SS Normandie was a French
ocean linerAn ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo, mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
built in
Saint-NazaireSaint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
, France, for the French Line
Compagnie Générale TransatlantiqueThe Compagnie Générale Transatlantique , known overseas as the French Line, was a shipping company established in 1861 as an attempt to revive the French merchant marine, the poor state of which was painfully highlighted during the Crimean War of 1856. Its first vessel, the S.S...
. When she entered service in 1935 she was the largest and fastest ship in the world, and she maintains the distinction of being the most powerful steam
turbo-electricA turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine into electric energy and electric motors to convert it back into mechanical energy to power the driveshafts....
propelled passenger ship ever built. Her novel design features and lavish interiors have led many to consider her the greatest of all ocean liners. Despite this, she was not a commercial success, and relied partly on government subsidy to operate. During her service career as the
flagshipA flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, a designation given on account of being either the largest, fastest, newest, most heavily armed or, for publicity purposes, the best known. In military terms, it is a ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships...
of the CGT, she made 139
transatlanticThe term transatlantic refers to something occurring all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. Most often, this refers to the exchange of passengers, cargo, information, or communication between North America and Europe.-Transatlantic crossings:...
crossings westbound from her home port of
Le HavreLe Havre is a city in north-western France situated on the right bank of the mouth of the Seine River as it flows into the Bay of the Seine in the English Channel. It is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region. The inhabitants of the city are called Havrais or...
to
New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
(but only 138 eastbound).
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Normandie
was seized by United States authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette
USS Lafayette was the French luxury liner following the latter's seizure in New York by the United States after the Fall of France....
. In 1942, while being converted to a
troopshipA troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
, the liner caught fire, capsized, and sank at the
New York Passenger Ship TerminalThe New York Passenger Ship Terminal is terminal for ocean going passenger ships on Manhattan's west side....
. Although she was salvaged at great expense, restoration of the vessel was deemed too costly, and she was scrapped in October 1946.
Origin
The beginnings of Normandie can be traced to the
Roaring TwentiesRoaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, that emphasizes the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
when shipping companies started to look for new ships to replace aging veterans such as the , which had first sailed in 1907. Those earlier ships had been designed around the huge numbers of steerage-class immigrants coming from Europe to the United States; when the U.S. closed the door on most immigration in the early 1920s, steamship companies ordered vessels built to serve middle-class tourists instead, particularly Americans who traveled to Europe for alcohol-fueled fun during
ProhibitionProhibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is a sumptuary law which prohibits alcohol. Typically, the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries...
. Companies like
CunardCunard may refer to:* Grace Cunard , American silent film actress* Nancy Cunard , English writer, editor, and publisher* Samuel Cunard , British shipping magnate-See also:...
and the
White Star LineThe Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated luxury flagship, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of her sister ship, Britannic...
planned to build their own
superlinersA superliner is an ocean liner or cruise liner of over 10,000 gross tons. The term was coined in the late 19th century, when ocean liners were rapidly increasing in size and speed...
to rival the newer ships on the scene; such vessels included the record-breaking and , both German ships. The
French LineThe Compagnie Générale Transatlantique , known overseas as the French Line, was a shipping company established in 1861 as an attempt to revive the French merchant marine, the poor state of which was painfully highlighted during the Crimean War of 1856. Its first vessel, the S.S...
was not to be left out of this new race and soon began to plan their own superliner.
At the time, the French Line's flagship was the , which had modern
Art DecoArt Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film...
interiors but a relatively conservative hull design. The designers of the new French superliner initially intended to construct their new ship similar to French Line ships of the past, but then they were approached by
Vladimir YourkevitchVladimir Ivanovich Yourkevitch was a Russian naval engineer, developer of the modern design of ship hulls, and designer of the famous ocean liner SS Normandie...
