View source for RMS Saxonia (1899)

{{other ships|RMS Saxonia}}
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|Ship image=[[Image:Saxonia1900.jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption=RMS ''Saxonia'' around 1900
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship name=RMS ''Saxonia''
|Ship owner=[[Cunard Line]] 
|Ship registry={{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} 
|Ship route=*[[Liverpool]]-[[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] (1900–1911)
*Liverpool-Boston, Liverpool-[[New York City|New York]], and Liverpool-[[Trieste]]/[[Fiume]] (1911–1914)
*Government war service (1914-1918)
*[[London]]-New York and London-[[Hamburg]]-New York (1919–1925)
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= [[John Brown & Company]], [[Clydebank]], [[Scotland]]
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|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=16 December 1899
|Ship completed=mid-May 1900
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|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage=22 May 1900
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=1925
|Ship identification=
|Ship fate=Scrapped in the [[Netherlands]] in 1925
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship tonnage={{GRT|14,281}} (as built){{br}}{{GRT|14,197}} (after 1920 refit)
|Ship length={{convert|600|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|64.2|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=[[Steam engine|Steam]] [[quadruple expansion engine]]s, twin [[propeller]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship capacity=1,964 passengers (as built)<br/>1,449 passengers (after 1920 refit)
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|}

The first '''RMS ''Saxonia''''' was a  [[passenger ship]] of the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Cunard Line]]. Between 1900 and 1925, ''Saxonia'' operated on [[North Atlantic]] and [[Mediterranean]] passenger routes, and she saw military service during [[World War I]] (1914–1918).

''Saxonia''{{'}}s sister ship was ''[[SS Ivernia|Ivernia]]''.

==Design==

Around 1900, the Cunard Line faced tight competition from the British [[White Star Line]] and the German lines [[Norddeutscher Lloyd]] and Hamburg America (HAPAG). Cunard{{'}}s largest liners, as of 1898 {{RMS|Campania}} and {{RMS|Lucania}}, had a reputation for size and speed, both being of 12,950 [[gross register ton]]s (grt) and having held the [[Blue Riband]] for the fastest crossing of the [[Atlantic Ocean]].<ref>N. R. P. Bonsor, ''North Atlantic Seaway'', pp. 154-55, 1873.</ref> However, Norddeutscher Lloyd{{'}}s new liner {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse}} had taken the Blue Riband from them in 1897, while White Star was planning to place a new 17,000-grt liner, [[RMS Oceanic (1899)|RMS ''Oceanic'']]  into service. Cunard also updated its fleet during this time, ordering three new liners, {{SS|Ivernia}}, RMS ''Saxonia'', and {{RMS|Carpathia}}.<ref name="great">[http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/saxonia1.html thegreatoceanliners.com Saxonia (I) 1900–1925]</ref>

Rather than attempting to fully regain prestige by spending the additional money necessary to order liners that were fast enough to win back the Blue Riband from ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' or large enough to rival ''Oceanic'' in size, Cunard tried to maximize their profitability in order to remain solvent enough to fend off any takeover attempts by IMM. The three new ships were not especially fast, but all were larger than ''Campania'' and ''Lucania''; in fact, ''Saxonia'' at {{GRT|14281|link=off}} was the largest Cunard liner up to that time – beating out ''Ivernia'', which entered service a month before ''Saxonia'', for that distinction – and the largest until Cunard placed [[RMS Caronia (1905)|RMS ''Caronia'']] in service in 1905.<ref name="great"/><ref>Hyde, Francis E., ''Cunard and the North Atlantic, 1840-1973'', pp. 327-331.</ref> Thus, although the decision to order and launch ''Saxonia'' in 1898-1899 was taken well before [[J. P. Morgan]]’s efforts of 1900-1902, to put together the large combination of shipping lines that was officially designated IMM in October 1902, ''Saxonia'', her sister ''Ivernia'', and her "half-sister" ''Carpathia'' became both instruments and models through which Cunard was able to successfully compete with its larger rivals &ndash; most notably IMM’s lead company, White Star.<ref>J. H. Isherwood, "Intermediate Ship 'Saxonia' ", ''Sea Breezes'' 13 (1952), p. 411.</ref>

