158-605: SS Rex was an Italian ocean liner launched in 1931. She held the westbound Blue Riband between 1933 and 1935. Originally built for the Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) as SS Guglielmo Marconi , its state-ordered merger with the Lloyd Sabaudo line meant that the ship sailed for the newly created Italia Flotta Riunite ( Italian Line ). Rex operated transatlantic crossings from Italy with its running mate, Conte di Savoia prior to
316-415: 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
474-443: 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 was rejected because the bow was deemed too radical. The CGT commissioned artists to create posters and publicity for
632-810: A cargo liner or cargo-passenger liner. The advent of the Jet Age and the decline in transoceanic ship service brought about a gradual transition from passenger ships to modern cruise ships as a means of transportation. In order for ocean liners to remain profitable, cruise lines modified some of them to operate on cruise routes, such as the SS ; France . Certain characteristics of older ocean liners made them unsuitable for cruising, such as high fuel consumption, deep draught preventing them from entering shallow ports, and cabins (often windowless) designed to maximize passenger numbers rather than comfort. The Italian Line 's SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello ,
790-524: A commerce raider . The torpedoing and sinking of Lusitania on 7 May 1915 caused the loss of 128 American lives at a time when the United States was still neutral. Although other factors came into play, the loss of American lives in the sinking strongly pushed the United States to favour the Allied Powers and facilitated the country's entry into the war. The losses of the liners owned by
948-441: 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
1106-530: 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 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
1264-456: 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
1422-520: A U-boat when tugs tried to tow her to safety. Out of all the innovative and glamorous inter-war superliners, only the Cunard Queens and Europa would survive the war. After the war, some ships were again transferred from the defeated nations to the winning nations as war reparations. This was the case of the Europa , which was ceded to France and renamed Liberté . The United States government
1580-544: A competition between world powers of the time, especially between the United Kingdom , the German Empire , and to a lesser extent France . Once the dominant form of travel between continents, ocean liners were rendered largely obsolete by the emergence of long-distance aircraft after World War II . Advances in automobile and railway technology also played a role. After Queen Elizabeth 2 was retired in 2008,
1738-500: A conflict rich in events involving liners. From the start of the conflict, German liners were requisitioned and many were turned into barracks ships. It was in the course of this activity that the Bremen caught fire while under conversion for Operation Sea Lion and was scrapped in 1941. During the conflict, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary provided distinguished service as troopships. Many liners were sunk with great loss of life; in
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#17327935156821896-513: A cruise ship over the years and was in active service for Cruise & Maritime Voyages until operations ceased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In August, 2021 she was purchased by Brock Pierce to be transformed into a hotel along with MV Funchal . These plans were ultimately abandoned and the ship was again made available for sale, never having left port in Rotterdam. Astoria
2054-531: A dry berthed luxury hotel on Bintan Island , Indonesia. Post-war ocean liners still existent include MV Astoria (1948), United States (1952), MV Brazil Maru (1954), Rotterdam (1958), MV Funchal (1961), MS Ancerville (1962), Queen Elizabeth 2 (1967), and Queen Mary 2 (2003). Out of these eight ocean liners, only one is still active and three of them have since been preserved. The Rotterdam has been moored in Rotterdam as
2212-445: A few former ocean liners were still in existence; some, like SS Norway , were sailing as cruise ships while others, like Queen Mary , were preserved as museums , or laid up at pier side like SS United States . After the retirement of Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2008, the only ocean liner in service was Queen Mary 2 , built in 2003–04, used for both point-to-point line voyages and for cruises. A proposed and planned ocean liner,
2370-479: 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
2528-458: A fixed schedule, so must be faster and built to withstand the rough seas and adverse conditions encountered on long voyages across the open ocean. To protect against large waves they usually have a higher hull and promenade deck with higher positioning of lifeboats (the height above water called the freeboard ), as well as a longer bow than a cruise ship. Additionally, for additional strength they are often designed with thicker hull plating than
2686-550: A half days. In August 1933, Rex fulfilled the promises of her designers and captured the Blue Riband on its westbound crossing from the Bremen with a time of four days and thirteen hours, with an average speed of 28.92 knots (53.56 km/h; 33.28 mph). This record would last until 1935 when it was captured by the French Line's Normandie . On 12 May 1938, in a demonstration of U.S. air power, three B-17 bombers of
