When the Norh German Lloyd saw the success of their 32,000-ton Columbus, they began considering two further 35,000-ton, 775-foot liners.  This would enable them to have a three-ship express service similar to what the White Star Line had with their Olympic, Homeric, and Majestic, and what Cunard had with their Berengaria, Aquitania, and Mauretania.

However, shortly after 1927, the plans changed, even after the keel was already laid.  These two new ships would become 50,000-ton speed queens that would win the Blue Riband for Germany.

When these two ships were designed, the hulls came out long and sleek, with rounded stems that supposedly added speed.  However, the most novel of her hull innovations was her bulbous bow, which was a rounded underwater stem that greatly reduced drag at sea, and also kept the bow from plunging too deeply in rough weather, which helped keep the propellers in the water in even the roughest seas.

These two superliners were built in separate yards in order for the two to arrive on the scene at the same time to capture the Blue Riband from the Mauretania.  The Bremen was built at the Weser shipyards in Bremen.  The sister ship, Europa, was built at Blohm and Voss in Hamburg.

The Europa was launched first, and then a day later, Bremen was launched.  Everything continued to be on schedule, until the Europa caught fire and sank at her berth.

Thus, the Bremen would be the first ship, beginning on her maiden voyage from Bremerhaven on July 16, 1929.  Four days, 17 hours, and 42 minutes later, the Bremen arrived in New York, the proud new holder of the Blue Riband, soundly beating the Mauretania's 1909 record of 26.6 knots with an average speed of 27.83 knots.  Mauretania tried again, but in the end, the Bremen proved the faster, and sent her warmest congratulations to the Bremen.  The Bremen's sister ship, Europa, captured the Riband in March 1930, but the Bremen won it back, and kept it until the summer of 1933, when the Italian liner Rex won the Blue Riband.

Through the never-ending work of North German Lloyd publicists, the Bremen, along with the Europa, stayed in the news.  One particularly interesting operation had a seaplane in a revolving catapult between the two squat funnels.  Forty hours before reaching land, the plane took off and landed at its destination, loaded with mail, creating a sea-air mail service.  The operation was rather awkward, though, and was discontinued by 1935.  In the illustration at right, you can see the seaplane nestled in between the Bremen's stacks.

In another example, the publicists made the best of a rather bothersome sitution.  Bremen and Europa, when new, were too big to dock along Manhattan's west shore.  As a result, they had to use the Brooklyn Army Terminal near the opening to the Atlantic until new facilities were ready.  For passengers upset with the extra ride out, the line responded with, "You are that much closer to Europe when you sail on the Bremen or Europa!"

When Bremen was in service, she made several world cruises.  She went to places such as Rio, the Suez Canal, Bombay, the East Indies, California, and Hawaii.  She also became the largest liner to pass through the Panama and Suez Canals until the Queen Elizabeth 2 beat her record in the early 1970's.

On August 28, 1939, the Bremen was in New York.  Her crew was anxious to get back to Germany before war was declared.  The U.S. Coast Guard decided to detain the ship, in order to check for munitions going aboard.  The liner was eventually allowed to sail, under escort by a British cruiser.  Once at sea, the Bremen sped up and lost the cruiser.  During this time, the Bremen's crew painted the entire ship gray to camouflage her.  The Bremen arrived at Murmansk on September 6, and remained in hiding, hugging the Norwegian coastline, and staying in fog banks.  At one point, she raised the Soviet colors as a precaution.

Eventually, on December 13, she reached Bremerhaven, where she was laid up, next to her sister, Europa.  Here, she was "dazzle painted", and was moved to Hamburg in preparation for Hitler's Operation Sea Lion.  Here she was converted for this use, and huge off-loading doors were cut in her sides.  Then the work suddenly stopped, and she was returned to Bremerhaven, never to sail again.

On March 16, 1941, an unhappy crew member started a fire in a store room.  With the Bremen being practically unguarded, and fire fighting units unprepared, there was nothing to stop the Bremen from burning.  So burn she did, and she did a good job of it, too, and listed heavily against her pier.  With the more urgent war effort, Bremen was considered beyond repair.  Scrappers came aboard, and her steel was sent to munitions factories.  Her last remains were taken to the River Weser and destroyed with explosives.

Bremen Vital Statistics:

Gross Tonnage: 51,656 (1929), 51,731 (1937)

Length: 938 feet

Width: 102 feet

Draft: 34 feet

Machinery: Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw

Speed: 27 knots.

Capacity: 800 First, 500 Second, 300 Tourist, 600 Third

Built: A.G. Weser Shipbuilders, Bremen, Germany, 1929

Demise: Destroyed by fire on March 16, 1941; later scrapped

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