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70-643: Following a period of expansion, in 1974 Chandris Line merged with Chandris Cruises —a separate company founded in 1960 by Antonios Chandris' brother Dimitri Chandris to operate cruises in the Mediterranean —to form Chandris Line Chandris Cruises . After 1977 the company concentrated solely on cruising and was rebranded Chandris Cruises. In 1985 Chandris Cruises acquired Fantasy Cruises, and subsequently their North American operations were rebranded as Chandris Fantasy Cruises . The company ceased trading in 1996. The funnels of all of their ships were emblazoned with

140-686: A degaussing cable for protection against naval mines on 3 January 1941. On 28 May 1941, America was called up to service by the United States Navy , while the ship was at Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands . It was ordered to return to Newport News to be handed over to the Navy. Two German spies, Franz Joseph Stigler and Erwin Wilhelm Siegler, were members of its crew in 1941. While on

210-577: A division of destroyers . On 17 November 1941, Convoy WS12-X reaches Trinidad. All ships were replenished, and the convoy departs Trinidad on 19 November 1941. On 7 December at 2000, the convoy receives a radio communication of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . On 9 December, convoy WS12-X arrived in Cape Town, South Africa. At about 0800 on 13 December 1941, the troopships departed Cape Town headed for Bombay. At 650 on 21 December 1941,

280-402: A 200-mile (320 km) detour through the shallow, coral-studded Sunda Strait . Led by British cruiser HMS  Exeter , the ships slowed to 10 knots (19 km/h), and streaming paravane gear, began the passage. An escorting destroyer steamed between each transport, as they steamed in single-column order. It was a dangerous passing, a small divergence from the charted course could mean

350-598: A disastrous grounding. The screen's commander, Captain Oliver L. Gordon , R.N. , commanding Exeter , desired to arrive at Singapore with as many ships as possible by dawn on 29 January, and thus split up the convoy, sending the faster vessels— West Point , Wakefield , and Empress of Japan —ahead at increased speed under escort of cruisers HMS Exeter , HMS  Durban , HMS  Dragon , and destroyers HMS  Express and HMS  Electra . Proceeding to Singapore via Berhala Strait, Durian Strait, and Philips Channel,

420-557: A man – the troops which it had brought from Halifax, a total of 4,506, while West Point embarked two-thirds of the troops which it had transported, in addition to some which had come out on other ships. All told, it carried some 5,272 men. West Point sailed for Singapore on 9 January, in a "15-knot" convoy, with Captain Kelley as the convoy commodore . In addition to the two American ships, three British transports – Duchess of Bedford , Empress of Japan , and Empire Star – made up

490-582: A sister ship to the Ellinis —for sale in 1970, Chandris Line were quick to purchase the ship. Given a large-scale refit in which particular attention was given to dual usage of the ship in both liner and cruise services, the former Lurline emerged in February 1971 as RHMS  Britanis , joining Ellinis and Australis on the UK—Australia liner service. Patris , which had served without interruption on

560-551: Is it surprising that the most successful passenger ship operator in modern times should be Chandris". Having lived in London since World War II, Dimitri Chandris returned permanently to Greece in July 1980 to work and focus on the hotel group he established. Shortly following his return to Greece, Dimitri was involved in a boating accident. He was transferred to The London Clinic for medical care but died following an operation. Dimitri

630-695: The America until its conversion by the Navy into a troop transport and its commission into the U.S. Navy as the USS West Point . Stigler and Siegler, along with the 31 other German agents of the Duquesne Spy Ring , were later uncovered by the FBI in the largest espionage conviction in U.S. history. Upon conviction, Stigler was sentenced to serve 16 years in prison on espionage charges with two concurrent years for registration violations; Siegler

700-609: The America , they obtained information about the movement of ships and military defense preparations at the Panama Canal , observed and reported defense preparations in the Canal Zone, and met with other German agents to advise them in their espionage efforts. They operated as couriers transmitting information between the United States and German agents abroad. Stigler worked undercover as chief butcher. Both remained on