2844-425: A large portion of the population of cities and built hulls, machines, furnitures and lifeboats. Among the other well-known British shipyards were Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson , the builder of RMS Mauretania , and John Brown & Company , builders of RMS Lusitania , RMS Aquitania , RMS Queen Mary , Queen Elizabeth , and Queen Elizabeth 2 . Germany had many shipyards on
3002-503: 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
3160-645: 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
3318-583: A museum and hotel since 2008, while the Queen Elizabeth 2 has been a floating luxury hotel and museum at Mina Rashid, Dubai since 2018. The Ancerville was refurbished as a hotel for use at the Sea World development in Shenzhen, China in 1984. The first of these, Astoria (originally the ocean liner MS Stockholm, which collided with Andrea Doria in 1956 ) has been rebuilt and refitted as
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#17327935156823476-650: A museum ship, since 1961. Queen Mary (1934) was preserved in 1967 after her retirement, and became a museum/hotel in Long Beach, California . In the 1970s, SS Great Britain (1843) was also preserved, and now resides in Bristol , England as another museum. The latest ship to undergo preservation is MV Doulos (1914). While originally being a cargo ship, it served as the Italian ocean liner Franca C. for Costa Lines from 1952 to 1959, and in 2010 it became
3634-492: 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 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
3792-516: A peak in Italy's cultural emergence; a lasting source of inspiration and national pride. In 1963 Peroni Nastro Azzurro was named for the "Blue Ribbon" ( Nastro Azzurro ) which Rex won. The ship was featured in the 1973 film Amarcord , representing the "greatest thing the [Italian] regime ever built." 45°32′56″N 13°41′31″E / 45.54889°N 13.69194°E / 45.54889; 13.69194 Ocean liner An ocean liner
3950-444: 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
4108-823: A record-breaking maiden voyage was unsuccessful. She sailed from Genoa in September 1932, after a send-off from Premier Benito Mussolini , with a passenger list of international celebrities. While approaching Gibraltar , serious mechanical difficulties arose. Repairs took three days. Half her passengers requested to leave, preferring to reach Germany's coasts and take Europa ; arriving in New York they found Rex already at dock. Lengthy repairs were required in New York before returning to Europe. She arrived in Genoa on 26 October 1932, making her first west-to-east crossing in six and
4266-469: 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
4424-537: A screw propeller was SS Great Britain , a creation of Brunel. Her career was disastrous and short. She was run aground and stranded at Dundrum Bay in 1846. In 1884, she was retired to the Falkland Islands where she was used as a warehouse, quarantine ship, and coal hulk until she was scuttled in 1937. The American company Collins Line took a different approach. It equipped its ships with cold rooms, heating systems, and various other innovations but
4582-512: 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
4740-505: A set route are called "line voyages" and vessels (passenger or cargo) trading on these routes to a timetable are called liners. The alternative to liner trade is "tramping" whereby vessels are notified on an ad hoc basis as to the availability of a cargo to be transported. (In older usage, "liner" also referred to ships of the line , that is, line-of-battle ships, but that usage is now rare.) The term "ocean liner" has come to be used interchangeably with "passenger liner", although it can refer to
4898-436: 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
SS Rex - Misplaced Pages Continue
5056-475: A speed of 27 knots. Their records seemed unbeatable, and most shipping companies abandoned the race for speed in favor of size, luxury, and safety. The advent of ships with diesel engines, and of those whose engines were oil-burning, such as the Bremen , in the early 1930s, relaunched the race for the Blue Riband . The Normandie won it in 1935 before being snatched by RMS Queen Mary in 1938. It
5214-557: A steamship was capable of crossing the ocean, the public was not yet prepared to trust such means of travel on the open sea, and, in 1820, the steam engine was removed from the vessel. Work on this technology continued and a new step was taken in 1833. Royal William managed to cross the Atlantic by using steam power on most of the voyage; sail was used only when the boilers were cleaned. There were still many skeptics, and in 1836, scientific writer Dionysius Lardner declared that: As
5372-471: A swimming pool. In the 1920s, SS Paris was the first liner to offer a movie theatre. The British and the German shipyards were the most famed in shipbuilding during the great era of ocean liners. In Ireland, Harland & Wolff shipyard of Belfast were particularly innovative and succeeded in winning the trust of many shipping companies, such as White Star Line . These gigantic shipyards employed
5530-452: A tonnage of 79,280. In 1940, RMS Queen Elizabeth raised the record of size to a tonnage of 83,673. She was the largest passenger ship ever constructed until 1997. In 2003, RMS Queen Mary 2 became the largest, at 149,215 GT. In the early 1840s, the average speed of liners was less than 10 knots (a crossing of the Atlantic thus took about 12 days or more). In the 1870s, the average speed of liners increased to around 15 knots
5688-406: 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,
5846-465: A working vessel. Finally, in May 1935, Normandie was ready for trials, which were watched by reporters. The superiority of Yourkevitch's hull 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
6004-429: Is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships ). The Queen Mary 2 is the only ocean liner still in service to this day. The category does not include ferries or other vessels engaged in short-sea trading, nor dedicated cruise ships where
