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148-580: Although not as well remembered as her larger fleetmates, the Champlain was the first modern ocean liner and embodied many design features later incorporated into the French Line's SS Normandie . Her interiors were designed by René Prou who decorated spaces on several earlier French Line ships, including the cabin motorship SS Lafayette  [ fr ] . When she made her début in June 1932,

296-415: A Blackburn Baffin , S5162 of A Flight, RAF Gosport , flown by Lt Guy Kennedy Horsey on torpedo-dropping practice, buzzed Normandie two kilometres (one nautical mile) off Ryde Pier and collided with a derrick which was transferring a motor car belonging to Arthur Evans , MP , onto a barge alongside the ship. The aircraft crashed onto Normandie ' s bow. The pilot was taken off by tender, but

444-441: A nightclub . Adjoining the café grill was the first-class smoking room, which was paneled in large murals depicting ancient Egyptian life. The ship also had indoor and outdoor pools, a chapel, and a theatre which could double as a stage and cinema. The machinery of Normandie ' s top deck and forecastle was integrated within the ship, concealing it and releasing nearly all the exposed deck space for passengers. As such it

592-456: A welding torch used by workman Clement Derrick ignited a stack of life vests filled with flammable kapok that had been stored in Lafayette ' s first-class lounge. The flammable varnished woodwork had not yet been removed, and the fire spread rapidly. The ship had a very efficient fire protection system, but it had been disconnected during the conversion and its internal pumping system

740-407: A beauty"). The CGT called their ship simply " Normandie ", preceded by neither "le" nor "la" (French masculine/feminine for "the") to avoid any confusion. On 29 October 1932 – three years to the day after the stock market crash – Normandie was launched in front of two-hundred thousand spectators. The 27,567-ton hull that slid into the river Loire was the largest launched and the wave washed up

888-562: A brief foray into air travel via the "Cunard Eagle" and "BOAC Cunard" airlines, but withdrew from the airline market in 1966. Cunard withdrew from its year-round service in 1968 to concentrate on cruising and summer transatlantic voyages for holiday makers. The Queens were replaced by Queen Elizabeth 2 ( QE2 ), which was designed for the dual role. In 1998, Cunard was acquired by the Carnival Corporation , and accounted for 8.7% of that company's revenue in 2012. In 2004, QE2

1036-479: A fierce rivalry. To recapture the speed record, CGT modified Normandie to reduce vibration and increase her speed. CGT replaced her three-bladed propellers with four-bladed ones, and made structural modifications to her lower aft section. These modifications reduced vibration at speed. In July 1937, she regained the Blue Riband, but Queen Mary took it back in 1938. After this, the captain of Normandie sent

1184-569: A former ship architect for the Imperial Russian Navy who had emigrated to France after the 1917 revolution . Yourkevitch's ideas included a slanting clipper-like bow and a bulbous forefoot beneath the waterline, in combination with a slim hydrodynamic hull. His concepts worked wonderfully in scale models, confirming the design's performance advantages. The French engineers were convinced by Yourkevitch and asked him to join their project. He also approached Cunard with his ideas, but

1332-563: A major generator of US currency for Great Britain. Cunard's slogan, "Getting there is half the fun", was specifically aimed at the tourist trade. Beginning in 1954, Cunard took delivery of four new 22,000-GRT intermediate liners for the Canadian route and the Liverpool–New York route. The last White Star motor ship, Britannic of 1930, remained in service until 1960. The introduction of jet airliners in 1958 heralded major change for

1480-503: A medal celebrating the occasion on behalf of the CGT. Normandie had a successful year but Queen Mary , Cunard White Star Line 's superliner, entered service in May 1936. At 80,774 gross registered tons, she was larger than Normandie's 79,280 gross registered tons, and captured the title of the world's largest passenger ship. In response, CGT increased Normandie ' s size, mainly through

1628-645: A message: "Bravo to the Queen Mary until next time!" This rivalry could have gone on into the 1940s, but was ended by the Second World War . Normandie carried distinguished passengers, including the authors Colette and Ernest Hemingway ; the wife of French President Albert Lebrun ; songwriters Noël Coward and Irving Berlin ; and Hollywood celebrities such as Fred Astaire , Marlene Dietrich , Walt Disney , Douglas Fairbanks, Jr , conductor Arturo Toscanini and James Stewart . She also carried

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1776-535: A new rival when the White Star Line commissioned the Oceanic and her five sisters. The new White Star record-breakers were especially economical because of their use of compound engines. White Star also set new standards for comfort by placing the dining saloon midships and doubling the size of cabins. Inman rebuilt its express fleet to the new standard, but Cunard lagged behind both of its rivals. Throughout

1924-520: A new £30 million joint venture with Cunard. BOAC contributed 70% of the new company's capital and eight Boeing 707s. Cunard Eagle's long-haul scheduled operation – including the two new 707s – was absorbed into BOAC-Cunard before delivery of the second 707, in June 1962. BOAC-Cunard leased any spare aircraft capacity to BOAC to augment the BOAC mainline fleet at peak times. As part of this deal, BOAC-Cunard also bought flying hours from BOAC for using

2072-444: A record-breaking crossing. At Southampton she took aboard an additional 195 Passengers: 122 First Class Passengers, 53 Tourist Class and 20 Third Class. Her combined total was 1,007 passengers. First Class was booked at two-thirds capacity with 589, Tourist Class was half booked at 293, while Third Class was at less than a quarter capacity with only 121. She reached New York City after four days, three hours and two minutes, taking away

2220-469: A result, the consensus among North Atlantic passengers was that she was primarily a ship for the rich and famous. In contrast, in Queen Mary , Cunard White Star had placed just as much emphasis on décor, space, and accommodation in second and tourist class as in first class. Thus Queen Mary accommodated American tourists, who had become numerous in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of these passengers could not afford first-class passage yet wanted to travel in much of

2368-448: A second ship, if Cunard merged with White Star. The merger took place on 10 May 1934, creating Cunard-White Star Limited . The merger was accomplished with Cunard owning about two-thirds of the capital. Due to the surplus tonnage of the new combined Cunard White Star fleet many of the older liners were sent to the scrapyard; these included the ex-Cunard liner Mauretania and the ex-White Star liners Olympic and Homeric . In 1936

2516-568: A series of auctions after her demise, and many pieces are considered valuable Art Deco treasures today. The rescued items include the ten large dining-room door medallions and fittings, and some of the individual Jean Dupas glass panels that formed the large murals mounted at the four corners of her Grand Salon. One entire corner is preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The dining room door medallions are now on

2664-534: A significant share of the 1 million people that crossed the Atlantic by air in 1960. This was the first time more passengers chose to make their transatlantic crossing by air than sea. In June 1961, Cunard Eagle became the first independent airline in the UK to be awarded a licence by the newly constituted Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB) to operate a scheduled service on the prime Heathrow – New York JFK route, but

