SS ''Normannia'' was a German

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of 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). Ca ...

owned by the

Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent citi ...

and built by

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy ...

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. She was launched on Sunday, 9 February 1890.

Career

Hamburg America Line

''Normannia'' was the largest and most powerful vessel built by that yard at the time, and was the third in a quartet of similar vessels built to form Hamburg America Line's new weekly express service operating from Hamburg to New York via Southampton. A year earlier ''

AG Vulcan Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin (short AG Vulcan Stettin) was a German shipbuilding and locomotive building company. Founded in 1851, it was located near the former eastern German city of Stettin, today Polish Szczecin. Because of the limited ...

'' in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

had built the first of the class, the slightly smaller '' SS Augusta Victoria''; while Laird Brother's at

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

in the UK had built the second: ''

SS Columbia SS ''Columbia'' is the last remaining excursion steamship from the turn of the 20th century in existence, the second to last being her running mate and sister ship SS ''Ste. Claire'' which burned in 2018. Both were designed by Frank E. Kirby a ...

''. The last ship of quartet to be constructed was the '' SS Fürst Bismarck'', also built in Stettin and launched towards the end of 1890. The construction of the ''Normannia'' was supervised by a contingent of German representatives of the Hamburg American Line including marine superintendent Captain Meyer and superintendent engineer Mr. E. Ritschard. She had twin screws driven by two triple-expansion engines located in two separate engine-rooms, each set having three cylinders.''Engineering'', 12 September 1890, p. 321 Her electrical installation was by Siemans and comprised four dynamos and 1100 Edison-Swan lamps.''Engineering'', 29 August 1890, p. 247-248 The design and construction of her interior was carried out by the Bembe Furniture Factory, of Mainz, Germany. As was typical of German liners of the period, her interior was lavish and gaudy, with her leading features being heavy gilt mouldings and wall and ceiling frescoes by eminent German artists. On her official speed trials in the Firth of Clyde, she averaged just under 21 knots, and on her maiden trip from Southampton to New York her average speed was 19.25 knots. Her guaranteed speed was 19 knots. In January 1894, ''Normannia'' was hit and badly damaged by a freak wave en route from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. The wave was reported as being "mast high". Several deck houses were damaged, along with part of her promenade deck, and parts of steerage area were flooded with six feet of water. Seven men and the second officer were badly injured.''Lloyd's List'', Wednesday 24 January 1894, P. 5

Later career

In 1898, she was purchased by the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

for use in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, and renamed the ''Patriota''. In service, her length was increased to . She was fitted with 4 5.5 inch guns which were also armored with 3.5 inch thick gun shields. She did not see much service during the war however. She was acquired in the following year by the French shipping company

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, and commonly named "Transat"), typically known overseas as the French Line, was a French shipping company. Established in 1855 by the Péreire brothers, brothers Émile and Issac Péreire under the ...

and was returned to commercial service under the name of ''L'Aquitaine'', where she remained until she was finally scrapped in September 1906.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Normannia Steamships of Germany 1890 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Steamships of France Steamships of Spain Ships of the Spanish Navy Passenger ships of Germany Passenger ships of France Passenger ships of Spain