SS Saale

Sistership Aller as depicted on a German postage stamp
History
Name:	Saale (1886–1901) J. L. Luckenbach (1901–22) Princess (1922–23) Madison (1923–24)
Owner:	Norddeutscher Lloyd (1886–1901) Lukenbach Transportation & Wrecking Co (1901–19) Lukenbach Steamship Co Inc (1919–22) Archibale M. Ostrom (1922–24)
Port of registry:	Bremen, Germany (1886–1901) New York, United States (1901–22)
Route:	Germany – United States (1886–1900)
Builder:	Fairfield Engineering and Shipbuilding Co Ltd
Launched:	21 April 1886
Maiden voyage:	18 August 1886
Out of service:	1900–01
Fate:	Scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type:	Ocean liner (1886–1900) Cargo ship (1901–24)
Tonnage:	4,967 GRT
Length:	439 feet 6 inches (133.96 m)
Beam:	48 feet 1 inch (14.66 m)
Propulsion:	Steam engine, single screw propeller
Speed:	17 knots (31 km/h)
Capacity:	150 1st class, 90 2nd class, 1,000 steerage class (1886–1900)

SS Saale was an ocean liner for North German Lloyd in the late 19th century, which was severely damaged in the 1900 Hoboken Docks Fire. On 30 June 1900, Saale was moored at the North German Lloyd piers in Hoboken, New Jersey, preparing to depart on a transatlantic crossing when some cotton on a nearby pier caught on fire and spread to the ship. Saale and several other ships were soon engulfed in flames; 99 passengers and crew on Saale were killed in the fire and subsequent sinking.

The ship was raised, sold, rebuilt, re-engined, and renamed SS J. L. Luckenbach in 1901–02. The ship served as a cargo ship for the Luckenbach Line. In October 1917, during World War I, the Luckenbach came under attack by German submarine U-62, which damaged the ship and set her cargo of cotton on fire. but the ship was able to eventually make port in France. The ship was renamed SS Princess in 1922 and SS Madison in 1923. She was broken up at Genoa in June 1924.

The ship was 439 feet 6 inches (133.96 m) long, with a beam of 48 feet 1 inch (14.66 m). She was assessed as 4,967 GRT. She was powered by a steam engine driving a single propeller. This could propel her at 17 knots (31 km/h).

Saale was a German passenger ship owned by the North German Lloyd company of Bremen, and was built by the Fairfield shipbuilding company in Glasgow in 1886. She was launched on 21 April 1886 and made her maiden voyage on 18 August 1886. She was capable of carrying 1,240 passengers: 150 in first class, 90 in second class, and up to a thousand in steerage.Saale primarily sailed the express route between Bremen, Southampton and New York.