The S/S
Normandie was the
masterpiece of CGT French Line and is often acclaimed as the ultimate
ocean
liner. She was launched in 1932 to great acclaim and immediately became
the
largest ocean liner in the world and on her maiden voyage claimed the
coveted
Blue Riband for France.
After an acclaimed heyday in the 1930s as the great rival to Britain’s Queen Mary, the Normandie
sadly was
destroyed in New York
by fire during conversion by the American’s into a troopship during the
Second
World War. Thus was lost the most iconic of all ocean liners and a
timeless
legend. A ship of the beauty of the great Normandie will never been
seen
gracing the world's oceans again. She was a true transatlantic
masterpiece and
certainly deserves the title of "The Most Beautiful Ocean Liner in the
World".
Design
and Construction (1927 – 1935):
Shortly
after the First
World War, the French government had recognised that since the drawing
up of
their earlier mail contract with CGT French Line in 1913, the world had
somewhat changed. The contract was therefore amended and it allowed the
line to
build two more ships rather than the three that it had originally
called for.
The first ship was required by the terms of the contract to enter
service by
1927, and ultimately became the famous Ile de France. A second ship was
scheduled to enter service no later than the summer of 1932 and there
were
those CGT French Line officials who thought that the ship should be a
further
development of the Isle de France, a little longer, and perhaps a
little wider
but otherwise very similar. However the associate managing director of
CGT
French Line, Pierre de Malgavie, had other ideas. He and others wanted
something more ambitious, no less than a ship which was superior to
anything
the British, Italians or Germans might produce in the fast approaching
1930s.
Therefore this ship would be faster and more beautiful than anything
afloat. In
the end it was decided to take the approach put forward by Pierre de
Malgavie
and the stage was set.
In the
final years of the
1920s the Normandie was conceived against the backdrop of the
development of
super “Ships of State” by Britain,
Germany and Italy.
It was
these vessels that would showcase the artistic and engineering
achievements of
their respective countries and fly the flag of their nations to the
world. If
the ships could also gain the coveted Blue Riband of the North Atlantic then this would add to the
prestige of the ship and their
shipping line and country.
By 1929
designs were well
advanced for the new French ship. A new huge dry dock was being built
at the
Penhoet shipyard, St NAvaire to cater for the vast size envisaged for
the new
build. Meanwhile a Russian naval architect by the name of Vladimir
Youkevitch,
now living in France, approached CGT French Line with his revolutionary
streamlined hull design that he had developed when working in the
Baltic
shipyards building Russian warships but which had been refused by the
Russian
Shipping Board. However the Penhoet shipyard had misgivings about his
design
and ordered tests to be carried out. Fortunately his design won hands
down and
it was chosen.
Then
despite the Wall Street
Crash, CGT French Line saw no reason to delay construction of their new
superliner and so awarded the contract to the Penhoet shipyard, St
Navaire, France
on the
29th October 1930. The ship was given the shipyard number of
T6. On
the 26th January 1931 the first plates were laid down on the
slipway
and construction began. Thus began the race between the ship that would
become
Normandie and the British Queen Mary also then under construction in Glasgow. The
Normandie
while a showcase of French achievement was however a product of
international
cooperation. Her hull was designed by a Russian, her rudder frame and
shaft
were built in the Skoda Works in Prague, her boilers were built in
Germany, her
turbine blades in Sheffield and her propellers in South London.
By late
1931 the effects of
the Depression were really kicking in and work in Glasgow on the future Queen Mary was
suspended. However the French government decided to continue building
the
Normandie. In 1932 CGT French Line announced that she would be launched
on the
29th October 1932. On the 18th October 1932 the
line
announced that the captain of the new ship would be Rene Pugnet,
formerly
captain of the Paris.
On the 19th October 1932 with great fanfare it was announced
that
the new liner would be called Normandie in keeping with the new policy
to name
future French liners employed on the transatlantic service after French
provinces. On the 22nd October 1932 the last of the
scaffolding
surrounding the immense hull was removed as launch day approached and
preparations for the launch were made.
