Rivers class ocean liner
 Elbe, the first ship in the Rivers class | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | John Elder & Co., Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Glasgow (9) AG Vulcan, Stettin (2) |
| Operators: | Norddeutscher Lloyd |
| Subclasses: | Werra class |
| Built: | 1881–90 |
| Completed: | 11 |
| Lost: | 3 |
| Scrapped: | 8 |
The Rivers class was a class of eleven ocean liners of the Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), the first class of German express liners. The ships were built between 1881 and 1890, the first nine in Glasgow by John Elder & Co. or the renamed Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, the last two in Stettin by Vulcan. All were named for rivers in Germany.
Background
In 1878, the British Guion Line introduced the first express liner on the Atlantic run, the SS Arizona. The new ship was larger than other Atlantic liners and with a speed of 16 knots, she cut the travel time between Southampton and New York from ten and a half to eight and a half days. , who had at the time been director of Norddeutscher Lloyd for one year, in 1880 contracted with the Arizona's builder, John Elder & Co. of Glasgow, to build NDL's own first express liner, in accordance with the company's stated objective of always having the best ships.
History
The SS Elbe was delivered ahead of the contract deadline, set out on her maiden voyage to New York on 26 June 1881 and was such an immediate success that NDL at once ordered two more liners from Elder, the (delivered in autumn 1882) and the (early in 1883). The Fulda was the first NDL ship with electric lighting. The SS Eider and were added in 1884 and NDL's weekly transatlantic service became known for speed. The Werra set an eastbound speed record of 7 days, 20 hours and 15 minutes. The four ships beginning with the Werra are sometimes classified as a distinct Werra class.
The ships
References
External links
- S/S Elbe at Norway Heritage
- S/S Werra at Norway Heritage
- S/S Fulda at Norway Heritage
- S/S Eider at Norway Heritage
- S/S Ems at Norway Heritage
- S/S Aller at Norway Heritage
- S/S Trave at Norway Heritage
- S/S Saale at Norway Heritage
- S/S Lahn at Norway Heritage
- S/S Spree at Norway Heritage
- Picture of S/S Kaiserin Maria Theresia at Norway Heritage
- S/S Havel at Norway Heritage
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