770-454: The Britanis was taken off liner service and rerouted to full-time cruising in 1975. During the same year the north Australian city of Darwin had been almost completely destroyed in a storm, and Patris found employment as a temporary accommodation ship for the residents of the destroyed city. This occupation lasted for only a year, after which a radically new use was found for the ship: she

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840-538: The Coast Guard cutter Ingham , the "station ship" at Lisbon, Portugal . After its final Italian passenger had disembarked on 23 July, and the last German on 24 July, West Point commenced taking on 321 American citizens and 67 Chinese—consular staffs and their families – on 26 July. Returning to New York on 1 August, West Point discharged its passengers and headed south for an overhaul at Portsmouth, Virginia . She then participated in tactical exercises off

910-983: The Matson Line ship Lurline as a replacement for the Brittany . Renamed RHMS  Ellinis , the ship entered service with Chandris Line on the United Kingdom—Mediterranean—Australia -route in December 1963. A second United States -built liner joined the Chandris Line fleet in November 1964 when America was purchased from the United States Lines . Following rebuilding she entered service with Chandris Line in August 1965 as RHMS  Australis , joining Ellinis on

980-725: The North African Campaign to fight the Japanese in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, one disaster after another had plagued the Allied forces . Singapore fell on 15 February; Java on 4 March. West Point carried its embarked troops to Australia and disembarked them at Adelaide and Melbourne before heading across the Pacific toward San Francisco. As the Allies built up for the long road back, West Point participated in

1050-602: The North American cruise market. During the summer months she was used for cruising out of New York, while during the winters she was used in Piraeus—New York and Piraeus—Australia liner services. For some time the Queen Frederica was marketed as a Chandris Lines/National Hellenic American Line ship. The Queen Frederica ' s cruise service from New York proved short, as new legislation came in effect in

1120-565: The Patris’s operator was marketed as Greek-Australian Line, later National Greek-Australian Line. The Patris proved highly popular on the Greece—Australia service, and in 1960 Chandris Line began looking for a second ship. In November 1960 Chandris Line chartered the Bretagne from Société Générale de Transports Maritimes . During the northern hemisphere summer seasons of 1961 and 1962

1190-484: The Staten Island quarantine station on 16 July, took on board 137 Italian citizens and 327 German citizens from the consulates of those nations in the United States which had been closed. West Point got under way at 2:55 that afternoon, bound for Portugal , and arrived at Lisbon on 23 July. While there, the ship was visited by Portuguese naval and diplomatic dignitaries; and it transferred supplies to

1260-725: The USS ; Mount Vernon  (AP-22) and USS  Orizaba detached from the convoy headed for Bombay, and were bound for Mombasa. The remainder of the convoy continued to Bombay under the escort of HMS  Dorsetshire , arriving on 27 December 1941. Wakefield commenced discharging its embarked troops at 1900 at the Ballard Piers, completed her unloading, and shifted berths the next morning. West Point took Wakefield' s former berth while Joseph T. Dickman moored to unload its equipment and troops. Having completed its discharge by 31 December 1941, West Point anchored in

1330-833: The Virginia Capes from 26 to 29 August in company with Wakefield and Mount Vernon . The Atlantic Conference was held on 9 August 1941 in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland , between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt. Besides the "official" agenda, Churchill hoped to obtain considerable assistance from the USA, but the American President had his political hands tied. On 1 September 1941, Roosevelt received an urgent and most secret message asking for US Navy troopships manned by Navy crews and escorted by U.S.N. fighting ships to carry British troops for

1400-577: The 1940s, but now wanted to attempt entering the migrant trade again. In October 1959 Antonios Chandris purchased RMS  Bloemfontein Castle from Union-Castle Line for £ 1.5 million as the first ship of the new Chandris Line. Following delivery to Chandris Line on 19 November 1959 the Bloemfontein Castle was renamed Patris and rebuilt with increased passenger capacity for migrant service. Antonios Chandris made two contracts to increase

1470-432: The 55th Brigade , Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment , and 100 men of a US Army Field Service company . On 10 November, West Point – in company with five other transports: Wakefield , Mount Vernon , Orizaba , Leonard Wood , and Joseph T. Dickman – got under way for India as Convoy HS-124. En route, they were joined by the aircraft carrier Ranger , the cruisers Vincennes and Quincy , and