29th
October 1932
– Launch Day arrives amid a buzz of excitement. A special train
conveyed
President and Madame Lebrun from Paris
and they were met by Penhoet and CGT French Line officials. A
celebratory lunch
was held. Meanwhile nearly 200,000 people had descended on St Nazaire
to watch
the launch. With Madame Lebrun on the launch platform, the “La
Marsellaise” was
played and Madame Lebrun swung the bottle of champagne against the hull
and
said the immortal words: “I baptize thee Normandie” and blew the ship a
kiss.
After a moment’s pause the newly christened ship rushed down the
slipway and
into the waters of the River Loire and met her natural element for the
first
time amid a cacophony of ship’s whistles and cheers from the assembled
crowd.
Safely afloat, tugs took charge of the Normandie and gently guided her
into her
fitting out berth.
The launch
of the Normandie
was celebrated across France.
It also too added further impetus to Britain and Cunard Line to
get the
construction of the future Queen Mary back on track and work
recommenced in
February 1934. However much work was still needed on Normandie to
transform her
into the luxurious passenger liner, including the installation of her
engines
and machinery and the fitting out of her interiors. Between 1928 and
1933 while
Normandie was being built several other significant liners had entered
service
including: P&O’s Viceroy of India,
Strathnaver and Strathaird. Furness, Withy & Co.’s Queen of Bermuda
and
Monarch of Bermuda, Ward Line’s Morro Castle and Oriente, the President
Hoover
and President Coolidge of Dollar Line, and the Panama Pacific Line’s
trio: California, Virginia and
Pennsylvania.
The notable fact about each of these ships is that they all were
powered by
turbo-electric machinery. The success of these liners had convinced CGT
French
Line also to use turbo-electric machinery on the Normandie.
Another
innovation was a
device on Normandie’s bridge, invented by Maurice Punte, for detecting
ships
and icebergs up to four miles distant. This was done by means of radio
waves
that swept the horizon in 45 degree arcs, and when an obstacle was
detected it
rebounded to a receiver, and an amplified bleep could be heard in a
telephone.
Thus the Normandie laid claim to being fitted with the first
rudimentary radar.
Sadly due
to a decline in
transatlantic trade, the new Head of CGT French Line, Marcel Olivier,
announced
that the completion of the Normandie would be delayed by a year until
Spring
1935. In February 1934 work recommenced on the British ship (later to
become
the Queen Mary) and as a result this compelled the French to redouble
efforts
on the Normandie.
Work was
also carried out
installing her magnificent interiors. It was these luxurious saloons
and cabins
that would make the Normandie “the ultimate ship of state”. It was the
intention of the French government that she should truly represent France and in effect be the finest
showcase of
the arts, crafts and sciences of France. Earlier CGT French
Line
vessels including Paris, Ile de France, Lafayette and Champlain had
already
been decorated in the art deco style and prestigious liners of other
nations
such as Italy’s
Conte di
Savoia, and Germany’s
Bremen
and Europa, had
also adopted this sleek and elegant style so well suited to the ocean
liner.
But in was on board the Normandie that the art deco style and the
“ocean liner
style” would reach their dramatic climax.
Click here
to find more
about THE INTERIORS OF THE NORMANDIE
In terms
of the external
appearance of the Normandie she followed the example of the Champlain
and had a
streamlined superstructure with clean uncluttered decks. Of the three
enormous
funnels, the third after one was a dummy and contained a series of dog
kennels.
The funnels were streamlined, their height decreasing from forward to
aft, and
they were slanted at 10 degrees. The two forward funnels were specially
designed to prevent any boiler deposits from falling on the deck. The
two pole
masts were also raked, at 5 degrees, and were placed forward and aft of
the
funnels.
While the
Normandie had been
fitting out, work had been progressing in harbours on both sides of the
Atlantic to accommodate the
great liner. The harbour at Le
Havre, her homeport,
was dredged and a new dock contructed. It was over 2000 ft long and
would allow
both the Normandie and Ile de France to be berthed there at the same
time if
required. A new railway station, Gare Maritime, a massive art deco
style
structure of reinforced concrete, was built nearby to accommodate
passengers
arriving by train from Paris.
