SS Columbus (1922)

SS Columbus
History
Germany
Name	SS Columbus
Namesake	Christopher Columbus
Owner	Norddeutscher Lloyd
Operator	Germany
Port of registry	Hamburg, Germany
Route	Hamburg–New York
Ordered	1914
Builder	Schichau, Danzig, Germany
Yard number	929
Launched	12 August 1922
Completed	June 1924
Maiden voyage	Mid-1924
In service	1924
Out of service	1939
Renamed	1914; Hindenburg to Columbus; 1920
Refit	1929
Homeport	Bremen
Motto	"Columbus' ship"
Nickname(s)	"Germany's Merchant Ship"
Fate	Scuttled by crew to avoid capture by Royal Navy, 19 December 1939.
Notes	Located at latitude 38 degrees, 2 minutes N, longitude 65 degrees, 33 minutes W
General characteristics
Class and type	Columbus-class ocean liner
Tonnage	32,354 GRT (1924–1929) 32,565 GRT (1929–1939)[1]
Length	750 ft (230 m)[1]
Beam	83 ft (25 m)[1]
Height	49 ft (15 m)[1]
Decks	8
Propulsion	Triple-expansion reciprocating engines (1924–1929) Steam turbine engines (1929−1939); Twin propeller[1]
Speed	Before refit: 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) After refit: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)[1]
Boats & landing craft carried	24
Capacity	1,750 passengers

SS Columbus was a German ocean liner laid down before the start of World War I.

The vessel was originally to be named Hindenburg. However, her then-sister, originally named Columbus, was handed over to British government and then sold to the White Star Line after the war as part of reparations in 1920 and renamed Homeric by her new owners.

The Allies allowed the Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), her owners, to keep the remaining ship. NDL decided to give her the name of her departed sister, now the British Homeric. Construction, which had been held up by the war, resumed at Schichau Shipyards in Danzig, Germany.