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SS Amerika (1905)
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SS Amerika (1905)
SS Amerika was a transatlantic ocean liner and a troop transport for the United States during both world wars. She was launched in 1905 as Amerika by Harland & Wolff in Belfast for the Hamburg America Line of Germany. As a passenger liner, she sailed primarily between Hamburg and New York. On 14 April 1912, Amerika transmitted a wireless message about icebergs near the same area where RMS Titanic struck one and sank less than three hours later. At the outset of the war, Amerika was docked at Boston; rather than risk seizure by the British Royal Navy, she remained in port for the next three years.
Hours before the American entry into World War I, Amerika was seized and placed under control of the United States Shipping Board (USSB). Later transferred to the U.S. Navy for use as a troop transport, she was initially commissioned as USS Amerika with Naval Registry Identification Number 3006 (ID-3006), but her name was soon Anglicized to America. As America she transported almost 40,000 troops to France. She sank at her mooring in Hoboken in 1918, but was soon raised and reconditioned. After the Armistice, America transported more than 51,000 troops back home from Europe. In 1919, she was handed over to the War Department for use by the United States Army as USAT America, under whose control she remained until 1920.
Returned to the USSB in 1920, America was initially assigned to the United States Mail Steamship Company, and later, after that company's demise, to United States Lines, for which she plied the North Atlantic on Bremen to New York routes. In March 1926, due to an oil leak from inside the ship, near the end of one of her periodic refits, America suffered a fire that raged for seven hours and burned nearly all of her passenger cabins. Despite almost $2,000,000 in damage, the ship was rebuilt and back in service by the following year. In April 1931, America ended her service for the United States Lines and was laid up for almost nine years.
In October 1940, America was reactivated for the U.S. Army and renamed USAT Edmund B. Alexander. After establishing the Newfoundland Base Command and a stint as a barracks ship at St. John's, Newfoundland in January–May 1941, Edmund B. Alexander was refitted for use as a troopship for World War II duty. She was first placed on a New Orleans to Panama route, but later transferred to trooping between New York and European ports. At the end of the war, Edmund B. Alexander was converted to carry military dependents, remaining in that service until 1949. She was placed in reserve until sold for scrapping in January 1957.
Amerika was a steel-hulled, 22,225 gross register tons, twin-screw, steam passenger liner. She was launched on 20 April 1905 at Belfast, by the shipbuilding firm Harland & Wolff. Built for the Hamburg America Line, the steamer entered transatlantic service in the autumn of 1905, when she left Hamburg on 11 October, bound for New York City. The night before her inaugural voyage on 19 June 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II boarded the ship and dined on a menu created by Auguste Escoffier, the French chef who was in charge of organizing the restaurant on board Amerika.
A slightly larger sister ship, Kaiserin Auguste Victoria was being built at the same time at Hamburg and would remain the largest ship in the world until the Lusitania. Easily one of the most luxurious passenger vessels to sail the seas, Amerika entered upper New York Bay on 20 October, reaching the Hamburg America piers at Hoboken, New Jersey, in mid-afternoon. Some 2,000 people turned out to watch her as she was moored near her consorts at the Hamburg America Line which were bedecked in colorful bunting in nearby slips.
From 1905 to 1914, Amerika plied the North Atlantic trade routes touching at Cherbourg, France, while steaming between Hamburg and New York. Toward the end of that period, her itinerary was altered so that the ship also called at Boulogne, France, and Southampton, England.
On 14 April 1912, a ship's officer sent a telegram message to the Hydrographic Office in Washington, D.C. reporting that the ship "passed two large icebergs in 41 27N 50 8W on the 14th of April" signed "Knutp, 10;51p[m]". This message was, coincidentally, relayed by the Marconi operator on Titanic to the station at Cape Race because the transmitter of Amerika was not powerful enough to reach Cape Race directly.
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SS Amerika (1905) AI simulator
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SS Amerika (1905)
SS Amerika was a transatlantic ocean liner and a troop transport for the United States during both world wars. She was launched in 1905 as Amerika by Harland & Wolff in Belfast for the Hamburg America Line of Germany. As a passenger liner, she sailed primarily between Hamburg and New York. On 14 April 1912, Amerika transmitted a wireless message about icebergs near the same area where RMS Titanic struck one and sank less than three hours later. At the outset of the war, Amerika was docked at Boston; rather than risk seizure by the British Royal Navy, she remained in port for the next three years.
Hours before the American entry into World War I, Amerika was seized and placed under control of the United States Shipping Board (USSB). Later transferred to the U.S. Navy for use as a troop transport, she was initially commissioned as USS Amerika with Naval Registry Identification Number 3006 (ID-3006), but her name was soon Anglicized to America. As America she transported almost 40,000 troops to France. She sank at her mooring in Hoboken in 1918, but was soon raised and reconditioned. After the Armistice, America transported more than 51,000 troops back home from Europe. In 1919, she was handed over to the War Department for use by the United States Army as USAT America, under whose control she remained until 1920.
Returned to the USSB in 1920, America was initially assigned to the United States Mail Steamship Company, and later, after that company's demise, to United States Lines, for which she plied the North Atlantic on Bremen to New York routes. In March 1926, due to an oil leak from inside the ship, near the end of one of her periodic refits, America suffered a fire that raged for seven hours and burned nearly all of her passenger cabins. Despite almost $2,000,000 in damage, the ship was rebuilt and back in service by the following year. In April 1931, America ended her service for the United States Lines and was laid up for almost nine years.
In October 1940, America was reactivated for the U.S. Army and renamed USAT Edmund B. Alexander. After establishing the Newfoundland Base Command and a stint as a barracks ship at St. John's, Newfoundland in January–May 1941, Edmund B. Alexander was refitted for use as a troopship for World War II duty. She was first placed on a New Orleans to Panama route, but later transferred to trooping between New York and European ports. At the end of the war, Edmund B. Alexander was converted to carry military dependents, remaining in that service until 1949. She was placed in reserve until sold for scrapping in January 1957.
Amerika was a steel-hulled, 22,225 gross register tons, twin-screw, steam passenger liner. She was launched on 20 April 1905 at Belfast, by the shipbuilding firm Harland & Wolff. Built for the Hamburg America Line, the steamer entered transatlantic service in the autumn of 1905, when she left Hamburg on 11 October, bound for New York City. The night before her inaugural voyage on 19 June 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II boarded the ship and dined on a menu created by Auguste Escoffier, the French chef who was in charge of organizing the restaurant on board Amerika.
A slightly larger sister ship, Kaiserin Auguste Victoria was being built at the same time at Hamburg and would remain the largest ship in the world until the Lusitania. Easily one of the most luxurious passenger vessels to sail the seas, Amerika entered upper New York Bay on 20 October, reaching the Hamburg America piers at Hoboken, New Jersey, in mid-afternoon. Some 2,000 people turned out to watch her as she was moored near her consorts at the Hamburg America Line which were bedecked in colorful bunting in nearby slips.
From 1905 to 1914, Amerika plied the North Atlantic trade routes touching at Cherbourg, France, while steaming between Hamburg and New York. Toward the end of that period, her itinerary was altered so that the ship also called at Boulogne, France, and Southampton, England.
On 14 April 1912, a ship's officer sent a telegram message to the Hydrographic Office in Washington, D.C. reporting that the ship "passed two large icebergs in 41 27N 50 8W on the 14th of April" signed "Knutp, 10;51p[m]". This message was, coincidentally, relayed by the Marconi operator on Titanic to the station at Cape Race because the transmitter of Amerika was not powerful enough to reach Cape Race directly.
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