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1540-486: The American ships to evacuate personnel to Bombay. Accordingly, West Point took on board eight men, 55 women, and 53 children, as well as 670 troops, for passage to India. Wakefield , despite its weakened condition caused by the direct hit on 29 January, embarked two naval ratings, six RAF personnel, and 25 men and one officer of a British Bofors gun detachment. The two ships departed Colombo on 8 February and, escorted by

1610-1060: The Banka Strait unmolested by the seemingly omnipresent Japanese aircraft. Routed to Batavia , Java, to embark more refugees, West Point led Wakefield and Durban through the minefields and anchored in Batavia Roads at 3:05 a.m. on 31 January. HMS Electra —which would be lost in the Battle of the Java Sea 27 February—came alongside eight hours later and transferred 20 naval dockyard personnel, three women, five naval officers' wives, one Free French officer, and an RAF officer to West Point for passage to Ceylon. At 12:40 pm on 1 February, West Point —in company with Wakefield and under escort of Exeter , HMS Encounter , and HMAS  Vampire —got under way. The destroyers eventually went off to perform other duties, and Exeter as well soon dropped away to escort another convoy, leaving

1680-552: The Central and South Pacific through the end of 1943. In 1944, the transport continued its vital workhorse duties, departing San Francisco on 12 January, bound for Nouméa and Guadalcanal ; and from San Pedro, California on 22 February, bound for Nouméa and Milne Bay . It sailed from the latter port and steamed via the Panama Canal to Boston, Massachusetts , where it arrived on 12 June. It conducted five successive voyages to

1750-650: The Chandris Group acquired several large passenger ships, notably Bloemfontein Castle , Bretagne , and Lurline (later renamed Ellinis ). In 1950 Dimitri Chandris was elected on to the Board of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS), later serving as the organisation's Vice President from 1960 to 1964. By the 1970s the Chandris Group had developed multifarious activities moving into tankers and tramp ships as well as passenger and cruise ships. By 1976 Chandris had

1820-468: The Greece—Australia service from 1959, was assigned to a new service in 1972 due to declining passenger numbers, offering a much-shortedned liner service from Singapore to Australia, alongside occasional cruises from Australian ports. A similar fate befell Ellinis in 1973, when she was taken off the declining UK-Australia liner service and reassigned for cruising on European waters. With the number of liner passengers between Europe and Australia dwindling,

1890-556: The Greek destroyer Vasilissa Olga , proceeded at 20 knots (37 km/h). Captain Kelley later highly praised the operations of this sole escort. Although heavy weather was encountered en route, the Greek destroyer acquitted itself well, continuing to patrol its station "at all times at high speed ahead of our zig-zag." After discharging her evacuees at Bombay, West Point parted company with Wakefield and proceeded to Suez where she picked up Australian troops who were being withdrawn from

1960-634: The Greek letter chi , the first letter of the name Chandris in Greek (Χανδρή). The chi acted as a logo for both Chandris and their subsidiary and ultimate successor, Celebrity Cruises . In 1959 Antonios J. Chandris , son of the Greek freight shipping company owner John D. Chandris , decided to establish a new passenger shipping company to carry migrants from Europe to Australia. Together with his brother Dimitri Chandris , Antonios Chandris had previously been involved in Charlton Steam Shipping Company 's failed migrant service in

2030-456: The Japanese steadily pounded Singapore from the air. At each alert, the local workers working dockside would vanish, taking to the shelters and leaving the vital cargo still unloaded. As a result, the unloading was carried out by the crew of West Point , its embarked troops, and 22 local workers who were brought aboard to assist. On 30 January, seven Japanese bombers appeared over the city and were engaged by British Brewster Buffalo fighters. As

2100-501: The UK-Australia service. The Australis particularly proved to be an extremely popular ship on the run from United Kingdom to Australia, usually operating at full capacity. Chandris Line expanded further in 1965 when they acquired National Hellenic American Line and their sole ship, Queen Frederica , from Home Lines . Although the Queen Frederica was a relatively old ship, Antonios Chandris considered her to be well suited for