6162-481: Is found on cruise ships, as well as a deeper draft for greater stability, and have large capacities for fuel, food, and other consumables on long voyages. On an ocean liner, the captain's tower ( bridge ) is usually positioned on the upper deck for increased visibility. The first ocean liners were built in the mid-19th century. Technological innovations such as the steam engine, Diesel engine and steel hull allowed larger and faster liners to be built, giving rise to
6320-436: The 52nd Fighter Group , USAAF . She was listing and on fire after being struck by 59 RP-3 rockets and numerous 20 mm cannon-shells. A second attack, later that day, by twelve more Beaufighters of 39 Squadron RAF and 16 Squadron , South African Air Force , resulted in her overturning and sinking in shallow water. In 1946, officials of the Italian steamship line proposed to salvage Rex and recommission it. However,
6478-637: The Avro Lancaster and Boeing B-29 Superfortress , with their range and massive carrying capacity, were natural prototypes for post-war next-generation airliners . Jet engine technology also accelerated due to wartime development of jet aircraft . In 1953, the De Havilland Comet became the first commercial jet airliner; the Sud Aviation Caravelle , Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 followed, and much long-distance travel
SS Rex - Misplaced Pages Continue
6636-575: The Big Four of the White Star Line were the first liners to surpass Great Eastern as the largest passenger ships . Ultimately their owner was American (as mentioned above, White Star Line had been absorbed into J. P. Morgan's trust). Faced with this major competition, the British government contributed financially to Cunard Line's construction of two liners of unmatched size and speed, under
6794-420: The Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing at several points during her service career, during which RMS Queen Mary 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
6952-529: 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
7110-724: The Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, which has built ships including RMS Queen Mary 2 . France also had major shipyards on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea . SS Normandie SS Normandie 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
7268-542: The Falkland Islands to recover the Falklands from the invading Argentine forces . The P&O educational cruise ship and former British India Steam Navigation Company liner Uganda was requisitioned as a hospital ship, and served after the war as a troopship until the RAF Mount Pleasant station was built at Stanley , which could handle trooping flights. By the first decade of the 21st century, only
7426-523: The Far East , India, Australia, etc. The birth of the concept of international water and the lack of any claim to it simplified navigation. In 1818, the Black Ball Line , with a fleet of sailing ships, offered the first regular passenger service with emphasis on passenger comfort, from England to the United States. In 1807, Robert Fulton succeeded in applying steam engines to ships. He built
7584-719: 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
7742-513: The Rex' s owners intended to name her after Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi , who pioneered the radio telegraph . Both ships were dubbed "The Riviera afloat". To carry the theme even further, sand was scattered in the outdoor swimming pools, creating a beach-like effect highlighted by multicolored umbrellas. Rex was decorated in a classical style while the norm of the time was the Art Deco or
7900-475: The SS Andrea Doria , which later sank in 1956 after a collision with MS Stockholm . Before the Second World War, aircraft had not posed a significant economic threat to ocean liners. Most pre-war aircraft were noisy, vulnerable to bad weather, and/or incapable of the range needed for transoceanic flights; all were expensive and had a small passenger capacity. The war accelerated development of large, long-ranged aircraft. Four-engined bombers, such as
8058-576: The Titanic II , is a modern replica of the original RMS Titanic , which sank in 1912. The ship is owned by Blue Star Line and is bought by Australian businessman Clive Palmer , the ship is set to be launched by 2027. Four ocean liners made before the Second World War survive today as they have been partially or fully preserved as museums and hotels . The Japanese ocean liner Hikawa Maru (1929), has been preserved in Naka-ku, Yokohama , Japan, as
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#17327935156828216-504: The U.S. Army Air Corps intercepted Rex 620 nautical miles (1,100 km) at sea in a highly publicized event. Following the outbreak of war, both Rex and Conte di Savoia continued regular Mediterranean cruises as if totally unaffected by events to the north. In the end, Italian liners proved to be among the final ships trading on a commercial basis. Their voyages ceased in the spring of 1940 and they were returned to Italian ports for safekeeping, with Rex laid up at Genoa, but after
8374-604: The flagship of the company's fleet. Because all U.S. registered ships counted as an extension of U.S. territory, the National Prohibition Act made American liners alcohol-free, causing alcohol-seeking passengers to choose other liners for travel and substantially reducing profits for the United States Lines. In 1929, Germany returned to the scene with the two ships of Norddeutscher Lloyd, SS Bremen and SS Europa . Bremen won
8532-408: 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 was questioned in the press. Still, the ship's construction was followed by newspapers and national interest was deep, as she
