Large Passenger Liners - SS Normandie, 1932
Edited by David Barth, 7 December 2008
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
SS Normandie was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line, Compagnie Generale
Transatlantique (CGT). When launched in 1932 she was the largest and fastest ship in the world, and she maintains
the distinction of being the most powerful steam turbo-electric 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 flagship of the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, she regularly sailed transatlantic crossings
between her home port of Le Havre and the port of New York.
During World War II, Normandie was seized by United States authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette. In 1942,
while being converted to a troopship, the liner caught fire, capsized, and sank at the New York Passenger Ship Terminal.
Although she was salvaged at great expense, restoration of the vessel was deemed too costly, and she was scrapped in
October 1946.
The beginnings of Normandie can be traced to the Roaring Twenties when shipping companies started to look for new ships
to replace aging veterans such as the RMS Mauretania, 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 Prohibition.] Companies
like Cunard and White Star Line planned to build their own superliners to rival the newer ships on the scene; such
vessels included the record-breaking Bremen and Europa, both German ships. The French Line 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 Ile de France, which had modern Art Deco 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 Yourkevitch, a former ship
architect for the Imperial Russian Navy who had emigrated to France before the revolution. His ideas included a
slanting clipper-like bow and a bulbous forefoot 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 Line 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 Cassandre, who like Yourkevitch was
himself a Russian emigrant to France.
Work began on the as-yet unnamed French Line flagship in January 1931, soon after the terrifying stock market crash of
1929. While the French continued construction, the competing White Star Line's ship (intended as Oceanic) - started
before the crash - had to be cancelled and the Cunard ship 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 Queen Mary 2), a few secondary parts of her came from other European countries - e.g., the ship's
great rudder was built by Skoda Works in Czechoslovakia, while the steering mechanism, including the teak wheel,
came from Edinburgh.
As construction went on, the growing hull in Saint-Nazaire had no formal designation except for "T-6" (with "6" for
"6th" and "T" for "Transat", short for "CIE. GLE. TRANSATLANTIQUE" aka the "French Line"), the contract name. Many
names were suggested including Doumer, after the recently assassinated president Paul Doumer, 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 "France" 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 crash - Normandie was launched in front of
200,000 spectators. The 27,567 ton hull that slid into the Loire River 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 Yourkevitch'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 32.125 knots (59.496 km/h) 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. An early form
of radar was installed to detect icebergs and other ships.
The luxurious interiors of Normandie were marvels of Art Deco and the Streamline Moderne style. Many of her sculptures
and wall paintings made indirect or direct allusions to Normandy, 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 Brunhoff, who covered the walls with Babar the Elephant 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 long, 46 feet (14 m) wide and 28 feet (8.5 m) high, this was by far the largest room afloat.
Passengers entered the dining room through 20-foot (6.1 m) 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 France.
The medallions and dining room door elements survive today as part of the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church,
in Brooklyn Heights, 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 cuisine 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 Paris as the '"City of Light"). The French Line marketed the dining room as longer than the Hall of
Mirrors at Versailles.
A popular feature was the cafe 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 Rex), a chapel and a theatre which could function as both
a stage and cinema. The voluminous nature of Normandie's 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 pool,
theatre, winter garden, and other amenities. The first class swimming pool featured staggered depths, and a training
'beach' with very little depth for children.
The machinery of the top deck and forecastle, 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.
After more fitting out and final touches, the maiden voyage came on May 29, 1935. Fifty thousand people came to Le Havre
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 Riband from the Italian
liner Rex. 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 30 knots (56 km/h) and on the eastbound crossing
to France she averaged over 30 knots (56 km/h), 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 30-foot (9.1 m) long blue pennant. An estimated
100,000 spectators lined New York Harbor for Normandie's triumphant arrival.
With the Blue Riband hers, Normandie had a successful year but come 1936 a new ship was on the scene. The RMS Queen Mary,
Cunard'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 Riband
from Normandie averaging 30.14 knots (55.82 km/h), thus starting a fierce rivalry. The Normandie held the size record
through the 1930s, until the arrival of the RMS Queen Elizabeth (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 II, ensuring that there would be
no 'next time'.
In her short lived but prosperous life, Normandie was able to carry a number of distinguished passengers, including the
famed 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,
and James Stewart. Normandie also carried the von Trapp family Singers (the real family that The Sound of Music 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.
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 RMS Queen Elizabeth 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 States seized the ship under the right of angary.
By 1941, the United States Navy decided to convert Normandie into a troopship, and renamed her USS Lafayette
(AP-53)Template:WP Ships USS instances, in reference to the historical American-French alliance. 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 88 for the conversion. On February 9, 1942, sparks from
a welding torch ignited a stack of thousands of life vests filled with kapok, 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 ship's
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 capsized, nearly crushing a fire boat. The ship's designer Vladimir Yourkevitch 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 salvage company. She was scrapped on October 1946.
Career (France):
- Name: SS Normandie
- Owner: Compagnie Generale Transatlantique
- Builder: Penhoët, Saint Nazaire, France
- Laid down: 26 January 1931
- Launched: 29 October 1932
- Christened: 29 October 1932
- Maiden voyage: 29 May 1935
- Fate: Caught fire, capsized at Pier 88 in the New York Passenger Ship Terminal in New York City in 1942; wreck
remained on site throughout WWII, and was sold for scrap on 3 October 1946.
- General characteristics
- Tonnage: 79,280/83,423 gross tons
- Displacement: 71,300 tons (approx)
- Length: 1,029 feet (312.81m)
- Beam: 119.4 ft (36.4 m)
- Height: 184 ft (56.1 m)
- Draft: 37.00 ft (11.3 m)
- Decks: 12
- Installed power: Four turbo-electric, total 160,000 hp (200,000 hp max).
- Propulsion: Four 3- (later 4-) bladed, 23 tons each
- Speed: Designed speed 29 knots (54 km/h), max speed recorded 32.2 knots (59.6 km/h)
- Capacity: 1,972 in the following classes
- 848 First Class (cabin)
- 670 Tourist Class
- 454 Third Class
- Crew: 1,345
See also:
RMS Mauretania - 1906.
RMS Titanic - 1911.
Europa - 1928.
Bremen - 1929.
SS Normandie - 1932.
RMS Queen Mary - 1934.
RMS Queen Elizabeth - 1938.
SS America - 1940.
RMS Oceanic - 1951.
SS United States - 1952.
SS France - 1960.
RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 - 1967.
RMS Queen Mary 2 - 2003.
MS Oasis of the Seas - 2009.