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'SS ''Bremen'''
The profile of the ''Bremen'' as originally built - the funnels were raised by five meters in 1930. Profile of the ''Bremen'' as originally built
Career	Kaiserliche Marine Jack
Owners:	Norddeutsche Lloyd
Built:	Bremen, Germany
Launched:	August 2, 1928
Maiden voyage:	July 16, 1929
Fate:	Caught fire, gutted at Bremerhaven dock in 1941; scrapped in 1946.
General Characteristics
Tonnage:	51,656 gross tons
Length:	938.6 feet (286.1 m)
Beam:	101.7 feet (31 m)
Power:	Four steam turbines generating 25,000 horsepower each
Propulsion:	Quadruple screws
Speed:	27.5 knots
Passenger Capacity:	2,139; 811 first class, 500 second class, 300 tourist class, 617 third class
Crew:	966 total

The 'SS ''Bremen''' of 1929 was one of a pair of ocean liners built for the Norddeutsche Lloyd line (NDL) for the transatlantic passenger service. The ''Bremen'' was notable for her low streamlined profile, and modern approach to her design. Her sister ship was the ''Europa'', later renamed ''Liberté''. The German pair sparked the building of the large (and very expensive) express liners of the 1930s.

Contents

History

Specifications

References

External links

History

''Bremen'' and her sister were designed to have a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, allowing a crossing time of 5 days. This speed enabled Norddeutsche Lloyd to run regular weekly crossings with two ships, a feat that normal required three. It was claimed that Bremen briefly reach speeds of 32 knots during her sea trials.
Originally it was planned to have the ''Bremen'' make a simultaneous transatlantic crossing with her sister ''Europa'', but the ''Europa'' was held up by a serious fire during fitting-out, so the ''Bremen'' made a solo maiden voyage, departing Bremerhaven for New York City on 16 July, 1929. She arrived four days, 17 hours, and 42 minutes later, capturing the westbound Blue Riband from the ''Mauretania'' with an average speed of 27.83 knots. On her next voyage she took the eastbound Blue Riband with a time of 4 day 14 hours and 30 minutes and an average speed of 27.91 knots. This was the first time a liner had broken two records on her first two voyages.^[1][1] The ''Bremen'' lost the westbound Blue Riband her sister ''Europa'' in 1930. ''Bremen'' lost the eastbound Blue Riband to SS Normandie in 1935.
As Nazism gained power in Germany, ''Bremen'', and her pier in New York, were often the site of Anti-Nazi demonstrations. On July 26, 1935 a group of demonstrators boarded Bremen just prior to sailing and tore the Nazi party flag from the jackstaff and tossed it into the Hudson River. On September 15th, 1935 Hitler declared the Nazi Flag to be the exclusive national flag of Germany in response to this incident, removing the status of the original flag of the Weimar Republic as co-national flag.^[2][2][3]
On August 26th, 1939, in anticipation of the 1939 invasion of Poland, the Kriegsmarine high command ordered all German merchant ships to head to German ports immediately. Bremen was on a westbound crossing and 2 days from New York when she received the order. Bremen’s captain decided to continue to New York to disembark her 1770 passengers. She left New York without passengers on August 30th, 1939. She made use of bad weather, and high speed to avoid Royal Navy cruisers, arriving in Murmansk on September 6th, 1939. On December 10th, 1939, the ''Bremen'' made a dash to Bremerhaven, arriving on December 13th. On the way she was sighted and challenged by the S class submarine HMS Salmon. While challenging ''Bremen'', an escorting Dornier Do 18 seaplane forced the ''Salmon'' to dive for safety. After diving the ''Salmon's'' commander, Lieutenant Commander E.O. Bickford, decided not to torpedo the liner because he believed she was not a legal target.[4] Bickford's decision not to fire on Bremen likely delayed the start of unrestricted submarine warfare.
^[2]
The ''Bremen'' was used as a barrack ship; there were plans to use her as a transport in Operation Sealion, the intended invasion of Great Britain. In 1941, the ''Bremen'' was set alight by a crew member while at her dock in Bremerhaven and completely gutted. A lengthy investigation discovered that the arson was the result of personal grudge against the ship's owners and not an act of sabotage. She was broken up in 1946.

Specifications

★ 51,656 gross tons.

★ 938.6 ft (286.1 m) overall length,101.7 ft (31 m) beam.

★ Engines: steam turbines geared to four screws, designed speed 27 knots.

★ 2139 passengers (811 first class, 500 second class, 300 tourist class, 617 third class), 966 crew.

References

1. Shadow Voyage: The Extraordinary Wartime Escape of the Legendary SS Bremen, , Peter A., Huchthausen, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., , ISBN 0-471-45758-2
2.
3.

External links

★ Ocean Express: The story of the Bremen and Europa

★ The Maritime Network Article on SS Bremen