RMS Homeric (1922)

"RMS Homeric", originally launched as "Columbus", was built for Norddeutscher Lloyd and launched in 1913 at the F. Schihau yard in Danzig. "Columbus" was ceded to Great Britain in 1919 as part of German war reparations. She was sold to White Star Line in 1920, which named her "Homeric". Her sister ship "Hindenberg" retained her German ownership and was re-named "Columbus". "Homeric" was operated by White Star from 1922 to 1935.

History

It took Britain's Cunard Line less than a year following World War I to re-establish their Atlantic supremacy with a three ship weekly service to New York. The "Mauretania", "Aquitania" and ironically enough, the very ship that was built to compete with them, the "Imperator" were all plying the Atlantic as if the war had never even happened. Cunard had lost only one superliner, the "Lusitania" in 1915, but White Star's fleet was another story. The 48,000-ton flagship "Britannic" was lost in the Aegean in 1916, and the superb "Oceanic" of 1899 had been wrecked on the islands of Foula in 1914. When the war was over, the Treaty of Versailles appropriated two German superliners to White Star, the 56,000-ton "Bismarck", third and largest of Albert Ballin’s great "Imperator" Class trio, left unfinished at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard, and the 35,000-ton "Columbus" at F. Schicau in Danzig. While both ships had been launched, they were far from complete, and it would take a further two years for them to be outfitted entirely, leaving White Star out of the loop so to speak until mid 1922.

Laid down in 1912, the "Columbus" was the first of two of vessels ordered by Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd) for their premiere run, Bremerhaven to New York. At 35,000 tons, they would be large ships for their day, and like Hamburg-Amerika new liners of the "Imperator" Class, their focus would be on luxury rather than speed. Powered by tried-and-true triple expansion reciprocating engines, the two new liners would be twin screw (the largest in the world until the advent of the "Queen Elizabeth 2" in 1969), and have a relatively modest service speed of just a shade over convert|18|kn|km/h.

Reparation

Launched December 17, 1913, the "Columbus" was the largest ship in Norddeutscher Lloyd’s fleet. However, work on the new liner was halted entirely in August 1914, as her builders became inundated with naval contracts. The unfinished steamship was moved from her fitting out berth and laid up in Danzig as the drama of World War I played out. Rusting and neglected, the unfinished "Columbus", like most of the German merchant fleet, was ceded to the British as reparation for the ships they had lost in the war. In 1920 construction was resumed under the watchful eye of officials sent down from Harland & Wolff, but work was slow, plagued by material shortages and a workforce that had no ambition to finish the ship only to hand it over to the British. While the ship's accommodations would be of the typical White Star standard- luxurious and fashionable- her original coal-powered system was left intact rather than replaced with an oil-fired system which was becoming the standard on the North Atlantic liners. The time needed to complete the conversion was simply too great during a time that the line was short of ships.

Following in the White Star tradition of names ending in -"ic", the "Columbus" was renamed "Homeric". Finally completed in late 1921, the "Homeric" was handed over by a reluctant builder. The new liner had performed remarkably well on her trials, hinting at a characteristic that would earn her many loyal passengers: stability. By some fluke of design, the "Homeric" was virtually a roll-less ship. There were no great Frahm’s Anti-Rolling tanks or gyroscopic stabilizers, just an exceptionally balanced hull and form.

Atlantic service

Resplendent in her White Star livery, the newly completed "Homeric" arrived in Southampton January 21, 1922. Her speed trials had been conducted in the North Sea on the way to her new home port, and she actually exceeded the builders expectations by a half knot. Once docked, a few minor adjustments and finishing touches were made, and just one month later, on February 21, 1922, "Homeric" departed Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York. She joined the venerable old "Olympic", still one of the most stylish ships on the Atlantic and in May, the "Bismarck", successfully transformed into the flagship "Majestic", would arrive and complete the three-ship service, operating in direct competition against Cunard's "Mauretania", "Aquitania", and "Berengaria" (ex-"Imperator"), "Majestic’s" sister-ship.

