This drawing is available for free download
‘The four flyers’
Kronprinzessin Cecilie was the last in a line of ‘super-liners’ known as the ‘Four Flyers’. The ships had their genesis in the late 19th century when NLD was charged with improving German presence on the transatlantic trade. The resulting vessel, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, was the first of her kind to boast four funnels. Three running-mates soon followed, but the outbreak of war would limit their service. Cecilie was captured, long with two of her running-mates, by the US Navy and pressed into service as a troopship. Moth-balled after the war, she sat tied-up alongside other German ships for twenty years until finally being scrapped in 1940. An inglorious end for a spectacular ship. Curiously, Cecilie boasted the biggest Steam reciprocating engines ever put to sea.
Kaiser-Class’ Liner
Length: 706’4”
Beam: 72’2”
Draught: 31’1”
Tonnage: 18,372 GRT
Max Speed: 23 kn
THE DRAWING
This illustration of 'Kronprinzessin Cecilie' was completed over the course of five weeks from February to April 2019 by Michael C Brady and involved around 50 hours of drawing. Original plans and high-definition photographs were studied in order to maintain authenticity and special thanks is owed to Sander, whose Instagram account can be found at @German_liners and features many wonderful images of German passenger ships.
Dimensions: 1311mm x 481mm, 300DPI
THIS DRAWING IS AVAILABLE FREE TO DOWNLOAD
the details
The base of Cecilie’s Number 4 funnel showing the array of ventilators and skylights so common to German liners of the period.
Further aft showing the levels of promenade decks where passengers could stretch their legs at sea.
Cecilie’s elegant clipper stern featured a prominent decorative gold motif.
At the bridge, from where the great German liner was commanded.
