Liberte |

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

Cruise History – 1930s home movies aboard the liner SS Bremen and photos of famous passengers. Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Winston Churchill, Marlene Dietrich, J. Krishnamurti, William Randolph Hearst and Jimmy Donahue.

March 4, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

These are amusing black and white home movies shot aboard the SS Bremen in 1930 courtesy of shipgeek.com.

The SS “Bremen” of 1929 was one of a pair of ocean liners built for the Norddeutsche Lloyd line (NDL) for the transatlantic passenger service.

The “Bremen” was notable for her low streamlined profile, and modern approach to her design.

Her sister ship was the SS|Europa|1930|2, later renamed “Liberté”.

The German pair sparked the building of the large (and very expensive) express liners of the 1930s.

1936 – Cary Grant, the popular movie star, is pictured aboard the S. S. Bremen, as he arrived in New York City.

History

“Bremen” and her sister were designed to have a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, allowing a crossing time of 5 days. This speed enabled Norddeutsche Lloyd to run regular weekly crossings with two ships, a feat that normally required three. It was claimed that Bremen briefly reached speeds of 32 knots during her sea trials.

Originally it was planned to have the “Bremen” make a simultaneous transatlantic crossing with her sister “Europa”, but the “Europa” was held up by a serious fire during fitting-out, so the “Bremen” made a solo maiden voyage, departing Bremerhaven for New York City on 16 July, 1929. She arrived four days, 17 hours, and 42 minutes later, capturing the westbound Blue Riband from the RMS|Mauretania|1906|2 with an average speed of 27.83 knots. This voyage also marked the first time mail was carried by a ship launched plane for delivery before the ship’s arrival. A Heinkel He12, piloted by Jobst von Studnitz, was launched a few hours before arrival in New York with a number of mailbags. On her next voyage she took the eastbound Blue Riband with a time of 4 day 14 hours and 30 minutes and an average speed of 27.91 knots. This was the first time a liner had broken two records on her first two voyages. The “Bremen” lost the westbound Blue Riband to her sister “Europa” in 1930. “Bremen” lost the eastbound Blue Riband to SS “Normandie” in 1935.

As Nazism gained power in Germany, “Bremen”, and her pier in New York, were often the site of Anti-Nazi demonstrations. On July 26, 1935 a group of demonstrators boarded “Bremen” just before she sailed and tore the Nazi party flag from the jackstaff and tossed it into the Hudson River. On September 15, 1935 Hitler declared the Nazi Flag to be the exclusive national flag of Germany in response to this incident, removing the status of the original flag of the Weimar Republic as co-national flag.

On August 26, 1939, in anticipation of the 1939 invasion of Poland, the Kriegsmarine high command ordered all German merchant ships to head to German ports immediately. “Bremen” was on a westbound crossing and 2 days from New York when she received the order. “Bremen”’s captain decided to continue to New York to disembark her 1770 passengers.

She left New York without passengers on August 30, 1939. She made use of bad weather, and high speed to avoid Royal Navy cruisers, arriving in Murmansk on September 6, 1939. On December 10, 1939, the “Bremen” made a dash to Bremerhaven, arriving on December 13. On the way she was sighted and challenged by the S class submarine HMS|Salmon|N65|6. While challenging “Bremen”, an escorting Dornier Do 18 seaplane forced the “Salmon” to dive for safety..

The “Bremen” was used as a barrack ship; there were plans to use her as a transport in Operation Sealion, the intended invasion of Great Britain. In 1941, the “Bremen” was set alight by a crew member while at her dock in Bremerhaven and completely gutted. A lengthy investigation discovered that the arson was the result of personal grudge against the ship’s owners and not an act of sabotage. She was broken up in 1946.

Henry Fonda, film star, and Mrs. George (Frances) T. Brokaw, New York society woman who he is reported to soon marry, are pictured upon their arrival in New York City Sept. 4, 1936 on the S. S. Bremen.

1930s -Marlene Dietrich, German movie star of “The Blue Angel” and other films returning from Germany on the S.S. Bremen.

1937-J. Krishnamurti, the Indian philosopher, aboard the S.S. Bremen, arriving in New York City for a vacation.

1934- New York, NY- William Randolph Hearst, prominant Americcan newspaper publisher, pictured aboard the S.S. Bremen as he returned to New York, Sept. 27, after a trip abroad.

James Paul Donahue, Jr. (the Woolworth heir) arrives in New York on the SS Bremen in the early 1930s. “Jimmy” was no doubt the most famous and notoriously Gay New York archetypal playboy of the 20th century. Grandson of Frank Woolworth, chain store millionaire.

1933 – New York: Toting about 60 pounds of copper on their necks, and bearing all appearances of human giraffes, three former residents of Upper Burma arrive in New York aboard the SS Bremen to join the Barnum and Bailey Circus. When asked their opinion of America, the ladies answered, “Przchmgrowow” – which might be considered a diplomatic retaliation.

