The first SS Fürst Bismarck was an ocean liner built in 1890 by AG Vulcan for the Hamburg America Line. A steamship of 8,430 gross register tons, it was assigned to transatlantic crossings between Hamburg Germany and New York City, United States. Fürst Bismarck and the sister ships were part of an express fleet that usually made the trip in five to six days.
HAPAG's express fleet
The fleet of twin-screw express steamships operated between New York to Plymouth, Cherbourg and Hamburg, and from Hamburg, Southampton, and Cherbourg to New York. The fleet consisted of the SS Augusta Victoria and the SS Fürst Bismarck, built by the Vulcan Shipbuilding Company at Stettin, the SS Columbia, built by Laird Brothers, in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, and the SS Normannia, built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, in Glasgow. With these vessels the company maintained a weekly transatlantic express service, offering the public the convenience of safe and comfortable travel between America and the European Continent.[1]