FRENCH LINE |

SS NORMANDIE – The greatest of all trans-Atlantic liners.

June 30, 2012 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

THE SS NORMANDIE… crossing the Atlantic and in New York City – 1930s…

French Line NORMANDIE – Part One

French Line NORMANDIE – Part Two

French Line NORMANDIE – Part Three

These are probably the finest video available of trans-Atlantic liner service in the late 1930s. Excellent color footage of the French Line’s famous SS NORMANDIE.

SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.

Normandie held the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing at several points during her service career, during which the RMS Queen Mary was her chief rival.

During World War II, Normandie was seized by the United States authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette. In 1942, the liner caught fire while being converted to a troopship, capsized and sank at the New York Passenger Ship Terminal. Although salvaged at great expense, restoration was deemed too costly and she was scrapped in October 1946.

Filed Under: Cruise History, FRENCH LINE, FRENCH STEAMSHIP AND CRUISE LINES, STEAMSHIP LINES

Tourist Class crossing on the SS UNITED STATES and World Cruise on the SS FRANCE – 1960s…

December 26, 2010 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Various Views of the Tourist Class section of the SS United States during a 1960s Trans-Atlantic Crossing.

SS France on a world cruise in Hong Kong.

SS France having just arrived at Le Harve.

Filed Under: FRENCH LINE, SOCIAL HISTORY, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: Cruise History, CRUISE LINE HISTORY, cruising the past, FRENCH LINE, liners, SOCIAL HISTORY, ss france

Wonderful color footage of the great liner SS NORMANDIE…

November 5, 2010 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Wonderful color home movies of the great liner SS NORMANDIE…

Crossing The Pond will never again be like this… elegance, glamor and chic passengers are a total thing of the past. No matter what the ship is like – the passengers reflect its greatness – and one look at t-shirts and cargo shorts along with baseball caps – makes one long for the these wonderful former times of first class travel.

Her novel design and lavish interiors led many to consider her the greatest of ocean liners. Despite this, she was not a commercial success and relied partly on government subsidy to operate. During service as the flagship of the CGT, she made 139 transatlantic crossings westbound from her home port of Le Havre to New York and one fewer return. Normandie held the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing at several points during her service career, during which the RMS Queen Mary was her chief rival.

Filed Under: FRENCH LINE, FRENCH STEAMSHIP AND CRUISE LINES, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: cruise liners, FRENCH LINE, liners, Normandie, rms queen elizabeth, rms queen mary, ss normandie

SS L’Atlantique of the Cie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique was an unique example for the next ocean liners of the 1930s.

March 18, 2010 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

SS L’Atlantique of the Cie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique was an unique example for the next ocean liners of the 1930s, not only in Interior design, modernity, and wonderful Art Deco areas, but also a bad example regarding the risk of “fire”. Only 16 months she crossed the seas, when her lacquered interiors, wooden panels, were the victims of a fire on January 3rd 1933.

Youtube video – L’ATLANTIQUE 1931-1933 Part I, before the fire. Take a tour , on the beautiful liner before the accident. Photos source: l’Illustration 1930, 1931 – Miroir du Monde 1933.

Youtube video – L’ATLANTIQUE PART II , the doomed liner

On this January 3rd, 1933 only a part of the crew was aboard, 229 souls, the ocean liner was on the route to Le Havre, for some refits and transformations….but early in the morning at 6h 45…..a fire broke out.

Fitted out with the most expensive wooden lacquered panels, the Atlantique was on of the most modern designed liner of its period.

The beautiful shopping gallery, the use of wood and the important spaces gave the fire the best conditions to destruct this unique Art Deco Liner. 18 victims were the result of this accident and new rules for fire protection for Ocean Liners.

THE SS EUROPA and CELEBRITIES WHO CROSSED THE POND ABOARD THE GREAT GERMAN LINER – FROM SCHIAPARELLI TO RIEFENSTAHL

October 29, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

1930s – THE SS EUROPA and CELEBRITIES WHO CROSSED THE POND – GERMAN DIRECTOR LENI RIEFENSTAHL FOUND THE EUROPA A GREAT WAY TO VISIT THE USA.

THE EUROPA

The SS Europa (later the French Line SS Liberté) was one of a pair of fast ocean liners built in the late nineteen-twenties for the Norddeutsche Lloyd line (NDL) for the transatlantic passenger service. Her sister ship was the Bremen, and the two were very similar, though not identical. The German Director Leni Riefenstahl found it the only way to cross the Atlantic.

German Director Leni Riefenstahl – Original caption: 11/4/1938-New York, New York- Leni Riefenstahl, Naziland’s film queen, greets America with a big smile upon arriving on the S.S. Europa.

Leni Riefenstahl Sits on Ships Railing – Original caption: 11/4/1938- New York, NY- Leni Riefenstahl, 27-year-old Queen of German Cinema and a reported favorite of Adolf Hitler, as she arrived in New York, Nov. 4, on the S.S. Europa. Photo shows her posed on the ships railing.

Europa was built in 1929 with her sister ship Bremen to be the second 50,000 gross tons North German Lloyd liner. With both ships, the NDL will reach the top class shipping company of Atlantic traffic once more.

