After the first world war the Norddeutscher Lloyd considered new ships to get back into the market again. Plans were made for a “5 day ship”, a ship that could leave Southampton at a convenient time for the passengers and still be in New York in time for American customs and border control. The idea came up to offer a weekly passenger service with two new ships and the Columbus.

It was decided to place an order for Bremen at AG Weser shipyard and for Europa at Blohm & Voss. These ships came up with a lot of innovations. For example the bulbous bow which was copied from American ships. Bremen and Europa in their design and configuration were state-of-the-art. The accomplishment of the German shipbuilders and architects were acknowledged worldwide. The legendary service of NDL contributed to the success of both ships as well. On July 5th 1929 both ships were commissioned. Their first cruise was to New York. The maiden voyage of Bremen was a media event: with an average speed of 27.83 knots she even beat the Mauretania (26.06 knots) and won the legendary Blue Riband.

Both ships were camouflaged during second world war for operation Sea Lion. Sea Lion didn’t take place – the camouflage lasted. On March 16th, 1941 a fire on board Bremen was discovered. Every attempt to put out the fire failed. Bremen burned completely out and finally was scrapped.

Our model shows Bremen in 1929.