8690-499: 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
8848-475: 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
9006-752: The Allied Powers were compensated by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. This led to the awarding of many German liners to the victorious Allies. The Hamburg America Line's trio ( Imperator , Vaterland , and Bismarck ) were divided between the Cunard Line, White Star Line, and the United States Lines , while the three surviving ships of the Kaiser class were requisitioned by the US Navy in
9164-503: 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 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
9322-731: The Atlantic. Constructing large ships was therefore more profitable. Moreover, migration to the Americas increased enormously. These movements of population were a financial windfall for the shipping companies, some of the largest of which were founded during this time. Examples are the P&;O of the United Kingdom in 1822 and the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique of France in 1855. The steam engine also allowed ships to provide regular service without
9480-406: The Blue Riband for her company. This race for speed, however, was a detriment to passengers' comfort and generated strong vibration, which made her owner lose any interest in her after she lost the Blue Riband to another ship of Norddeutscher Lloyd. She was only used for ten years for transatlantic crossing before being converted into a cruise ship. Until 1907 the Blue Riband remained in the hands of
9638-528: The Blue Riband from Britain's Mauretania after the latter had held it for twenty years. Soon, Italy also entered the scene. The Italian Line completed SS Rex and SS Conte di Savoia in 1932, breaking the records of both luxury and speed ( Rex won the westbound Blue Riband in 1933). France reentered the scene with SS Normandie of the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). The ship
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#17327935156829796-478: The British. From 1912 to 1914, Hamburg America Line completed a trio of liners significantly larger than the White Star Line's Olympic -class ships. The first to be completed, in 1913 was SS Imperator . She was followed by SS Vaterland in 1914. The construction of the third liner, SS Bismarck , was paused by the outbreak of the First World War. The First World War was a hard time for
9954-589: 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
10112-652: The Germans. In 1902, J. P. Morgan embraced the idea of a maritime empire comprising a large number of companies. He founded the International Mercantile Marine Co. , a trust which originally comprised only American shipping companies. The trust then absorbed Leyland Line and White Star Line. The British government then decided to intervene in order to regain the ascendancy. Although German liners dominated in terms of speed, British liners dominated in terms of size. RMS Oceanic and
10270-622: 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
10428-596: The Second World War the three worst disasters were the loss of the Cunarder Lancastria in 1940 off Saint-Nazaire to German bombing while attempting to evacuate troops of the British Expeditionary Force from France, with the loss of more than 3,000 lives; the sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff , after the ship was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, with more than 9,000 lives lost, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in history; and
10586-526: 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
10744-606: 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
10902-648: 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
11060-525: The United Kingdom and the United States. Over time, the paddle wheel, impractical on the high seas, was abandoned in favour of the propeller. In 1840, Cunard Line's RMS Britannia began its first regular passenger and cargo service by a steamship, sailing from Liverpool to Boston , Massachusetts. As the size of ship increased, the wooden hull became fragile. Beginning with the use of an iron hull in 1845, and then steel hulls, solved this problem. The first ship to be both iron-hulled and equipped with
11218-535: The United States during this time. The year 1858 was marked by a major accident: the sinking of SS Austria . The ship, built in Greenock and sailing between Hamburg and New York twice a month, suffered an accidental fire off the coast of Newfoundland and sank with the loss of all but 89 of the 542 passengers. In the British market, Cunard Line and White Star Line (the latter after being bought by Thomas Ismay in 1868), competed strongly against each other in
11376-438: The added amenity of large portholes, electricity and running water. The size of ocean liners increased from 1880 to meet the needs of immigration to the United States and Australia. RMS Umbria and her sister ship RMS Etruria were the last two Cunard liners of the period to be fitted with auxiliary sails. Both ships were built by John Elder & Co. of Glasgow, Scotland, in 1884. They were record breakers by
11534-485: 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,
11692-465: The bottom of the Hudson River at Pier 88 (the site of the current Manhattan Cruise Terminal ). Although salvaged at great expense, restoration 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
11850-438: The cabin class and the steerage class. The passengers travelling on the former were wealthy passengers and they enjoyed certain comfort in that class. The passengers travelling on the latter were members of the middle class or the working class. In that class, they were packed in large dormitories. Until the beginning of the 20th century, they did not always have bedsheets and meals. An intermediate class for tourists and members of
