SS Frankfurt

The SS ''Frankfurt'' was a German steamship built by Joh. C. Tecklenborg. First launched on 17 December 1899, ''Frankfurt'' was first operated under Norddeutscher Lloyd. It took frequent passages between Germany and the United States from 1900 to 1918. Many of its passengers were migrants. In 1919, ''Frankfurt'' was acquired by the White Star Line after it was surrendered to the United Kingdom in World War I. In 1922, ''Frankfurt'' was then sold to the Oriental Navigation Company in British Hong Kong, where it was renamed ''Sarvistan''.

In 1912, it was one of the first ships to respond to the distress signals from .

History

The ''Frankfurt'' was built by Joh. C. Tecklenborg in Geestemunde (present-day Bremerhaven, Germany), and the second of its namesake to be launched for Norddeutscher Lloyd on 17 December 1899. Most of the ship's activity prior to the First World War was transporting mainly German and Austrian migrants to the United States. On 31 March 1900, its maiden voyage started from Bremen to Baltimore. On 25 December 1901, ''Frankfurt'' took the first trip to Galveston, Texas, after which it took frequent trips from Bremen to either Baltimore, Galveston, or both. In 1908, it sailed to South America. Then, starting in 1910, it started the first of many voyages from Bremen to Philadelphia to Galveston. In 1914, it took voyages from Bremen, to Boston, and then to New Orleans. At the conclusion of the First World War, ''Frankfurt'' was surrendered to the United Kingdom and was acquired by the White Star Line in 1919. In 1922, the ship was sold to the Oriental Navigation Company in British Hong Kong and renamed ''Sarvistan''. In 1931, it was scrapped in Japan.

Sinking of the RMS ''Titanic''

At roughly 12:15 AM (''Titanic'''s time) on 15 April 1912, while eastbound from Galveston to Bremerhaven, ''Frankfurt'' was the first vessel to respond to distress signals from the . Under the orders of Captain Edward John Smith, ''Titanic's'' wireless operator, Jack Phillips, tried to reach out to ''Frankfurt'' to acknowledge his position. However, ''Frankfurt's'' operator, W. Zippel, only answered with "Standby". It can only be speculated whether he informed his captain at this time. At 12:38 ''Frankfurt'' sent its position to ''Titanic'' and was told by Phillips to inform his bridge and come to assistance. At this time the ''Frankfurt'' was between 120 and 150 nautical miles away from the Titanic. This already made it difficult for ''Frankfurt'''s wireless operator to hear and understand ''Titanic'''s calls. According to some reports the ''Frankfurt'''s wireless signal strength indicate that she was actually closer to the ''Titanic'' (According to the wireless operator on ''Mount Temple'' and the surviving wireless operator on ''Titanic'', Harold Bride). However, this is most likely due to a more powerful wireless transmitter installed in the ''Frankfurt'' compared to the surrounding ships.

At around 1:23 AM, ''Titanic's'' wireless transmitter lost power, hence debilitating her communication with ''Frankfurt'' and many other ships responding to her distress calls. As ''Frankfurt'' was no longer receiving calls from ''Titanic'', Zippel tried to regain contact with her with the message "What is the matter with you?", which had unintentionally angered Phillips. Phillips, frustrated that the ''Frankfurt'' had seemed not to have known the situation the whole time after receiving ''Titanic's'' first distress call, answered: "You fool! You stand by and keep out!". However, this was most likely not heard by ''Frankfurt'''s operator due to the distance between the ships and ''Titanic'''s fading signal strength.

George Behe of the Titanic Historical Society pointed out that Zippel, at the time of Phillips' outrage, was well aware of the seriousness of ''Titanic's'' situation. Even though Hattorff did not know the actual scope of the situation, he assumed it to be the worst with the limited details he had. He even assumed that the ''Titanic'' went down at 1:23 AM since that was the last time that he heard a message from ''Titanic.''

Once the ''Titanic's'' situation was realized, according to ''Überall'' (a German magazine), the ''Frankfurt's'' captain, Hattorff, steered toward the ''Titanic'''s position at full speed. He ordered the ship's galley to bake bread and the crew to provide blankets for the passengers they would rescue. Captain Hattorff estimated that by the given coordinates, he could make it to the site by 11:00 AM.

The ''Frankfurt'' was the first to notify the , the closest ship to the ''Titanic'', that it had sunk overnight.

Frankfurt Seamount, one of the Fogo Seamounts southeast of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic Ocean, is named after ''Frankfurt''.

Annotations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankfurt
1899 ships
Steamships of Germany
RMS Titanic
Maritime incidents in 1912
Steamships of the United Kingdom
Ships of the White Star Line