2812-436: A sister ship, SS Bretagne , which was to be longer and larger. There were two competing designs for this ship – one conservative, one radical. The conservative design was essentially Normandie with two funnels, possibly larger as well. The radical one was from Normandie ' s designer, Vladimir Yourkevitch, and was super-streamlined with twin, side-by-side funnels just aft of the bridge. The more conservative design won, but

2960-522: A subsidy to build two superliners needed to retain Britain's competitive position. Mauretania held the Blue Riband from 1909 to 1929. Her sister ship, Lusitania , was torpedoed in 1915 during the First World War . In 1919, Cunard relocated its British homeport from Liverpool to Southampton, better to cater for travellers from London. In the late 1920s, Cunard faced new competition when

3108-507: A supplementary service to Montreal. The annual subsidy was later raised £81,000 to add a fourth ship and departures from Liverpool were to be monthly during the winter and fortnightly for the rest of the year. Parliament investigated Great Western's complaints, and upheld the Admiralty's decision. Napier and Cunard recruited other investors including businessmen James Donaldson, Sir George Burns , and David MacIver. In May 1840, just before

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3256-406: A transport, AP-53. Earlier proposals included turning Lafayette into an aircraft carrier , but this was dropped in favor of immediate troop transport. The ship remained moored at Pier 88 for the conversion. A contract for her conversion to a troop transport was awarded to Robins Dry Dock and Repair Co., a subsidiary of Todd Shipyards , on 27 December 1941. On that date, Capt. Clayton M. Simmers,

3404-536: A westbound voyage the same year, and the French Normandie crossed the Atlantic in just under four days at 30.58 knots (56.63 km/h) in 1937. In 1930 Cunard ordered an 80,000-ton liner that was to be the first of two record-breakers fast enough to fit into a two-ship weekly Southampton–New York service. Work on "Hull Number 534" was halted in 1931 because of the economic conditions. In 1934, both

3552-519: A wire service report from 1940 that as many as 300 people died but this is erroneous. Although there were many injuries there were only 11 or 12 fatalities. She was one of the largest ships sunk in World War II . Her wreck lay quite visible for over twenty years and was eventually scrapped in 1965. This article about a specific civilian ship or boat is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . SS Normandie SS Normandie

3700-827: Is nothing, follow your own road, deliver her safe, bring her back safe – safety is all that is required." In particular, Charles MacIver's constant inspections were responsible for the firm's safety discipline. In 1850 the American Collins Line and the British Inman Line started new Atlantic steamship services. The American Government supplied Collins with a large annual subsidy to operate four wooden paddlers that were superior to Cunard's best, as they demonstrated with three Blue Riband -winning voyages between 1850 and 1854. Meanwhile, Inman showed that iron-hulled, screw propelled steamers of modest speed could be profitable without subsidy. Inman also became

3848-872: The Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage. However, in the 1870s Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line . To meet this competition, in 1879 the firm was reorganised as the Cunard Steamship Company Ltd , to raise capital. In 1902, White Star joined the American-owned International Mercantile Marine Co. In response, the British Government provided Cunard with substantial loans and

3996-584: The Blue Riband from the Italian liner Rex . This brought great pride for the French, who had not won the distinction before. Under the command of Captain René Pugnet, Normandie ' s average on the maiden voyage was 29.98 knots (55.52 km/h; 34.50 mph) and on the eastbound crossing to France, she averaged over 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), breaking records in both directions. During

4144-754: The Celtic -class liners on the secondary Liverpool–New York route. In 1911 Cunard entered the St Lawrence trade by purchasing the Thompson line, and absorbed the Royal line five years later. Not to be outdone, both White Star and Hamburg–America each ordered a trio of superliners. The White Star Olympic -class liners at 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h) and the Hapag Imperator -class liners at 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h) were larger and more luxurious than

4292-472: The Champlain was the largest, fastest, and most luxurious cabin class liner afloat. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Champlain was pressed into evacuee work, transporting refugees from Europe to the safety of North America . This included many European Jews escaping Nazi Europe . Vladimir Nabokov and his family were passengers on the last voyage to New York in May 1940. It

4440-587: The Crimean War Cunard supplied 11 ships for war service. Every British North Atlantic route was suspended until 1856 except Cunard's Liverpool–Halifax–Boston service. While Collins' fortunes improved because of the lack of competition during the war, it collapsed in 1858 after its subsidy for carrying mail across the Atlantic was reduced by the US Congress. Cunard emerged as the leading carrier of saloon passengers and in 1862 commissioned Scotia ,

4588-702: The Guion Line when that firm defaulted on payments to the shipyard. That year, Cunard also commissioned the record-breakers Umbria and Etruria capable of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h). Starting in 1887, Cunard's newly won leadership on the North Atlantic was threatened when Inman and then White Star responded with twin screw record-breakers. In 1893 Cunard countered with two even faster Blue Riband winners, Campania and Lucania , capable of 21.8 knots (40.4 km/h). No sooner had Cunard re-established its supremacy than new rivals emerged. Beginning in

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4736-652: The Holland America Line 's SS  Nieuw Amsterdam , were among the few North Atlantic liners to make a profit, carrying the lion's share of passengers in the years preceding the Second World War. Sometime in 1939, the famous Von Trapp Family Singers stayed in third class and traveled to Southampton aboard the Normandie. In Part 2, chapter 5 of "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers", the autobiography of Maria Augusta Trapp, Maria describes

4884-473: The Société Anonyme des Chantiers de Penhoët began on the unnamed flagship on 26 January 1931 at Saint-Nazaire , soon after the stock market crash of 1929 . While the French continued construction, the competing White Star Line's planned Oceanic was cancelled and Cunard's RMS  Queen Mary put on hold. French builders also ran into difficulty and had to ask for government money; this subsidy

5032-405: The ocean liner industry. In 1960 a government-appointed committee recommended the construction of project Q3, a conventional 75,000 GRT liner to replace Queen Mary . Under the plan, the government would lend Cunard the majority of the liner's cost. However, some Cunard stockholders questioned the plan at the June 1961 board meeting because transatlantic flights were gaining in popularity. By 1963

5180-562: The von Trapp family singers (later immortalized in The Sound of Music ) from New York to Southampton in 1938; from Southampton, the family toured Scandinavia before returning to the United States. While Normandie rarely was occupied at over 60% of her capacity, her finances were such that she did not require government subsidies every year. She never repaid any of the loans that made her construction possible. The CGT considered

5328-652: The 1870s Cunard passage times were longer than either White Star or Inman. In 1867 responsibility for mail contracts was transferred back to the Post Office and opened for bid. Cunard, Inman and the German Norddeutscher Lloyd were each awarded one of the three weekly New York mail services. The fortnightly route to Halifax formerly held by Cunard went to Inman. Cunard continued to receive an £80,000 subsidy (equivalent to £8,947,514 in 2023), while NDL and Inman were paid sea postage. Two years later

5476-475: The 3rd Naval District Materiel Officer, reported to the Bureau of Ships (BuShips) his estimate that the conversion work could be completed by 31 January 1942, and planning for the work proceeded on that basis. Capt. Robert G. Coman reported as Lafayette ' s prospective commanding officer on 31 January 1942, overseeing a skeleton engineering force numbering 458 men. The complicated nature and enormous size of

