Editing SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (section)

==Career==
[[File:Colour drawing of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse by an unknown painter.jpg|thumb|Painting of ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' by an unknown artist]]
''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' set out on her maiden voyage on 19 September 1897, travelling from [[Bremerhaven]] to [[Southampton]] and thence to New York.<ref name="Miller, p. 2">Miller, p. 2</ref> With a capacity of 800 third-class passengers, the NDL had ensured that they would profit greatly from migrants from Europe to the United States. From her maiden voyage, she was the only superliner to cross the Atlantic with such speed and such media attention. In March 1898,<ref name="Miller, p. 2"/> she successfully gained the [[Blue Riband]] with an average crossing speed of {{cvt|22.3|kn|lk=in}}, thus establishing the new German competitiveness.<ref>Mars, p. 47</ref> The Blue Riband, an award given for the fastest crossing of the North Atlantic, east and westbound, had previously been held by the Cunard liner {{RMS|Lucania}}.<ref>Mars, p. 39</ref> This turn of events was closely watched by the maritime world of the era, who were eager to see how the British would retaliate.<ref>Piouffre, p. 109</ref> However, the NDL soon lost the riband in 1900 to the new German superliner, {{SS|Deutschland|1900|2}} of the [[Hamburg America Line]].<ref>Le Goff, p. 25</ref> This change in events was acceptable to Germans, who were able to relax in the knowledge that they were still the owners of the fastest liner; however, NDL promptly ordered that ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' undergo a refit to ensure that they were the dominant German company.<ref>Burgess, p. 36</ref> This refit included the installation of [[wireless telegraphy]], then new technology which allowed ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' to transmit telegraphic messages to a port, emphasising her image of security.<ref>Le Goff, p. 23</ref>

[[File:The Four Flyers.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Advertisement for [[Norddeutscher Lloyd|NDL]]'s "Four Flyers"]]
The NDL took the competition even further. 1901 saw the addition to their fleet of another four-funnel liner, named {{SS|Kronprinz Wilhelm||2}} in honour of [[William, German Crown Prince|Crown Prince William]], heir to the German throne, and they subsequently commissioned another two superliners, {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm II||2}} and {{SS|Kronprinzessin Cecilie||2}} of 1903 and 1907 respectively.<ref>Ferulli, p. 121</ref> From 1904 to 1907 the east-bound speed rekord was held by SS ''Kaiser Wilhelm II''. The company stated that the four liners were of the renowned Kaiser class and decided to market them as the ''Four Flyers'', a reference to their speed and associations with the Blue Riband.<ref>[http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/kpc.html SS ''Kronprinzessin Cecilie'' »] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191954/http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/kpc.html |date=3 March 2016 }}, ''The Great Ocean Liners''. 15 July 2010</ref>

In June 1900 at her [[quay]] in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' was the victim of [[1900 Hoboken Docks Fire|a fire]] which killed one hundred staff who were trying to remove the threat<ref>Server, p. 43</ref> as the ship was towed to safety in the Hudson River.<ref name=fwh/> Six years later, on 21 November 1906, she was in collision with the [[Royal Mail Steam Packet Company]] liner {{RMS|Orinoco}} in [[Cherbourg-en-Cotentin|Cherbourg]] Harbour. Five passengers aboard ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' and three crewmen aboard ''Orinoco'' were killed, and ''Orinoco''{{'}}s [[Bow (watercraft)#Types|clipper bow]] made a {{cvt|8|m|ft|adj=on}} tear in the starboard side of ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse''{{'}}s hull.<ref name="Le Goff, p. 22">Le Goff, p. 22</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Orinoco |url= http://clydeships.co.uk/view.php?official_number=&imo=&builder=&builder_eng=&year_built=&launch_after=&launch_before=&role=&type_ref1=&propulsion=&category=&owner=&port=&flag=&disposal=&lost=&ref=3917&vessel=ORINOCO |work=Clyde Built Ships |publisher= Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=26 February 2017}}</ref> A court of inquiry found ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' wholly responsible for the collision.<ref>Nicol, p. 226</ref> [[New York City]] mayor [[William Jay Gaynor]] was embarking on a European vacation when he was shot aboard the ship on 9 August 1910.<ref name=fwh/>

