Kronprinz Wilhelm

(Carlos Marquadt CM-140)

Service: Built for North German Lloyd Line. Hamburg-New York service. Second of four in their series four-stackers. Briefly took the westbound Blue Riband from the Hamburg-America liner Deutschland but then lost it back. Involved in a number of collisions during her career, including running down and sinking the cargo ship Robert Ingham and severely damaging the British destroyer HMS Wizard in 1902. Also hit a small iceberg in 1907, but with minor damage. In America at the outbreak of World War I, she sailed 3 Aug 1914 and rendezvoused three days later with the German cruiser Karlsruhe, converting to a merchant cruiser by taking on two 88mm guns. During an eight month cruise whe captured and sank 14 ships of 58,201 tons, before accepting internment in the United States at Newport News. When the U.S. declared war in 1917, whe was confiscated for use as a troopship and renamed USS Von Steuben. After the war, she was laid up in Oct 1919 and finally sold for scrapping in 1923.