Meanwhile in New York,
five new piers were being built of over 1000 ft in length to
accommodate not
only the Normandie but other prestigious liners of the period then
being built
by other nations.
By
September 1934 fitting
out was well advanced and CGT French Line announced the date of her
maiden
voyage as the 29th May 1935. Then on the 5th May
1935 the
Normandie departed on her sea trials. Thousands of people packed the
waterfront
at St Nazaire to see her. On her first speed trial she reached 24
knots. On her
second speed trial she reached 30.156 knots. It was at this moment that
Captain
Pugnet announced that some of her boilers still were not lit! A third
speed
trial resulted in a speed of 32.125 knots. She had performed
magnificently
however there were concerns about vibration affecting the aft part of
the ship.
At the end of her sea trials she steamed into Le Havre for the first time on the 11th
May 1935.
On the 20th
May
1935, President Albert Lebrun, hosted the first gala event on board the
Normandie. 2000 guests attended. They inspected the vast new Gare
Maritime as
they disembarked from their trains from Paris
and made their way on to the glittering new liner. Further festivities
were
held over the following days culminating in a glittering charity gala
in aid of
the Seamen’s Fund and the unemployed. This event, which eventually
became a
tradition, included the special round trip train from Paris
to Le Havre,
dinner, entertainment in the theatre and Grand Lounge, followed by a
ball. On
the morning of her maiden voyage the Normandie welcomed travel agents
from all
over France
and neighbouring countries.
The
CGT French Line Service Years (1935 – 1939):
On the 29th
May
1935 the legendary Normandie set sail from Le Havre
bound for New York
on her maiden voyage. However she was slightly delayed due to the huge
quantity
of US bound mail that suddenly descended on the port. But just after
6pm with a
great blast from her whistle, accompanied by salutes from the Ile de
France, Paris and the United States
Lines’ Manhattan,
the Normandie eased away from her
berth and the maiden voyage had begun.
Later that
night she
anchored in Southampton Water in a blaze of lights, her funnels
floodlit and
her name in huge illuminated letters between the second and third
funnels.
Tenders brought out the embarking passengers, the Mayor of Southampton
and the
press. Soon she set sail once more and at 10 the following morning she
passed
the Bishop’s Rock lighthouse, the eastern point from which the speed
across the
Atlantic was calculated. As she
sped across
the North Atlantic she gradually
increased her
speed. On the final day of the voyage she encountered fog. Captain
Pugnet
however was undeterred, radioed every ship in the area, and thus safe
in the
knowledge that no vessel was in the way
maintained full speed. At 11.02 am on the 3rd June 1935
Normandie
passed the Ambrose Lighthouse and gave a tremendous blast on her
whistle. She
had crossed the Atlantic in a record
time of 4
days, 3 hours and 2 minutes at an average speed of 29.98 knots and thus
had
gained the coveted Blue Riband. Although the French played down any
speculation
that the record attempt had been planned, it was clear to most that
this was
indeed the case and the ship had set out from Le Havre with the intention of making
a
record breaking crossing. Normandie anchored off Quarantine and huge
numbers of
press boarded the liner. As the liner made her slow approach up the
Hudson
river towards her berth, the waters of the harbour and the skies above Manhattan buzzed
with
excitement as a multitude of craft turned out to welcome the great new
liner.
Eventually at 3.55 pm Normandie tied up at her berth in New York for
the first time. For the
following four days while in port the Normandie was a huge news story.
Several
glittering events and parties were held on board, each one of them
attended by
the cream of New York society and
stars of
Broadway and Hollywood.
Famous American orchestras and dance bands played on board including
the exotic
Xavier Cugat. The ship was also opened to the public on one occasion.