12008-667: The city was bombed, the Italian Line decided to move it to Trieste . To prevent German forces from using the liner to blockade the harbour entrance, Rex was moved near Pula , where she lay for some time. On 6 September 1944, Rex was spotted under tow south of Trieste, by a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot, and showed a slight list . On 8 September 1944, she was attacked in the Bay of Capodistria, south of Trieste by twelve Bristol Beaufighter aircraft of 272 Squadron RAF , escorted by nine North American P-51 Mustang aircraft assigned to
12166-535: The coast of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea , including Blohm & Voss and AG Vulcan Stettin . Many of these shipyards were destroyed during World War II; some managed to recover and continue building ships. In France, major shipyards included Chantiers de Penhoët in Saint-Nazaire , known for building SS Normandie . This shipyard merged with Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire shipyard to form
12324-468: The colours of the Italian flag (red, white and green stripes), but still featured the old-type overhanging counter stern (also known as a fantail) found on such liners as Olympic and Aquitania . Rex was the first to be completed and was christened on 1 August 1931, in the presence of King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena . She was both larger and faster than Conte di Savoia . Her attempt of
12482-525: The competition from Cunard Line, White Star Line ordered the Olympic -class liners at the end of 1907. The first of these three liners, RMS Olympic , completed in 1911, had a fine career, although punctuated by incidents. This was not the case for her sister, the RMS ; Titanic , which sank on her maiden voyage on 15 April 1912, resulting in several changes to maritime safety practices. As for
12640-471: The condition that they be available for conversion into armed cruisers when needed by the navy. The result of this partnership was the completion in 1907 of two sister ships: RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania , both of which won the Blue Riband during their respective maiden voyages. The latter retained this distinction for twenty years. Their great speed was achieved by the use of turbines instead of conventional expansion machines. In response to
12798-522: The construction of the Queen Mary while progressively sending their older ships to the scrapyard. The Queen Mary was the fastest ship of her time and the largest for a short amount of time, she captured the Blue Riband twice, both off Normandie . The construction of a second ship, the Queen Elizabeth , was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War . The Second World War was
12956-420: The context of the conflict and then retained. The Tirpitz , whose construction was delayed by the outbreak of war eventually became the RMS Empress of Australia . Of the German superliners, only Deutschland , because of her poor state, avoided this fate. After a period of reconstruction, the shipping companies recovered quickly from the damage caused by the First World War. The ships, whose construction
13114-483: 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
13272-685: 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
13430-409: The crowding of passengers, and faster ships, to reduce the duration of transatlantic crossings. The iron and steel hulls and steam power allowed for these advances. Thus, SS Great Western (1,340 GRT) and SS Great Eastern (18,915 GRT) were constructed in 1838 and 1858 respectively. The record set by SS Great Eastern was not beaten until 43 years later in 1901 when RMS Celtic (20,904 GT)
13588-417: The dawn of the jet age . Such routes included Europe to African and Asian colonies, Europe to South America, and migrant traffic from Europe to North America in the 19th and first two decades of the 20th centuries, and to Canada and Australia after the Second World War. Shipping lines are companies engaged in shipping passengers and cargo, often on established routes and schedules. Regular scheduled voyages on
13746-559: 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 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
13904-409: The duration of a transatlantic crossing shortened to around 7 days, owing to the technological progress made in the propulsion of ships: the rudimentary steam boilers gave rise to more elaborate machineries and the paddlewheel gradually disappeared, replaced first by one screw then by two screws. At the beginning of the 20th century, Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania reached
14062-465: 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
14220-469: 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
14378-432: 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
14536-451: 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
14694-426: 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
14852-403: The first auxiliary cruiser in history. In the time of war, ships could easily be equipped with cannons and used in cases of conflict. Teutonic succeeded in impressing Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, who wanted to see his country endowed with a modern fleet. In 1870, the White Star Line's RMS Oceanic set a new standard for ocean travel by having its first-class cabins amidships, with
15010-558: The first ship that was powered by this technology, the Clermont , which succeeded in travelling between New York City and Albany, New York in thirty hours before entering into regular service between the two cities. Soon after, other vessels were built using this innovation. In 1816, the Élise became the first steamship to cross the English Channel . Another important advance came in 1819, when SS Savannah became
