SS Fürst Bismarck (1905)

SS ' was a Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) ocean liner. She was launched in Scotland in 1905. In 1914 she was renamed '. In 1919 the United Kingdom seized her as World War I reparations. In 1921 Messageries Maritimes acquired her and renamed her '. She was scrapped in Italy in 1935.

The ship spent much of her HAPAG career on the route between Hamburg and Vera Cruz. For most of her Messageries Maritimes career her route was between Marseille and Haiphong.

She was the second HAPAG ocean liner to be named after Otto von Bismarck. HAPAG's first was launched in 1890 and sold to Russia in 1904.

Building

The ship was the first of a pair of sisters that HAPAG commissioned, one from the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Glasgow, and the other from Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel. They were laid down as ' and ' respectively, but launched as and .

The Fairfield ship was built as yard number 438. She was to have been named ', after either the House of Wettin or that family's Wettin Castle. But she was launched on 22 March 1905 as '. Her launch was filmed with a Lumière brothers cinematograph camera. She was completed on 19 June.

's registered length was , her beam was and her depth was . Her tonnages were , , and . She had five cargo hatches, 12 derricks, and 11 winches. of her cargo capacity was refrigerated. As built, she had berths for 1,587 passengers: 243 in first class; 44 in second class; and 1,300 in third class. Her passenger facilities included a gymnasium. Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed her interiors.

' had twin screws, each driven by a quadruple-expansion engine. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 783 NHP or 6,500 ihp, and gave her a speed of . Her fuel was coal, of which she burned 120 tons a day. She had a crew of 212.

When she was launched, HAPAG intended ' to be a floating sanatorium. She was to take convalescents on health cruises, and carry a staff of medical personnel. HAPAG planned her maiden voyage to start on 8 July, and to be a cruise around the British Isles and Norway. However, HAPAG abandoned the idea, and had her completed as a normal ocean liner, intended for its route between Genoa in Italy and Hoboken, New Jersey via Naples and Gibraltar.

''Fürst Bismarck''

HAPAG registered ' in Hamburg. Her code letters were RNQG. Her maiden voyage was from Hamburg to Hoboken. She left Hamburg on 19 August and reached Hoboken ten days later. That November she landed in Hoboken 48 Sioux who had been performing in France in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, and were going home to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

HAPAG transferred ' to its route between Italy and Hoboken, and then to its route was between Hamburg and Vera Cruz in Mexico via Havana, Cuba, which she worked with her sister ship . She left Hamburg on her first voyage on this route on 10 January 1906. Early in 1908 ' made at least one crossing from Hamburg to Hoboken. On one voyage she left Havana on 21 December 1909, and grounded in fog off Octeville on the Cotentin Peninsula of France on 6 January 1910. Her crew jettisoned part of her cargo, and she was refloated on 8 January. By 1910 she was equipped with submarine signalling and wireless telegraphy.

On 21 January 1912 ' collided in Kingston, Jamaica when manœuvering to dock. Her bridge had telegraphed to put her engines full astern, but the engineer officer on watch mistook the order for full ahead. She rammed through the Government pier, hit the police wharf, and destroyed the Harbourmaster's launch. The damage to the docks was estimated at $20,000. There were many people on the dock to meet the ship, but none was injured.

In April 1912 Francisco León de la Barra, former President of Mexico, returned from Europe to Vera Cruz aboard her. By 1913 her wireless call sign was DCI.

In January 1914 ' made a crossing from Hamburg to Boston via Boulogne. She faced continuously stormy weather from 11 to 15 January, one of her hatches was torn off, and part of her steerage passenger accommodation was flooded. She reached Boston on 17 January.

In April 1914 the USA caught the HAPAG ship gun-running for President Victoriano Huerta's army in the Mexican Revolution. After the " ''Ypiranga'' incident", the US was suspicious of any unusual activity by HAPAG ships. In May ' arrived in Mexico carrying arms, but did not unload them.

On 6 June 1914 ' arrived in New Orleans. She carried no passengers, and her arrival was unexpected. HAPAG said she was there to load 3,000 tons of "miscellaneous cargo" to take to Vera Cruz and Puerto Mexico (now Coatzacoalcos). It was rumoured that she was there to load arms. An inspection the next day disproved this, but the US government kept her under surveillance. On 9 June she left New Orleans. By 11 June it was rumoured that she would instead evacuate Huerta's family from Mexico.

''Friedrichsruh''

Later in 1914 ' was renamed ', after the family seat of the House of Bismarck. After the First World War began that August she was laid up in Hamburg. Between September and November 1917 she took part in the Oesel Operation in the Baltic.

In 1919 the United Kingdom seized the ship. The Shipping Controller took ownership of her, and appointed the Orient Steam Navigation Company to manage her. She was registered in London. Her UK official number was 143195 and her code letters were JWQB. The UK used her as a troop ship.

''Amboise''

In September 1921 Messageries Maritimes (MM) acquired ' and renamed her '. She was registered in Marseille and her code letters were OBUK. On 27 February 1922 she left Marseille for Haiphong in French Indochina via Saigon. She remained on this route until 1932. Thereafter she sailed occasionally to the Indian Ocean. By 1934 her call sign was FOAB, and this had superseded her code letters. She was scrapped in Genoa in 1935.

References

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1905 ships
Captured ships
Maritime incidents in 1910
Maritime incidents in 1912
Passenger ships of France
Passenger ships of Germany
Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Ships built in Govan
Ships of the Hamburg America Line
Steamships of France
Steamships of Germany
Steamships of the United Kingdom
World War I passenger ships of Germany