A technological evolution of steamships soon made NDL's express steamers outdated. Cunard's {{RMS|Lusitania}} and {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|6}} outmatched their German rivals in all fields, and when the future White Star's {{RMS|Olympic}} entered service in 1911, luxury on the high seas was taken one step further. As a result, ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' was rebuilt in 1913 to carry third-class passengers only. It seemed that her glory was fading regardless of her career as the first "four stacker".<ref name="TGOL">{{cite web |url= http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/kwdg.html |title= SS ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'', ''The Great Ocean Liners'' |work= The Great Ocean Liners |access-date= 15 July 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091010100752/http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/kwdg.html |archive-date= 10 October 2009 |url-status= dead }}</ref> From 26 January 1907, she was charged with carrying passengers between the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and New York, effectively ending the public career of the first of the "four flyers".{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

===World War I===
From 1908, German naval captains had been receiving orders to make preparations in the event of a sudden war. In fact, ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' was soon fitted with cannons and thus transformed into an [[auxiliary cruiser]].<ref name=TGOL/> Across the world, supply ships carrying weapons and provisions were ready to convert merchant vessels into armed auxiliary cruisers. On 4 August 1914, Great Britain declared war on Germany after the Germans invaded Belgium and Luxembourg. ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' was requisitioned and turned into an armed cruiser, painted in grey and black. Her commander at the time, Captain Reymann, operated not only under the rules of war, but also the rules of mercy.<ref name=TGOL/>{{dead link|date=May 2018}}
[[File:Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse fight painting 1914.jpg|thumb|right|Painting depicting the battle between ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' and HMS ''Highflyer'' in August 1914. Viewed from the Highflyer]]
[[File:Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse's Wreck.jpg|thumb|The wreck of ''Kaiser Wilheim der Grosse'' off Africa]]
Reymann soon sank three ships, ''Tubal Cain'', ''Kaipara'', and ''Nyanza'', but only after taking their occupants on board. Further south in the Atlantic, ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' encountered two passenger liners: ''[[HMHS Glenart Castle|Galician]]'' and {{RMS|Arlanza|1911|2}}.<ref name=TGOL/> Reymann's first intention was to sink both vessels, but, discovering that they had many women and children on board, he let them go. In this early stage of the war, it was thought that it could be fought in a chivalrous fashion. However, soon it was to become a total war and ships would no longer be warned before being fired upon. As ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' approached the west coast of Africa, her coal bunkers were almost empty and needed refilling. She stopped at [[Río de Oro]], ([[Villa Cisneros]], former Spanish Sahara) where German and Austrian colliers started the task of refuelling her.<ref name=TGOL/><ref>Ferulli, p. 120</ref>

The task of coaling was still going on on 26 August, when the British cruiser {{HMS|Highflyer|1898|6}} appeared. Reymann quickly prepared his ship and crew for battle and steamed out to engage the enemy after disembarking his prisoners of war. A fierce battle took place, but came to a dramatic end when ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' ran out of ammunition.<ref name=TGOL/> According to the Germans, rather than let the enemy capture the onetime pride of Germany, Reymann ordered the ship to be [[scuttling|scuttled]] using dynamite, which was already in position should this situation ever arise. On detonation, the explosives tore a massive hole in the ship, causing her to [[capsize]]. This version of events was disputed by the British, who stated that ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' had been badly damaged and sinking when Reymann ordered it to be abandoned. The British firmly believed that it was gunfire from HMS ''Highflyer'' which sank the German ship.<ref>''Kludas' Great Passenger Ships of the World''</ref> Reymann managed to swim to shore, and he made his way back to Germany by working as a [[Stoker (occupation)|stoker]] on a neutral vessel. Most of the crew were taken prisoner and held in the [[Amherst Internment Camp]] in [[Nova Scotia]] for the remainder of the war.

The downfall of such great liners in the event of war was their huge fuel consumption. Most liners were subsequently converted from cruisers to [[hospital ship]]s or troopships.<ref>Burgess, p. 231</ref>