15168-569: The first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She left the U.S. city of the same name and arrived in Liverpool, England in 27 days. Most of the distance was covered by sailing; the steam power was not used for more than 72 hours during the travel. The public enthusiasm for the new technology was not high, as none of the thirty-two people who had booked a seat boarded the ship for that historic voyage. Although Savannah had proven that
15326-425: 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
15484-410: 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
15642-422: 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
15800-581: The last ocean liners to be built primarily for crossing the North Atlantic, could not be converted economically and had short careers. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution and the inter-continental trade rendered the development of secure links between continents imperative. Being at the top among the colonial powers, the United Kingdom needed stable maritime routes to connect different parts of its empire :
15958-399: The late 1860s. The struggle was symbolised by the attainment of the Blue Riband, which the two companies achieved several times around the end of the century. The luxury and technology of ships were also evolving. Auxiliary sails became obsolete and disappeared completely at the end of the century. Possible military use of passenger ships was envisaged and, in 1889, RMS Teutonic became
16116-525: The liner had been sunk in a portion of the harbor allocated to Yugoslavia , which blocked any recovery. The remains of Rex - about one-third of the ship, including double bottom , boilers, and engines - are located off the Slovenian coast in the Gulf of Capodistria . The rest was scavenged for scrap iron in the 1950s by the local government; it was said that the ship was the largest Slovenian "iron mine" at
16274-604: 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 the Société Anonyme des Chantiers de Penhoët began on the unnamed flagship on 26 January 1931 at Saint-Nazaire , soon after
16432-534: The liners. Some of them, like the Mauretania , Aquitania , and Britannic were transformed into hospital ships during the conflict. Others became troop transports, while some, such as the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse , participated in the war as warships. Troop transportation was very popular due to the liners' large size. Liners converted into troop ships were painted in dazzle camouflage to reduce
16590-463: 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
16748-438: The middle class gradually appeared. The cabins were then divided into three classes. The facilities offered to passengers developed over time. In the 1870s, the installation of bathtubs and oil lamps caused a sensation on board SS Oceanic . In the following years, the number of amenities became numerous, for example: smoking rooms, lounges, and promenade deck. In 1907, RMS Adriatic even offered Turkish baths and
16906-419: 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
17064-562: 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
17222-582: The number of people crossing the Atlantic and at the same time reducing the number of profitable transatlantic voyages. In response, shipping companies redirected many of their liners to a more profitable cruise service. In 1934, in the United Kingdom, Cunard Line and White Star Line were in very bad shape financially. Chancellor of the Exchequer Neville Chamberlain proposed to merge the two companies in order to solve their financial problems. The merger took place in 1934 and launched
17380-553: The ocean liners came to an end. By the early 1970s, many passenger ships continued their service in cruising. In 1982, during the Falklands War , three active or former liners were requisitioned for war service by the British Government . The liners Queen Elizabeth 2 and Canberra , were requisitioned from Cunard and P&O to serve as troopships, carrying British Army personnel to Ascension Island and
17538-403: The only ship still in service as an ocean liner is RMS Queen Mary 2 . Ocean liners were the primary mode of intercontinental travel for over a century, from the mid-19th century until they began to be supplanted by airliners in the 1950s. In addition to passengers, liners carried mail and cargo. Ships contracted to carry British Royal Mail used the designation RMS . Liners were also
17696-606: The operation was expensive. The sinking of two of its ships was a major blow to the company which was dissolved in 1858. In 1858, Brunel built his third and last giant, SS Great Eastern . The ship was, for 43 years, the largest passenger ship ever built . She had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers. Her career was marked by a series of failures and incidents, one of which was an explosion on board during her maiden voyage. Many ships owned by German companies like Hamburg America Line and Norddeutscher Lloyd were sailing from major German ports, such as Hamburg and Bremen, to
17854-499: The outbreak of the Second World War . Rex maintained a commercial service in the Mediterranean Sea for eight years, but when Italy entered the war in June 1940 Rex was laid up for safe-keeping. On 8 September 1944, off Capodistria , Rex was hit by cannon fire and 123 rockets launched by Royal Air Force aircraft, caught fire from bow to stern. She rolled onto the port side, burned for four days, and sank in shallow water. The ship
18012-583: 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
18170-465: The preferred way to move gold and other high-value cargoes. The busiest route for liners was on the North Atlantic with ships travelling between Europe and North America. It was on this route that the fastest, largest and most advanced liners travelled, though most ocean liners historically were mid-sized vessels which served as the common carriers of passengers and freight between nations and among other countries and their colonies and dependencies before
