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Kaiser Wilhelm was the North German Lloyd
Line’s third liner built for speed.
She joined their other two four-funnel
ships on the Atlantic run, Kaiser
Wilhelm Der Grosse and Kronprinz
Wilhelm. Her maiden voyage from
Bremen - Southampton, Cherbourg and New
York began April 14th 1903. Kaiser
Wilhelm’s owners were expecting
her to capture the Blue Riband from the
Hamburg Amerika Line’s
Deutschland on that run. Due to
serious vibration problems on the
crossing, her attempt to break
Deutschland’s record failed.
Kaiser Wilhelm’s vibration
problems were cured in 1904 by the
fitting of new propellers. Although the
refit led to her taking the eastbound
record from Deutschland in June of
that year by averaging 23.53 knots, the
North German Lloyd Line were disappointed
Kaiser Wilhelm failed to
capture the Blue Riband on the more
testing westbound route.
Kaiser Wilhelm had to undergo a few
months of repairs in 1907 after being
damaged and sunk at her berth while
loading coal at Bremerhaven. Seven years
later, the outbreak of World War One
forced the North German Lloyd Line to lay
her up at Hoboken/New Jersey. After
America entered the war in 1917, they
seized Kaiser Wilhelm to be used
as a troopship under the name
Agamemnon. She served throughout
the war without incident and continued
operating as a troopship until the
repatriation of US troops had been
completed in 1920. Agamemnon was
then laid up at Chesapeake Bay and
renamed Monticello. Interests in
having this ship overhauled and
refurbished faded away as the years went
by. After Britain turned down an offer to
use the run down Monticello as a
troopship at the outbreak of World War
Two, work on her dismantling began at a
Baltimore scrap yard a few months
later.
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