SS Bremen ( 1929 ) The SS " Bremen " was a German - built ocean liner constructed for the Norddeutscher Lloyd line ( NDL ) to work the transatlantic sea route . " Bremen " was notable for her bulbous bow construction , high - speed engines , and low , streamlined profile . At the time of her construction , she and her sister ship were the two most advanced high - speed steam turbine ocean liners of their day . The German pair sparked an international competition in the building of large , fast , luxurious ocean liners that were national symbols and points of prestige during the pre - war years of the 1930s . She held the Blue Riband , and was the fourth ship of NDL to carry the name " Bremen " . History . Also known as TS " Bremen " - for Turbine Ship - " Bremen " and her sister were designed to have a cruising speed of 27 . 5 knots , allowing a crossing time of 5 days . This speed enabled Norddeutsche Lloyd to run regular weekly crossings with two ships , a feat that normally required three . It was claimed that " Bremen " briefly reached speeds of during her sea trials . Construction and design . " Bremen " was built by the new German shipbuilding company Deutsche Schiff - und Maschinenbau AG . She was built from 7000 tons of high - strength steel with 52 kg / mm² ( 500 N / mm² ) , allowing a weight saving of some 800 tons on the structure . She was also the first commercial ship to be designed with the Taylor bulbous bow , though bulbous bows of different types had appeared on earlier merchant vessels , such as the SS " Malolo " of 1926 . She was launched at Bremen during the afternoon of Thursday , 16 August 1928 by President Paul von Hindenburg , only one day after the launch of her sister ship at Hamburg . SS " Bremen " and her sister ship were considered for their time as the most modern liners in the world . The high speeds and the comfort and luxury level on board made high demands of technical personnel . Each ship required an engineering crew of some 170 men . As on her sister ship " Europa " , " Bremen " had a catapult on the upper deck between the two funnels with a small seaplane , which facilitated faster mail service . The airplane was launched from the ship several hours before arrival , landing at the seaplane base in Blexen . The boiler and the machine equipment were designed by Professor Dr . Gustav Bauer . " Bremen " had four airtight boiler rooms . The combustion air for the oil burners of the boilers was blown into the boiler rooms by eight steam turbine blowers . The resulting positive pressure meant that the boiler rooms were only accessible through airlocks . The steam was generated in 20 oil - fired water tube boilers , eleven double - enders and nine single - enders in four banks fired by a total of 227 oil burners . The operating pressure was 23 atm = 24 bar with a steam temperature at the superheater discharge of 370 °C . The maximum steam generating capacity was 500 tons / h . For harbour operation three boilers with their own blower were available , so that during work periods the main boiler airlocks could remain open . The total heating surface amounted to 17 , 050 m ² , the superheater surface 3 , 875 m ² and the air preheater surface 8 , 786 m ² . The feed water was preheated to 130 °C and the fuel oil consumption was 33 tons / h or 380 g / HP / h or 800 tons / Day , fed from oil bunkers with a capacity of 7 , 552 tons . SS " Bremen " had four geared steam turbines that could generate approximately 135 , 000 sHP . Each of them had a high pressure , a medium pressure , low pressure and a reverse turbine . In reverse , 65 % of the forward power was available . At cruise speed the turbines made 1800 rpm while the propellers made 180 rpm for a power output of 84 , 000 sHP . The four propellers were bronze and had a diameter of 5 , 000 mm , pitch of 5 , 200 mm and weighed 17 tons each . The 230 V electric power on the ship came from four diesel generators with a total output of 520 kW . On board , there were total of 420 electric motors , approximately 21 , 000 lamps , electric cookers and 20 elevators . Blue Riband . " Bremen " was to have made her maiden transatlantic crossing in the company of her sister " Europa " , but " Europa " suffered a serious fire during fitting - out , so " Bremen " crossed solo , departing Bremerhaven for New York City under the command of Commodore on 16 July 1929 . She arrived four days , 17 hours , and 42 minutes later , capturing the westbound Blue Riband from the with an average speed of . This voyage also marked the first time mail was carried by a ship - launched plane for