USS Princess Matoika
SS Kiautschou was a Barbarossa-class ocean liner built in 1900 for the Hamburg America Line. She sailed both transatlantic and Far East mail routes until the outbreak of World War I, when she was interned in the neutral port of Cebu in the Philippines. Seized by the U.S. Navy in 1917, the newly renamed USS Princess Matoika carried over 50,000 troops to and from France. In post-war civilian service she was SS Princess Matosia until 1922, SS President Arthur until 1927, and SS City of Honolulu until she was scrapped in 1933. She was the first ocean liner to fly the Zionist flag at sea and the first ship ever to have female officers.
About USS Princess Matoika in brief
SS Kiautschou was a Barbarossa-class ocean liner built in 1900 for the Hamburg America Line. She sailed both transatlantic and Far East mail routes until the outbreak of World War I, when she was interned in the neutral port of Cebu in the Philippines. Seized by the U.S. Navy in 1917, the newly renamed USS Princess Matoika carried over 50,000 troops to and from France in U. S. Navy service from 1918 to 1919. As an Army transport after that, she continued to return troops and repatriated the remains of Americans killed overseas in the war. In post-war civilian service she was SS Princess Matosia until 1922, SS President Arthur until 1927, and SS City of Honolulu until she was scrapped in 1933. She was the first ocean liner to fly the Zionist flag at sea and the first ship ever to have female officers. The ship was deemed too expensive to repair and was eventually scrapped in Japan in 1933, after being laid up in Baltimore in late 1923. In July 1920, she was a last-minute substitute to carry a large portion of the United States team to the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. From the perspective of the Olympic team, the trip was disastrous and a majority of the team members published a list of grievances and demands of the American Olympic Committee in an action known today as the Mutiny of the Matoikas. In October 1924, the Jewish-owned American Palestine Line began regular service between New York, Naples, and Palestine.
Financial difficulties for American Palestine ended the service after three roundtrips, and the liner was sold to the Los Angeles Steamship Company for Los Angeles–Honolulu service. In 1930, the liner burned in Honolulu Harbor in 1930. The liner was laid down at AG Vulcan Stettin in Stett in Germany in 1900 at a cost of USD 11,000,000. It was 525 feet long and featured twin screws powered by two quadruple expansion steam engines that generated 9,000 horsepower. The liner also featured bilge keels that helped stabilize her ride. She had two large promenade decks, a music room, and a smoking room at the rear of the upper deck, and her large dining room featured a serenade diners where the ship’s orchestra could diners could listen to the music. On her maiden voyage to Palestine, she reportedly became the first. ocean liner ever to flying the Zionist Flag at sea. On one trip, she replaced fellow HAPAG steamer Deutschland on Hamburg–New York service, calling at Southampton at Southampton and calling at Cherbourg at Southampton on her eastbound trip. On February 20, 1904, she returned to Hamburg–Far East service on one excursion. After this excursion, she sailed on the transatlantic route until May 1902. In 1904, the ship was traded to competitor North German Lloyd for five freighters, and renamed SS Princess Alice.
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This page is based on the article USS Princess Matoika published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