, a former ship architect for the
Imperial Russian NavyThe Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the Bolshevik Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
who had emigrated to France before the revolution. His ideas included a slanting clipper-like bow and a
bulbous forefootA bulbous bow is a protruding bulb at the bow of a ship just below the waterline. The bulb modifies the way the water flows around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability...
beneath the waterline, in combination with a slim hull. Yourkevitch's concepts worked wonderfully in scale model tests which supported his design's performance advantages. The French engineers were so impressed that they asked Yourkevitch to join their project. Reportedly, Yourkevitch also approached the
Cunard LineCunard Line is a British-American-owned British-operated shipping company that has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
with his ideas, but was rejected on the grounds that the new bow shape was too radical.
One of the most famous posters of Normandie
was later made by Adolphe Mouron CassandreAdolphe Mouron Cassandre was an influential Ukrainian-French painter, commercial poster artist, and typeface designer....
, who, like Yourkevitch, was also a Russian emigrant to France.
Construction and launch
Work began on the as-yet unnamed French Line flagship in January 1931, soon after the terrifying stock market crashA stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a significant cross-section of a stock market. Crashes are driven by panic as much as by underlying economic factors...
of 1929. While the French continued construction, the competing White Star LineThe Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated luxury flagship, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of her sister ship, Britannic...
's ship (intended as Oceanic
In the 1920s, the White Star Line gave the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff the commission to build the first -long ocean liner, with the planned name of Oceanic.The order was placed 18 January 1928, and construction began almost immediately...
) – started before the crash – had to be cancelled and the
Cunard shipRMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
was put on hold, both because their financing, organized before the crash, ran into trouble. Soon, the French builders also ran into difficulty, and had to ask their government for money to continue construction; this subsidy was questioned in the press. Still, the building was followed heavily by newspapers and national interest was deep. Though she was designed to represent France in the nation-state contest of the great liners, and though she was built in a French shipyard using French-built major parts (including the 29 boilers, the turbines, generators and even the 4 massive engines, designed by Alsthom, which later worked on the ), a few secondary parts of her came from other European countries - e.g., the ship's great
rudderA rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft,or other conveyance that moves through a fluid . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
was built by
Skoda WorksŠkoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise in Austria-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states...
in
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, while the steering mechanism, including the
teakTeak , is a genus of tropical hardwood trees in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to the south and southeast of Asia, and is commonly found as a component of monsoon forest vegetation...
wheel, came from
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
.
As construction went on, the growing hull in
Saint-NazaireSaint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
had no formal designation except for "T-6" (with "6" for "6th" and "T" for "
TransatThe Compagnie Générale Transatlantique , known overseas as the French Line, was a shipping company established in 1861 as an attempt to revive the French merchant marine, the poor state of which was painfully highlighted during the Crimean War of 1856. Its first vessel, the S.S...
", short for "
CIE. GLE. TRANSATLANTIQUEThe Compagnie Générale Transatlantique , known overseas as the French Line, was a shipping company established in 1861 as an attempt to revive the French merchant marine, the poor state of which was painfully highlighted during the Crimean War of 1856. Its first vessel, the S.S...
" aka the "French Line"), the contract name. Many names were suggested including Doumer
, after the recently assassinated presidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Paul DoumerJoseph Athanase Paul Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer was the President of France from 13 June 1931 until his assassination.Born in Aurillac, in the Cantal département, in France....
, and originally, La Belle France.
Finally the name Normandie was decided upon after much speculation. In what may be a unique quirk of French nomenclature, the name carries no definite article. In France, ship prefixes are customarily masculine, inherited from the French terms for ship, which can be "paquebot", "navire", "bateau", "bâtiment", etc. (including
le "FranceThe SS France was a French ocean liner which sailed for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique . At the turn of the 20th century, British and German liners dominated the North Atlantic, carrying not only a huge number of immigrants, but catering to the socially elite as well...
" which is not grammatically correct); but English speakers usually refer to ships as feminine ("she's a beauty"), and the French Line carried many rich American customers. After discussion, French Line officials wrote that their ship was to be called simply "Normandie
," preceded by no "le" or "la" (French masculine/feminine for "the") to avoid any confusion.
On October 29, 1932 – three years to the day after the stock market crashA stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a significant cross-section of a stock market. Crashes are driven by panic as much as by underlying economic factors...
