café had an open-air section which could be enclosed in bad weather by bronze and glass doors. The ladies' café was modeled after the boudoir ofMarie Antoinette at thePalace of Fontainebleau. The First-class smoking room was decorated in the "modern Roman style", according toThe Marine Review, with painted scenes ofMecklenburg, the home of the ships' namesakeCrown Princess Cecilie, decorating the walls. The dining saloon was illuminated from a skylight four decks above and its walls were upholstered in blue silk tapestry. The saloon's seating was innovative in that it dispensed with the long tables typical of other liners, instead featuring 76 round tables seating two, five or seven people. There was also a separate children's dining room aboard.[7]
Named afterCrown Princess Cecilie of Prussia, she was launched by her father in lawWilhelm II, German Emperor. In July 1907, the newKronprinzessin Cecilie was planned to leaveBremerhaven on her maiden voyage. However, before the voyage could take place, the ship sank in Bremerhaven harbour. It was not until the next month on 6 August, had the ship been pumped out and repaired, before finally setting out.[5]
In comparison with a $2,500 first-class-suite ticket, the immigrant could sail onKronprinzessin Cecilie for a mere $25—one hundred times cheaper.[5]
The interiors of the "four flyers",[5] as they were called, were special. The entire ship was fitted with the best of craftsmanship Germany could offer; the salons were full of ornamented wood and gilded mirrors. While her sister,Kaiser Wilhelm II was thought by some to be too extravagant,Kronprinzessin Cecilie was a popular ship.[5] Some of her first-class suites were fitted with dining rooms so the passengers who booked the suite could dine in private if they did not wish to take their meals in the main restaurant. Also, a fish tank was placed in the kitchen, providing first-class passengers with the freshest of fish.[5] In what was a novelty at the time, first-class passengers in the dining saloon could chooseà la carte dishes for no extra charge instead of being limited to a fixed menu.[7]
The liner operated on North German Lloyd's transatlantic route travelling fromBremen, with occasional calls at other ports, including Boston andNew Orleans. The ship was steaming toward Germany from America with Captain Charles Polack,[8] who had succeededDietrich Hogemann in 1913,[9] when she received word of the outbreak of war. In addition to 1,216 passengers, including some British reservist, she was carryingUS$10,679,000 in gold andUS$3 million in silver.[10] The ship, bound for Bremen, was nearingLiverpool when directed to head back to the closest port in the neutral United States to avoid capture by the British Navy and French cruisers.[10][11] Captain Polack had her normally all-bufffunnels painted with black tops so as to resemble the linerOlympic or another ship of the BritishWhite Star Line as a form of disguise.[4][12]
Due to the liner's dwindling fuel,Bar Harbor, Maine, though not a large port, was selected with the ship being brought on 4 August 1914 piloted by a local banker and yachtsman as none of the ship's officers were familiar with the port.[10] North German Lloyd representatives met in Washington with officials of the departments ofState,Treasury,Commerce and theUnited States Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS) with the resultUSRC Androscoggin was ordered to Bar Harbor to prevent unauthorized departure of foreign vessels but primarily to protect the transfer of gold and silver, as well as all mail and passengers, fromKronprinzessin Cecilie to shore to be transported by train to New York.[10]Androscoggin, joined by the destroyerUSS Warrington, arrived at Bar Harbor on 6 August with wild speculation in the press.[10] On 7 November the ship moved toBoston where she was to remain while civil suits against the ship were resolved in federal court.[13]
Kronprinzessin Cecilie was commandeered by the United States on 3 February 1917 and transferred from the United States Shipping Board (USSB) to the U.S. Navy when America entered the war that April. She was commissioned 28 July 1917 and renamed USSMount Vernon afterGeorge Washington'sVirginia home. She was fitted out at Boston to carry troops andmateriel to Europe.[2]
Mount Vernon left New York forBrest on 31 October 1917 for her first U.S. Navy crossing, and during the war made nine successful voyages carrying American troops to fight in Europe. However, early on the morning of 5 September 1918, as the transport steamed homeward in convoy some 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the French coast, her No. 1 gun crew spotted a periscope some 500 yards (460 m) off her starboard bow.Mount Vernon immediately fired one round at GermanU-boatU-82. The U‑boat simultaneously submerged, but managed to launch a torpedo at the transport.Mount Vernon's officer of the deck promptly ordered right full rudder, but the ship could not turn in time to avoid the missile, which struck her amidships, knocking out half of her boilers, flooding the midsection, and killing 36 sailors and injuring 13.Mount Vernon's guns kept firing ahead of the U‑boat's wake and her crew launched a pattern ofdepth charges. Damage-control teams worked to save the ship, and their efforts paid off when the transport was able to return to Brest under her own power. Repaired temporarily at Brest, she proceeded to Boston for complete repairs.[2]
Mount Vernon rejoined theCruiser and Transport Service in February 1919 and sailed onWashington's Birthday for France to begin returning veterans to the United States.Mount Vernon pulled out of port on 3 March 1919 at 11 PM to return to the United States. Some of her notable passengers during her naval service were: AdmiralWilliam S. Benson,Chief of Naval Operations; GeneralTasker H. Bliss,Chief of Staff of the United States Army; Col.Edward M. House, Special Adviser to PresidentWilson; andNewton D. Baker,Secretary of War.[2]
On 17 October 1919Mount Vernon was transferred to theWar Department for operation by the Army Transport Service where the ship was assigned to the Army's Pacific fleet based at Fort Mason in San Francisco.[14] USATMount Vernon made one trip between March and July 1920 toVladivostok, Russia embarking elements of theCzechoslovak Legion to be disembarked atTrieste, Italy and 300 German prisoners of war forHamburg, Germany.[14] On return the ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board and laid up atSolomons Island, Maryland.[14]
At the outbreak ofWorld War II in 1939, the Americans offered the formerKronprinzessin Cecilie to the British as atroop transport, who declined as they considered her too old.[5] The ship was scrapped in Boston, Massachusetts, the demolition began on 13 September 1940.[2][14]
... had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted to a ship.
when Captain Charles Polack of the North German Lloyd arrives in New York tomorrow, In command of the Cecilie, from London, Paris and Bremen, ...
After the North German Lloyd liner Kronprinzessin Cecilie, arriving from Bremen yesterday, had been made fast to her pier in Hoboken Capt. Dietrich Hogemann, Commodore of the fleet, announced that it was his last voyage, and that Capt. Charles Polack of the George Washington would succeed him.
The steamer Kronprinzessin Cecilie of the North German Lloyd Line, which has been interned here for three months, will sail at 4 o'clock tomorrow morning for Boston, where she will remain pending the determination of civil suits against her owners in the Federal courts.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1918 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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