2170-593: The UK. Fuel and water would be charged for the escorts to the UK in Trinidad and Cape Town only. The troops would conform to US Navy and ships regulation. Intoxicating liquors were prohibited. It was further agreed that the troops were to rig and man their own anti-aircraft guns to augment the ships batteries. On 3 November, it sailed from Virginia waters and arrived at Halifax , Nova Scotia, on 5 November. There, on 8 & 9 November, it embarked 241 officers and 5,202 men of

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2240-758: The US at the end of 1967, aimed at improving safety standards on cruise ships. Bringing the Queen Frederica in-line with the new requirements would have been extremely costly, and as a result she was withdrawn from the North American cruise service in September 1967. As a replacement Chandris Line acquired the former Union-Castle liner RMS  Kenya Castle , which was renamed RHMS  Amerikanis and entered cruise service for Chandris Line in August 1968. In 1970 Matson Line offered another of their ships—the second 1932-built Lurline , originally named Monterey and

2310-491: The United Kingdom before departing Boston on 6 December 1944 for Oran , Algeria ; Casablanca, French Morocco; and Marseille , France. The transport left the Mediterranean on 26 December and proceeded to Norfolk, Virginia. In 1945, West Point voyaged to Italian and French ports, via Oran or Gibraltar , staging from Hampton Roads, Virginia , Boston, or New York. After Germany surrendered , it took part in some of

2380-815: The United Kingdom, West Point sailed for India, via the South Atlantic route, and arrived at Bombay on 29 November, before pushing on for Auckland , New Zealand, the following month. The transport returned via Nouméa , New Caledonia , to San Francisco on 31 January 1943. It remained on the West Coast until 16 February, when it got under way for the South Pacific and retraced its route to Wellington, New Zealand, and Australian ports. It then continued west—calling at Bombay, Massawa , Aden , and Suez—and stopped briefly at Cape Town en route to Rio de Janeiro , Brazil. Eventually arriving at New York on 4 May,

2450-596: The United States Franklin D. Roosevelt . Her cousin, Kermit Roosevelt , was one of the founders of United States Lines. The liner entered service on 10 August 1940, undertaking its maiden voyage as the flagship of the United States Lines. As originally designed, America could carry 543 in cabin class, 418 in tourist class, 241 in third class, and 643 crew. The interior accommodations were styled by architects Eggers & Higgins to be

2520-549: The alert continued, 30 more Japanese planes appeared overhead, on course over Keppel Harbor. Several bombs fell on shore, eastward of West Point's moorings, while another stick fell in the water to the southward. In the interim, bombs hit other targets. A small tanker moored near Wakefield was sunk at dockside; bombs fell abreast Empress of Japan ; and Wakefield took a direct hit forward which destroyed its sick bay, killed five men and wounded nine. The last bombs in this stick straddled West Point and showered her with shrapnel. As

2590-574: The arrival of a British convoy from the UK were to load twenty thousand troops. The Prime Minister mentioned in his letter that it would be for the President to say what would be required in replacement if any of these ships were to be sunk by enemy action. Agreements were worked out for the troops to be carried as supernumeraries and rations to be paid out of Lend Lease Funds and officer laundry bills were to be paid in cash. All replenishments of provisions, general stores, fuel and water would be provided by

2660-488: The doomed city before its fall to the onrushing Japanese troops of General Yamashita . All told, some 1,276 naval officers, their families, dockyard civilians, civilian evacuees, a 16-man Royal Air Force (RAF) contingent, and 225 naval ratings made up the people embarked by 6:00 p.m. on 30 January. Clearing Singapore, West Point and Wakefield headed due west, escorted by HMS Durban . Overcast and squally weather covered their departure and permitted them to transit

2730-463: The effort to aid America's allies in the southwest Pacific with massive contingents of troops. Accordingly, the transport carried men to Wellington , New Zealand , and arrived on 30 May. There, it received orders to return to New York; and it got under way from Melbourne on 8 June, bound for the Panama Canal. It entered the Atlantic on 26 June, and arrived at New York on 2 July. After two voyages to