''Saxonia'' was [[Steam engine|steam]]-powered, with her two [[propeller]]s powered by [[quadruple expansion engine]]s, and had a service speed of {{convert|15|kn|km/h}}. She had a long, black [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]], a low, well-balanced superstructure, and four masts. ''Saxonia'' and ''Ivernia'' both had a single [[Funnel (ship)|funnel]] which was 106 feet (32.3 m) tall, probably the tallest funnel ever installed on a passenger ship. ''Saxonia'' had a large cargo capacity, so much so that her passenger accommodations were smaller than most people expected for a liner of her size. Her four masts were intended to allow effective handling of larger amounts of cargo than was customary on a liner.<ref name="great"/>

Constructed at the [[John Brown & Company]] [[shipyard]] at [[Clydebank]], [[Scotland]], ''Saxonia'' was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 16 December 1899. She completed [[Fitting-out|fitting out]] in mid-May 1900.<ref name="great"/>

==Operational history==

===Early history===

''Saxonia'' departed [[Liverpool]] on her maiden voyage on 22 May 1900, bound for [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. She operated on the Liverpool-Boston route until 1909, when she shifted on an alternating basis between Boston and New York, and between Liverpool and the Adriatic ports of [[Rijeka|Fiume]] and [[Trieste]].<ref>Bonsor, p. 155.</ref>

===World War I===

When the [[United Kingdom]] entered [[World War I]] in August 1914, ''Saxonia'' was requisitioned for government service and taken off her Trieste-Boston route. She made a single voyage as a [[troopship]], then was tied up in [[England]] on the [[River Thames]] as an accommodation ship for German [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]]. In March 1915, she resumed service as a troopship.<ref name="great"/><ref>Bonsor, p. 155.</ref>

===Later career===

After the war ended in November 1918, ''Saxonia'' returned to commercial service, returning to the North Atlantic run on the route between Liverpool and [[New York City]].<ref name="great"/> On 17 April 1919, one of her propellers struck the [[United States Navy]] [[Tugboat|tug]] {{USS|Freehold|SP-347}} while ''Freehold'' was assisting in docking her at New York. ''Freehold'' sank with the loss of one crew member killed, but soon was refloated and repaired.<ref>[http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/f5/freehold.htm ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'': ''Freehold'']</ref>

''Saxonia'' underwent a major refit at [[Tilbury]] in 1920. Her funnel was shortened to 90 feet (27.4 m) in height, her passenger accommodations were modified to allow her to carry 1,449 passengers – 471 in cabin class and 978 in third class – and her gross tonnage dropped to 14,197.<ref name="great"/>

After her refit, ''Saxonia'' returned to the North Atlantic service, operating between [[London]] and New York City. An additional stop at [[Hamburg]], Germany, was added later.<ref name="great"/>

===Disposal===

In 1925, the aging and outdated ''Saxonia'' was sold to the [[Hendrik Ido Ambacht]] company in the [[Netherlands]] for scrapping. Her scrapping was completed before the end of the year.<ref name="great"/>

Cunard next used the name ''Saxonia'' for the passenger liner [[RMS Saxonia (1954)|RMS ''Saxonia'']], launched in 1954.

== See also ==
* [[Ocean liner]]
* [[Maritime history of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Transatlantic Crossing]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/saxonia1.html thegreatoceanliners.com Saxonia (I) 1900–1925]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/f5/freehold.htm ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'': ''Freehold'']

{{Cunard ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxonia (1899)}}
[[Category:Ships of the Cunard Line]]
[[Category:Passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Clyde-built ships]]
[[Category:1899 ships]]
[[Category:World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Troop ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1919]]