SS Teutonic (1889)
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Teutonic |
| Namesake: | Teutonic |
| Owner: |
 White Star Line
|
| Operator: | White Star Line |
| Port of registry: |
Liverpool,  United Kingdom
|
| Builder: | Harland and Wolff yards in Belfast |
| Yard number: | 208 |
| Launched: | January 19, 1889 |
| Completed: | July 25, 1889 |
| Maiden voyage: | August 7, 1889 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in Emden in 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Teutonic class ocean liner |
| Tonnage: | 9,984 gross tons |
| Length: | 582 feet (177.7 m) |
| Beam: | 57.7 feet (17.6 m) |
| Propulsion: | Two triple expansion engines powering two propellers. |
| Speed: | 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 1,490 passengers |
The RMS Teutonic was a steamship built for the White Star Line in Belfast and was the first armed merchant cruiser.
In the late 1880s competition for the Blue Riband, the award for the fastest Atlantic crossing, was fierce amongst the top steamship lines, and White Star decided to order two ships from Harland and Wolff that would be capable of an average Atlantic crossing speed of 20 knots (37 km/h). Construction of Teutonic and Majestic began in 1887. When Teutonic was launched on January 19, 1889, she was the first White Star ship without square rigged sails. The ship was completed on July 25, 1889 and participated in the Spithead Naval Review on August 5 and 6, in conjunction with the state visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Although Queen Victoria remained aboard the Royal Yacht, the Kaiser was given a two-hour tour of the new ship hosted by his "Uncle Bertie," (the Prince of Wales and future Edward VII). During the tour, Wilhelm is reputed to have turned to a subaltern and remarked: "We must have some of these ..." The Kaiser's reaction is generally credited as the impetus for the creation of Germany's four funnel liners known as the Kaiser Class.
Eight years later, Teutonic also participated in the 1897 Spithead Naval Review honoring Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
Teutonic was built under the British Auxiliary Armed Cruiser Agreement, and was Britain's first armed merchant cruiser, sporting eight 4.7" guns. These were removed after the military reviews, and on August 7, she left on her maiden voyage to New York City, replacing Baltic in White Star's lineup. In 1891, Majestic brought the Blue Riband to White Star, and in 1891, Teutonic took it from her sister with an average crossing speed of 20.25 knots (37.50 km/h). She later bested her own record with a speed of 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h). The following year City of Paris took the honor away, and no White Star ship would ever regain it. Despite this, both Teutonic and her sister were extremely profitable liners, and the two ships made crossings completely filled to passenger capacity several times.
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