SS Blücher

For other ships with the same name, see List of ships named Blucher.

SS Blücher was a Barbarossa-class ocean liner built by Blohm & Voss Shipbuilders, Hamburg, Germany, in 1902 for the Hamburg America Line, to sail under German flag. She measured 12,334 gross register tons and was 550 (bp) feet long by 62 feet wide. Steam quadruple-expansion engines powered twin screws. Her service speed was 16 knots. She originally carried 2,102 passengers, including 333 first class, 169 second class, and 1,600 third class, on four decks with a steel hull, and was served by a crew of 252. She was fitted with two masts and two funnels. She saw Hamburg-New York and Hamburg-South America service.

History
German Empire
Name	Blücher
Namesake	Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Owner	Hamburg America Line
Route	Hamburg–New York (1901–1911) Hamburg–South America (1911–1914)
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Launched	23 November 1901
Maiden voyage	7 June 1902
Fate	Interned at Pernambuco, Brazil, August 1914 Seized by Brazil, 1 June 1917
Brazil
Name	Leopoldina
Acquired	By seizure, 1 June 1917
Fate	Sold to France, 27 February 1918
France
Name	Suffren
Namesake	Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez
Owner	Compagnie Générale Transatlantique
Route	Havre - New York
Acquired	By charter, 11 March 1920 Bought, March 1923
Out of service	September 1928
Refit	December 1920
Fate	Scrapped at Genoa, 1929
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Barbarossa-class ocean liner
Tonnage	12,334 GRT
Length	525 ft 6 in (160.17 m)
Beam	62 ft 3 in (18.97 m)
Propulsion	2 × quadruple expansion steam engines 2 shafts
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Capacity	Passengers (as built): 390 × 1st class 230 × 2nd class 1,550 × 3rd class After 1920 refit 500 × cabin class 250 × 3rd class

She was the sister ship to the SS Moltke.^[2]

History

The Blücher was launched on November 23, 1901. She set out on her maiden voyage on June 7, 1902, proceeding from Hamburg to Boulogne to Southampton, then finally to New York, where she arrived at Ellis Island on June 28. She serviced this route until 1911.

In 1912, she was rebuilt, with luxury suites added to her boat deck.

She was interned at Pernambuco, Brazil in August 1914. On June 1, 1917, she was seized by the Brazilian government, who renamed her Leopoldina. On February 27, 1918, she was chartered to the French government.

On March 11, 1920, she began her first voyage for Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, "French Line") from New York to Le Havre. In December 1921, she was laid up. In March 1923, she was sold to CGT and renamed Suffren, as which on May 8, 1923, she made her first voyage, Le Havre to New York. At this time, she could accommodate 500 passengers in first class and 250 in third class.

She was laid up again in 1928 and scrapped in Genoa in 1929.

References

1. Swiggum, S.; Kohli, M. (2014). "Ship Descriptions (B)". theshipslist.com. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
2. "Arrival of the Moltke." New Haven, Connecticut: New Haven Morning Journal and Courier, March 21, 1902, p. 7 (subscription required).

External links

• "SS Blücher (1902) Photographs". ggarchives.com. 2014.