Europa and her slightly larger sister were designed to have a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, allowing an Atlantic crossing time of 5 days. This enabled Norddeutsche Lloyd to run regular weekly crossings with two ships, a feat that normally required three.

Evangelist Aimee Semple – Original caption: Mrs. Aimee Semple McPherson noted Los Angeles Evangelist looking as fashionable as ever as she arrives on the S.S. Europa after a tour of the Holy Lands.

THE FRENCH LINE – SS LIBERTE – 1950s

October 8, 2009 By Michael L. Grace 1 Comment

Cruising the past: The SS Europa was the pride of Norddeutscher Lloyd Line in the 1930s. She was the sister ship of the SS Bremen.

Sadly the Second World War caused an end to her years in German hands and she was handed to the French as war reparations.

As SS Liberte, the ship became the stop gap flagship for CGT French Line as a replacement for the legendary SS Normandie that had been lost during the Second World War.

She was transformed into the pride of France and finally was retired in 1961 after serving two great nations.

THE FRENCH LINE – SS LIBERTE – 1950s – Here are some wonderful vintage home movies shot aboard a crossing on the Liberte. The photographer even tried to shoot a few poorly lit interiors.

The French Line’s Liberte.

Snaphots of two women passengers aboard the Liberte.

SS LIBERTE (formerly the German liner EUROPE)

If the time before the Second World War is indexed within the annals of history for its aspirations of achievement and advancement of technology and design, then, the period following the great turmoil should be looked upon as a testament to the longevity of that vision and drive.

In the frenzy and misery which is war, the great passenger fleets of the Atlantic trade were reduced to a mere ghostlike representation of life before the War. The superliners of the decade before, the Normandie, the Rex, and their brethren lay in ruin. The few great ships which survived for the duration found themselves sorely lacking in competition and silently alone on the vast expanses of the Atlantic seas.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: FRENCH LINE, FRENCH STEAMSHIP AND CRUISE LINES, GERMAN LINERS Tagged With: 1950s, europa, FRENCH LINE, french liners, GERMAN LINERS, james thurber, Liberte, manhattan, New York, past, retro, Sarah Vaughn, w.e.b.dubois

THE SS FRANCE AND THE SS LIBERTE – Elegance at sea – Now a memory.

September 23, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Cruise History: THE SS FRANCE AND THE SS LIBERTE – Elegance at sea – Now a memory.

Enjoy these gorgeous full color home movies from SHIPGEEK shot by a lucky couple who traveled on the SS France Eastbound, and the SS Liberte Westbound, trans-Atlantic. Crossing the pond. Shipgeek has combined to suggest a mythical time when such a trip might have been possible. Bon Voyage!

The SS France.

The France’s maiden voyage to New York took place on 3rd February 1962, with many of France’s film stars and aristocracy aboard. On 14th December 1962, the France carried the Mona Lisa from Le Havre to New York, where the painting was to embark on an American tour.
From the 13th July to 26th July 1967, the France docked at the Île Notre-Dame in Montreal, acting as a secondary French pavilion at the 1967 World’s Fair, Expo 67.

She sailed the North Atlantic run between Le Havre and New York for thirteen years. However, by the beginning of the 1970s jet travel was by far more popular than ship travel, and the costs of fuel was ever increasing. The France, which had always relied on subsidies from the French government, was forced to take advantage of these more and more. [Read more...]

Filed Under: FRENCH LINE, FRENCH STEAMSHIP AND CRUISE LINES Tagged With: cruise ship, liner, ocean liners, ships, ss france, SS Liberte, steamship, Steamships

Great SHIPGEEK Video of the SS FRANCE

August 12, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Cruising the past and cruise history. This is a terrific SHIPGEEK video in memory of the glorious SS France, set to the song “France” by Jimmy Kennedy, performed by the Roger Wagner Chorale (written for the maiden voyage).

The video is produced by SHIPGEEK. Please visit this wonderful website by clicking here.

The SS France was a Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, or French Line) ocean liner, constructed by the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard at Saint-Nazaire, France, and put into service in February 1962. At the time of her construction in 1960 she was the longest passenger ship ever built. Her length of 316 meters remained unchallenged until the construction of the 345 meter RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004. The France was later purchased by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), renamed SS Norway and used primarily for cruising.

Filed Under: FRENCH LINE, FRENCH STEAMSHIP AND CRUISE LINES Tagged With: FRENCH LINE, shipgeek, ss france, video ss france

SS UNITED STATES YOUTUBE VIDEO

August 1, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

The Flagship of America is in need of help…your help…and a vision to restore her. Please help save the SS United States!

Cruise ship history: 22-year-old SS UNITED STATES Conservancy supporter Jonathan Doucette has crafted a sixty-second online commercial spot promoting the cause of saving our nation’s flagship. A fierce advocate for the ship’s preservation, Doucette is a graduate of the Pratt Institute in New York where he studied Communications Design and majored in Advertising Art Direction. When he was an infant, Jonathan’s grandparents traveled about the QE2 and he subsequently became fascinated with the memorabilia they saved from their voyage. His emerging interest in ocean liners ultimately lead him to discover the SS United States, and he made a pilgrimage to Philadelphia in March 2009 to see the ship first hand. [Read more...]