User:The C of E/titanic

SS Frankfurt was German and later British passenger liner formerlly owned by Norddeutscher Lloyd. It was launched in 1899 in Bremen, German Empire and served as a passenger ship until 1919 when it was surrendered to the British Empire as part of war reparations. It was then run by the White Star Line before being sold to the British Hong Kong Oriental Navigation Co. and renamed Sarvistan. It was scrapped in 1931.

History
SS Frankfurt was built as a Koln-class immigrant ship. It was capable of carrying 1,600 steerage class passengers. Construction was finished in 1899 with Frankfurt making her maiden voyage on 31 March 1900. During its Norddeutscher Lloyd service, it regularly made voyages between Bremen and either Baltimore or Galveston with six later voyages to South America.

Titanic sinking incident
On 14 April 1912, the Frankfurt was 200 nautical miles of the RMS Titanic when it was sinking. The Frankfurt were first to reply to the Titanic's CQD distress call where it received Titanic's position and replied "OK, stdbi (standby)" stating they would tell their captain. There were no further communications between the two ships until Titanic had almost sunk and Titanic's Captain Edward Smith had relieved the Titanic's radio operators Harold Bride and Jack Phillips. Then Frankfurt sent a message asking "What is the matter with you?". An angry Phillips then reportedly replied "You fool! You fool! stdbi and keep out."

Post-war service
After the German Empire lost the First World War to the British Empire, Frankfurt was ceded to the United Kingdom as part of the German war reparations. The British government placed it under the management of the White Star Line. It was sold to Hong Kong in 1922, when it was renamed Sarvistan. It was latter scrapped in 1931 in Japan.