VATERLAND passenger ship 1914.

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aukepalmhof
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VATERLAND passenger ship 1914.

Post by aukepalmhof » Sun Nov 15, 2009 8:26 pm

The vessel depict on the stamp is given as VATERLAND but the funnel colours are more the colours of the United State Lines.

She was built as a passenger liner for the North Atlantic under yard No 212 by Blohm & Voss, Steinwerder, near Hamburg, Germany for the Hamburg-Amerika Linie, Hamburg.
She was laid down under the name EUROPA, but when launched at the request of the Kaiser renamed.
03 April 1913 launched under the name VATERLAND (home country), christened by Prince Rubert of Bayern.
Tonnage 54.282 gross, 27.696 net, dim. 277.6 x 30.6 x 17.4m., length bpp. 268.83m.
Powered by 4 direct acting triple expansion Parsons steam engines, manufactured by Vulkan, 62.000 shp, four shafts, speed 25.5 knots. Bunker capacity 8.500 tons of coal.
Passenger accommodation for 714 first class, 401 second, 962 third and 1.772 steerage passengers. Crew 1234.
She carried three funnels of which the third funnel was a dummy for ventilating shafts.
29 April 1914 completed.

At that time was she the largest vessel in the world, and special built for the service between Europe and North America.

14 May 1914 she sailed for her maiden voyage from Cuxhaven via Southampton, Cherbourg to New York.
When World War I broke out in 1914 she was on her fourth voyage and berthed in Hoboken, New Jersey.
She was there interned and laid up.
When the United States joined the Allies, she was seized on 04 April 1914 by the US Government.
The USS Navy took custody of the ship and which in July 1917 was commissioned as USS VATERLAND.
She was refitted in a troopship and in early September renamed in USS LEVIATHAN.
When her refit was completed she could carry 14.000 troops.

November 1917 she left Hoboken for a trial voyage to Cuba and back.
December she took troops to Liverpool, but repairs delayed her return in the USA till mid-February 1918.
Also her second voyage in March to Liverpool was hampered by repairs, she was that time in the U.K. painted in the “dazzle” camouflage scheme.
She began then on regular voyages between the U.S. and Brest delivering around 14.000 troops on each voyage.
When peace came in November 1918 she had carried 120.000 servicemen to the war zone in Europe.

Shortly thereafter she was painted gray and in December she commenced to bring back the American troops from Europe to the U.S.
Altogether she made 9 round-trips, she arrived for the last time with troops home in September 1919.
End October decommissioned and transferred to the U.S. Shipping Board.

She was again laid up at Hoboken.
1919 converted from coal to oil firing.
From 1920 till 1923 rebuilt in a passenger liner at Newport News and Shipbuilding & Dry-Dock.
Passenger accommodation for 750 first class, 535 second class, 2.000 third class passengers, tonnage 59.956 gross ton.
Transferred to the new formed United States Line as LEVIATHAN.

04 July 1923 sailed for her first voyage across the North Atlantic from New York to Cherbourg and Southampton.
She was never profitable due to her high running cost.
January 1926 accommodation only for first, second and tourist passengers.
April 1930 only passenger accommodation for first and tourist class.
1932 Tonnage 48.943 ton.
17 December 1931 last voyage from Southampton via Cherbourg to New York, after arrival laid up.
From 26 April 1932 she made 11 round voyages between New York, Plymouth, Cherbourg, Bremen, Southampton, Cherbourg to New York, after arrival laid up.
11 January 1933 resumed the service between New York to Southampton and Cherbourg.
25 April 1933 resumed service from New York to Plymouth, Cherbourg, Bremen, Southampton, Cherbourg to New York. She made only one round voyage and after return in New York again laid up due to the Depression.

09 June 1934 she sailed from New York to Plymouth, Le Havre, Southampton and return to New York.
19 September 1934 arrived at New York after she had made 5 round voyages, after arrival laid up again.

26 January 1938 sailed under her own power from New York for the breakers yard of Thos. W. Ward at Rosyth, Firth of Forth, Scotland, where she arrived on 14 February 1938 for scrapping.

Grenada Carriacou & Petite Martinique 2004 $1.25 sg?, scott?

Source: North Atlantic Seaways by N.R.P. Bonsor. Merchant Fleets in profile, Vol. 4 by Duncan Haws.
http://www.history.nav.mil/photos/sh-us ... id1326.htm A google search will give plenty of hits on this vessel.
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