The year is 1929, two new German superliners, Bremen and Europa, are close to completion. One year later, they will have broken speed records which had been held by Mauretania since 1909. Cunard is also reportedly planning its own new superliner, which would go into construction in 1931. The new generation of ocean liners has begun, and Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (a.k.a French Line) wants to make its own mark. Here the plans began for their very own superliner, which would later be christened SS Normandie.
Photo colourised by Daryl LeBlanc
Design and Construction
To build this new ship, Russian former naval engineer, Vladimir Yourkevitch, was employed. Yourkevitch had served as an officer for the White Army during the Russian Civil War, but subsequently emigrated to Turkey and then to Paris, working as a draughtsman at a shipyard. Whilst in Russia, Yourkevitch had designed a revolutionary hull which would improve the efficiency of a ship as it powered through water, increasing its speed without the need for additional fuel or engine capacity. This design was originally proposed to Cunard for the Queen Mary, but Cunard rejected him in favour of a more traditional hull design. Luckily, he got a job with shipbuilding company, Penhoët, to work on a new superliner. Yourkevitch's hull design would be adopted after tests of his model proved to be faster than any other proposed hull design.
If you look at the bow of Normandie, you can see that it is much more slender than those of other ocean liners, with an extremely thin point which flows out, giving the bow a sort of bulbous appearance. This increased the aerodynamics of the ship, enabling her to glide through the water without causing too great of a splash from the waves. She was also propelled by hydro-electric turbines which are highly effective for long-distance travel and enabled Normandie to use her full power when reversing. Yet, it also served another purpose in that this form of propulsion was much quieter, improving comfort for passengers and crew alike.
In addition to her rather futuristic bow, Normandie boasted sleek exterior deck designs, including hidden ventilation shafts, so one doesn't have to deal with air vents spoiling the aesthetics of the liner (I'm looking at you, Mauretania). As a result, Normandie's exterior was like no other ship afloat.
A photo of SS Normandie's bow, demonstrating her unique hull design
Interiors
The beauty of Normandie would not simply stop at her exterior design, either. Her interiors boasted a fashionable Art Deco style, designed by none other than Pierre Patout, a key figure in the founding of this style.
The First Class dining hall was the largest room afloat, at 305ft long, 46ft wide, and 28ft high. One could hardly be blamed for thinking that they had stepped inside a grand palace. The room also contained chandeliers hung from each end of the room, earning Normandie the nickname "Ship of Light".
Normandie also boasted a large amount of deck space, a first-class swimming pool, a theatre, and an open air tennis court. Each first-class room also contained a unique design. This ship truly was a floating palace.
If you were wealthy, this ship was the place for you. However, the emphasis on first class came at the expense of facilities for the second class and tourist class. Normandie had a capacity for 848 first class passengers, but only 670 second class and 454 tourist class passengers.
However, in many ways her radical interiors worked against her, as many passengers simply could not afford to travel aboard, and many of those who could found themselves uncomfortable, with some even complaining of headaches. As a result, Normandie did not quite achieve the popularity, or the profitability for that matter, of other ships like Queen Mary or Aquitania.
First Class Dining Room
First Class Smoking Salon
A First Class Suite
Tourist Class Saloon
Work began on the new ship in early 1931, despite the effects of the Great Depression, which had caused construction of the Queen Mary to be halted. Yet, this new French ship, currently named T-6, was a source of national pride, and the company was subsidised by the government to continue construction.
On 29th October 1932, SS Normandie was launched to much celebration; over 200,000 spectators attended to witness the launch of this much awaited ship.
However, it wasn't the smoothest launch, as the size of the ship as it entered the river Loire created a huge wave which washed over hundreds of spectators.
By the time she was completed, Normandie was 1,029 feet long, 119 feet wide, and displaced over 79,000 tonnes.
Maiden Voyage and Career
It wouldn't be for another three years before Normandie was completed, but her arrival would take the shipping community by storm.
