History of the U.S.S. Leviathan, cruiser and transport forces, United States Atlantic fleet: Compiled from the ship's log and data gathered by the history committee on board the shipU.S.S. Leviathan History Committee
History
History of the U.S.S. Leviathan, cruiser and transport forces, United States Atlantic fleet: Compiled from the ship's log and data gathered by the history committee on board the ship
U.S.S. Leviathan History Committee
Leviathan (Steamship); Vaterland (Steamship); World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations, American
The English Navy maintained a steady and vigilant patrol outside the
three-mile limit of America.
DESCRIPTION OF THE VATERLAND AND GENERAL DATA
The _Vaterland_ was built at Cuxhaven, Germany, by Blohm and Voss,
shipbuilders, of Hamburg, assisted by German naval architects and German
army engineers. It was launched in the early part of 1914.
The ship is equipped with 46 Yarrow boilers, German built, and are
arranged in four firerooms separated by four watertight bulkheads. 8,731
tons of coal are carried and an average of 700 tons at 17½ knots up to
900 tons at 21½ knots, is burned during twenty-four hours. 5,670 tons
of fresh water are carried. This allowed every man aboard, including
troops carried later and crew, six gallons per day. Cooking, drinking and
water for washing is included in these figures. The ship is divided into
fourteen watertight compartments and all doors in the engine room spaces
are controlled by compressed air and may be closed from the bridge by a
master lever in case of accident or emergency.
The following list of dimensions may also be of interest: The bridge is
87 feet above the water-line. The boat deck is 101 feet above the keel.
From the top of the smokestacks to the water-line is 146 feet. Fore and
aft diameter of funnels is 29 feet. Athwartships diameter of funnels is
18 feet.
A crew of 1,200 was carried by the Germans and a crew of 2,240 was
carried when operated by the United States Navy. This included gun’s
crews, additional men for coaling at Brest, and a training complement.
The ship is driven by four propellers. The shafts to which these
propellers are attached are twenty-one inches in diameter. The propellers
have four blades and are without a doubt the largest in existence, being
fourteen feet from tip to tip. The shafts are driven by eight Parsons
turbines, four in a cruising combination and four in a manœuvering
combination.
The ship is equipped with five passenger and six freight elevators, each
capable of lifting more than a ton.
The rudder and steering gear are the largest known and the rudder and
steering engine are the largest and most powerful installed on any vessel
afloat.
Concerning the ground tackle, the data is:
Stem anchor 24,000 lbs.; chain 150 fathoms
Starboard, lower 22,000 ” ” 150 fathoms
Port, lower 22,000 ” ” 165 fathoms
Spare 22,000 ”
Stock or stream anchor 7,000 ”
The ship is equipped with a 36,000 candle power searchlight and when
lighted at night may be seen for a distance of forty miles.
A GERMAN ACCOUNT OF THE SEIZURE
The following is a translation of a clipping from a German newspaper,
the _Tageblatt_ of Wurtemberg, taken from a dead German soldier, by a
first-class private of Headquarters Troop, 27th Division, A. E. F.:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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