The first plates of the
keel were laid in 1910 at the
Vulcan Shipyards in
Hamburg, Germany, and the ship made its maiden voyage in 1913. At 52,117
gross register tons,
Imperator was the largest ship in the world until
Vaterland sailed in May 1914. After the
sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, the shipyard added more lifeboats to
Imperator to ensure there was more than enough room for all passengers and crew. In total,
Imperator would carry 83 lifeboats capable of holding 5,500 people between them, 300 more than the ship's maximum capacity. Before her launch on 23 May 1912,
Cunard announced that its new ship, , which was under construction at the time at the
John Brown shipyards in
Glasgow, would be longer by , causing dismay in Hamburg. Several weeks later, she was fitted with a figurehead, an imposing bronze eagle, increasing her length past that of
Aquitania. The eagle was created by Professor Bruno Kruse of
Berlin, and adorned her forepeak with a banner emblazoned with HAPAG's
motto Mein Feld ist die Welt (
My field is the world). The eagle's wings were torn off in an Atlantic storm during the 1914 season, after which the figurehead was removed and replaced with gold scroll-work similar to that on the stern. During her initial sea trials, the ship ran aground on the
Elbe river due to insufficient dredging and a flash fire in the engine room which resulted in eight crewmen being taken to hospital. During her official
trials, she suffered overheating of the turbines and some stability issues were discovered. The trials were therefore abandoned and the builders were called in to carry out emergency work. Coincidentally, 1913 was the silver jubilee year for the
Kaiser, so he was going to be treated to an overnight cruise on the North Sea before the ship would make its maiden voyage. The overnight cruise was canceled; it was eventually carried out in July of that year.
Imperator left on her maiden voyage on Wednesday, 11 June 1913, with Commodore
Hans Ruser in command and
Hamburg-Amerika appointing four other subordinate captains for the journey to make sure that everything went smoothly. On the way, she stopped at
Southampton and
Cherbourg before proceeding across the Atlantic to
New York, arriving on 19 June 1913. On board were 4,986 people, consisting of 859 first-class passengers, 647 second-class passengers, 648 third-class passengers, 1,495 in steerage, and 1,332 crew. The ship returned to Europe from
Hoboken, New Jersey, on 25 June 1913. On his first arrival, the harbor pilot assigned to bring her into the Ambrose channel, Captain George Seeth, noted that the ship listed from side to side when the helm changed the ship's direction. She was soon nicknamed "Limperator". In October 1913,
Imperator returned to the Vulcan shipyard to facilitate drastic work to improve handling and stability, as it had been discovered that her center of gravity was too high (see
metacentric height). To correct the problem, the marble bathroom suites in first class were removed and heavy furniture was replaced with lightweight wicker cane. The ship's funnels were reduced in height by . Finally, 2,000 tons of cement was poured into the ship's double bottom as ballast. This work cost £200,000, which had to be borne by the shipyard as part of their five-year warranty to the shipowners. At the same time, an advanced fire sprinkler system was fitted throughout the ship, as several fires had occurred on board since the vessel had entered service. During the 1914 refit of
Imperator, Commodore Ruser handed over command of the ship to Captain Theo Kier and left to take command of the new larger flagship
Vaterland, which was nearing completion.
Imperator returned to service on 11 March, arriving in New York five days later on the 19th. Whereas German ships are usually referred to with the feminine article (
die),
Imperator was instead referred to with the masculine article (
der), on the explicit personal wishes of Emperor Wilhelm II.
Interiors The architect and designer
Charles Mewès was responsible for the interior design of the
Imperator and his sister ships. One German critic commented on the prevalence of French-style décor on the new ship: One contemporary review noted how the ship's "great size...has enabled her designers to allow unusual space for passenger accommodation." This was echoed in
The Master, Mate, and Pilot, which stated that "taking advantage of his great dimensions, the ships' public cabins, and staterooms have been made so large as to avoid any suggestion of crowding." Space-saving devices like berths and folding washbasins were eliminated in the First-Class staterooms on
Imperator, all of which had free-standing beds and marble-topped washstands with hot and cold running water. Almost all First-Class cabins were "outside" cabins, meaning they had portholes or windows for natural light and ventilation. Over 200 cabins were reserved for single occupancy, and 150 had en-suite bathrooms. The main First-Class dining room was on F Deck and there were two restaurants on B Deck. The main dining room could accommodate 700 diners at tables for between 2 and 8 people. The Ritz-Carlton restaurant, which was joined with a
winter garden/palm court in the
Directoire style, was managed by staff from the
Carlton Hotel in London. There was also a Grill Room at the aft end of B Deck, a tea garden, and a Veranda café. The lounge, or "Social Hall", as it was called, was hung with
Gobelins tapestries and included a stage for theatrical performances to be held. In the evening the carpet could be removed for dancing. Off the entrance halls were amenities like a bookshop, florist, pharmacy, doctor's office, and the offices of the purser, chief steward, and baggage master.
Imperator introduced a two-deck-high,
Pompeiian-style swimming pool for its First-Class passengers. It was inspired by a similar swimming pool built in London in 1907 for the
Royal Automobile Club, of which Charles Mewès was also one of the architects. steam baths,
electric baths, massage and hairdressing rooms. The gymnasium was "the largest and most luxurious that has ever been fitted up on a passenger steamer...", according to
The Marine Engineering and Naval Architect. ==World War I and U.S. Navy service==