The North Atlantic had long since earned the title of the cockpit where the mercantile supremacy at sea was to be fought out. Germany’s final bid was a great effort. For in the year 1912 was built the 23½-knot _Imperator_, a stupendous creature of 52,022 tons, with her swimming-bath and super-luxury. In 1914 was put into service the 26·75-knot _Vaterland_, which was bigger still, for she measured 950 feet long, against _Imperator’s_ 905 feet, and her tonnage worked out at 52,282. The former at the outbreak of war was lucky to be in Germany, where she remained until after hostilities. She was handed over to the Cunard Company, who changed her name to _Berengaria_. The _Vaterland_ got into New York on the day war was declared between Great Britain and Germany, and was interned. She was eventually used for carrying American troops to Europe, and after the war she passed into the American Mercantile Marine, who changed her name to _Leviathan_. When she was seized from Germany there were no plans of her available. The United States Shipping Board, on making inquiries from her German builders as to the price of these plans, were asked the enormous sum of $1,000,000. This was declined, and the colossal task of preparing these plans from the ship herself was successfully undertaken. But you may imagine what it means to run a ship of this size when it cost the American Mercantile Marine $50,000 a month merely to keep her efficient whilst laid up. Finally there was finished in Germany during 1922 the third mammoth, of 56,000 tons. Originally intended to be called the _Bismarck_, she was handed over to the White Star Line, who changed her name to _Majestic_. Before the war Germany’s Mercantile Marine, according to the Managing Director of the Hamburg-America Line, consisted of 5,459,000 gross tons. Of this amount approximately she lost owing to war operations 2,700,000 tons. By reason of the Treaty of Versailles she lost a further 2,900,000 tons approximately, leaving her about 400,000 tons.[8] If we select the spring of 1922 we are neither too near the ending of the war nor too far removed from it to notice the efforts which are being made to revive a merchant fleet which so suddenly vanished from its high position. The Hamburg-America Line in 1922 had but forty-three vessels of 165,707 gross tons, and the North German Lloyd only twenty-five ships of 127,098 gross tons. A mighty contrast to the summer of 1914. But both these and other lines were going ahead with their building, and it was unofficially estimated that the German Merchant Fleet on May 31, 1922, consisted of 1,546,000 gross tons.