The Kronprinzessin Cecilie (1905) and the Kaiser Wilhelm II (1903), laid up with smaller steamers in the Chesapeake Bay, sometime between the wars. Both liners were part of a quartet built for the Norddeutscher Lloyd at the turn of the century. They had lavish interiors and, when they were completed, were the fastest liners afloat. At the beginning of WW1 both ships, for one reason or another, found themselves in ports in the United States. Since it wasn’t only until 1917 that the US would declare war on Germany, the NDL considered that it was safer for its flagships to remain where they were. However, when the USA did enter the war, both ships were requisitioned by the US Navy and used as troop ships. They served in that role until 1920, transporting first american soldiers to Europe and then bringing the victorious troops back to the US. By the time the war was over, both ships were already considered outdated which is why no civilian user was found for them. They remained in the reserve fleet and where laid up in the Chesapeake Bay for the next 20 years. At the outbreak of WW2, the american government offered both ships to the british to serve as troop ships, but they declined, considering that their age would make any service problematic. In 1940, the US Navy decided to finally scrap them.
Source: pinterest