As news
reached Europe, the Master of the
Italian liner Rex (the previous
holder of the Blue Riband), Cdr. Francesco Tarabotto congratulated the
Normandie and her crew on their magnificent achievement:
“Our sincere admiration for a splendid ship and a remarkable
performance
on her maiden voyage enables us to relinquish with a smile our
possession of
the Blue Riband of the North Atlantic
won two
years ago.”
Normandie
departed New York on the 7th
June 1935 bound once again
for Le Havre
on
what turned out to be another record breaking voyage. Her average speed
for the
voyage was 30.31 knots and it was the first time any liner had crossed
the Atlantic at faster than 30 knots
average.
Her maiden
voyage was an
outstanding success. However to CGT French Line’s concern, the
Normandie was
not attracting the upper classes of the British travelling public, who
in the
main remained loyal to British liners. As a result CGT French Line
created a
gap in her transatlantic schedule to enable her to be promoted to the
British
market via a “British Isles Cruise” from the 19th – 22nd
July 1935. She arrived in Southampton
on the
21st July and was swarmed by thousands of visitors.
Sadly the
vibration problems
continued to plague the ship and on the 28th October 1935
after she
arrived back in Le Havre
she was taken out of service in an attempt to find a solution. What
resulted
was an extensive and lengthy refit. Her propellers were replaced with
new ones
of a four bladed design. The Bridge wings were enlarged and extended
forward by
three feet. The large illuminated letters spelling out her name between
the
funnels were removed. In the Grand Dining Room six of the twelve
lighting
towers were removed to create more space in the room. The two deck high
Tourist
Class Lounge was removed and replaced with 32 new cabins. A new Tourist
Class
Lounge was built aft on Boat Deck, thereby eliminating the elegant
terrace
deck. A sports deck, for Tourist Class was created on the deck above
the new
lounge. Thus the magnificent view aft over Normandie’s wake, which
First Class
passengers had previously enjoyed from the exclusive Café-Grill, was
now the
privilege of Tourist Class passengers! From their new Sports Deck,
Tourist
Class passengers also had an unobstructed view on to the private
verandas of
the Deauville
and Trouville Suites! The lounge was brought on by a need to stiffen
the stern
of the ship to reduce vibration. This refit also resulted in a new
larger gross
tonnage for the Normandie of 83,423 grt to the consternation of Cunard
Line and
their new Queen Mary. Therefore the Normandie remained for a while
longer as
the largest, longest and fastest liner in the world. A sea trial proved
that
the vibration had been removed. Unfortunately just before the Normandie
re-entered service one of her new propellers fell off and new
replacements had
to be made but as a temporary measure she had to return to service with
her old
propellers! So on her first
transatlantic voyage she still had a measure of vibration but when she
arrived
back in Le Havre
her new propeller was ready to be fitted and finally a vibration-less
Normandie
was a reality.
In August
1936 the Normandie
briefly lost her Blue Riband title to the Queen Mary. On the 31st
August 1936 the Queen Mary also broke the eastbound record. That winter
the
Normandie was again refitted. CGT French Line had every intention of
winning
back the Blue Riband from their great rival, the Queen Mary. Extra
steam
nozzles were installed in her boiler room to boost power output, the
size of
pipes that supplied steam to her turbines was increased and once again
her
propellers were replaced.
On the 19th
March
1937, the Manhattan
piers were host to a mighty array of record breaking liners, along with
the
Normandie were the Europa, Rex, and Beregaria. Departing
from among these illustrious
contemporaries, the new Master of the Normandie, Captain Thoreaux
decided to
put her new mechanical refinements to the test. Once again she
recaptured the
Blue Riband and maintained on several occasions a speed of 33 knots.
Five
months later, on the 2nd August, she sailed into New York
proudly
flying the Blue Riband penant once more, having made the crossing in
just 3
days 23 hours and 2 minutes, and this despite having to steam through a
storm
with winds of 70 mph. Her return to Europe
again was another record breaking crossing, this time even faster than
her
crossing in March.
In
February 1938 Normandie
sailed on a cruise to the Caribbean and South
America.