5624-586: The Allied powers as war reparations. In 1916 Cunard Line completed its European headquarters in Liverpool , moving in on 12 June of that year. The grand neo-Classical Cunard Building was the third of Liverpool's Three Graces . The headquarters were used by Cunard until the 1960s. In 1917, Cunard's facilities were co-opted by the War Office to build aircraft for the expanding Royal Flying Corps , later

5772-666: The Atlantic, Britannia reached Halifax in 12 days and 10 hours, averaging 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h), before proceeding to Boston. Such relatively brisk crossings quickly became the norm for the Cunard Line: during 1840–41, mean Liverpool–Halifax times for the quartet were 13 days 6 hours to Halifax and 11 days 4 hours homeward. Two larger ships were quickly ordered, one to replace the Columbia , which sank at Seal Island, Nova Scotia , in 1843 without loss of life. By 1845, steamship lines led by Cunard carried more saloon passengers than

5920-535: The COVID-19 pandemic. The ship has since been named Queen Anne . The British Government started operating monthly mail brigs from Falmouth, Cornwall , to New York in 1756. These ships carried few non-governmental passengers and no cargo. In 1818, the Black Ball Line opened a regularly scheduled New York–Liverpool service with clipper ships , beginning an era when American sailing packets dominated

6068-560: The Cunard Line and the White Star Line were experiencing financial difficulties. David Kirkwood , MP for Clydebank where the unfinished Hull Number 534 had been sitting idle for two and a half years, made a passionate plea in the House of Commons for funding to finish the ship and restart the dormant British economy. The government offered Cunard a loan of £3 million to complete Hull Number 534 and an additional £5 million to build

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6216-521: The Cunard brand and the company began Project Queen Mary to build a new ocean liner/cruise ship for the transatlantic route. Following the Carnival acquisition, Cunard Line introduced White Star Service to Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia , as a reference to the high standards of customer service expected of the company. The term is still today onboard its newer vessels. The company has also created

6364-534: The Cunarders, but not as fast. Cunard also ordered a new ship, Aquitania , capable of 24.0 knots (44.4 km/h), to complete the Liverpool mail fleet. Events prevented the expected competition between the three sets of superliners. White Star's Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, both White Star's Britannic and Cunard's Lusitania were war losses, and the three Hapag super-liners were handed over to

6512-589: The European geopolitical situation deteriorated through the 1930s. The Italian liners relied heavily on government subsidies, while the German Lloyd liners never received funding. In comparison, Normandie did not require government subsidies in service, with her income covering not only her operating expenses but generating revenue of 158,000,000 francs . In contrast, Cunard White Star's Britannic III , Georgic II , and much older Aquitania , along with

6660-545: The Germans, Italians and French built large prestige liners. Cunard was forced to suspend construction on its own new superliner because of the Great Depression. In 1934, the British Government offered Cunard loans to finish Queen Mary and to build a second ship, Queen Elizabeth , on the condition that Cunard merged with the then-ailing White Star Line to form Cunard-White Star Line . Cunard owned two-thirds of

6808-630: The Mersey into Liverpool to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Cunard. The ships performed manoeuvres, including 180-degree turns, as the Red Arrows performed a fly-past. Just over a year later Queen Elizabeth returned to Liverpool under Captain Olsen to take part in the celebrations of the centenary of the Cunard Building on 2 June 2016. In September 2017, Cunard announced a fourth ship

6956-622: The Navy nor French Line offered a plan to salvage her, Yourkevitch, the ship's original designer, proposed to cut the ship down and restore her as a mid-sized liner. This plan also failed to draw backing. She was sent for scrapping beginning in October 1946 at Port Newark, New Jersey , and completely scrapped by 31 December 1948. The silhouette of Normandie influenced ocean liners over the decades, including Queen Mary 2 . The ambience of classic transatlantic liners like Normandie and Queen Mary

7104-740: The North Atlantic saloon-passenger trade that lasted until the introduction of steamships . A Committee of Parliament decided in 1836 that to become more competitive, the mail packets operated by the Post Office should be replaced by private shipping companies. The Admiralty assumed responsibility for managing the contracts. The famed Arctic explorer Admiral Sir William Edward Parry was appointed as Comptroller of Steam Machinery and Packet Service in April 1837. Nova Scotians led by their young Assembly Speaker, Joseph Howe , lobbied for steam service to Halifax . On his arrival in London in May 1838, Howe discussed

7252-606: The Queens was in drydock. The ex-Cunard liner Berengaria was sold for scrap in 1938 after a series of fires. During the Second World War the Queens carried over two million servicemen and were credited by Churchill as helping to shorten the war by a year. All four of the large Cunard-White Star express liners, the two Queens, Aquitania and Mauretania survived, but many of the secondary ships were lost. Both Lancastria and Laconia were sunk with heavy loss of life. In 1947 Cunard purchased White Star's interest, and by 1949

7400-504: The RAF. Due to First World War losses, Cunard began a post-war rebuilding programme including eleven intermediate liners. It acquired the former Hapag Imperator (renamed Berengaria ) to replace the lost Lusitania as the running mate for Mauretania and Aquitania , and Southampton replaced Liverpool as the British destination for the three-ship express service. By 1926 Cunard's fleet

7548-526: The Trapp Family's experience aboard the Normandie. She states, "The Normandie ! What a noble boat, and what a wonderful crew! although we were only third-class passengers, the French-line went out of its way to make our stay as enjoyable as possible ... On board the Normandie we were treated as celebrated artists. People knew about our Town Hall concert and we were asked to give a gala performance on

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7696-606: The U.S. Navy. Plans called for the vessel to be turned into a troopship ("convoy unit loaded transport"). The Navy renamed her USS Lafayette , in honor of both Marquis de la Fayette , the French general who fought on the Colonies ' behalf in the American Revolution , and the alliance with France that made American independence possible. The name was a suggestion of J. P. "Jim" Warburg, advisory assistant to Colonel William J. Donovan , Coordinator of Information , which

7844-648: The USCG removed Captain Lehuédé and his crew and took possession of Normandie under the right of angary , maintaining steam in the boilers and other activities on the idled vessel. However, the elaborate fire-watch system which ensured that any fire would be suppressed before it became a danger was abandoned. On 20 December 1941, the Auxiliary Vessels Board officially recorded President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's approval of Normandie ' s transfer to

7992-478: The United States, to Carnival UK , the primary operating company of Carnival plc. As the UK-listed holding company of the group, Carnival plc had executive control of all Carnival Group activities in the UK, with the headquarters of all UK-based brands, including Cunard, in offices at Carnival House. In 2004, the 36-year-old QE2 was replaced on the North Atlantic by the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary 2 . Caronia

8140-514: The White Star Academy, an in-house programme for preparing new crew members for the service standards expected on Cunard ships. By 2001, Carnival was the largest cruise company, followed by Royal Caribbean and P&O Princess Cruises , which had recently separated from its parent, P&O. When Royal Caribbean and P&O Princess agreed to merge, Carnival countered with a hostile takeover bid for P&O Princess. Carnival rejected