– Normandie
was launched in front of 200,000 spectators. The 27,567 ton hull that slid into the Loire RiverThe Loire is the longest river in France. With a length of , it drains an area of , which represents more than a fifth of France's land area...
was the largest ever launched and it caused a large wave that crashed into a few hundred people, but with no injury. Normandie
was outfitted until early 1935, meaning all her interiors, funnels, engines, and other fittings were put in to make her into a working vessel. Finally, in May 1935, Normandie was ready for her trials, which were watched by reporters. The superiority of
Vladimir YourkevitchVladimir Ivanovich Yourkevitch was a Russian naval engineer, developer of the modern design of ship hulls, and designer of the famous ocean liner SS Normandie...
's hull design was immediately visible: hardly a wave was created off the bulbous bow. The ship demonstrated impressive performance during these trials, reaching a top speed of and performing an emergency stop from that speed in only 1,700 meters.
In addition to a novel hull shape which made it possible for her to attain her great speed at lesser power expenditure than that of the other big liners, Normandie was filled with technical feats. She had turbo-electric engines, chosen for the their ability to allow full reverse power, and according to French Line officials quieter, more easily controlled, and maintained. This engine type was also heavier than conventional turbines and slightly less efficient at higher speeds, but allowed all propellers to operate even if one engine was shut down, this system also made it possible to do away with astern turbines An early form of
radarRadar is an object detection system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The term RADAR was coined in 1941 as an acronym for RAdio Detection And...
was installed to detect icebergs and other ships.
Interior
The luxurious interiors of
Normandie were marvels of
Art DécoArt Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film...
and the
Streamline ModerneStreamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone, was a late branch of the Art Deco design style. Its architectural style emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements . It reached its height in 1937.The style was the first to incorporate electric...
style. Many of her sculptures and wall paintings made indirect or direct allusions to
NormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the English Channel coast of Northern France between Brittany and Picardy and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands.Normandy is divided between French and British...
, the province of France for which she was named. Drawings and photographs from the era show a series of vast public rooms of great elegance. The children's dining room was decorated by
Jean de BrunhoffJean de Brunhoff was a French writer and illustrator known for co-creating Babar, which first appeared in 1931. The stories were originally told to their second son, Mathieu, when he was sick, by his wife Cecile de Brunhoff...
, who covered the walls with
Babar the ElephantBabar the Elephant is a very popular French children's fictional character who first appeared in Histoire de Babar by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931 and enjoyed immediate success. An English language version, entitled The Story of Babar, appeared in 1933 in Britain and also in the United States...
and his
entourage Indeed, the interior was quite dazzling but perhaps the most spectacular was the first class dining room.
Three hundred and five feet (93 m) long, wide and high, this was by far the largest room afloat. Passengers entered the dining room through tall doors adorned with bronze medallions by the artist Raymond Subes. The ten medallions featured French castles, cathedrals, and the French ocean liner
SS Ile de FranceThe SS Ile de France was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. The ship was the first major ocean liner built after the conclusion of World War I and was the first liner ever to be entirely decorated with the Art Deco designs...
. The medallions and dining room door elements survive today as part of the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, in
Brooklyn HeightsBrooklyn Heights is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn; originally designated through popular reference as 'Brooklyn Village', it has, since 1834, become a prominent area of the Brooklyn borough. As of 2000, the Brooklyn Heights sustained a population of 22,493 people. The...
, at the corner of Remsen and Henry, having been sold at auction in 1945.
This first class dining room could seat 700 diners at a time with 157 tables, serving them with some of the best meals in the world. This ship was a floating promotion of the most sophisticated
French cuisineFrench cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of France. It evolved from centuries of social and political change. The Middle Ages brought Guillaume Tirel, better known as Taillevent...
of the period. However due to the design of the ship, no natural lighting could enter the room. The designers illuminated the room with twelve tall pillars of Lalique glass and along the walls stood 38 columns equally bright. In addition, two chandeliers hung at each end of the room. From this gorgeous display of lights came the nickname "Ship of Light" (similar to
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
as the '"City of Light"). The French Line marketed the dining room as longer than the Hall of Mirrors at
VersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial center...
.
