The Kaiser-class ocean liners or Kaiserklasse refer to four transatlantic ocean liners of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, a German shipping company. Built by the AG Vulcan Stettin between 1897 and 1907, these ships were designed to be among the largest and best appointed liners of their day. These four ships, two of which held the prestigious Blue Riband, were known as the "four flyers" and all proved to be popular with wealthy transatlantic travellers. They also took great advantage of the masses of emigrants who wished to leave Europe.
The first of these "superliners" was , unique for being the first liner built with four funnels. She was credited with sparking the race for maritime supremacy between France, Germany and the United Kingdom which soon saw the creation of some of the most famous ships in history. Although Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was not originally planned to have any sister ships, the subsequent (1901), (1903) and all enjoyed good careers; however, when World War I broke out, the first was sunk in August 1914 and the other three were seized in 1917 by the United States, never to return to German hands.
Background
At the close of the 19th century, competition on the North Atlantic was fierce. Transport to and from Europe was dominated by British shipping lines, namely the Cunard and the White Star Line. The largest liner ever built was the British . Between 1892 and 1893, Cunard Line had launched the sister ships and , the fastest ships on the sea. They were also the heaviest. Norddeutscher Lloyd were charged by Emperor Wilhelm II with building up Germany's maritime power to rival and surpass Britain's. When he saw White Star's in 1891, the ship had left a lasting impression on the emperor.
The Norddeutscher Lloyd, commonly known in English as "North German Lloyd", thus commissioned their regular ship builders, AG Vulcan of Stettin, to construct an ocean liner demonstrating the power of the emperor and the German Empire. As they had never ordered a liner of this size, the construction was followed closely and she would soon become the pride of the German people. At the advent of Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, the world was stunned by the idea of an ocean liner with four funnels. This novelty fascinated the world and the liner soon became a great success. Her interiors were distinctly German and were all designed by Johann Poppe, the house designer for the company and architect of its headquarters. The success of Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse sparked the other German shipping company, HAPAG, to order their own superliner. quickly snatched the blue riband from its rival and further established German supremacy on the seas. Following this competition, a sister ship was commissioned in 1901. Two more followed. However, by 1912, with the advent of several British superliners such as (1910), (1906) and , the four flyers seemed old, their interiors stuffy and their technology behind the times.
Features
As the initial success of Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse could not have been determined, she was originally planned as a single liner. As a result, the later three ships were slightly larger. Measuring 14,349 gross register tons, she was almost 50% larger than and just over three thousand tons more than , her main competition at the time of her launch. As such, when Deutschland was designed to be larger than all three, Norddeutscher Lloyd thus retaliated with the introduction of Kronprinz Wilhelm which was intended to be faster than Deutschland. Overall, the average weight of the "four flyers" was some 16,000 tons, the average speed being . Their average displacement ranged from 20,000 to 24,000 tons. Their overall length differed by some ; Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse being the smallest at , Kronprinz Wilhelm at and the later two both measuring .
The four liners were all noted as being very similar in appearance as well as interior, all four ships having first class dining rooms rising at least one floor. The four ships emphasised the idea of a "grand staircase" as well as en suite dining rooms, which were soon seen on Lusitania and the famous . Within all four ships were pictures of the German imperial family as well as royal residences such as Potsdam and Sanssouci. Facilities for children were also afforded, the younger passengers having a salon of their own. The last three ships also popularised the idea of an onboard café or restaurant other than the main dining saloon. In terms of safety, all of the ships were fitted with facilities for new wireless communication, a technique which allowed the ship to transmit messages to a port by means of telegram, emphasising her image of security. The later three ships had quadruple expansion engines, aggregating .