8288-485: The addition of an enclosed tourist lounge on the aft boat deck. Following these and other alterations, she measured 83,423 GRT . When the Normandie reentered service, she exceeded Queen Mary by 2,000 tons, reclaiming the title of world's largest ship. Normandie retained the title until Cunard White Star Line's RMS Queen Elizabeth at 83,673 gross registered tons formally entered service in 1946. On 22 June 1936,

8436-524: The basis of weight, at a rate substantially higher than paid by the United States Post Office . Cunard's weekly New York mail sailings were reduced to one and White Star was awarded the third mail sailing. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday a liner from one of the three firms departed Liverpool with the mail for New York. To raise additional capital, in 1879 the privately held British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company

8584-569: The cargo business and focus solely on cruise ships. Cunard's cargo fleet was sold off between 1989 and 1991, with a single container ship, the second Atlantic Conveyor , remaining under Cunard ownership until 1996. In 1993, Cunard entered into a 10-year agreement to handle marketing, sales and reservations for the Crown Cruise Line , and its three vessels joined the Cunard fleet under the Cunard Crown banner. In 1994 Cunard purchased

8732-461: The company US$ 13 million. After Cunard reported a US$ 25 million loss in 1995, Trafalgar assigned a new CEO to the line, who concluded that the company had management issues. In 1996 the Norwegian conglomerate Kværner acquired Trafalgar House, and attempted to sell Cunard. When there were no takers, Kværner made substantial investments to turn around the company's tarnished reputation. In 1998,

8880-461: The company had dropped the White Star name and was renamed "Cunard Line". Also in 1947 the company commissioned five freighters and two cargo liners . Caronia , was completed in 1949 as a permanent cruise liner and Aquitania was retired the next year. Cunard was in an especially good position to take advantage of the increase in North Atlantic travel during the 1950s and the Queens were

9028-484: The contract name. Many names were suggested including Doumer , after Paul Doumer , the recently assassinated President of France ; and originally, La Belle France. Finally Normandie was chosen. In France, boat prefixes properly depend on the boat name's gender, but non-sailors mostly use the masculine form, inherited from the French terms for boat, which can be " paquebot ", " navire ", " bateau ", or " bâtiment ". British and Germans refer to boats as feminine ("she's

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9176-483: The conversion effort prevented Coman's crew from adhering to the original schedule; crew familiarization with the vessel was an issue, and additional crew members were arriving to assist the effort. On 6 February 1942, a request for a two-week delay for the first sailing of Lafayette , originally scheduled for 14 February, was submitted to the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations. On that day, a schedule extension

9324-550: The conversion program, with the cost of restoring her determined to be too great. Her hulk remained in the Navy's custody through the end of the war. Lafayette was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 October 1945 without having ever sailed under the U.S. flag. President Harry Truman authorized her disposal in an Executive Order on 8 September 1946, and she was sold as scrap on 3 October 1946 to Lipsett, Inc., an American salvage company based in New York City, for US$ 161,680 (approx. $ 1,997,000 in 2017 value). After neither

9472-458: The cruise line conglomerate Carnival Corporation acquired 62% of Cunard for US$ 425 million. Coincidently, it was the same percentage that Cunard owned in Cunard-White Star Line and the company historian later stated the acquisition was in-part due to the success of James Cameron ’s blockbuster 1997 film, Titanic . The next year Carnival acquired the remaining 38% and stock for US$ 205 million. Ultimately, Carnival sued Kværner claiming that

9620-447: The day; such vessels included the record-breaking Bremen and Europa , both German. The French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT) began to plan its own superliner. The CGT's flagship was the Ile de France , which had modern Art Deco interiors but a conservative hull design. The designers intended their new superliner to be similar to earlier French Line ships. Then they were approached by Vladimir Yourkevitch ,

9768-422: The enterprise with his fellow Nova Scotian Samuel Cunard (1787–1865), a shipowner who was also visiting London on business. Cunard and Howe were associates and Howe also owed Cunard £300 (equivalent to £34,119 in 2023). Cunard returned to Halifax to raise capital, and Howe continued to lobby the British government. The Rebellions of 1837–1838 were ongoing and London realised that the proposed Halifax service

9916-447: The equally conservative Charles MacIver assumed Cunard's role. The firm retained its reluctance about change and was overtaken by competitors that more quickly adopted new technology. In 1866 Inman started to build screw propelled express liners that matched Cunard's premier unit, Scotia . Cunard responded with its first high speed screw propellered steamer, Russia which was followed by two larger editions. In 1871 both companies faced

10064-404: The ex-White Star Majestic was sold when Hull Number 534, now named Queen Mary , replaced her in the express mail service. Queen Mary reached 30.99 knots (57.39 km/h) on her 1938 Blue Riband voyage. Cunard-White Star started construction on Queen Elizabeth , and a smaller ship, the second Mauretania , joined the fleet and could also be used on the Atlantic run when one of

10212-409: The exterior doors of Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn. Also surviving are some examples of the 24,000 pieces of crystal, some from the massive Lalique torchères that adorned her dining salon. Also extant are some of the room's table silverware, chairs, and gold-plated bronze table bases. Custom-designed suite and cabin furniture as well as original artwork and statues that decorated

10360-469: The film Saboteur (1942). The ship is not identified in the film, but the antagonist smiles when he sees it, suggesting that he was responsible. The film's director, Alfred Hitchcock , later said that "the Navy raised hell" about the implication that their security was so poor. Enemy sabotage was widely suspected, but a congressional investigation in the wake of the sinking, chaired by Representative Patrick Henry Drewry ( D - Virginia ), concluded that

10508-432: The fire could spread to the nearby buildings. Lafayette eventually capsized during the mid watch (02:45) on 10 February, nearly crushing a fire boat, and came to rest on her port side at an angle of approximately 80 degrees. Recognising that his incompetence had caused the disaster, Rear Adm. Andrews ordered all pressmen barred from viewing the moment of capsize in an effort to lower the level of publicity. One man died in

10656-451: The fire under control and began winding down operations until 20:00. Water entering Lafayette through submerged openings and flowing to the lower decks negated efforts to counter-flood, and her list to port gradually increased. Shortly after midnight, Rear Adm. Andrews ordered Lafayette abandoned. The ship continued to list, a process hastened by the 6,000 tons of water that had been sprayed on her. New York fire officials were concerned that

10804-426: The fire was accidental. The investigation found evidence of carelessness, rule violations, lack of coordination between the various parties on board, lack of clear command structure during the fire, and a hasty, poorly-planned conversion effort. Members of organized crime retrospectively claimed that they had sabotaged the vessel. It was alleged that arson had been organized by mobster Anthony Anastasio , who