A popular feature was the café grill (which led to the grand salon), one of the most popular rooms on board which would be transformed into a nightclub during voyages. In addition,
Normandie boasted both an indoor and outdoor pool (the second ship to have one, after the Italian liner ), a chapel and a theatre which could function as both a stage and cinema. The voluminous nature of Normandies public rooms, particularly in first class, were made possible by having the funnel intakes split and pass along the sides of the ship, rather than straight upward, to allow room for lounges and other features to have an uninterrupted space.
The interiors were filled with long perspectives and spectacular entryways such as long, wide staircases in order to give a suitable frame to the many upper middle-class ladies who saw an Atlantic crossing as a way to show off their clothes and jewels, and sometimes their husbands.
First-class suites on Normandie were given unique individual designs by a team of renowned designers. The most luxurious accommodations on the ship were the Deauville and Trouville apartments, which came with their own dining rooms, baby grand pianos, multiple bedrooms, and private deck. A disproportionate amount of public space was devoted to the first-class passengers, including the dining room, first-class lounge, grille room, first class
swimming poolA swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is an artificially enclosed body of water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest and deepest is the Olympic size...
,
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
,
Winter GardenWinter Garden may refer to:* A winter garden, winter-hardy plants grown for winter interest and decoration, or to be harvested for food between winter and early spring....
, and other amenities. The first class swimming pool featured staggered depths, with a shallow training 'beach' for children.
The machinery of the top deck and
forecastleForecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast.The syncope of the word, fo'c'sle , is common among nautical terms due to the nature of their pronunciation during the age of sail by sailors with strong accents and varying language skills.Among defensive troops on...
, normally an eyesore or an annoyance for passengers on the other liners, had been integrated within the ship, concealing it completely and releasing nearly all of the exposed deck space for the passengers' use.
Career
After more fitting out and final touches, the
maiden voyageThe maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....
came on May 29, 1935. Fifty thousand people came to
Le HavreLe Havre is a city in north-western France situated on the right bank of the mouth of the Seine River as it flows into the Bay of the Seine in the English Channel. It is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region. The inhabitants of the city are called Havrais or...
to see the large ship off, on what was hoped would be a record-breaking crossing. And indeed it was. Normandie
reached New York after just four days, three hours and fourteen minutes, thus snatching away the Blue RibandThe Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
from the Italian liner . This prize was a source of great pride for the French. They had watched other countries gain this prestigious award year after year but had never had it themselves, until Normandie. Under the leadership of her master, Captain Rene Pugnet, her average speed on the maiden voyage was around and on the eastbound crossing to
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
she averaged over , shattering records on the way.
At the time of her maiden voyage, the French Line publicly refused to predict that their new flagship would win the Blue Riband. However, by the time the ship reached New York, commemorative medallions of the Blue Riband victory, made in France, were delivered to the passengers, and the ship was flying a long blue
pennantThe commissioning pennant is a pennant flown from the masthead of a warship. The pennant reflects the fact that the ship is a ship of war, and is flown until the ship is decommissioned...
. An estimated 100,000 spectators lined
New York HarborNew York Harbor, a geographic term, refers collectively to the rivers, bays, and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City. This is sometimes construed in the sense "the ports of New York and New Jersey"...
for Normandies triumphant arrival.
With the
Blue RibandThe Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
hers,
Normandie had a successful year but come 1936 a new ship was on the scene. The ,
CunardCunard may refer to:* Grace Cunard , American silent film actress* Nancy Cunard , English writer, editor, and publisher* Samuel Cunard , British shipping magnate-See also:...
's superliner, entered service in the summer of 1936. Cunard had announced that the
Queen Mary would surpass 80,000 tons. At 79,280 gross tons,
Normandie would in that case lose the prestigious title of being the world’s largest liner to her British rival. Therefore, the French Line decided to increase
Normandie’s size, mainly through the addition of an enclosed tourist lounge on the aft boat deck. Following these and a few other alterations,
Normandie was re-measured at 83,423 gross tons. Exceeding the
Queen Mary by some 2,000 tons, she would remain the world’s largest in terms of overall measured gross tonnage. However in August of that year, the
Queen Mary captured the
Blue RibandThe Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
from
Normandie averaging , thus starting a fierce rivalry. The
Normandie held the size record through the 1930s, until the arrival of the
RMS Queen ElizabethRMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner which sailed the Atlantic Ocean for the Cunard Line and was contracted to carry Royal Mail. At the time of construction in the 1930s by John Brown and Company in Clydebank, Scotland, she was known as Hull 552 during her construction...