For this cruise she operated as a one class ship with a passenger
capacity
limited to 1000 passengers. While there were other luxurious liners
employed on
cruises at that time nothing compared to the Normandie. It was the
cruise event
of the season and a broadcast from the Grand Salon was carried across America.
She
departed New York on the 5th
February 1938 and made stops at Nassau
and
Trinidad before arriving at Rio
de Janeiro for a 5 day stay. On her return to New York, Normandie called at Martinique.
On the 12th February 1938 a “crossing the line” ceremony was
held
and it also was the first time that the Normandie had crossed the line!
In July
1938 Normandie made
her 100th transatlantic crossing. In August she once again
relinquished her Blue Riband to the Queen Mary. Sadly although the
congratulatory message said “until next time” the Normandie had in fact
lost
the Blue Riband forever as events would later show. The rivalry between
the
Queen Mary and the Normandie had begun from the earliest stages of
building the
two ships and lasted throughout their time in service together and it
had
captured the public imagination. Though the Normandie had now
relinquished the
Blue Riband, she retained the allure of the glamour ship, the ship
whose
passenger lists were studded with the most glittering of international
celebrities. However her overpowering luxury did put some people off
sailing
her with many choosing the Queen Mary or Normandie’s fleetmate the Ile
de
France. As a consequence though the Normandie did manage some
impressive
passenger loadings (1,831 being the largest number ever carried on
board her
during a crossing in 1937) she often sailed well below capacity. Whilst
it was
the Normandie that had all the glamour and Parisian chic, it was the
Queen Mary
that had the high passenger loadings.
In 1939
Normandie undertook
another cruise to Rio de
Janeiro
following on from the highly successful one in 1938. The stay in Rio would coincide with the first day of the Rio
Carnival. The cruise as usual had all the excitement and glamour of the
previous one. On board was Lee Shubert, the theatrical impresario,
during the
stay in Rio he went to the city’s
premier
nightclub, Casino Orca. It was there that he heard a singer, Maria do
Carmo
Miranda da Conha, perform. He was so impressed by her beauty and unique
talent
that he signed her and took her back to New York on the Normandie. Her name
was shortened to
Carmen Miranda and thus a Hollywood
legend was
born.
The 1939
Rio Cruise was
perhaps the Normandie’s last glittering moment in the limelight before
the
world descended into the chaos of the Second World War which would
change
things forever.
Back in Le Havre in April 1939, the Normandie was
undergoing dry docking when
on the 19th April a fire broke out on her fleetmate, the Paris, which was being readied for a voyage to New York. Sadly
she
capsized and blocked the entrance to the dry dock. Her masts had to be
cut to
enable the Normandie to leave dry dock. In 1939 there was growing talk
of war
in Europe and the fact that the destruction of the Paris
had turned out to be sabotage and the fact that many of Normandie’s
passengers
sailing westbound were refugees and others fleeing the Nazis and the
brewing
trouble in Europe.
However that summer CGT French Line announced
that they intended to build a sister ship to the Normandie, slightly
larger and
more powerful, and that construction would begin in 1940. This was
probably in
light of the construction by Cunard of a sister ship to the Queen Mary
(which
later became the Queen Elizabeth).
On the 23rd
August 1939 the Normandie set sail from Le Havre
bound for New York
on her 139th transatlantic voyage. However as things turned
out she
would be leaving her homeland forever never to return. She arrived in New York on the
28th
August and had been scheduled to return home the next day. Eventually
as the
threat of war loomed her return voyage was postponed indefinitely. No
one knew
at the time but that was the end of the career of the legendary
Normandie and
indeed the end of a Golden Era of Ocean Travel.
The
Final Years (1939 – 1947):
Eventually
CGT French Line
realised that Normandie might have to stay in New
York
for years rather than days or months due to the looming war in Europe and as a result ordered her to be
mothballed. Her
luxurious fittings and furnishings were covered with protective drapes
and most
of her crew were sent home to France.
Her engines were turned over once a month. By early 1940 her skeleton
crew was
further reduced to just 115. But the Normandie remained laid up in her
fading
peacetime colours.