10952-451: The first British independent airline to operate pure jet airliners , as a result of a £6 million order for two new Boeing 707–420 passenger aircraft. The order had been placed (including an option on a third aircraft) in expectation of being granted traffic rights for transatlantic scheduled services. The airline took delivery of its first Bristol Britannia aircraft on 5 April 1960 (on lease from Cubana ). Cunard hoped to capture

11100-456: The first ship was ready, they formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company with initial capital of £270,000, later increased to £300,000 (£34,214,789 in 2023). Cunard supplied £55,000. Burns supervised ship construction, MacIver was responsible for day-to-day operations, and Cunard was the "first among equals" in the management structure. When MacIver died in 1845, his younger brother Charles assumed his responsibilities for

11248-480: The first steamship line to carry steerage passengers. Both of the newcomers suffered major disasters in 1854. The next year, Cunard put pressure on Collins by commissioning its first iron-hulled paddler, Persia . That pressure may well have been a factor in a second major disaster suffered by the Collins Line, the loss of its steamer Pacific . Pacific sailed out of Liverpool just a few days before Persia

11396-480: The founders of the Art Deco style. Many sculptures and wall paintings made allusions to Normandy , the province of France for which the ship was named. Drawings and photographs show a series of vast public rooms of great elegance. Her voluminous interior spaces were made possible by having the funnel uptakes split to pass along the sides of the ship, rather than straight upward. French architect Roger-Henri Expert

11544-612: The four ocean-going steamers of the Britannia Class , departed Liverpool. By coincidence, the steamer's departure had patriotic significance on both sides of the Atlantic: she was named Britannia , and sailed on 4 July. Even on her maiden voyage, however, her performance indicated that the new era she heralded would be much more beneficial for Britain than the US. At a time when the typical packet ship might take several weeks to cross

11692-430: The greatest of ocean liners. Despite this, she was not a commercial success and relied partly on government subsidy to operate. During service as the flagship of the CGT, she made 139 westbound transatlantic crossings from her home port of Le Havre to New York City. Normandie held the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing at several points during her service career, during which RMS  Queen Mary

11840-623: The idea of selling Cunard to resolve antitrust issues with the acquisition. European and US regulators approved the merger without requiring Cunard's sale. After the merger was completed, Carnival moved Cunard's headquarters to the offices of Princess Cruises in Santa Clarita, California , so that administrative, financial and technology services could be combined. Carnival House opened in Southampton in 2009, and executive control of Cunard Line transferred from Carnival Corporation in

11988-410: The incident – Frank "Trent" Trentacosta, 36, of Brooklyn , a member of the fire watch. Some 94 USCG and Navy sailors, including some from Lafayette ' s pre-commissioning crew and men assigned to the receiving ship Seattle , 38 fire fighters, and 153 civilians, were treated for various injuries, burns, smoke inhalation , and exposure. The ruined Lafayette after the fire can be seen briefly in

12136-400: The introduction of jet airliners in 1958, most of the conventional Atlantic liners were gone. Mauretania was retired in 1965, Queen Mary and Caronia in 1967, and Queen Elizabeth in 1968. Two of the new intermediate liners were sold by 1970 and the other two were converted to cruise ships . All Cunard ships flew both the Cunard and White Star Line house flags until 4 November 1968, when

12284-426: The last White Star ship, Nomadic was withdrawn from service. After this, the White Star flag was no longer flown and all remnants of both White Star Line and Cunard-White Star Line were retired. In 1971, when the line was purchased by the conglomerate Trafalgar House , Cunard operated cargo and passenger ships, hotels and resorts. Its cargo fleet consisted of 42 ships in service, with 20 on order. The flagship of

12432-422: The last evening together with Rene Le Roy, the flutist. Champagne was served free of charge afterwards. The boat itself was a dream of beauty ... But four days was not too short to create a warm feeling for the boat and its crew, and when, years later, we learned of the dreadful disaster the Normandie had suffered in New York, we felt as if something terrible had happened to a close friend of ours." The outbreak of

12580-470: The last paddle steamer to win the Blue Riband. Inman carried more passengers because of its success in the immigrant trade. To compete, in May 1863 Cunard started a secondary Liverpool–New York service with iron-hulled screw steamers that catered for steerage passengers. Beginning with China , the line also replaced the last three wooden paddlers on the New York mail service with iron screw steamers that only carried saloon passengers. When Cunard died in 1865,

12728-559: The late 1860s several German firms commissioned liners that were almost as fast as the British mail steamers from Liverpool. In 1897 Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse of Norddeutscher Lloyd raised the Blue Riband to 22.3 knots (41.3 km/h), and was followed by a succession of German record-breakers. Rather than match the new German speedsters, White Star – a rival which Cunard line would merge with – commissioned four very profitable Big Four ocean liners of more moderate speed for its secondary Liverpool–New York service. In 1902 White Star joined

12876-449: The latter's aircraft in the event of capacity shortfalls. This maximised combined fleet use. The joint fleet use agreement did not cover Cunard Eagle's European scheduled, trooping and charter operations. However, the joint venture was not successful for Cunard and lasted only until 1966, when BOAC bought out Cunard's share. Cunard also sold a majority holding in the remainder of Cunard Eagle back to its founder in 1963. Within ten years of

13024-669: The licence was revoked in November 1961 after main competitor, state-owned BOAC , appealed to Aviation Minister Peter Thorneycroft . On 5 May 1962, the airline's first 707 inaugurated scheduled jet services from London Heathrow to Bermuda and Nassau. The new jet service – marketed as the Cunarder Jet in the UK and as the Londoner in the western hemisphere – replaced the earlier Britannia operation on this route. Cunard Eagle succeeded in extending this service to Miami despite

13172-507: The loss of its original transatlantic scheduled licence and BOAC's claim that there was insufficient traffic to warrant a direct service from the UK. A load factor of 56% was achieved at the outset. Inauguration of the first British through-plane service between London and Miami also helped Cunard Eagle increase utilisation of its 707s. BOAC countered Eagle's move to establish itself as a full-fledged scheduled transatlantic competitor on its Heathrow–JFK flagship route by forming BOAC-Cunard as

13320-463: The maiden voyage, the CGT refused to predict that their ship would win the Blue Riband. However, by the time the ship reached New York, medallions of the Blue Riband victory, made in France, were delivered to passengers and the ship flew a 9-metre-long (30 ft) blue pennant . An estimated 100,000 spectators lined New York Harbor for Normandie ' s arrival. All passengers were presented with

13468-419: The most sophisticated French cuisine of the period. As no natural light could enter it was illuminated by twelve tall pillars of Lalique glass flanked by 38 matching columns along the walls. These, with chandeliers hung at each end of the room, earned the Normandie the nickname "Ship of Light" (similar to Paris as the "City of Light"). A popular feature was the café grill, which would be transformed into

13616-460: The need for astern turbines to be installed, had the ability to use full power in reverse, and because, according to CGT officials, it was quieter and more easily controlled and maintained. The engine installation was heavier than conventional turbines and slightly less efficient at high speed but allowed all propellers to operate even if one engine was not running. This system also made it possible to eliminate astern turbines. An early form of radar