Settling quickly into her Atlantic routine, the "Homeric" proved to be a popular ship for White Star, although her speed became a major concern for the line, for at convert|18|kn|km/h, the "Homeric" could not keep pace with her fleet-mates, making it difficult to maintain a weekly schedule. At the conclusion of her second season, in October 1923, "Homeric" was removed from service for an extended winter overhaul, and her boilers were converted to burn fuel oil. The extensive re-working would require a full eight months at the shipyard, but on April 9, 1924, she was returned to service, proving to be slightly faster, averaging convert|19.5|kn|km/h for her first crossing. Still, even at convert|19.5|kn|km/h she could not be successfully matched with the "Olympic" and "Majestic", both with a service speed above convert|21|kn|km/h. Nevertheless, the increase did reduce one day from her average transatlantic voyage.

In April 1925 (some reports erroneously say 1921 or 1924), "Homeric" received a distress signal from a Japanese freighter ship, "Raifuku Maru". She and another ship, "King Alexander", dashed to "Raifuku Maru"'"s" position, but the rough seas prevented her to get closer. Her crew watched helplessly as the Japanese freighter sank to the bottom of the ocean.

Decline

Built with the steerage trade in mind, "Homeric" had a huge portion of her accommodations devoted to immigrants, and when the United States curtailed the flow of foreign settlers in the mid 1920’s the "Homeric" was particularly hard hit. Her transatlantic crossings began to lose money as early at 1926, and the ship was sent on cruises around the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Even though the liner had only been in service since 1922, by 1927 she was seriously showing her age. Launched in 1913, her hull and inner workings were nearing twenty years old. Cracks had been discovered in her hull and superstructure, as well as the thrust blocks in the engine rooms, but like her fleet-mates, the "Homeric" on, sailing at reduced speed and avoiding the worst of the North Atlantic’s squalls. In 1928, White Star formally announced the thousand-foot-long "Oceanic", meant to replace the aging "Olympic" and "Homeric". However, the new "Oceanic" was never to be, White Star was unable to secure the financing for such a ship, and instead built two smaller motorliners, "Britannic" and "Georgic". Once the "Georgic" entered service, "Homeric" became surplus on the Atlantic and she was sent cruising full time. On June 1, 1932, she departed New York on her final transatlantic crossing. Her career on the Atlantic was indeed short-lived, she crossed for a mere 10 years.

Cruising from British ports to the Mediterranean, the "Homeric" was one of the first liners to be used exclusively as a cruise ship, She handled this position brilliantly, and soon was well established in the cruising industry. Although the "Homeric" never succumbed to any great disaster, she was involved in one minor incident while at anchor off Tenerife on September 28, 1932. Cia Transmediterrania’s small "Isla de Tenerife" failed to steer while circling the "Homeric", slamming into the side of the ship near the bow. Luckily, the larger ship was not badly damaged and her cruise continued.

Demise

As White Star’s financial situation worsened in the early 1930’s, the "Homeric’s" future became increasingly grim. With the company’s funds nearly depleted, and the acquisition of White Star by their rival Cunard, "Homeric’s" days were numbered. In 1934, the two companies merged, and the "Homeric" was declared surplus again, slated to be sold to the breakers upon completion of the merger. All, of course, was contingent on the success of 534, the ship that would later be known as the "Queen Mary". In July 1935, the "Homeric" participated in King George V's Silver Jubilee fleet review, a prestigious honor, but only two months later, the "Homeric" was laid up, never to see any sort of use again. In late 1936, after the successful debut of the 81,000-ton "Queen Mary", she was sold to Thomas Ward & Sons for scrap. By 1938, the "Homeric" was gone.

References

External links

* [http://www.greatships.net/homeric.html RMS Homeric]
* [http://members.aol.com/RYTHERCH/HOMERIC.htm The R.M.S. HOMERIC a White Star liner]
* [http://wslhistory.webs.com/homeric.htm RMS Homeric History]