Albert Ballin's "Big Three" by Captain Stephen Card. These liners, the brainchildren of Hamburg America Line's President, Albert Ballin, were the first to exceed 50,00 gross tons. Ballin, envisioning a weekly trans-Atlantic service, had them constructed between 1910 and 1914. All three, Imperator, Vaterland and Bismark were seized by the Allies during or immediately after World War I. Imperator was purchased by Cunard and renamed Berengaria, while Vaterland, renamed Leviathan, joined the United States Lines. The White Star Line obtained the Bismark and renamed the vessel Majestic. From left to right: Leviathan, Majestic and Berengaria.