13764-429: The new company. Cunard purchased White Star's share in 1947; the name reverted to the Cunard Line in 1950. Upon the end of the Second World War, Cunard regained its position as the largest Atlantic passenger line. By the mid-1950s, it operated 12 ships to the United States and Canada. After 1958, transatlantic passenger ships became increasingly unprofitable because of the introduction of jet airliners . Cunard undertook

13912-399: The next 35 years. (For more detail of the first investors in the Cunard Line and also the early life of Charles MacIver, see Liverpool Nautical Research Society's Second Merseyside Maritime History , pp. 33–37 1991.) In May 1840 the coastal paddle steamer Unicorn made the company's first voyage to Halifax to begin the supplementary service to Montreal. Two months later the first of

14060-625: The nickname 'The Normandie' given to the International Savings Society Apartments in Shanghai , one of the most fashionable residential buildings during the city's pre-revolutionary heyday and home to several stars of China's mid-20th century film industry. Normandie 's name also may have inspired that of The Normandy apartment building in New York City. Items from Normandie were sold at

14208-541: The other pioneer transatlantic steamship company, did not submit a tender, the St George Steam Packet Company , owner of Sirius , bid £45,000 for a monthly Cork–Halifax service and £65,000 for a monthly Cork–Halifax–New York service. The Admiralty rejected both tenders because neither bid offered to begin services early enough. Cunard, who was back in Halifax, unfortunately did not know of

14356-583: The outbreak of the war halted the plan indefinitely. Although Normandie won praise for her design and decor, ultimately North Atlantic passengers flocked to the more traditional Queen Mary . Two of the ship's greatest attributes, in reality, turned out to be two of her biggest faults. Part of Normandie ' s problem lay in the fact that the majority of her passenger space was devoted to first class, which could carry up to 848 people. Less space and consideration were given to second and tourist class, which numbered only 670 and 454 passengers, respectively. As

14504-502: The passenger fleet was the two-year-old Queen Elizabeth 2 . The fleet also included the remaining two intermediate liners from the 1950s, plus two purpose-built cruise ships on order. Trafalgar acquired two additional cruise ships and disposed of the intermediate liners and most of the cargo fleet. During the Falklands War , QE2 and Cunard Countess were chartered as troopships while Cunard's container ship Atlantic Conveyor

14652-665: The plan had been changed to a dual-purpose 55,000 GRT ship designed to cruise in the off-season. The new vessel design was known as Q4. Ultimately, this ship came into service in 1969 as the 70,300 GRT Queen Elizabeth 2 . Cunard attempted to address the challenge presented by jet airliners by diversifying its business into air travel. In March 1960, Cunard bought a 60% shareholding in British Eagle , an independent (non-government owned) airline, for £30 million, and changed its name to Cunard Eagle Airways . The support from this new shareholder enabled Cunard Eagle to become

14800-478: The rights to the name of the Royal Viking Line and its Royal Viking Sun . The rest of Royal Viking Line's fleet stayed with the line's owner, Norwegian Cruise Line . By the mid-1990s Cunard was ailing. The company was embarrassed in late 1994 when Queen Elizabeth 2 experienced numerous defects during the first voyage of the season because of unfinished renovation work. Claims from passengers cost

14948-558: The sailing packets. Three years later, the British Government increased the annual subsidy to £156,000 so that Cunard could double its frequency. Four additional wooden paddlers were ordered and alternate sailings were direct to New York instead of the Halifax–Boston route. The sailing packet lines were now reduced to the immigrant trade. From the beginning Cunard's ships used the line's distinctive red funnel with two or three narrow black bands and black top. It appears that Robert Napier

15096-610: The same comfort as that experienced in first. As a result, second and tourist class became a significant source of cash for shipping companies at that time. Queen Mary would accommodate these trends and subsequently the liner achieved greater popularity among North Atlantic travellers during the late thirties. Another of the CGT's greatest triumphs also turned out to be one of Normandie ' s greatest flaws: her décor. The ship's slick and modern Art Deco interiors proved to be somewhat intimidating and uncomfortable for her travellers, with some claiming that interiors gave them headaches. It

15244-481: The service was rebid and Cunard was awarded a seven-year contract for two weekly New York mail services at £70,000 per annum. Inman was awarded a seven-year contract for the third weekly New York service at £35,000 per year. The Panic of 1873 started a five-year shipping depression that strained the finances of all of the Atlantic competitors. In 1876 the mail contracts expired and the Post Office ended both Cunard's and Inman's subsidies. The new contracts were paid on

15392-430: The ship within an hour of the start of the conflagration. Capt. Coman, along with Capt. Simmers, arrived about 15:25 to see his huge prospective command in flames. As firefighters on shore and in fire boats poured water on the blaze, Lafayette developed a dangerous list to port due to water pumped into the seaward side by fireboats. Vladimir Yourkevitch , the ship's designer, arrived at the scene to offer expertise but

15540-496: The ship, or were built for use by the CGT aboard Normandie , also survive today. Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( / ˈ k j uː n ɑː r d / ) is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton , England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc . Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda . In 1839, Samuel Cunard

15688-491: The ships were in worse condition than represented and Kværner agreed to refund US$ 50 million to Carnival. Each of Carnival's cruise lines is designed to appeal to a different market, and Carnival was interested in rebuilding Cunard as a luxury brand trading on its British traditions. Under the slogan "Advancing Civilization Since 1840", Cunard's advertising campaign sought to emphasise the elegance and mystique of ocean travel. Only Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia continued under

15836-492: The shoreline and over several hundred spectators, but with no injury. She was dedicated by Madame Marguerite Lebrun , wife of Albert Lebrun , the President of France. The ship was outfitted until early 1935, her interiors, funnels, engines, and other fittings put in to make her into a working vessel. Finally, in May 1935, Normandie was ready for trials, which were watched by reporters. The superiority of Yourkevitch's hull

15984-513: The tender until after the deadline. He returned to London and started negotiations with Admiral Parry, who was Cunard's good friend from when Parry was a young officer stationed in Halifax 20 years earlier. Cunard offered Parry a fortnightly service beginning in May 1840. While Cunard did not then own a steamship, he had been an investor in an earlier steamship venture, Royal William , and owned coal mines in Nova Scotia. Cunard's major backer

16132-450: The time (equivalent to $ 88   million in 2023), the ship was stripped of superstructure and righted on 7 August 1943. She was renamed Lafayette and reclassified as an aircraft and transport ferry, APV-4, on 15 September 1943 and placed in drydock the following month. However, extensive damage to her hull, deterioration of her machinery, and the necessity for employing manpower on other more critical war projects prevented resumption of

16280-599: The time, U.S. law mandated the Coast Guard as part of the Treasury during peacetime.) When the USCG became a part of the United States Navy on 1 November 1941, Normandie ' s USCG detail remained intact, mainly observing while the French crew maintained the vessel's boilers, machinery, and other equipment, including the fire-watch system. On 12 December 1941, five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor ,

