ONE OF THE TWO LARGEST SHIPS IN THE U. S. NAVY The U. S. S. IMPERATOR, one of the two largest ships in the world....

The Imperator was first commissioned in 1913, at Hamburg, Germany, by the Hamburg-American Steamship Line of Hamburg. She made regular passenger runs from Hamburg to New York from the time she was commissioned by her original owners up until the latter part of July, 1914. Her passenger quota was: 700 first class, 600 second class, 1000 third class and 1,800 fourth class. And on account of her up-to-date safety devices, she was one of the best patronized steamers belonging to the Hamburg American

The Commanding Officer of the Imperator is Casey B. Morgan, Captain, U. S. N. He graduated from the Naval academy in 1888, and his first cruise in a seagoing vessel of the Navy was in the U. S. S. Atlanta. He took part in a number of campaigns and received his first commission, that of Ensign, in 1890. While in this rank he served in the Alert, Dolphin, and the Michigan—now the Wolverine; the Raleigh during the Cuban blockade. He sailed for the Asiatic in the Raleigh in December, 1897, and arriv

It was a big job, placing the Imperator in commission for the first time by American Navalmen. Fresh from the hands of the enemy into the hands of proud Yankee sailors was the fate of this great leviathan of the deep. She had been tied up alongside the docks at Hamburg, Germany, for four years and nine months, and while her engines and boilers were in fair condition, they were, nevertheless new to the men who were first to sail her under the Stars and Stripes. Getting a crew to man her was also

She sailed from Brest on May 15, with 1500 officers of the Army, 300 enlisted men of the Army, many distinguished civilians and 500 nurses on board. She left in company with the Leviathan, and the two vessels had an exciting trip across the Atlantic. While it was not officially announced as a race, it was a close run all the way over. The Leviathan won by a few hours, but be it remembered that the "Levi" had made about twenty trips over, they were hardened to the transport duty, and they knew th

The Force to which the U. S. S. Imperator belongs and with which she has operated since being taken over by the U. S. Navy is the greatest force of vessels ever operated under any nation's flag. At the time the Cruiser and Transport Force was first commissioned, early in April, 1917, there were only a handfull of vessels ready to carry the thousands of soldiers who were then being assembled all over the country, to France. However, by the time the first sailing date arrived—June 14th, 1917—we ha

The sister ship to the Imperator, and largest vessel in the world, is the Leviathan. The Leviathan is 954 feet in length, and has a beam of one hundred feet. She displaces 68,000 tons of water and has a mean draft of 40 feet of water; has a speed of 24 knots, and carries 8,750 tons of coal when loaded and ready for sea. She was also one of the Hamburg-American Line steamers, and was known as the Vaterland before being taken over by the Navy. The Leviathan was more fortunate in the cause of the A

While in Brest, shortly after the ship was placed in commission, and before she sailed on her maiden voyage under the Red, White and Blue ensign, Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, visited the ship and made an address to the ship's company. He expressed himself as being sorry that he could not make the first trip with the new and all-American crew of one of the world's greatest vessels. "It is up to us (the Navy) to get the soldier boys home, and then we will go home ourselves," said the S