On the
evening of the 7th
March 1940, Cunard Line’s new Queen Elizabeth (the partner ship to the
Queen
Mary), and perhaps a ship that may have turned out to be more of an
equal to
the Normandie, made her dramatic maiden arrival into New York from her
builders
in Glasgow after her secret dash across the North Atlantic untried and
untested. Her sister the Queen Mary was already in New York so for the first and only
time ever
the three greatest Queens of the sea were berthed alongside each other.
But for
the Normandie sadly already in exile her reign was over.
The Cunard
Queens soon left
for their trooping duties and Normandie remained gradually fading away.
The
American government however grew more concerned that Nazi sympathisers
might
try to sabotage her and so in May 1941 she was placed under the
protection of
the US Coast Guard. On the 11th December 1941 the United States of America declared war
on Germany in light
of the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbour.
On the 12th December the USA seized possession of
the
Normandie. Her interiors were stripped of all their furnishings and
fittings
which were placed in storage for return after the war. It was decided
to
convert her for use as a troopship like the Cunard Queens and it was
hoped to
have her carrying over 14,000 troops by January 1942. She was repainted
in
camouflage grey and her name was removed from her bow and stern. She
was
renamed the Lafayette
although this was never painted on her and everyone continued to call
her
Normandie. Meanwhile her once luxurious public rooms were being
transformed
into mess halls, canteens, and sleeping quarters with standee bunks.
However
the haste led to shortcuts being taken which would later lead to tragic
consequences.
On the 9th
February 1942 as the Grand Lounge was being converted a fire broke out.
Soon
the fire caught hold and most of the superstructure was in flames
despite the
best efforts of the fire engines that had turned up. A huge pall of
smoke began
to drift across Manhattan
and large crowds of people gathered around Normandie’s berth at Pier
88.
Everyone stood in horror as the pride of France went up in smoke.
Amongst
the crowd was the ship’s hull designer, Vladimir Vourkevitch, who
frantically
tried to persuade the US Navy personnel to let him on board so that he
could
open her sea cocks so that she would sink on to the seabed and
stabilise with
no risk of capsizing. However the US Navy turned down his requests and
said
that they had everything under control. However he knew that his
beloved
Normandie was dying and that the US Navy did not know what they were
doing and
were pouring too much water into her hull. Normandie did die. Normandie
began
to list. On the 10th February 1942 the US Navy ordered the
evacuation of the shipas the list increased. Finally her mooring lines
snapped
and she rolled over on to her side and sank into the River Hudson.
Plans for
the salvage of the
Normandie began and the first stage was to remove everything that
hindered her
natural buoyancy. Gradually over the following weeks her spectacular
funnels
were cut away and then the superstructure was cut down. It was only the
15th
September 1942 when the remains of the once great Normandie were again
afloat.
Proposals were put together for her to be used as an aircraft carrier
and
troopship.
On the 3rd
November 1942 she was towed from her berth for the first time in four
years.
However it was discovered that the damage was much greater than first
anticipated. All her machinery had been ruined beyond repair.
Nevertheless her
hull was made sound and in January 1944 she was towed to a berth in Brooklyn and there she waited for the US
Government and
US Navy to decide her fate. The hulk of the once great Normandie was
gradually
forgotten until June 1945, a month after VE Day, when the head of the
US
Maritime Commission offered to resell her back to France.
It was not until October
1945 that the French Ambassador responded by saying that CGT French
Line did
not intend to repurchase the Normandie but instead would discuss with
the US
Government suitable replacement tonnage as compensation. The US
Government was
far from pleased with this response. Despite further attempts to sell
the hulk
little interest was expressed and it was put up for sale as scrap. It
was
bought by the Lipsett Corporation and on the 28th November
1946 with
the name Lipsett branded on the hull it was towed by 12 tugs to Port
Newark
where scrapping commenced. By the 7th October 1947 all that
remained
of the once beautiful Normandie was a section of steel that had been
part of
her double bottom.
Thus
ended the life of the Normandie and her legend was born.
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