On 29th May 1935, Normandie would begin her maiden voyage from Le Havre to New York, watched by over 50,000 spectators. She completed the voyage in just four days, three hours and two minutes, over ten hours faster than the current record holder, SS Rex. Her average speed was around 29.98 knots. On the eastbound voyage, she would break her own record, averaging over 30 knots! This would mark the first time that a French line had ever captured the Blue Riband.
Normandie arriving into New York for the first time
However, her dominance would not last for long, as only a year later, across the channel, Cunard's Queen Mary would set sail. In August 1936, Queen Mary would win the Blue Riband from Normandie, completing the westbound voyage in just four days and 27 minutes, averaging a speed of 30.14 knots. This began a fierce but friendly rivalry between the two ships, as each competed for the national pride of their respective nations.
In order to win back her place as the world's fastest liner, Normandie would undergo a refit in 1937. Modifications included replacing her three-bladed screws with four-bladed ones, and changes to the lower aft sections. These not only improved her speed, but also reduced vibrations which had been causing problems on voyages. These new features clearly worked; that same year Normandie won back the Blue Riband, completing her westbound voyage at an average speed of 30.58 knots. However, the record would soon be broken again by Queen Mary in 1938.
This rivalry between the two superliners would likely have continued if it weren't for the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
The Second World War
From 1939, Normandie was laid up in at Pier 88 in New York harbour and maintained by a French crew.
In May 1940, the US Coast Guard was employed to defend the ship against potential attack, and in 1941, following the fall of France and the attack on Pearl Harbour, Normandie was seized by the US Coast Guard.
On 27th December 1941, Normandie was transferred to the US Navy and plans began to convert her into a troopship, renamed USS La Fayette. This conversion took place in Pier 88, and was scheduled for completion by 14th February 1942. However, during the conversion process, Normandie's extensive fire suppression system was switched off. This would prove to be fatal.
1942: The Fire and Scrapping
On 9th February 1942, at 2:30pm, sparks from a welding touch ignited a stack of life vests stored in the first class lounge. Unfortunately, the flammable woodwork in the first class lounge had not been removed, and the fire spread quickly. Even worse, the New York City firehouses did not fit the French connections and were effectively useless. If things weren't bad enough, a strong wind caused the blaze to sweep forward, and in just half an hour, three quarters of the ships upper decks were in flames.
The fire, combined with the tonnes of water used to fight it caused the ship to develop a dangerous port list, and by 10th February, the ship had capsized, lying on her port side at an angle of around 80 degrees.
Normandie's designer, Vladimir Yourketich, suggested to flood the ship in order to stablilise her, but this recommendation was rejected by Rear Admiral Adolphus Andrews.
Investigations concluded that the fire was accidental, but noted numerous incidences of rule violations and carelessness during the conversion.
In August 1943, an extensive salvage operation began and the ship was placed into drydock. However, the damage to her hull and machinery, and the lack of manpower due to the ongoing war meant that the operation was deemed too great. By 1945, it was clear that neither France nor the US wanted her, and other plans to salvage her fell through.
Her scrapping began in October 1946 at Port Newark, New Jersey, and completed in December 1948.
SS Normandie on fire, 9th February 1942
Aftermath of the fire
Concluding Thoughts
SS Normandie has gone down in history as one of the most revolutionary and modern ships ever created for her time, and is still widely considered to be one of the most beautiful ocean liners ever built.
Despite her ingenuity and speed, Normandie was in many ways a victim of her own success. Although she attracted figures such as Marlene Dietrich, Noel Coward and Ernest Hemingway, for most passengers she was simply a bit too impractical. That said, this is a ship that I would love to have travelled on if I were a wealthy time traveller.
For such a great ship, Normandie went out with more of a whimper than a bang, her life cut all too short due to mismanagement of those responsible for her care.
Nonetheless, she remains one of the most popular and iconic ships in history, and as long as there's still ocean liner enthusiasts out there, her legacy will live on.
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