16428-580: The vessel registry of all three of its ships in service to Hamilton, Bermuda , the first time in the 171-year history of the company that it had no ships registered in the United Kingdom. The captains of ships registered in Bermuda can marry couples at sea, whereas those of UK-registered ships cannot, and weddings at sea are a lucrative market. On 25 May 2015, the three Cunard ships – Queen Mary 2 , Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria – sailed up

16576-548: The walls with Babar the Elephant and his entourage . The interiors were filled with grand perspectives, spectacular entryways, and long, wide staircases. First-class suites were given unique designs by select designers. The most luxurious accommodations were the Deauville and Trouville apartments, featuring dining rooms, baby grand pianos, multiple bedrooms, and private decks. Normandie ' s first-class dining hall

16724-523: The war found Normandie in New York Harbor. Looming hostilities in Europe had compelled Normandie to seek haven in the U.S. The federal government interned her on 3 September 1939, the same day France declared war on Germany. Soon Queen Mary , later refitted as a troopship , moored nearby. Then, two weeks later, Queen Elizabeth joined Queen Mary . For five months, the three largest liners in

16872-605: The well-capitalized American combine, the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM), which owned the American Line , including the old Inman Line, and other lines. IMM also had trade agreements with Hamburg America and Norddeutscher Lloyd. Negotiators approached Cunard's management in late 1901 and early 1902, but did not succeed in drawing the Cunard Line into IMM, then being formed with support of financier J. P. Morgan. British prestige

17020-597: The world were tied up side by side. Normandie remained in French hands, with French crewmembers on board, led by Captain Hervé Lehuédé, into the spring of 1940. On 15 May 1940, during the Battle of France , the U.S. Treasury Department detailed about 150 agents of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to go aboard the ship and Manhattan's Pier 88 to defend it against possible sabotage . (At

17168-488: The wreckage of the aircraft remained on board Normandie as she had to sail due to the tide. It was carried to Le Havre. A salvage team from the Royal Air Force later removed the wreckage. Horsey was court-martialled and found guilty on two charges, and Evans' car was wrecked in the accident. In August 1936, Queen Mary captured the Blue Riband, averaging 30.14 knots (55.82 km/h; 34.68 mph), starting

17316-556: Was Robert Napier whose Robert Napier and Sons was the Royal Navy's supplier of steam engines. He also had the strong backing of Nova Scotian political leaders at the time when London needed to rebuild support in British North America after the rebellion. Over Great Western's protests, in May 1839 Parry accepted Cunard's tender of £55,000 for a three-ship Liverpool–Halifax service with an extension to Boston and

17464-593: Was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire , France, for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat, crossing the Atlantic in a record 4.14 days, and remains the most powerful steam turbo-electric -propelled passenger ship ever built. Normandie ' s novel design and lavish interiors led many to consider her

17612-411: Was a power in the local longshoremen's union , to provide leverage for the release of mob boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano from prison. Luciano's end of the bargain would be to ensure that there would be no further "enemy" sabotage in the ports where the mob had strong influence with the unions. In one of the largest and most expensive salvage operations of its kind, estimated at $ 5   million at

17760-710: Was also here that Queen Mary triumphed over her French rival. Although also decorated in an Art Deco style, Queen Mary was more restrained in her appointments and was not as radical as Normandie , and proved ultimately to be more popular with travellers. As a result, Normandie at many times throughout her service history carried less than half her full complement of passengers. Her German rivals Bremen and Europa , and Italian rivals Rex and Conte di Savoia also suffered from this problem; despite their innovative designs and luxurious interiors, they made little profit for their respective companies. Contributing to this were international boycotts against Germany and Italy as

17908-426: Was also important for the military. That November, Parry released a tender for North Atlantic monthly mail service to Halifax beginning in April 1839 using steamships with 300 horsepower. The Great Western Steamship Company , which had opened its pioneer Bristol–New York service earlier that year, bid £45,000 for a monthly Bristol–Halifax–New York service using three ships of 450 horsepower. While British American ,

18056-495: Was at stake. The British Government provided Cunard with an annual subsidy of £150,000 plus a low interest loan of £2.5 million (equivalent to £340 million in 2023), to pay for the construction of the two superliners, the Blue Riband winners Lusitania and Mauretania , capable of 26.0 knots (48.2 km/h). In 1903 the firm started a Fiume –New York service with calls at Italian ports and Gibraltar. The next year Cunard commissioned two ships to compete directly with

18204-605: Was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and the next year formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company in Glasgow with shipowner Sir George Burns together with Robert Napier , the famous Scottish steamship engine designer and builder, to operate the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool–Halifax–Boston route. For most of the next 30 years, Cunard held

18352-460: Was barred by harbor police. Yourkevitch's suggestion was to enter the vessel and open the sea-cocks. This would flood the lower decks and make her settle the few feet to the bottom. With the ship stabilised, water could be pumped into burning areas without the risk of capsizing . The suggestion was rejected by the commander of the 3rd Naval District , Rear Admiral Adolphus Andrews . Between 17:45 and 18:00 on 9 February 1942, authorities considered

18500-461: Was critical of Trafalgar's management of Cunard and their failure to correct Queen Elizabeth 2' s mechanical problems. In 1984, the Commission ruled in favour of the merger, but Trafalgar decided against proceeding. In 1988, Cunard acquired Ellerman Lines and its small fleet of cargo vessels, organising the business as Cunard-Ellerman, however, only a few years later, Cunard decided to abandon

18648-407: Was deactivated. The New York City Fire Department 's hoses did not fit the ship's French inlets. Before the fire department arrived, approximately 15 minutes after fire broke out, all onboard crew were using manual means in a vain attempt to stop the blaze. A strong northwesterly wind blowing over Lafayette ' s port quarter swept the blaze forward, eventually consuming the three upper decks of

18796-478: Was deemed too costly and she was scrapped in October 1946. The origins of Normandie can be traced to the 1920s, when the U.S. put restrictions on immigration, greatly reducing the traditional market for steerage-class passengers from Europe, and placing a new emphasis on upper-class tourists, largely Americans, many of them wanting to escape prohibition. Companies like Cunard and the White Star Line planned to build their own superliners to rival newer ships of

18944-497: Was due to depart on her maiden voyage, and was never seen again; it was widely assumed at the time that the captain had pushed his ship to the limit to stay ahead of the new Cunarder, and had likely collided with an iceberg during what was a particularly severe winter in the North Atlantic. A few months later Persia inflicted a further blow to the Collins Line, regaining the Blue Riband with a Liverpool–New York voyage of 9 days 16 hours, averaging 13.11 knots (24.28 km/h). During

19092-648: Was granted due to a design plan change: elements of the superstructure were to be removed to improve stability, in work that was expected to take another 60 to 90 days. However, on 7 February, orders came from Washington that the reduction of the top-hamper had been abandoned and Lafayette was to sail on 14 February as planned. This abrupt reversal necessitated a frantic resumption of conversion work, and captains Coman and Simmers scheduled 9 February meetings in New York and Washington to lobby for further clarification of conversion plans; ultimately, these meetings would never take place. At 14:30 on 9 February 1942, sparks from

