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William H. Millerjn

THE GREAT LUXURY LINERS

1927-1954
A Photographic Record I
 DOVER BOOKS ON
TRANSPORTATION
Handbook OF Gasoline Automobiles, 1904-1906, A.L.A.M. (22440-6) $5.00
Handbook OF Automobiles, 1925-1926, A.L.A.M. (22690-5) $5.00
Trolleys and Streetcars on American Picture Postcards, Ray D. Appel-
gate (ed.). (23749-4) $4.50
American Carriages, Sleighs, Sulkies and Carts, Don H. Berkebile.
(23328-6) $5.00
The Illustrated Catalogue of Carriages and Special Business Advertis-
er, Cook and Co. (22364-7) $5.00

Antique Airplanes Coloring Book, Peter F. Copeland. (21524-5) $1.75

Airplanes of World War I Coloring Book, Carlo Demand. (23807-5)
$1.75
The Railroad Car Builder's Pictorial Dictionary, Matthias N. Forney.
(22974-2) $6.00
Antique Automobiles Coloring Book, Clarence Hornung. (22742-1) $1.50
My Airships, Alberto Santos-Dumont. (22122-9) $2.50
The Great Dirigibles, John Toland. (21397-8) $4.50
Antique Locomotives Coloring Book, The Tre Tryckare Co. (23293-X)
$1.75
Early American Locomotives, John H. White, Jr. (22772-3) $5.00
A History of the American Locomotive, John H. White, Jr. (23818-0)
$12.00
Horsecars, Cable Cars and Omnibuses, John H. White, Jr. (23009-0) $4.00

Q
BOSTOISI
PUBLIC
tlBRARY
 1927-1954
A Photographic Record
William H. Miller, Ir.

Dover Publications, Inc.

New'ferk

. ffm mmr' '

ST:^ V" :
y
 Credits

American Export Lines, 114 Mariners Museum, 21 (top), 40 (top), 58, 62, 111
American President Lines, 87 (top), 143 top)
( Matson Navigation Company, 35
Ernest Arroyo Collection, 128 (bottom), 132/133 Vincent Messina Collection, 36, 40 (bottom)
Belgian Line, 83 Museum of the City of New York (Bvron Collection),
Frank O. Braynard Collection, 2-6, 7 (bottom), 8-14, 17, 18, 20, 22 (top), 23 (bottom), 46, 52,
19, 32/33, 38 (bottom), 39, 42-45, 48/49, 60, 63, 53 (top), 76/77, 94
65, 67, 69, 70, 72-74, 75 (bottom), 79, 80 (bot- Nederland line, 66 (top)
tom), 82 (bottom), 87 (bottom), 89-91, 93, 96 North Cerman Lloyd, 38 (top)
(top), 97-99, 103-108, 112, 113, 115 (bottom), Norwegian America Line, 136
117-120, 122 (bottom), 123, 124 (top), 126/127, Orient Line, 140 (top), 142
130, 134, 135 (bottom), 140 (bottom), 143 (bot- Real Photographs Company, Limited, 81
tom), 144-146, 150 (bottom), 151-155 Schiffsfotos, 92 (top)
Cunard Line, 54, 55, 61, 129 Roger Scozzafava, 41, 47, 64 (bottom), 80 (top), 96
Alex Duncan, 7 (top), 28, 29, 31, 66 (bottom), 86, 121 (bottom), 100 (bottom), 101, 102
122 (top), 125, 139 James Sesta Collection, 88
French Line, 16, 21 (right), 22 (bottom), 23 (top), 53 Southern Newspapers Limited, 137
(bottom), 135 (top), 158 (bottom), 159-161 Steamship Historical Society of America, 34 (bottom),
Furness-Bermuda Line, 82 (top) 68, 110 (top), 115 (top), 116
Hamburg America Line, 15 Swedish-American Line, 138 (bottom)
F. W. Hawks, 75 (top) Union Castle Line, 30
Holland- America Line, 138 (top), 156 (top) United States Lines, 25-27, 147-149, 157-161
Italian Line, 150 (top) United States Maritime Commission, 124 (bottom)
Eric Johnson, 34 (top), 100 (top) World Ship Society, 64 (top), 128 (top), 140

Acknowledgments
Many hands have assisted in the completion of this Walker, Julie Ann Low, James Sesta, Carole Chellis,
volume. The author wishes to note the outstanding John Piltzecker and Erwin Abele. Special thanks to
help, in terms of photographs and information, given Robert Fusco for his careful guidance. Of course, and
by Frank O. Braynard, Vincent Messina, Alex Duncan, hardly least, warmest thoughts to my family for their
Michael Cassar, F. W. Hawks and the World Ship inspiration.
Society Photo Library, Frank Busuttil, the Steamship Companies which have assisted in the project in-
Historical Society of America, Mariners Museum, clude: Adriatica Line, Belgian Line, DFDS Seaways,
Ernest Arroyo, Roger Scozzafava, B. Reeves, Howard Finnlines, Holland America Line, Jahre Line, Lion
Whitford, Clifford Morgan and the United States Ferry, P & O Normandy Ferries, Royal Caribbean
Lines, William C. North, and Frank Duffy. Cruise Line, Norwegian American Line, Commodore
Other research materials, bits of important infor- Cruise Lines, Sitmar Cruises, and Captain John Tuan-
mation and patient cooperation came from Norman mu of Island Navigation Corporation.
 Introduction