18328-404: The project of making the voyage directly from New York to Liverpool, it was perfectly chimerical, and they might as well talk of making the voyage from New York to the moon. The last step toward long-distance travel using steam power was taken in 1837 when SS Sirius left Liverpool on 4 April and arrived in New York eighteen days later on 22 April after a turbulent crossing. Too little coal
18486-533: The risk of being torpedoed by enemy submarines . The war was marked by the loss of many liners. Britannic , while serving as a hospital ship, sank in the Aegean Sea in 1916 after she struck a mine. Numerous incidents of torpedoing took place and large numbers of ships sank. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was defeated and scuttled after a fierce battle with HMS Highflyer off the coast of west Africa, while her sister ship Kronprinz Wilhelm served as
18644-610: 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
18802-430: 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
18960-427: The sinking of SS Cap Arcona with more than 7,000 lives lost, both in the Baltic Sea , in 1945. SS Rex was bombarded and sunk in 1944, and Normandie caught fire, capsized, and sank in New York in 1942 while being converted for troop duty. Many of the superliners of the 1920s and 1930s were victims of U-boats , mines or enemy aircraft. Empress of Britain was attacked by German planes, then torpedoed by
19118-512: The so-called "Liner Style" that had been premiered onboard the French Line 's Ile de France in 1927, Rex ' s running mate Conte Di Savoia followed this rule, but also had rooms with classic style like her First Class Social Room also known as "Colonial Hall" . The ship's exterior design had followed the trend set by Germany's Bremen and Europa . Rex sported a long hull with a moderately raked bow and two working funnels with
19276-685: The standards of the time, and were the largest liners then in service, plying the Liverpool to New York route. SS Ophir was a 6,814-ton steamship owned by the Orient Steamship Co. , and was fitted with refrigeration equipment. She plied the Suez Canal route from England to Australia during the 1890s, up until the years leading to World War I when she was converted to an armed merchant cruiser . In 1897, Norddeutscher Lloyd launched SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse . She
19434-470: The third sister, HMHS Britannic , she never served her intended purpose as a passenger ship, as she was drafted in the First World War as a hospital ship , and sank to a naval mine in 1916. At the same time, France tried to mark its presence with the completion in 1912 of SS France owned by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique . Germany soon responded to the competition from
19592-450: 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
19750-599: 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 ,
19908-606: The time. Since 1954, after the formal annexation of Zone B of the Free Territory of Trieste to Yugoslavia, an anchor claimed to be from Rex has been on display in Congress Square of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana to symbolize the defeat of fascist expansionism. Though claimed to be from the liner, this anchor is not of the dreadnought style that Rex had. The transatlantic crossing record of Rex heralded
20066-460: The use of sail. This aspect particularly appealed to the postal companies, which leased the services of ships to serve clients separated by the ocean. In 1839, Samuel Cunard founded the Cunard Line and became the first to dedicate the activity of his shipping company to the transport of mails, thus ensuring regular services on a given schedule. The company's vessels operated the routes between
20224-488: The voyage itself, and not transportation, is the primary purpose of the trip. Nor does it include tramp steamers , even those equipped to handle limited numbers of passengers. Some shipping companies refer to themselves as "lines" and their container ships , which often operate over set routes according to established schedules, as "liners". Though ocean liners share certain similarities with cruise ships, they must be able to travel between continents from point A to point B on
20382-548: 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
20540-523: 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
20698-597: 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
20856-488: 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
21014-411: 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
21172-710: 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
21330-460: 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
21488-673: Was beached in Zhanjiang, China as a tourist attraction called Hai Shang Cheng Shi in 1998, though has been closed as of 2022. Funchal was purchased by Brock Pierce in 2021, with the intent of turning her into a hotel. Her future is uncertain as it was reported in July 2021 that no progress has been made since then. Since their beginning in the 19th century, ocean liners needed to meet growing demands. The first liners were small and overcrowded, leading to unsanitary conditions on board. Eliminating these phenomena required larger ships, to reduce
21646-487: 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 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
21804-435: Was commenced, and, with it, the tradition of the Blue Riband . With Great Western , Isambard Kingdom Brunel laid the foundations for new shipbuilding techniques. He realised that the carrying capacity of a ship increases as the cube of its dimensions, whilst the water resistance only increases as the square of its dimensions. This means that large ships are more fuel-efficient, something very important for long voyages across
