Built in 1890 as Spree for Norddeutscher Lloyd of Bremen by the AG Vulcan shipyard of Stettin, Germany, she was 6,963 gross register tons (GRT) with a length of 463 ft (141 m) and a beam of 51.8 ft (15.8 m) and a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). She had two funnels, three masts, and a single screw, with accommodation for 244 first-class, 122 second-class and 460 third-class passengers. She made her maiden voyage leaving Bremen for New York on 11 October 1890. She would continue to ply this route for eight years.[1]
Whilst heading west across the Atlantic in November 1892, Spree's main propeller shaft broke and made a hole in the stern.[2] There was considerable panic amongst the passengers until it became clear that the ship's watertight compartments would keep it afloat. Two days later, the steamshipLake Huron was sighted and was able to tow Spree back to Ireland. There was only one casualty in the incident: a man who threw himself overboard and was drowned. The event was memorialized in a poem by William McGonagall.[3]
Colourised postcard view of the promenade deck of Kaiserin Maria Theresia
In 1899 she was completely rebuilt by AG Vulcan. She was lengthened to 526 ft (160 m), her tonnage increased to 7,840 GRT, new engines were fitted joined to twin screws to give a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). The number of funnels was increased to three, though she was reduced to two masts. Her accommodation was altered to carry 405 first-class, 114 second-class and 387 third-class passengers, and she was renamed Kaiserin Maria Theresia (some sources say Theresa.)[4]
russian, merchant, cruiser, ural, ural, auxiliary, cruiser, imperial, russian, navy, during, russo, japanese, originally, rivers, class, ocean, liner, norddeutscher, lloyd, launched, 1890, under, name, spree, renamed, kaiserin, maria, theresia, 1899, before, b. Ural was an auxiliary cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo Japanese War She was originally a Rivers class ocean liner for Norddeutscher Lloyd launched in 1890 under the name Spree She was renamed Kaiserin Maria Theresia in 1899 before being sold to the Russians in 1904 As UralHistoryNameSpree 1890 1899 Kaiserin Maria Theresia 1899 1904 Ural 1904 1905 OwnerNorddeutscher Lloyd 1890 1904 Imperial Russian Navy 1904 1905 BuilderAG Vulcan StettinLaunched17 May 1890FateSunk on 27 May 1905General characteristicsClass and typeRivers class ocean liner Auxiliary cruiserTonnage6 963 GRT as built 7 840 GRT after 1899 Length463 ft 141 m as built 526 ft 160 m after 1899 Beam51 8 ft 15 8 m as built PropulsionBy 1904 2 triple expansion engine 2 screws dual shaft 3 funnels two mastsSpeed18 kn 21 mph as built 20 kn 23 mph after 1899 Armament2 single 8 inch 203 mm 22 guns 4 single 6 inch 152 mm 23 guns 2 single 3 4 inch 86 4 mm guns Contents 1 Commercial service 2 Wartime service 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External linksCommercial service EditBuilt in 1890 as Spree for Norddeutscher Lloyd of Bremen by the AG Vulcan shipyard of Stettin Germany she was 6 963 gross register tons GRT with a length of 463 ft 141 m and a beam of 51 8 ft 15 8 m and a speed of 18 knots 33 km h 21 mph She had two funnels three masts and a single screw with accommodation for 244 first class 122 second class and 460 third class passengers She made her maiden voyage leaving Bremen for New York on 11 October 1890 She would continue to ply this route for eight years 1 Whilst heading west across the Atlantic in November 1892 Spree s main propeller shaft broke and made a hole in the stern 2 There was considerable panic amongst the passengers until it became clear that the ship s watertight compartments would keep it afloat Two days later the steamship Lake Huron was sighted and was able to tow Spree back to Ireland There was only one casualty in the incident a man who threw himself overboard and was drowned The event was memorialized in a poem by William McGonagall 3 nbsp Colourised postcard view of the promenade deck of Kaiserin Maria TheresiaIn 1899 she was completely rebuilt by AG Vulcan She was lengthened to 526 ft 160 m her tonnage increased to 7 840 GRT new engines were fitted joined to twin screws to give a speed of 20 knots 37 km h 23 mph The number of funnels was increased to three though she was reduced to two masts Her accommodation was altered to carry 405 first class 114 second class and 387 third class passengers and she was renamed Kaiserin Maria Theresia some sources say Theresa 4 Wartime service EditShe was sold to the Imperial Russian Navy in 1904 for use in the Russo Japanese War The Russians rebuilt her as an auxiliary cruiser and renamed her Ural In October she left Kronstadt to join Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky s fleet on its way to Vladivostok In May 1905 Ural was used as a scout ship and was the first ship to sight Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō s fleet at the Battle of Tsushima In an action with Japanese battleships she was hit by a 12 inch 305 mm shell in the engine room and eventually torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer References Edit S S Spree Norddeutscher Lloyd Norway Heritage The Spree s Great Peril New York Times 4 December 1892 McGonagall William 1892 The Foundering of the Steamer Spree McGonagall Online Spree www johnheinl net Retrieved 24 January 2019 Bibliography EditFrampton Viktor Stewart Charles amp Thorne Phil 2007 Question 38 43 Russian Auxiliary Cruiser Ural Warship International XLIV 2 151 152 ISSN 0043 0374 Greger Rene 1986 Question 35 84 Warship International XXIII 3 318 ISSN 0043 0374 External links EditThe Ships List Ships Descriptions Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Russian merchant cruiser Ural amp oldid 1146930368, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
