SS Imperator as RMS Berengaria.
Career
Flags:	Germany 1912-1920 Great Britain 1920-1946
Launched:	23 May 1912
Fate:	Broken up, 1946
General characteristics
Tonnage:	52,117 gross tons
Length:	919 ft 8 in
Beam:	98 ft 1 in
Speed:	23 knots
Passengers:	4,234; 908 first class, 592 second class, 962 third class, 1,772 steerage
Crew:	1,180

SS Imperator, later renamed RMS Berengaria, was the first of a trio of successively larger ocean liners that included the Vaterland and the Bismarck built by the German HAPAG Line for the transatlantic passenger service. Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving a Propeller An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one Seaport to another along regular long-distance Maritime routes according to a schedule Note "SS Leviathan" was also an early name for the 19th century ship launched as the SS Great Eastern. Construction and handover The Majestic was built by the Blohm & Voss shipbuilders in Hamburg, Germany and was launched on 20 June Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container Shipping line Hapag-Lloyd Container Line, and a cruise The term transatlantic refers to something occurring all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. At the time of her launch, she was the largest passenger ship in the world. Following World War I, the Imperator was handed over to Britain's Cunard Line as part of war reparations, and she sailed as the Cunard flagship Berengaria for the final decade of her career. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Cunard Line is a British shipping company operator of the Ocean liners RMS ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' ( QE2) RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' ( World War I reparations refers to the payments and transfers of property and equipment that the German country was forced to make under the Treaty of Versailles (1919 following

History

A rendering of the Imperator made at the time of her fitting-out.

The first plates of her keel were laid in 1910 at the Vulcan Shipyards in Hamburg, and she made her maiden voyage in 1913. In boats and ships keel can refer to either of two parts a structural element or a hydrodynamic element Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin (usually just mentioned as AG Vulcan Stettin or A Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany At 51,680 gross tons, the Imperator was the largest ship in the world until the Vaterland sailed in 1914.

Before her launch on 23 May 1912, in order to make her longer than the RMS Aquitania, which was under construction at the time, she was fitted with a large bronze eagle gracing her forepeak with a banner emblazoned with HAPAG's motto Mein Feld ist die Welt ("My field is the world"). Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Origin The origins of Aquitania lay in the rivalry between the White Star Line and Cunard, Britain 's two leading shipping companies Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus Eagles are large birds of prey which are members of the Bird order Falconiformes and family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group The eagle's wings were later torn off in an Atlantic storm, and it was removed.

The Imperator was discovered to be too top heavy due to the heavy fittings in her upper (first class) decks and the high funnels that graced her upper half. In order to correct the problem, concrete was poured along the ship's bottom, her funnels were trimmed by 9 feet, and much of the heavy material used in the fitting out of her upper decks was replaced with lighter material. Concrete is a construction material composed of Cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as Fly ash and Slag These measures only partially helped; due to her tendency to roll because of the top heaviness, Imperator was even nicknamed "Limperator".

Among her luxurious features, the Imperator introduced a two-deck high "Pompeiian" style swimming pool for her first-class passengers.

Cultural Reference

The RMS Berengaria is also the vessel that takes the protagonists of the novel The Beautiful and Damned, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, to Europe in search of a new start after the events of the novel. The use of the ship may be a link to the fact that she was renowned as a prohibition-dodging ship, and would link to the alcoholism of the main character Anthony Patch, who also flouted the laws of prohibition in the novel.

World War I and service with Cunard

At the outbreak of World War I, the Imperator was laid up at Hamburg and inactive for the duration of hostilities. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All After the war she was given to the US Navy for use as a transport for returning troops. In order to make reparations to the various Allied governments, nearly all of Germany's greatest ocean liners were turned over to their respective transatlantic passenger lines. War reparations refer to the monetary compensation intended to cover damage or injury during a war The Entente Powers (from Triple Entente) were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one Seaport to another along regular long-distance Maritime routes according to a schedule The Imperator, after her service with the US Navy, was given to the Cunard Line to replace the RMS Lusitania in 1920. Cunard Line is a British shipping company operator of the Ocean liners RMS ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' ( QE2) RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' ( Construction and trials Owned by the Cunard Steamship Company built by John Brown and Company Lusitania was named for the ancient Roman province of Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar

In addition to some refitting, Cunard renamed the Imperator after Queen Berengaria, the wife of Richard the Lionheart. Berengaria (Berenguela Bérengère c 1165-1170 – 23 December 1230 was the eldest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile Richard I (8 September 1157 &ndash 6 April 1199 was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death This was the first Cunard ship not to carry the name of a Roman province; the name still stayed with the tradition of ships that ended with "ia. In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa " She entered service with Cunard in May 1922. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

The Berengaria served as flagship of the Cunard fleet until she was replaced by her sister ship, the RMS Majestic – originally HAPAG's SS Bismarck – in 1934. Construction and handover The Majestic was built by the Blohm & Voss shipbuilders in Hamburg, Germany and was launched on 20 June In later years, she was used for cheap prohibition-dodging cruises, which earned her the unfortunate nickname "Bargain-area". Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol Towards the end of her service life she suffered several electrical fires caused by aging wiring and Cunard decided to retire her and sent her to the breakers in 1938. However, she was not broken up until after the Second World War, in 1946. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

References

• Atlantic Liners: A Trio of Trios, by J. Kent Layton
• Ocean Liners, by Oliver le Goff
• The Beautiful and Damned, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

External links

• Imperator / Berengaria Home at Atlantic Liners.
• US Naval Historical Center page on the Imperator
• Ship's page at ocean-liners.com