2800-553: The emergency "acute", Kelley agreed to take on board up to one thousand women and children and such additional men as the British desired to send. With the abandonment of the naval dockyard, untenable in the face of increasingly heavier Japanese bombardments from artillery and aircraft, several dockyard naval and civilian personnel and their families were assigned to West Point for evacuation. Most carried only hand baggage; had little, if any, money; but were all fortunate enough to escape

2870-589: The establishment of the Alpha beer brewery (which became the second largest in Greece), a large motor franchise based on Rootes cars , and a substantial hotel group. He was also involved in several charities including establishment of the School of Maritime Engineering in his home island of Chios. Before the outbreak of World War II, Chandris operated six ships: the passenger ships Dimitrios , Chimara and Corte II , and

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2940-756: The group steamed through these bodies of water in bright moonlight which made navigational aids unnecessary. Upon their arrival off Singapore, the ships lay to in an exposed position, beyond the range of shore-based antiaircraft guns, until pilots could be obtained to bring the ships in. Since the naval base came under daily heavy air raids, the transports proceeded to Keppel Harbor , the commercial basin at Singapore, where they could discharge their troops and cargo. Securing abreast godowns (warehouses) 52, 53, and 54, West Point commenced off-loading equipment and disembarking its troops. All but 670 engineer troops, who had been ordered retained on board, were ashore before nightfall. Air raids , meanwhile, continued until midnight as

3010-641: The horn and certain ventilation uptakes. Due to conflict having begun in Europe in World War II , in which the United States was still neutral, the ship's name, along with "United States Lines" and two American flags were painted in large size to be clearly visible on both sides of the hull . At night, it sailed while fully illuminated, as further precaution. Additionally, it did not immediately take to its intended North Atlantic service route, instead sailing in safer waters. It was, however, quietly fitted with

3080-641: The initial " Magic Carpet " voyages, bringing home American troops from the European battlefronts. Following its last European voyage—to Le Havre , France— West Point was transferred to the Pacific Fleet . It departed Boston on 10 December 1945, transited the Panama Canal, and proceeded to Manila , Philippines via Pearl Harbor . Retracing the same route, it docked at pier 88 in New York on 7 February 1946 and soon got under way for Hampton Roads, where it

3150-520: The largest passenger-cruise ship fleet in the world, surpassing the records held by major companies such as Cunard and Union-Castle . An editorial feature in Lloyd's Review praised the recovery and renaissance of the Greek shipping sector, led by companies and individuals from Chios, writing: "It is not surprising, therefore, that a name often mentioned with Greek shipping – Chandris – was born in Chios. Nor

3220-500: The noted American naval architect William Francis Gibbs . It carried many names in the 54 years between its construction and its 1994 wreck: SS America (carrying this name three different times during its career); troop transport USS West Point ; and SS Australis , Italis , Noga , Alferdoss , and American Star . It served most notably in passenger service as America and the Greek-flagged Australis . It

3290-477: The outbreak of World War II , Dimitri Chandris relocated from Chios to London with his family, joining a large number of other ship-owning families from Greece. The UK government requisitioned all of his ships for war service. At the end of the war Dimitri set about reconstructing the family business almost from scratch. He chose to remain in the UK as, although the Second World War had ended, Greece

3360-990: The profitability of the ship: with the Intergovernmental Committee on European Migration to carry assisted migrants from Europe to Australia; and with the Greek Government to carry mail from Greece to Australia. As a result, the Patris gained the right to use the Royal Hellenic Mail Ship (RHMS) ship prefix , therefore becoming known as RHMS  Patris . Following rebuilding the Patris first departed Piraeus with Captain Zannis X.Xenios, on 14 December 1959, arriving in Fremantle , Australia on 2 January 1960 and her final Australian destination, Sydney on 9 January 1959. Initially

3430-881: The purpose of reinforcing the Middle East. On 4 September the US destroyer, USS Greer (DD-145) , came under an unsuccessful U-boat attack. Roosevelt gave authority to the US Navy to "shoot to kill". On 5 September the President assured the British leader that six vessels would be provided to carry twenty thousand troops and would be escorted by the American Navy. The chief of Naval Operations ordered troop ships divisions seventeen and nineteen, on 26 September 1941, to prepare their vessels for approximately six months at sea. These transports were to load to capacity with food, ammunition medical supplies, fuel and water and were to arrive at Halifax, NS on or about 6 November and after

