Hamburg America Line - Notable Journeys

Notable Journeys

  • During 1858, its liner Austria sank, killing 449 people.
  • During 1900, 1901 and 1903 its liner Deutschland won the Blue Riband taking the prize from the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.
  • During 1906, Prinzessin Victoria Luise ran aground off the coast of Jamaica. No lives were lost by the grounding, however, the ship's captain committed suicide after getting all the passengers safely off the ship.

HAPAG's leader, Alfred Balin, believed that safety, size, comfort and luxury would always win out over speed. Thus he conceived the three largest liners yet build, to be named Imperator, Vaterland and Bismarck. The first two were briefly in service before the First World War, Vaterland being caught at Hoboken, NJ and interned in 1914. She was seized and renamed Leviathan by the United States after the declaration of war on Germany in 1917, and served for the duration and beyond as a troopship. After the war, she was retained by the Americans, while her sisters, Imperator, and the unfinished Bismarck were seized by Britain and sold to Cunard and White Star, respectively, and renamed Berengaria and Majestic.

  • During 1912, its liner Amerika was the first ship to warn Titanic of icebergs.
  • During 1917, its liner Allemannia was "orpedoed by German submarine near Alicante", 2 people were lost
  • During 1939, its liner St. Louis, was unable to find a port in Cuba, the United States, or Canada willing to accept the more than 950 Jewish refugees on board and had to return to Europe.

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