SS City of Berlin facts for kids

Inman's City of Berlin
Quick facts for kids History
United Kingdom
Name	City of Berlin
Namesake	Berlin
Owner	Inman Line
Port of registry	Liverpool, United Kingdom
Route	Atlantic crossing.
Builder	Caird & Company, Greenock, Scotland
Launched	27 October 1874
Maiden voyage	29 April 1875
Honors and awards	Blue Riband winner
Fate	Sold 1898, scrapped 1921
General characteristics
Type	Ocean Liner, single funnel
Tonnage	5491 tons
Length	488.6 ft (148.9 m)
Beam	44.2 ft (13.5 m)
Installed power	Steam
Propulsion	Single screw
Sail plan	3 masts
Speed	15 knots
Notes	later names: SS Berlin (1893), SS Meade (1898)

The City of Berlin was a famous British ocean liner. It was known for being super fast! In 1875, it won the Blue Riband, a special award for the fastest ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It sailed for the Inman Line company. For six years, it was also the biggest passenger ship actively sailing, except for one huge ship called the Great Eastern that wasn't actively sailing.

This amazing ship was built in Scotland by a company called Caird & Company. It was the Inman Line's top ship for 13 years! This was until a new ship, the City of New York, was built in 1888. The City of Berlin served the Inman Line until 1893. After that, the Inman Line joined with the American Line. The ship then sailed for the American Line and the Red Star Line until 1898. Later, the United States government bought the ship. It served the government until after World War I.

Building a Super Ship: Design and Development

The Inman Line wanted to build a new ship. They heard that the White Star Line was planning to build two bigger and faster ships. These new ships would be improved versions of their Oceanic liner. At the time, Inman had four fast ships that could travel at 13.5 knots. They also had the City of Montreal, which was big but only went 12 knots.

Inman decided to replace the City of Montreal with a brand new ship. This new ship was designed to be even better than White Star's new Britannic class ships. When the City of Berlin was finished in 1875, the Inman Line finally had five fast ships. This allowed them to offer a balanced weekly service all year round.

The City of Berlin was larger than the White Star ships. It could carry 202 first-class passengers and 1,500 passengers in steerage. Steerage was a more basic and cheaper way to travel. The ship was very long for its width, making it one of the longest ships built for the Atlantic. Its steam engine was powerful, giving it a normal speed of 15 knots. However, during its first tests, the ship's speed and fuel use were not as good as expected. So, the engineers had to make some improvements before the ship officially started sailing.

Adventures at Sea: Service History

In September 1875, the City of Berlin became the fastest ship on the Atlantic. It won the Blue Riband award! It beat the Germanic, which was a sister ship to the Britannic. The City of Berlin crossed from Queenstown, Ireland to New York City in just 7 days, 18 hours, and 2 minutes. This meant it traveled at an amazing speed of 15.21 knots.

A couple of years later, the ship had some mechanical problems on two different trips. It had to be towed into port both times. Once, another ship called the Egypt towed it. The second time, Inman's own City of New York helped tow it.

In 1879, the City of Berlin became the first ship on the North Atlantic to have electric lights! Six special lamps were put in the dining room, boiler rooms, and engine rooms. This was a big step forward for ships.

On October 29, 1883, the City of Berlin accidentally bumped into a British Navy ship called HMS Hawk. This happened about 47 nautical miles northeast of the Tuskar Rock, Ireland. Luckily, the City of Berlin was not damaged at all.

The ship used a lot of coal, about 120 tons every day. To fix this, its engines were updated in 1887. This new engine system helped the ship use less fuel.

New Names and New Roles

Even after the Inman Line joined with the American Line, the City of Berlin kept its British registration. However, its name was shortened to just Berlin. In 1895, the Berlin and another ship, the City of Chester, were replaced by newer, faster ships called the St Louis and the St Paul.

The Berlin then started sailing on a different route, from Antwerp to New York, for the Red Star Line. Sometimes, it still sailed for the American Line too.

In 1898, the United States government bought the Berlin to use during the Spanish–American War. They renamed it Meade. The ship helped transport troops to the Philippines. On January 31, 1906, it was badly damaged by a fire in San Francisco. But it was repaired and continued to serve through World War I. Finally, the ship was taken apart for scrap in 1921.