(83,673 gross tons) in 1940.
During her refit,
Normandie was also modified to address problems of vibration. Her triple-bladed screws were replaced with quadruple-bladed ones, and structural modifications were made to her lower aft section to reduce the occurrence of vibration. These modifications successfully reduced the problem of vibration at speed.
In July 1937
Normandie regained the Blue Riband once more, but the
Queen Mary took it back the next year. After this the captain of
Normandie sent a message to the British liner saying "Bravo to the
Queen Mary until next time!" This rivalry could have gone on into the 1940s but was unfortunately put to a halt due to
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, ensuring that there would be no 'next time'.
In her short but famous life,
Normandie carried a number of distinguished passengers, including the famed authors
ColetteColette was the pen name of the French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known, at least in the English-speaking world, for her novel Gigi, which provided the plot for a Lerner & Loewe musical film and stage musical.- Early life, marriage :Colette was born in...
and
Ernest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American writer and journalist. He was part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris, and one of the veterans of World War I later known as "the Lost Generation." He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea, and the Nobel Prize in Literature...
, the wife of French President
Albert LebrunAlbert Lebrun was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940, and as such was the last president of the Third Republic...
, songwriters
Noël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of Richmond upon Thames, London, Coward...
and
Irving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, and Hollywood celebrities such as
Fred AstaireFred Astaire , born Frederick Austerlitz, was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films...
,
Marlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-born American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself. In 1920s Berlin, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
,
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, and
James StewartJames Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart was an American film and stage actor, best known for his self-effacing persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
.
Normandie also carried the von Trapp family Singers (the real family that
The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
was based upon) from New York to Southampton in 1938, and from Southampton, the family proceeded to Scandinavia for a tour before eventually returning to America.
During her career, the French Line considered building a sister ship, named the SS
Bretagne, which was to be longer and larger than
Normandie, but the outbreak of war and finances prevented this from occurring.
Demise
The outbreak of war found
Normandie in New York Harbor. Soon the
Queen Mary docked near
Normandie. She would later be refitted to become a troop ship. In addition, the newly launched docked nearby, so for two weeks the three largest liners in the world were docked side by side. Soon, the Queens left and
Normandie was left alone. In 1940, after the Fall of France, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
seized the ship under the right of
angaryAngary , the name given to the right of a belligerent to seize and apply for the purposes of war any kind of property on belligerent territory, including that...
.
By 1941, the United States Navy decided to convert
Normandie into a
troopshipA troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
, and renamed her , in reference to the historical
American-French allianceThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
. Earlier proposals included turning the vessel into an aircraft carrier, but this modification was dropped in favor of immediate troop transport needs. The ship was moored at Manhattan's
Pier 88The New York Passenger Ship Terminal is terminal for ocean going passenger ships on Manhattan's west side....
for the conversion. On February 9, 1942, sparks from a welding torch ignited a stack of thousands of life vests filled with
kapokKapok is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae , native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and to tropical west Africa. The word is also used for the fibre obtained from its seed pods...
, a highly flammable material, that had been stored in the first-class dining room. The 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 was deactivated. The New York City fire department's hoses also did not fit the ship's French inlets. All on board fled the vessel.
As firefighters on shore and in fire boats poured water on the blaze, the ship developed a dangerous list to port due to the greater amount of water being pumped into the seaward side of the vessel by fireboats. About 2:45 a.m. on February 10,
Lafayette capsizeCapsizing refers to when a boat or ship is tipped over until disabled. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
d, nearly crushing a fire boat. The ship's designer
Vladimir YourkevitchVladimir Ivanovich Yourkevitch was a Russian naval engineer, developer of the modern design of ship hulls, and designer of the famous ocean liner SS Normandie...
had been at the scene, and offered his expertise, but was barred from entering by local harbor police. His suggestion was to enter the vessel and open the sea-cocks. This would flood the lower decks of the ship and cause it to settle the few feet to the bottom of the dock. Thus stabilised, water could be pumped into the burning areas without the risk of capsize, however the suggestion was denied by port director Admiral Adolphus Andrews.