3500-406: The raid lifted, West Point sent two medical officers and 11 corpsmen on board Wakefield , at the latter's request, to render medical assistance. Later that morning, Captain Kelley attended a conference with British authorities, who informed him that his ship was to be used to carry a contingent of Australian troops from Suez to Singapore and to transport refugees and evacuees to Ceylon . With

3570-466: The remainder of the van. Escorted by British light cruiser HMS  Caledon until this ship was relieved by light cruiser HMS  Glasgow at 1630 on 22 January, the convoy's escort soon swelled to three cruisers and four destroyers as the convoy neared Java . Japanese submarine activities near the Indonesian archipelago prompted concern for the safe arrival of the valuable ships, hence

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3640-569: The remaining Chandris years. Soon the popularity of Chandris grew tremendously low, with more focused needed on Celebrity, so it was decided to dissolve all other assets. After almost 37 years, Chandris Lines began to stop all operations in 1996, this plan ending with the phasing out of their Fantasy Cruises branch and layup of the Britanis in 1998. To this date only one Chandris ship, the cruise ferry The Azur , has not been scrapped. Dimitri Chandris Dimitri John Chandris ( Greek : Δημήτρης Ιωάννη Χανδρής ; born January 1921 – August 1980)

3710-409: The ship subsequently made two voyages to Casablanca , French Morocco before sailing for Bombay via the southern Atlantic route. Calling at Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town en route, the big transport continued, via Bombay and Melbourne, on for the West Coast of the United States. Soon thereafter, West Point began transporting troops to Australia and continued making voyages there and to Allied bases in

3780-431: The ship was chartered to Caribbean Cruise Line for cruises out of New York City , spending the rest of the year in liner service between the United Kingdom and Australia. In April 1962 the Bretagne was renamed RHMS  Brittany , but she was destroyed by a fire while in drydock in April 1963. The Brittany ' s UK-Australia version was marketed as Europe-Australia Line. In September 1963 Chandris Line acquired

3850-416: The ship's stability. Due to prevailing low-water conditions at Bombay at this point, neither West Point nor Wakefield could go alongside piers in the harbor to either load equipment or troops. Thus, the embarkation and loading procedures had to be carried out by the tedious process of embarking troops and loading supplies from smaller ships and lighters brought alongside. Wakefield embarked – almost to

3920-479: The steamships Dimitrios II , Vlassios and Eugenia . In the years after 1945, Dimitri and Anthony Chandris began to develop Chandris into the largest Greek passenger shipping firm. In 1945 Dimitri Chandris led the acquisition of Charlton Steam Shipping Company Ltd. , which operated a fleet of passenger ships from headquarters in Newcastle. This purchase signalled the beginning of the Chandris Group's concentrated expansion efforts around passenger travel. Recognising

3990-415: The stream on the morning of 2 January 1942 and awaited further orders until 4 January, when British authorities asked Captain Kelley, of West Point , if his ship and Wakefield could be brought under 30-foot (9.1 m) draught to make passage for Singapore. Kelley responded that it could be done, but this would entail discharging ballast and expelling some of the ship's fresh water supply—thus endangering

4060-682: The two big troopships on their own. While they were en route, disconcerting news came over the radio. Japanese I-boats (identified after the war as I-162 and I-153) had been active in the vicinity, sinking six ships between them. West Point acquired an extra passenger while en route; for, on 4 February, a baby boy was born on board. Colombo Harbor, Ceylon, where they arrived on 6 February, was so crowded that British authorities could not permit Wakefield to repair its damage there. The passengers, in turn, experienced much difficulty in arranging for suitable transportation ashore. In addition, neither transport could fully provision. British authorities requested

4130-424: The urgent need to provide passenger ships for displaced peoples and refugees in post-War Europe, the Chandris Group purchased the Prince David and Prince Robert (pictured right) from the Canadian Royal Navy in 1945. Following rebuilding and conversion, the new ships were leased by the Chandris Group to the International Refugee Organisation . More intensive expansion efforts were undertaken from 1959, after which

