Maintaining their policy of avoiding excessive speed, the Ham burg American Line answered these Cunarders with the biggest steamers in the world. The first of the series was the "Imperator," later the Cunard "Berengaria." She was launched in 1912, her dimensions being 886.3 X98.3 X57.1 feet depth of hold and her original gross tonnage 51,969. The second of the series was the "Vaterland" which became the "Leviathan" of the United States Lines. Her dimensions were increased to 9o7.6 X oo•3 x 58.2 depth of hold, and her gross tonnage was 54,282; later 59,957. The third ship was the "Bismarck," later the White Star "Ma jestic," similar to the "Vaterland" but slightly longer.
Policy.—Immediately after the war nearly all the lines had to engage immediately in a shipbuilding programme to replace casualties, although shipbuilding prices were at their highest level. The general tendency was to build a moderate-sized ship with good cargo capacity and comfortable passenger accom modation at reasonable rates. The Cunard Line brought out the "Franconia" type of five ships of just under 20,000 tons gross with a speed of 17 knots, while the Hamburg American Line built four ships of the "Deutschland" type, having a sea speed of 16 knots and a tonnage of rather less than 21,00o.
This tendency was broken by the Compagnie Generale Transat lantique, which in 1926 built the "Ile de France," a ship of 43,548 tons gross with direct acting turbines of 52,000 s.h.p. and a trial speed of 24 knots. The North German Lloyd, which had built up its fleet steadily since the Armistice, responded by laying down the "Bremen" and "Europa," ships of 46,000 tons each, with a legend speed of 262 knots on service. They have geared turbines
and considerable weight is saved by a boiler pressure of 375 lb. to the square inch, while their design is revolutionary in many features, particularly in the bulb bow under the waterline from which most satisfactory results were hoped. The "Bremen," launched in 1929, beat all Atlantic records, but was outstripped by the "Europa" on her first voyage to New York in March, 1930.
The speed and the size of the "Europa" have since 193o been ex celled a number of times ; and the newest giants of the sea, namely, the "Queen Mary" (81,235 tons), the "Normandie" (83,423 tons) and the "Queen Elizabeth" (85,000 tons), the largest and fastest liners afloat (1940), approach the limit in point of dimensions.
The express Atlantic liner tends to become more and more luxurious to cope with the demands of the first class passengers, but many travellers elect to be carried by the cabin ships at a lower charge. No first class ship can find favour on the At lantic without all the qualities of a floating hotel—private bath rooms to the majority of the cabins, gymnasia, swimming baths, a long range of public rooms, and such luxuries as a Ritz Carlton restaurant for those who do not care for the ample menu pro vided in the first class dining saloon. Naturally the prices in such ships are high and their appeal is limited, but there appears to be sufficient patronage for all the ships of the type which the premier lines can afford to build. The cost of each of the i,000 foot liners, "Queen Mary," "Normandie," and "Queen Elizabeth" is estimated at between five and six million pounds.