The second SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, named for the German Emperor, was a 19,361-gross register ton passenger ship built at Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland). The ship was completed in the spring of 1903. At the time of her launch she was larger by 1,900 tons than any other German ship and was surpassed in the weight of her hull and machinery only by the British liners RMS Cedric and RMS Celtic. The ship was seized by the U.S. Government during World War I, and subsequently served as a transport ship under the name USS Agamemnon. A famous photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz called The Steerage, as well as descriptions of the conditions of travel in the lowest class, have conflicted with her otherwise glitzy reputation as a high class, high speed trans-Atlantic liner. Design The Kaiser Wilhelm II was built with a full double-bottom along the hull. She was divided into 26 watertight compartments via 16 transverse bulkheads and one longitudinal bulkhead separating the engine rooms. She was designed so that any two compartments could flood and the ship stay afloat. 52 watertight doors were distributed between the bulkheads, 24 of which could be closed from the bridge via the Dörr mechanism. Interiors Kaiser Wilhelm II could accommodate 775 First-Class passengers in 290 cabins, and 343 Second-Class passengers in 102 cabins. There was room for another 770 in Third-Class. The two First-Class "Imperial" suites were the finest accommodation aboard, each featuring a dining room, drawing room, bedroom, and bathroom. There were 8 suites with sitting room, bedroom, and bathroom and another 8 cabins with an adjoining bathroom. The design of the ship's interiors was entrusted to Johann Poppe, who had designed the interiors of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and the SS Kronprinz Wilhelm. The First-Class dining saloon was three decks high and designed in Poppe's signature German Baroque revival style. It was 108 feet long and 69 feet wide, the full beam of the ship. It could accommodate 554 diners. Other First-Class amenities included a children's saloon, a typewriting room, smoking room, drawing room, reading and writing room, and two cafés on the bridge deck. German career Designed for high speed trans-Atlantic service, Kaiser Wilhelm II was launched at Stettin on 12 August 1902, in the presence of the German Emperor, for whom it was named by Miss Wiegand, daughter of Heinrich Wiegand, director of its owner