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Lot Essay
The Scandinavian-American Line came into being in 1898 following the amalgamation of two existing Danish shipping lines, both of which already had experience of regular sailings to the U.S.A. Their combined fleets were mostly outdated however and the new company soon decided to relaunch its Copenhagen to New York service with three custom-built steamers more suited to the prestigious North Atlantic route than their existing tonnage. Orders were placed with Stephen's of Glasgow and the first to be laid down was Oscar II named in honour of the King of Sweden.
Launched on 14t<\sup>h<\sup> November 1901, Oscar II was completed the following February and left Copenhagen on her maiden voyage the next month. Initially registered at 9,970 tons, she measured 519 feet in length with a 58 foot beam, and could cruise at 15 knots. With comfortable accommodation for 130 1st, 140 2nd and 900 steerage passengers she proved a popular ship and, particularly during Denmark's neutrality in the Great War, highly profitable. Eventually laid up in 1931 due to the worsening depression, she was sold for breaking in 1933 and scrapped at Blyth soon afterwards.
The most interesting episode in her long though otherwise uneventful life was her charter by the millionaire American industrialist Henry Ford in 1915. Ford, bitterly opposed to U.S. involvement in the Great War and fearful that his country would eventually be dragged in, chartered Oscar II to take him and his supporters to Europe to promote the cause of peace. Although unsuccessful, the mission was widely publicised at the time and brought Oscar II a brief measure of fame she would never otherwise have achieved.
Launched on 14t<\sup>h<\sup> November 1901, Oscar II was completed the following February and left Copenhagen on her maiden voyage the next month. Initially registered at 9,970 tons, she measured 519 feet in length with a 58 foot beam, and could cruise at 15 knots. With comfortable accommodation for 130 1st, 140 2nd and 900 steerage passengers she proved a popular ship and, particularly during Denmark's neutrality in the Great War, highly profitable. Eventually laid up in 1931 due to the worsening depression, she was sold for breaking in 1933 and scrapped at Blyth soon afterwards.
The most interesting episode in her long though otherwise uneventful life was her charter by the millionaire American industrialist Henry Ford in 1915. Ford, bitterly opposed to U.S. involvement in the Great War and fearful that his country would eventually be dragged in, chartered Oscar II to take him and his supporters to Europe to promote the cause of peace. Although unsuccessful, the mission was widely publicised at the time and brought Oscar II a brief measure of fame she would never otherwise have achieved.