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Germany's Pride and Joy
The prowess of German engineering is renowned around the world. This was no different in the maritime world. In the late 1800s NDL (Norddeutscher Lloyd) was the shipping giant of the day, using new technology to build astonishing ships. Such vessels include the legendary Kaiser-Class; the first four stackers ever built. But in the 1910s the British merchant fleet rose to challenge the Germans', and after WWI they fell from grace. The Kaiser-Class liners were captured by the allies, and only 2 decades later their fleet was again obliterated in WWII, and Germany would never recover it's merchant fleet. From stardom to downfall, here is the story of how, at the start of the 20th century, Germany ruled the waves.
Smoking room onboard SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse
The Kaiser-Class
Motivated by Increased competition from rivals, the first major set of German ships were laid down by NDL in 1896; the Kaiser-Class, or 'Kaiserklasse' in German (also called the 'four flyers.') The class consisted of four liners; SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, SS Kronprinz Wilhelm, SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the largest of the four, SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie. Named after the members of the German imperial family, they were the world's first four-funneled liners. They laid the foundations for the success of Lusitania and her sisters, and later, the Olympic Class liners.
The first of the 'Kaisers', SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, was laid down at AG Vulcan shipyard in 1896; launched that same year by the emperor himself. The maiden voyage gathered a great deal of media attention and startled NDL's rivals. Only two years later in 1898 she captured the Blue Riband (a prize for the fastest Transatlantic crossing; highly coveted at the time.) Although the Riband was taken from the ship by NDL's competitors in 1900 she would make strides in other areas, becoming one of the first ocean liners equipped with a Marconi wireless system.
Seeing the immensely profitable results of der Grosse, NDL quickly ordered a sister ship. The SS Kronprinz Wilhelm was launched in 1901 as a slightly modified version of der Gross. Initially she enjoyed the success that her older sister had experienced after she was launched, even winning the Blue Riband back, but that was quickly stolen from her by the SS Deutschland.
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II was the third sister to be built for the class, and her career greatly reflects her sisters. Launched in 1902 and sailing her maiden voyage a year later, she too would go on to capture the Blue Riband for NDL; it was only stolen in 1907 by Cunard's Lusitania. She was significantly larger than her sisters before her, coming in at around 5,000 GRTs heavier and 60-70 feet longer than the Kronprinz.
The final vessel of the four flyers, and the largest and most luxurious, was the SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie. By this point, you know the drill. She was a successful liner in every way; she was popular, profitable, and enjoyable for her passengers. Until WWI.
The passenger careers of all four liners would be cut short by the beginning of WWI, and none of them would come out of the conflict as German liners. Three of them would be seized by the US, but der Grosse would be scuttled in battle to prevent capture. In the hands of the United States they would slowly be scrapped and decommissioned. A sad end indeed for the four flyers.
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie
Into the Modern Age
NDL was facing a problem. A big one. Ever since the Lusitania Kaiser-Class they had become irrelevant. The British lines like White Star and Cunard had been building ever better liners than they could. They needed to take back control over the Atlantic, but how could they? At the end of WWI Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, under which almost all of the vessels in NDL's prewar fleet were confiscated by the allies. They spent the 1920s slowly expanding their operations back to 1900s levels, and by the end of the decade they had somehow made enough money to build their biggest ships ever, a set of twin superliners.
SS Bremen and SS Europa would, for a time, bring Germany back from the dead and restart the German Transatlantic trade. The two sisters were larger than any German ship yet built, coming in at around 50,000 GRTs. But their real key to success was their speed. The German sisters famously introduced the bulbous bow to ship design, eventually evolving into the weird knobs that we see at the bows of cruise ships today. This, combined with an aerodynamic design, gave Bremen and Europa unparalleled speed, and they would both go on to capture the Blue Riband for Germany, but tensions in Europe were building again.
As it turned out, the Treaty of Versailles royally screwed up relationships between those who fought in the war. Germany had been essentially reduced the bare bones of a country, Japan got ripped off, and Italy was just... really mad for some reason. And then a guy with a silly little mustache comes along, inspires the German people and somehow build alliances with Japan and Italy to form the Axis powers. You know what happens next.
SS Bremen
WWII
So, Germany goes to war. And at first it goes very well for them. They capture most the European continent, even annexing France. But in the end, the Axis are doomed to fail. Britain, America, and the other allies are able to fore their way back into Europe and storm into Berlin, and Germany surrenders.
After the war, Norddeutscher Lloyd was essentially destroyed. Almost their entire feet was requisitioned by the German government, and it was decimated. The entire Kaiser-Class was
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