Named after Wilhelm I, the first Emperor of the German nation that was created in 1871, SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse is regarded as the first superliner and was the first vessel in the world to be fitted with four funnels or ‘stacks’.

Launched in 1897 by Wilhelm I’s grandson, Wilhelm II, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse established the North German Lloyd shipping company as a direct competitor to the British-dominated transatlantic maritime trade. Wilhelm II was particularly enthusiastic about the fact that the ship could easily be converted into an auxiliary cruiser thanks to strengthened decks that could accommodate artillery guns in times of conflict.

Just a few months after her launch, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was awarded the Blue Riband award for the fastest transatlantic crossing, usurping the British liner RMS Lucania and firmly establishing Germany as a powerful maritime force.

Keen to maintain the ship’s reputation for speed and safety, in 1900 her owners sent her for a refit that included the installation of a commercial wireless telegraphy system by the Marconi Company. Despite the relative infancy of this new technology Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse conducted a series of demonstrations, making her the first ship to send a ship-to-shore message on 7 March.

With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the ship was requisitioned by the German navy and fitted with guns as an auxiliary cruiser. Under the command of Captain Reymann, she sank a number of Allied vessels before being defeated in the Battle of Río de Oro off the North African coast on 26 August 1914.

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