The ship was truncated and finally righted in 1943 in what was then the world's most expensive salvage operation. It was subsequently determined the cost of restoring her was too great. After neither the US Navy nor the French Line offered to do so, Yourkevitch made a last-ditch proposal to cut the ship down and restore her as a mid-sized passenger liner. This, too, failed to draw backing, and the hulk of
Normandie was sold for a mere $161,680 to Lipsett Inc., an American
salvageMarine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
company. She was scrapped on October 1946.
"A Lady Fights Back"
The 1944 documentary short
A Lady Fights Back tells the story, up to that time, of
Normandie. It does not mention she capsized or sank, saying only she listed heavily to port and showing many pictures of it in that position. It leaves the story with the ship floating free, though devoid of
superstructureA superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied both to physical structures like buildings, bridges or ships and to conceptual structures as well...
, saying it was destined to participate in the war effort and filmmakers were not allowed to show more current pictures.
The film also makes the claim the Navy used the restoration of
Normandie as a training exercise and used that training to repair ships damaged in the December 1941
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor is a harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
raid.
The film is Installment 50 in
John NesbittJohn Nesbitt was an actor, narrator, announcer, producer and screenwriter born in Victoria, British Columbia, who died in Carmel, California...
's
Passing ParadeThe Passing Parade, a.k.a. John Nesbitt's Passing Parade, was an American radio series created, written, and narrated by John Nesbitt which was adapted into an Oscar-winning series of MGM short subjects...
series, presented by MGM. It is included in the DVD of the 1944 movie
Thirty Seconds Over TokyoThirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a 1944 MGM war film. It is based on the true story of America's first retaliatory air strike against Japan four months after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The movie was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist. The screenplay by...
.
Influences
The S.S.
Normandie inspired the architecture and design of the
Normandie HotelThe Normandie Hotel is a hotel located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The hotel originally opened on October 10, 1942. Its design was inspired by the ocean liner SS Normandie. It features the same art deco design as the ship that inspired it, and the hotel's roof sign is one of the two signs that...
in
San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan is the capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 433,733, making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
. It was designed by
Félix BenítezFélix Benítez Rexach was the Puerto Rican engineer who designed the Normandie Hotel, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico....
, a Puerto Rican engineer, as a tribute to his French wife, Moineau, whom he met aboard the French ocean liner.
At first, the three funnels should have been classic oval cylindric-shaped, but Marin-Marie, a French designer working on the
Normandie project, decided to use a modern aerodynamic semi-tear drop shape instead. The last funnel was a dummy needed for the ship's balance and partially used as the dog
kennelA kennel is the name given to any structure or shelter for dogs. A kennel is a doghouse, run, or other small structure in which a dog is kept...
. The main mast's location, which was usually in front of the bridge, was changed to behind the bridge in order to enhance visibility.
Marin-Marie gave an innovative line to
Normandie, a silhouette which was since used in multiple following ocean liners including the
Queen Mary 2. The design of
Normandie and her chief rival, the
Queen Mary, was the main inspiration for
Disney Cruise LineDisney Cruise Line is an American cruise line company owned by The Walt Disney Company and headquartered in Celebration, Florida. The business is run by President Karl Holz as part of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division...
's first two vessels, the
Disney MagicThe Disney Magic is a cruise ship operated by the Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its sister, the Disney Wonder, was launched in 1999. The Disney Magic's Godmother is Roy E. Disney's ex-wife Patty Disney....
and
Disney WonderThe Disney Wonder is the second cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line and was launched in 1999. The ship had its inaugral cruise from the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, stopping in Southampton UK and arrived in Port Canaveral 2 weeks later. The Disney Wonder's Godmother is Tinkerbell.The...
.
