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U.S.S President Lincoln
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On the North Atlantic

1st Class Dining Room

Kitchen

Typical 3rd-Class Accommodation

  • Source for photographs 1, 3-5: William H. Miller, Jr., _The First Great Ocean Liners in Photographs; 193 Views, 1897-1927_ (New York: Dover Publications, 1984), pp. 38-39.
  • Source for photograph 2: Clas Broder Hansen, _Passenger liners from Germany, 1816-1990_, translated from the German by Edward Force (West Chester, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Pub., c1991), p. 81.

    Description
    (taken from http://www.fortunecity.com/littleitaly/amalfi/13/shipp.htm)

    Gibbs, Passenger.Liners of the Western Ocean reports only one ship of the name President Lincoln, in service 1907-1917 for Hamburg American Line. Built at Belfast, H & W shipyard, 18100 tons, 598 x 68 ft, 1 funnel, 6 masts, 14 knots. 324 first, 125 second, 2320 steerage. - [Posted to The ShipsList by Paul Petersen - 26 March 1998]

    The "President Lincoln" you are looking for was a different ship from the Pacific Liner. This was a 18,084 gross ton ship, built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast in 1903. Her details were - length 598.8ft x beam 68.2ft, one funnel, six masts, twin screw and a speed of 14 knots. There was accommodation for 202-1st, 153-2nd, 788-3rd and 2,300-4th class passengers. Launched on 8/10/1903 as the "Scotian" for Wilson's & Furness-Leyland Line, the order was cancelled and she was uncompleted for many months until purchased by Hamburg America Line of Hamburg in 1906 and renamed "President Lincoln". She commenced her maiden voyage on 1/6/1907 when she sailed from Hamburg for Boulogne, Plymouth and New York. On 25/7/1914 she started her last Hamburg - Southampton - New York crossing (arr.5/8/1914) and was interned at Hoboken, New York until 1917, when she was seized by US authorities. She was then used as a troopship until, having delivered 3,000 troops to Cherbourg, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U.90, on the return crossing to New York; on 31/5/1918 with the loss of 26 lives. [North Atlantic Seaway by N.R.P.Bonsor, vol.1, p.413] [Merchant Fleets by Duncan Haws, vol.4, Hamburg America Line] - [Posted to The ShipsList by Ted Finch - 27 March 1998]

    The vessel in question was built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast (ship #353), and launched on 8 October 1903, as the SCOTIAN, for Wilson's & Furness Leyland Line, who cancelled the contract; vessel laid up unfinished. 1906, purchased by HAPAG (Hamburg America Line), who first intended to name her CHICAGO, then BERLIN. 20 May 1907, delivered to HAPAG as the PRESIDENT WILSON. 18,168 tons; 182,9 x 20,8 meters (length x breadth); 1 funnel, 6 masts; twin-screw propulsion (quadruple-expansion engines), service speed 14.5 knots; passenger accommodation: 324 in 1st class, 152 in 2nd class, 1,004 in 3rd class, 2,348 in steerage; crew of 344. 1 June 1907, maiden voyage, Hamburg-Boulogne-Southampton-New York. At the time of her maiden voyage, the PRESIDENT LINCOLN was both the largest freighter and the largest emigrant carrier in the world. 5 August 1914, interned at New York. 6 April 1917, seized by the U.S. Government and assigned to the U.S. Shipping Board. 25 July 1917, U.S. navy transport, name unchanged. 31 May 1918, bound from Europe to the USA, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-90 at lat 47 57 N, lon 15 11 W, with the loss of 26 lives [Arnold Kludas and Herbert Bischoff, Die Schiffe der Hamburg- Amerika-Linie (Herford: Koehler, 1979-1981)vol. 2, pp. 26-27 (photograph); Arnold Kludas, Die grossen Passagierschiffe der Welt; Eine Dokumentation, Bd. 1: 1858-1912 (2nd ed.; Oldenburg/Hamburg: Gerhard Stalling, c1972), pp. 110-111 (photographs); Noel Reginald Pixell Bonsor, North Atlantic Seaway; An Illustrated History of the Passenger Services Linking the Old World with the New (2nd ed.; Jersey, Channel Islands: Brookside Publications), vol. 2 (1978), pp. 372-373 and 413]. Also pictured in Clas Broder Hansen, Passenger liners from Germany, 1816-1990, translated from the German by Edward Force (West Chester, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Pub., c1991), p. 81. - [Posted to the Emigration-Ships Mailing List by Michael Palmer - 28 March 1998]