SS Saxonia (1899)

The first RMS ''Saxonia'' was a passenger ship of the British Cunard Line. Between 1900 and 1925, ''Saxonia'' operated on North Atlantic and Mediterranean passenger routes, and she saw military service during World War I (1914–1918).

''Saxonia''s sister ship was '' Ivernia''.

Design

Around 1900, the Cunard Line faced tight competition from the British White Star Line and the German lines Norddeutscher Lloyd and Hamburg America (HAPAG). Cunards largest liners, as of 1898 and , had a reputation for size and speed, both being of 12,950 gross register tons (grt) and having held the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. However, Norddeutscher Lloyds new liner had taken the Blue Riband from them in 1897, while White Star was planning to place a new 17,000-grt liner, RMS ''Oceanic'' into service. In response, Cunard updated its fleet, ordering new liners including the sister ships and RMS ''Saxonia'' (both launched in late 1899) and the similar (launched in mid-1902).

Rather than attempting to fully regain prestige by spending the additional money necessary to order liners that were fast enough to win back the Blue Riband from ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' or large enough to rival ''Oceanic'' in size, Cunard tried to maximize their profitability in order to remain solvent enough to fend off any takeover attempts. The three new ships were not especially fast, but all were larger than ''Campania'' and ''Lucania''; in fact, ''Saxonia'' at was the largest Cunard liner up to that time – beating out ''Ivernia'', which entered service a month before ''Saxonia'', for that distinction – and the largest until Cunard placed RMS ''Caronia'' in service in 1905. Thus, although the decision to order and launch ''Saxonia'' in 1898–1899 was taken well before J. P. Morgan’s efforts of 1900–1902, to put together the large combination of shipping lines that was officially designated IMM in October 1902, ''Saxonia'', her sister ''Ivernia'', and her "half-sister" ''Carpathia'' became both instruments and models through which Cunard was able to successfully compete with its larger rivals – most notably IMM’s lead company, White Star.

''Saxonia'' was steam-powered, with her two propellers powered by quadruple expansion engines, and had a service speed of . She had a long, black hull, a low, well-balanced superstructure, and four masts. ''Saxonia'' and ''Ivernia'' both had a single funnel which was 106 feet (32.3 m) tall, probably the tallest funnel ever installed on a passenger ship. ''Saxonia'' had a large cargo capacity, so much so that her passenger accommodations were smaller than most people expected for a liner of her size. Her four masts were intended to allow effective handling of larger amounts of cargo than was customary on a liner.

Constructed at the John Brown & Company shipyard at Clydebank, Scotland, ''Saxonia'' was launched on 16 December 1899. She completed fitting out in mid-May 1900.

Operational history

Early history

''Saxonia'' departed Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 22 May 1900, bound for Boston, Massachusetts. She operated on the Liverpool–Boston route until 1909, when she shifted on an alternating basis between Boston and New York, and between Liverpool and the Adriatic ports of Fiume and Trieste.Bonsor, p. 155.

World War I

When the United Kingdom entered World War I in August 1914, ''Saxonia'' was requisitioned for government service and taken off her Trieste-Boston route. She made a single voyage as a troopship, carrying troops from the 41st Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, arriving in England on 28 October 1914. In 1915 she was tied up in England on the River Thames as an accommodation ship for German prisoners of war. In March 1915, she resumed service as a troopship.

Later career

After the war ended in November 1918, ''Saxonia'' returned to commercial service, returning to the North Atlantic run on the route between Liverpool and New York City. On 17 April 1919, one of her propellers struck the United States Navy tug while ''Freehold'' was assisting in docking her at New York. ''Freehold'' sank with the loss of one crew member killed, but soon was refloated and repaired.''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'': ''Freehold''
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''Saxonia'' underwent a major refit at Tilbury in 1920. Her funnel was shortened to 90 feet (27.4 m) in height, her passenger accommodations were modified to allow her to carry 1,449 passengers – 471 in cabin class and 978 in third class – and her gross tonnage dropped to 14,197.

After her refit, ''Saxonia'' returned to the North Atlantic service, operating between London and New York City. An additional stop at Hamburg, Germany, was added later.

Disposal

In 1925, the aging and outdated ''Saxonia'' was sold to the Hendrik Ido Ambacht company in the Netherlands for scrapping. Her scrapping was completed before the end of the year.

Cunard next used the name ''Saxonia'' for the passenger liner RMS ''Saxonia'', launched in 1954.

See also

* Ocean liner
* Maritime history of the United Kingdom
* Transatlantic Crossing

Notes

References

thegreatoceanliners.com Saxonia (I) 1900–1925

External links

Multiple interior images of ''Saxonia''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxonia (1899)
Ships of the Cunard Line
Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Ships built on the River Clyde
1899 ships
World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Troop ships of the United Kingdom
Maritime incidents in 1919