Jack Johnson, former heavyweight champion, and his wife on the S.S. Bremen. Germany was far more tolerant of intermarriage than the USA.

1931-New York, NY: Former Chancellor of the British Exchequer Winston Churchill, surrounded by reporters on the S.S. Bremen, when he arrived in New York this morning, Dec. 11. Mr. Churchill, who was accompanied by his wife and daughter Diana, will make a lecture tour of the country.

1933-New York, NY- Max Schmeling (l), Germany’s former Heavyweight Champion of the world is welcomed by Jack Dempsey, also a former Heavyweight Champion of the world, as the former arrives in New York today (Friday) on the S. S. Bremen. The German boxer is to meet Max Baer in a bout sponsored by Dempsey.

Filed Under: NORTH GERMAN LLOYD, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: cary grant, cruise ship history, GERMAN LINERS, hearst, henry fonda, J. krishnamurti, jimmy donahue, Liberte, Marlene Dietrich, new york harbor, Ringling Bros. Circus, sex, SS Bremen, winston churchill

Cruise Ship History: GLORIA SWANSON aboard the SS PARIS in 1924 — “the most luxurious liner in the world!”

June 22, 2008 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

1925: American actress Gloria Swanson (1899 – 1983) and her husband, Marquis Henri de la Falaise on board the SS Paris.

A great video on the SS PARIS from Joanna Coleman’s youTUBE website. Our thanks to her and please visit by clicking here.

The SS Paris leaving New York.

The SS Paris was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. The French Line’s Paris was built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique of St. Nazaire. Although the Paris was laid down in 1913, her launching was delayed until 1916 and she was not completed until 1921, due to World War I. When the Paris finally completed, she was the largest liner under the French flag, at 34,569 tons.

The grand stairway/entrance and the dining salon of the SS Paris.

The Paris’s interior reflected the transitional period of the early twenties, between the earlier preferred Jacobean, Tudor, Baroque, and Palladian themes in favor of the sleekness and simplicity of her Art Deco arrangements. The Paris had something of a magic touch, with every possible kind of interior. Passengers could choose to travel in the standard conservative palace-like cabins, but the ship also featured Art Nouveau and hints of the Art Deco that the Ile de France would boast six years later.

Poster advertising the SS Paris services from New York to Europe.

The luxury of the Paris was something no other liner could claim to have. For starters, most first class staterooms had square windows rather than the usual round portholes. In a first-class cabin you were able to have a private telephone, which was extremely rare on board a ship. A valet on the Paris could be easy to summon in his adjacent room, rather than in a cabin in the second class, uncomfortably far away.

Dining on the Paris was excellent, her service was superb, and the living spaces were divinely comfortable and luxurious. French Line ships had enormous appeal in the twenties-”Floating bits of France itself”, as one brochure aptly stated. Service and accommodation were fine but the cuisine was its most outstanding feature, it is said that more sea gulls followed the Paris more than any other ship in hopes of grabbing scraps of the haute cuisine that were dumped overboard. The French Line’s success took off when a third ship joined the relay: the Ile de France.

With the onset of the Great Depression, even these stylish French beauties were sailing only a third full. The French Line avoided the possibility of “laying-up” by pressing the ship into cruise work. To some, it seemed scandalous to have such ships lazily roaming the Mediterranean or Scandinavia with a mere 300 passengers on board. On 18 April 1939 the Paris caught fire while docked in Le Havre and temporarily blocked the new superliner Normandie from exiting dry dock. She capsized and sank in her berth where she remained until after World War II, almost a decade later.

The SS Liberte steams past the capsized SS Paris.

A year after the war had ended, the 50,000-ton German liner Europa was handed over to the French Line as compensation for the Normandie and renamed Liberté. While the Liberté was being refitted in Le Havre, a December gale tore the ship from her moorings and threw her into the half-submerged wreck of the Paris. She settled quickly, but fortunately in an upright position. Six months later she was refloated and by spring 1947 she was in St. Nazaire for her final rebuilding.

Filed Under: CELEBRITIES AT SEA, FRENCH LINE, FRENCH STEAMSHIP AND CRUISE LINES, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: celebrities, Cruise History, CRUISE LINE HISTORY, Cruises, first class, FRENCH LINE, Gloria Swanson, History of Cruise Ships, History of Ships, History of travel by ship, Liberte, Liner History, Love Boat, Luxury curising, New York, Paris, SS Paris, Steamship Line History

THE FRENCH LINE – SS LIBERTE – 1950s

Cruise History – 1930s home movies aboard the liner SS Bremen and photos of famous passengers. Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Winston Churchill, Marlene Dietrich, J. Krishnamurti, William Randolph Hearst and Jimmy Donahue.

Cruise Ship History: GLORIA SWANSON aboard the SS PARIS in 1924 — “the most luxurious liner in the world!”

Search

Recent Posts

Archives