Ship Model, Leviathan

The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. This model was likely built around then. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled. This model came to the Smithsonian from the New York City offices of the United States Lines in 1952.