19240-488: Was her main rival. During the Second World War , Normandie was seized by U.S. authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette . In 1942, while being converted to a troopship , the liner caught fire and capsized onto her port side and came to rest, half submerged, on the bottom of the Hudson River at Pier 88 (the site of the current Manhattan Cruise Terminal ). Although salvaged at great expense, restoration

19388-407: Was in charge of the overall decorative scheme. Most of the public space was devoted to first-class passengers, including the dining room, first-class lounge, grill room, first-class swimming pool, theatre and winter garden . The first-class swimming pool featured staggered depths, with a shallow training beach for children. The children's dining room was decorated by Jean de Brunhoff , who covered

19536-593: Was installed to prevent collisions. The rudder frame, including the 125-ton cast steel connecting rod, was produced by Škoda Works in Czechoslovakia . Normandie had a significant cost. By the time of her maiden voyage, she had cost 812 million francs, then equal to $ 53.5 million (equivalent to $ 1188.95 million in 2023). Normandie ' s luxurious interiors were designed in Art Déco and Streamline Moderne style by architect Pierre Patout , one of

19684-499: Was larger than before the war, and White Star was in decline, having been sold by IMM. Despite the dramatic reduction in North Atlantic passengers caused by the shipping depression beginning in 1929, the Germans, Italians and the French commissioned new "ships of state" prestige liners. The German Bremen took the Blue Riband at 27.8 knots (51.5 km/h) in 1933, the Italian Rex recorded 28.9 knots (53.5 km/h) on

19832-464: Was on the return trip that the Champlain met her fate. On 17 June 1940, the liner struck a German air-laid mine while swinging at anchor in the waters off La Pallice , France, near Île de Ré , and quickly heeled over on her side. A few days later the German submarine U-65 fired a torpedo into the hulk –– possibly to finish her off, as much of the ship lay above water level. Many sources quote

19980-546: Was one of the significant factors in the firm's early success. Both of the first transatlantic lines failed after major accidents: the British and American line collapsed after the President foundered in a gale, and the Great Western Steamship Company failed after Great Britain stranded because of a navigation error. Cunard's orders to his masters were, "Your ship is loaded, take her; speed

20128-530: Was ordered for the fleet. It would be a modified hull platform of Holland America's Pinnacle class Koningsdam . The ship was original supposed to be delivered in 2022, but would eventually be pushed back 2 years. At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Cunard cut short three world-cruises, with the passengers being flown home. The White Star Line flag is raised on all current Cunard ships and

20276-576: Was passed through multiple channels including Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox ; Admiral Harold R. Stark , Chief of Naval Operations (CNO); and Rear Adm. Randall Jacobs, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation . The name La Fayette (later universally and unofficially contracted to Lafayette ) was officially approved by the Secretary of the Navy on 31 December 1941, with the vessel classified as

20424-479: Was questioned in the press. Still, the ship's construction was followed by newspapers and national interest was deep, as she was designed to represent France in the nation-state contest of the great liners and was built in a French shipyard using French parts. The growing hull in Saint-Nazaire had no formal designation except "T-6" ("T" for "Transat", an alternate name for the French Line, and "6" for "6th"),

20572-534: Was rejected because the bow was deemed too radical. The CGT commissioned artists to create posters and publicity for the liner. One of the most famous posters was by Adolphe Mouron Cassandre , another Russian emigrant to France. Another poster, by Albert Sébille, showed the interior layout in a cutaway diagram 4.5 metres (15 ft) long. This poster is displayed in the Musée national de la Marine in Paris. Work by

20720-483: Was reorganised as a public stock corporation, the Cunard Steamship Company, Ltd . Under Cunard's new chairman, John Burns (1839–1900), son of one of the firm's original founders, Cunard commissioned four steel-hulled express liners beginning with Servia of 1881, the first passenger liner with electric lighting throughout. In 1884, Cunard purchased the almost new Blue Riband winner Oregon from

20868-410: Was replaced on the transatlantic runs by Queen Mary 2 ( QM2 ). The line also operates Queen Victoria ( QV ) and Queen Elizabeth ( QE ). As of 2022, Cunard is the only shipping company to still operate a scheduled passenger service between Europe and North America. In 2017, Cunard announced a fourth ship would join its fleet. This was initially scheduled for 2022 but delayed until 2024 due to

21016-402: Was responsible for this feature. His shipyard in Glasgow used this combination previously in 1830 on Thomas Assheton Smith 's private steam yacht "Menai". The renovation of her model by Glasgow Museum of Transport revealed that she had vermilion funnels with black bands and black top. The line also adopted a naming convention that utilised words ending in "IA". Cunard's reputation for safety

21164-597: Was sold and Queen Elizabeth 2 continued to cruise until she was retired in 2008. In 2007 Cunard added Queen Victoria , a cruise ship of the Vista class originally designed for Holland America Line . To reinforce Cunard traditions, Queen Victoria has a small museum on board. Cunard commissioned a second Vista class cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth , in 2010. In 2010, Cunard appointed its first female commander, Captain Inger Klein Olsen. In 2011, Cunard changed

21312-615: Was sunk by an Exocet missile. Cunard acquired the Norwegian America Line in 1983, with two classic ocean liner /cruise ships. Also in 1983, the Trafalgar attempted a hostile takeover of P&O , another large passenger and cargo shipping line, which was founded three years before Cunard. P&O objected and forced the issue to the British Monopolies and Mergers Commission . In their filing, P&O

21460-506: Was the largest room afloat. At 93 m (305 ft), it was longer than the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles , 14 m (46 ft) wide, and 8.5 m (28 ft) high. Passengers entered through six-metre-tall (20 ft) doors adorned with bronze medallions by artist Raymond Subes. The room could seat 700 at 157 tables, with Normandie serving as a floating promotion for

21608-416: Was the only ocean liner to have a regulation-sized open air tennis court on board. The air conditioner units were concealed along with the kennels inside the third, dummy, funnel. Normandie ' s maiden voyage was on 29 May 1935. At Le Havre she took aboard 812 Passengers: 467 First Class Passengers, 244 Tourist Class and 101 Third Class. 50,000 people saw her off at Le Havre on what was hoped would be

21756-538: Was the source of inspiration for Disney Cruise Line 's matching vessels, Disney Magic , Disney Wonder , Disney Dream , and Disney Fantasy . Normandie also inspired the architecture and design of the Normandie Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico . The hotel's roof sign is one of the two signs that adorned the top deck of Normandie but were removed from it during an early refitting. It also inspired

21904-495: Was visible; hardly a wave was created off the bulbous bow. The ship reached a top speed of 32.125 kn (59.5 km/h) and performed an emergency stop from that speed in 1,700 m (5,600 ft). In addition to hull design which let her attain speed at far less power than other big liners, Normandie had a turbo-electric transmission , with turbo-generators and electric propulsion motors built by Alsthom of Belfort . The CGT chose turbo-electric transmission as it removed

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