delivery before the ship ' s arrival . A Heinkel HE 12 floatplne , flown by 27 - year old Lufthansa pilot Baron Jobst von Studnitz , was launched at sea 20 miles east of Fire Island with 11 , 000 pieces of mail in six mailbags weighing 220 pounds which it delivered to New York many hours before the ship docked at the North German - Lloyd pier at the foot of 58th Street in Brooklyn . On the return voyage to Germany " Bremen " took the eastbound Blue Riband with a time of 4 day 14 hours and 30 minutes and an average speed of , the first time a liner had broken two records on her first two voyages . The mailplane was launched on the eastbound voyage in the English Channel near Cherbourg carrying 18 , 000 letters to Bremerhaven where it delivered the mail many hours ahead of the ship ' s arrival . The " Bremen " lost the westbound Blue Riband to her sister " Europa " in 1930 , and the eastbound Blue Riband to SS " Normandie " in 1935 . Before World War II . As Nazism gained power in Germany , " Bremen " and her pier in New York were often the site of Anti - Nazi demonstrations . On 26 July 1935 a group of demonstrators boarded " Bremen " just before she sailed and tore the German flag from the jackstaff and tossed it into the Hudson River . At the time there was a dual flag law , by which both the black - white - red horizontal tricolour ( previously the flag of the German Empire ) , and the swastika flag were simultaneously official national flag s of Germany . As the ship ' s swastika flag was the one tossed into the river , US authorities claimed that no symbol of Germany had been harmed . On 15 September 1935 Germany changed its flag law , removing the status of the black - white - red flag of imperial Germany with which the Nazis on coming to power had replaced the black - red - gold flag of the Weimar Republic as co - national flag . The " Bremen " started her South America cruise on 11 February 1939 , and was the first ship of this size to traverse the Panama Canal . On 22 August 1939 , she began her last voyage to New York . After ten years of service , she had almost 190 transatlantic voyages completed . World War II . On 26 August 1939 , in anticipation of the invasion of Poland , the Kriegsmarine high command ordered all German merchant ships to head to German ports immediately . " Bremen " was on a westbound crossing and 2 days from New York when she received the order . " Bremen " ’ s captain decided to continue to New York to disembark her 1770 passengers . She left New York without passengers on 30 August 1939 and on 1 September , coincident with the start of the Second World War , she was ordered to make for the Russian port of Murmansk . Underway , her crew painted the ship grey for camouflage . She made use of bad weather and high speed to avoid Royal Navy cruiser s , arriving in Murmansk on 6 September 1939 . With the outbreak of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union , on 10 December 1939 " Bremen " made a dash to Bremerhaven , arriving on 13 December . On the way she was sighted and challenged by the S class submarine . While challenging " Bremen " , an escorting Dornier Do 18 seaplane forced the " Salmon " to dive for safety . After diving , the " Salmon ' s " commander decided not to torpedo the liner because he believed she was not a legal target . His decision not to fire on " Bremen " likely delayed the start of unrestricted submarine warfare . " Bremen " was used as a barrack ship ; there were plans to use her as a transport in Operation Sea Lion , the intended invasion of Great Britain . In 1941 , " Bremen " was set alight by a crew member while at her dock in Bremerhaven and completely gutted . A lengthy investigation discovered that the arson was the result of a personal grudge against the ship ' s owners , and was not an act of war . She was dismantled to the waterline so the steel could be used for munitions . Her remains were then towed to River Weser and were destroyed by explosives . Some parts of the double hull remain visible to this day . Legacy . In 2004 , a stamp was issued showing " Bremen " before the Manhattan skyline . In 2003 , Radio Bremen produced a one - hour radio feature , " Königin der Meere – Die Geschichte des Schnelldampfers „ Bremen “ " ( " queen of the seas - The story of the rapid steamer " Bremen " " ) by Detlef Michelers and other former sailors on " Bremen " . In the stairwell in the Bremen Overseas Museum , there is a 1 : 100 scale model of " Bremen " , while in the shipping exhibit there is a model of her significantly smaller earlier namesake to the same scale .