20/06/2023
On this day 109 years ago, on 20 June 1914, SS Bismarck was launched by Countess Hanna von Bismarck, the granddaughter of the 19th century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. During the launching ceremony Countess Bismarck had difficulty breaking the bottle of champagne herself by swinging it too late and Kaiser Wilhelm II had to assist by quick-wittedly snatching the bottle that had missed the ship's hull and throwing it himself, finally causing it to break.
SS Bismarck was last of the Imperator-class trio of ships made by Hamburg America Line, with 956.0 ft (291.4 m) in length, making it the largest ocean liner ever built until the completion of SS Normandie in 1935.
📷 colorisation by our friend Steve Walker