4200-401: The utmost in contemporary American design, making use of stainless steel , ceramics , and synthetics. America was originally constructed with low funnels in order to give the ship a modern, streamlined appearance. Very early in its career, however, the height of the funnels was increased by 16 feet, due to heavy soot deposits on the decks. The forward funnel was in actuality a dummy, housing

4270-439: Was a Greek shipowner who established Chandris Line , a large passenger shipping line, with his brother Anthony Chandris. Dimitri Chandris was the eldest son of John D. Chandris , a prominent Greek shipowner. Dimitri Chandris was born in Chios to a wealthy family, son of Ioannis D. Chandris, a prominent ship-owner, and his wife Evgenia. In 1915 John Chandris had purchased his first ship, Dimitrios , and founded Chandris. After

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4340-440: Was buried in the Chandris family chapel next to the church of Agios Vlasios in Kambos , Chios. Outside of shipping, Dimitri Chandris was involved in a number of other business ventures, establishing a large automotive franchise, a brewery and a substantial hotel group. SS America (1939) SS America was an ocean liner and cruise ship built in the United States in 1940 for the United States Lines and designed by

4410-483: Was commissioned for service under the command of Captain Frank H. Kelley, Jr. By the time the conversion was completed, life-rafts covered the promenade deck windows, "standee" bunks could be found everywhere, several anti-aircraft weapons were installed, all of the windows were covered, the ship was painted in a camouflage gray color, and the troop-carrying capacity was increased to 7,678. The USS West Point soon proceeded to New York City and, while anchored off

4480-416: Was converted into a ro-ro car/passenger ferry and used on services linking Ancona in Italy to Patras and Piraeus in Greece. In 1979 Patris was sold to Karageorgis Lines who retained her in the same service. The Chandris liner service to Australia was closed down in late 1977 when Australis arrived in Australia as the last ship carrying government-sponsored migrant. From there on all migrant transport

4550-429: Was embroiled in a civil war . Greek shipowners, therefore, elected to operate in either of the then two great maritime centres of London and New York. In 1950 he was elected on to the Board of the Union of Greek Shipowners. He also served as their vice president from 1960 to 1964. (His brother Anthony later served as the president). In the 1960s and 1970s he was active with various business interests in Greece including

4620-417: Was handled by airplanes. Ellinis was taken out of service in 1980 and laid up at Perama Bay . She remained laid up for several years, being used as a source of spare parts for her sister ship Britanis . In 1988 Chandris founded a subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises , transferring the ex Italian liner Galileo to this new line. Celebrity prospered, with four newbuilt cruise ships entering service for them during

4690-461: Was one of only a few ocean liners, American or otherwise, to have had its interiors designed by women—the New York firm Smyth, Urquhart & Marckwald . The ornate decor typical of liners of the past was forgone, in favor of a more contemporary and informal design. The aim was to provide an atmosphere of cheerfulness and sophisticated charm. America was launched on 31 August 1939 and was sponsored by Eleanor Roosevelt , wife of then-president of

4760-417: Was released from troop-carrying service on 22 February. Its last voyage under the name West Point was a short trip from Portsmouth to Newport News for reconversion to a passenger liner. There, six days later, it was officially decommissioned, stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 March, and transferred to the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration . During its naval service, it carried

4830-449: Was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment on espionage charges and a concurrent two-year term for violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act . America was moored at Norfolk, Virginia , and acquired by the Navy on 1 June 1941 to be used as a troop transport . The ship was renamed the USS West Point (AP-23), the second U.S. Navy ship of the name. It entered the Norfolk Ship Yards on 6 June 1941 for conversion and on 15 June 1941, it

4900-445: Was wrecked as American Star at Playa de Garcey on Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands on 18 January 1994. The wreck deteriorated and completely collapsed into the sea. In 2024 it was no longer visible on the ocean surface and had become an artificial reef . America was laid down under the first Maritime Commission contract on 22 August 1938 at Newport News, Virginia by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company . It

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