21962-493: Was completed. The tonnage then grew profoundly: the first liners to have a tonnage that exceeded 20,000 were the Big Four of the White Star Line . The Olympic -class ocean liners , first completed in 1911, were the first to have a tonnage that exceeded 45,000 and the Imperator -class ocean liners first completed in 1913 became the 1st liners with tonnage exceeding 50,000. SS Normandie , completed in 1935, had
22120-407: 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
22278-544: 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"), 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
22436-402: Was done by air. The Italian Line's SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello , launched in 1962 and 1963, were two of the last ocean liners to be built primarily for liner service across the North Atlantic. Cunard's transatlantic liner, Queen Elizabeth 2 , was also used as a cruise ship. By the early 1960s, 95% of passenger traffic across the Atlantic was by aircraft. Thus the reign of
22594-550: Was followed three years later by three sister ships . The ship was both luxurious and fast, managing to steal the Blue Riband from the British. She was also the first of the fourteen ocean liners with four funnels that have emerged in maritime history. The ship needed only two funnels, but more funnels gave passengers a feeling of safety and power. In 1900, the Hamburg America Line competed with its own four-funnel liner, SS Deutschland . She quickly obtained
22752-648: 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
22910-407: 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
23068-700: Was not running. This system also made it possible to eliminate astern turbines. An early form of radar 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
23226-669: Was not until 1952 that SS United States set a record that remains today: 34.5 knots (3 days and 12 hours of crossing the Atlantic). In addition, since 1935, the Blue Riband is accompanied by the Hales Trophy , which is awarded to the winner. The first ocean liners were designed to carry mostly migrants. On-board sanitary conditions were often deplorable and epidemics were frequent. In 1848, maritime laws imposing hygiene rules were adopted and they improved on-board living conditions. Gradually, two distinct classes were developed:
23384-426: Was partially broken up in situ in 1950. Following North German Lloyd 's successful capture of the Blue Riband with its Bremen and Europa duo of ocean liners, Rex was intended to be Italy's effort to do the same. Amid intense competition from other shipping companies, the Italian Line carried out an extensive publicity campaign for its two largest passenger ships, Rex and Conte di Savoia . Originally,
23542-576: 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
23700-600: Was prepared for the crossing, and the crew had to burn cabin furniture in order to complete the voyage. The journey took place at a speed of 8.03 knots. The voyage was made possible by the use of a condenser, which fed the boilers with fresh water, avoiding having to periodically shut down the boilers in order to remove the salt. The feat was short-lived. The next day, SS Great Western , designed by railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel , arrived in New York. She left Liverpool on 8 April and overtook Sirius ' s record with an average speed of 8.66 knots. The race of speed
23858-607: Was reported to have been sold for scrap in January 2023, but this has been denied by the ship's owner. United States has been docked in Philadelphia since 1996, but following a legal dispute between the organization that owns United States and the pier owners, she was purchased by Okaloosa County , Florida to be turned into the world's largest artificial reef. There are plans for a land-based museum and several pieces of United States are planned to be preserved. Brazil Maru
24016-562: Was started before the war, such as SS Paris of the French Line , were completed and put into service. Prominent British liners, such as the Olympic and the Mauretania , were also put back into service and had a successful career in the early 1920s. More modern liners were also built, such as SS Île de France (completed in 1927). The United States Lines , having received the Vaterland , renamed her Leviathan and made her
24174-532: 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 , 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
24332-506: 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
24490-400: Was the largest ship afloat at the time of her completion in 1935. She was also the fastest, winning the Blue Riband in 1935. A crisis arose when the United States drastically reduced its immigrant quotas, causing shipping companies to lose a large part of their income and to have to adapt to this circumstance. The Great Depression also played an important role, causing a drastic decrease in
24648-416: 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
24806-538: 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
24964-727: Was very impressed with the service of the Cunard's Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth as troopships during the war. To ensure a reliable and fast troop transport in case of a war against the Soviet Union, the U.S. government sponsored the construction of SS United States and entered it into service for the United States Lines in 1952. She won the Blue Riband on her maiden voyage in that year and held it until Richard Branson won it back in 1986 with Virgin Atlantic Challenger II. One year later, in 1953, Italy completed
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