Memorabilia
Items from
Normandie were sold at a series of auctions after her demise, and many pieces are considered valuable
Art DecoArt Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film...
treasures today. Among the rescued items include the 10 large dining room door medallions and fittings, and some of the 2 X 4 foot individual
Jean DupasJean Théodore Dupas was a French painter, designer, poster artist, and decorator whose work is considered the utmost example of Art Nouveau and Art Deco visual arts.- Life :He won the prix de Rome in 1910...
glass panels that formed the 50 x 20 foot murals mounted at each of the 4 corners of the walls of her Grand Salon. Also surviving to this day are some examples of the 24,000 pieces of crystal – some from the massive Lalique torcheres – that adorned her Dining Salon as well as some of the table silverware, chairs, and pink gold plated bronze table bases – all part of the furniture and fixtures that accommodated 700 passengers at one seating. Custom designed suite and cabin furniture as well as original art-work and statues that decorated the ship, or were built for use by the French Line aboard
Normandie, also survive today. Pieces from the Normandie occasionally appear on the PBS TV series [{Antiques Roadshow]].
A detailed cut-away 1/46 scale SS
Normandie model, built by Fr. Roberto Pirrone of Los Angeles, is on display on board the
Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor. This model features full interior and exterior detail, including a recreation of the Café Grill where celebrities, potentates and "everyone who was anyone" gathered for midnight champagne and caviar. The actual Café Grill piano is part of the Miottel Museum collection.
Normandie memorabilia also exists on a smaller scale. In April 1935 France commemorated the ship's maiden voyage by releasing a 1.50 Franc dark blue stamp depicting SS
Normandie. Following
Normandie's
Blue RibandThe Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
win this stamp was reissued in a rarer lighter shade.
In popular culture
A Queen Mary/Normandie-type ocean liner race serves as the backdrop for the 1938 film
The Big Broadcast of 1938The Big Broadcast of 1938 is a Paramount Pictures film featuring W.C. Fields and Bob Hope. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, the film is the last in a series of Big Broadcast movies that were variety show anthologies...
. Two liners are portrayed: The "SS Gigantic", a heavily streamlined space-age ship that resembles the cruise ships of today, and the other is a model of the Normandie, but with the name "SS Colossal."
Views of the SS Normandie
See also
- SS Liberté
The SS Europa was one of a pair of fast ocean liners built in the late nineteen-twenties for the Norddeutsche Lloyd line for the transatlantic passenger service...
- Compagnie Générale Transatlantique
The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique , known overseas as the French Line, was a shipping company established in 1861 as an attempt to revive the French merchant marine, the poor state of which was painfully highlighted during the Crimean War of 1856. Its first vessel, the S.S...
- RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
- RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner which sailed the Atlantic Ocean for the Cunard Line and was contracted to carry Royal Mail. At the time of construction in the 1930s by John Brown and Company in Clydebank, Scotland, she was known as Hull 552 during her construction...
Further reading
- Ardman, Harvey. "Normandie, Her Life and Times," New York, Franklin Watts, 1985
- Brinnin, John Malcolm. The Sway of the Grand Saloon : a Social History of the North Atlantic. New York : Delacorte Press, 1971
- Coleman, Terry. The liners : a history of the North Atlantic crossing. Harmondsworth, England : Penguin Books, 1977
- Fox, Robert. Liners: The Golden Age. Die Grosse Zeit der Ozeanriesen. L'Âge d'or des paquebots.[trilingual text ] Cologne: Konneman, 1999.
- Kludas, Arnold. Record breakers of the North Atlantic - Blue Riband Liners 1838-1952, Chatham Publishing, London, 2000.
- Maddocks, Melvin The Great Liners. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1978.
- Maxtone-Graham, John. The Only Way to Cross. New York: Collier Books, 1972.
- Boks, W. Holland: photo of the model boat SS Normandie 1935.
- Lange Eric & Villers Claude (directed by, original footages by Jean Vivié) A Bord Du Normandie (on board Normandy). Produced by Lobster. France 2005.
- Streater, L: 5 volume series of books from construction to salvage, Marpubs, 2007
External links
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