Saturday, September 17, 2011

the ship Amerika


Built in 1905 by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, the same shipyard that built the Titanic, the Hamburg America Line ship Amerika was appropriately the first liner to warn the Titanic of icebergs.

The ship withdrew from service on 1 August 1914 and was seized by the US after America's entry into WW1 in 1917. The name re-spelt with the k replaced by a c, she served thereafter variously with the US Navy, United States Shipping Board and US Army until being scrapped in 1957.

Original German specifications
Tonnage: 22,250 grt
Length: 669 ft (204 m)
Beam: 74 ft (23 metres)
Depth:  53 ft
Water displacement: 41,000 tons
Propulsion: 2 steam engines, twin screws, 15,800 hp
Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Passenger capacity:
550 first class
300 second class
250 third class
2,300 Zwischendeck (fourth class)

Crew: 577
The Fahrtdauer or journey time from Cherbourg to New York was given as 7.5 days.

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