Imperator-class ocean liner
Photograph of the three Imperator-class liners from left to right: SS Leviathan (former SS Vaterland), RMS Majestic (former SS Bismarck), and RMS Berengaria (former SS Imperator), photographed side by side in Southampton, England after being handed over to the Allies as World War I reparations. | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Imperator: AG Vulcan Stettin, Germany Vaterland/Majestic: Blohm+Voss, Hamburg, Germany |
| Built | 1912–1914 |
| In service | 1913–1946 |
| Planned | 3 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage | 52,117 - 56,551 GRT |
| Length | 906–956 ft (276–291 m) |
| Beam | 98 ft 3 in (29.9 m) to 100 ft 1 in (30.5 m) |
| Draught | 35 ft 2 in (10.7 m) to 37 ft 9 in (11.5 m) |
| Decks | 11 |
The Imperator-class was a series of three large ocean liners designed and built for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG). Envisaged by HAPAG chairman, Albert Ballin, the three ships - Imperator, launched in 1912; Vaterland, launched in 1913; and Bismarck, launched in 1914 - each displaced over 50,000 tons, with each successively holding the title of the world's largest passenger ship. Vaterland was seized by the United States during the First World War, while Imperator and Bismarck were turned over to the Allies as reparations following the war's end.