SS ''Königin Luise'' ("Queen Louise") was a built in 1896 by Vulcan Shipbuilding Corp. of

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, for the

North German Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...

line of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

. She served on the company's Australian, Far East, and North Atlantic routes for nearly two decades. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, ''Königin Luise'' was one of only two ships of her class to avoid being

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

in neutral ports, spending the war in German ports. After the war, ''Königin Luise'' was allocated as

war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. War reparations can take the form of hard currency, precious metals, natural resources, in ...

to the United Kingdom, sold to the

Orient Steam Navigation Company The Orient Steam Navigation Company, also known as the Orient Line, was a British shipping company with roots going back to the late 18th century. From the early 20th century onwards, an association began with P&O which became 51% shareholde ...

in 1921 and renamed ''Omar''. She was sold again in 1924 to the Byron SS Co of London and operated on the Piraeus – New York service until scrapped in 1935.

''Königin Luise''

''Königin Luise'' was built by AG Vulcan for the

(NDL) line and completed 17 March 1896. Along with her sister ships , and , the ''Königin Luise'' worked Australian, Far East, and North Atlantic routes for NDL. On Australian and Far East voyages she used the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

, and was one of the largest ships regularly using the canal. At the outbreak of World War I ''Königin Luise'' was in port in Germany, thus avoiding internment, and due to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

blockade, she was laid up. Following the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

, she was allocated as

to the UK, and was surrendered to the UK Shipping Controller on 10 April 1919. She was allocated to the

. In mid 1919, she departed from Devonport, England, carrying Australian troops returning home, including

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

winner James Park Woods. On 20 October 1919, British troops embarked her (now described as HT ''Konigin Luise'') in India to travel to England. On 8 September 1920, during third London – Australia voyage, she collided at

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

with the British steamship ''Loughborough'', which sank.

''Omar''

In January 1921 the ship was sold to the Orient Steam Navigation Company, which renamed her ''Omar''.

''Edison''

The ship was again sold in July 1924 to Byron SS Co. of London, and renamed ''Edison''. She worked the Piraeus – New York route until being scrapped in 1935 in Italy.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konigin Luise 1896 ships Barbarossa-class ocean liners Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Stettin Ships of Norddeutscher Lloyd Steamships of the United Kingdom