For me, one of the lasting pleasures of working on coveted .speed honors until the United States, William
m\' book The Only Way to Cross was meeting others Francis Gibbs's brainchild, swept the seas forever in
irresistibly drawn to the great ocean liners. One such 1952.
was Bill Miller, then chairman of World Ship Society's In September of 1939, the lights of Europe went
Port of New York Branch. Now, happily for steamer out. The ships' brilliant upperworks were cloaked in
buffs ever\"where, he has launched this impeccable gray. Sailings became furtive — strategic
rather than
treasury of steamers from the last half-century. celebratory. As in 1914-1918, the world's liners en-
He has started, after looking at ships of the twenties, sured the swift delivery of tens of thousands of soldier-
with a turning point in ship design, the He de France passengers.
(1927), the French Line's dreamboat. Masked by a Peace brought a promising surge in shipping. The
conventional profile, passenger spaces were dazzling fifties seem, in fond retrospect, a mid-century evoca-
vistas plucked intact from the Exposition des Arts tion of Edwardian extravagance as new tonnage
Decoratifs of 1925. Not a motif, grill or line, not a stick carried millions across the seas. The Queens operated
of furniture or meter of fabric was derivative; every- in glorious tandem; a white Italian fleet steamed
thing on board was new. Those controversial interiors proudly out of the Mediterranean; a flock of Dutch
marked a decorative watershed and most ships that sisters rallied about the prewar Mieuw Amsterdam; as
followed in her wake adhered to the same relentless the Liberte, the ex-German Europa assumed the red-
modernity. Tudor, Jacobean, Palladian or Baroque and-black funnels of the French Line, joining in lavish
styles, traditionalsteamship ideals that had dominated service with the revamped, two-funneled He; the
ocean-going public rooms since the great sailing United States and America carried the stars and stripes
steamers, examples of which can be seen in some in- on the cold northern run while the Independence and
terior photographs, were hopelessly out of style. The Constitution offered Yankee alternatives on the
era of the modern liner had begun. southern route. It was a golden decade on all the
In short order, the lie had four competitors, a pair world's sea lanes, peak years of maritime indulgence.
each from Germany and Italy. Astonishingly resurgent Then, abruptly, the ships were doomed, cut short
German yards fielded the Bremen and the Europa — by the ominous, ubiquitous shadow of the pa.ssenger
low, rakish racers in the tradition of the turn-of-the- jet.Even De Gaulle's imperishable gift of the France
century Deutschland. On her maiden voyage the came too late and the inevitable decline began. By the
Bremen wrested the Blue Ribbon for speed in crossing late sixties, irreversible attrition took its toll. Both
the Atlantic from the venerable Mauretania. the Queens were withdrawn, one to become a California
Cunarder which had held it in triumph since 1907. carnival of dubious stability, the other destroyed by a
From Genoa and Trieste, the second pair of new ships, suspicious fire on the eve of a renaissance. The United
the Bex and the Conte di Savoia, were Mussolini's bid States languishes at her Norfolk pier.
for a share of the Atlantic riches; the Rex took the Sadder still was the end of steamship service be-
speed prize from the Bremen. tween Le Havre and New York, between Tilbury and
New giants were in the offing. The Normandie and Sydney, between San Francisco and Honolulu. As
the Queen Mary, the great 1, 000-foot ers, sailed each ship stopped sailing, there was none to replace
miraculously out of the Depression, vessels of such her, with the single exception of the Queen Elizabeth
ponderous dimension that they silenced the statistical 2, teethed on adversity and plagued by misfortune,
one-upmanship of the Western Ocean shipbuilders. In that still carries the colors of a new breed of Cunard
the summer of 1935, the Normandie dashed across the cruiseships. Cruising may save the ships, although it
Atlantic both ways, faster than any before her. The seems an uncertain economic area. Leisure sailing, the
Queen Mary, her cross-channel rival, subsequently enjovment of shipboard life for its own sake, with ex-

shaved hours off the French ship's time, keeping the otic ports within lazy reach, has spawned new flotillas
 .; { die warm-water routes, towering white wed- Miller's fleets steam past in glorious review, a golden
i.nfi, cakes of ships, floating hotels for a new genera- jubilee retrospective of the world's passenger liners. I
jOj* of passengers. One can only hope that these fair- have dwelt on the giants, but Miller has seen to it that
.cither clients will find shipboard life as enchanting ships greatand small are part of the immortal parade.
a3 their parents and grandparents did. We are indebted to him for his initiative, scholarship
But if cruising enjoys a vogue, crossing has almost and devotion in assembling this anthology, for remem-
vanished. Links between Old World and New, West bering so well in a world that finds it too easy to
and Far East, temperate and tropical, are all aerial forget.
now — swift, anonymous and essentially graceless
passage between shores. People who yearn for the old John Maxtone-Graham
way — and I think their number is legion — must turn
now to the record. In these haunting pages they should New City, New York
find solace, an evocative look at 25 splendid years. Bill Christmas, 1980
 Contents

The Twenties 1

The Giants 37

The Depression 59

Colonies, Cruising and the Mails 71

1939 95

The War Years 109

The Postwar Period 131

Bibliography 162

Index 163
1927-1954
 The Twenties
The twenties were, for the most part, a relatively calm period for ocean
liners. The Great War finished, a new armada of ships replaced the
casualties. The old colonial trades were reestablished and the mail runs
were as important as ever. Britain still had the biggest passenger fleet and
reigned over the most prestigious run, the North Atlantic. She had the
greatest liners, either by her own design or postwar acquisition. Standing
in the forefront were the Cunard and White Star firms, each competing on
a weekly transoceanic shuttle. However, with strong determination, the
French were moving forward, first with the Paris of 1921. In response,
Italy shot ahead with its first 30,000 tonners. But, for the most part, size
and speed were set aside. American immigration quotas had curtailed
traffic requirements. Steerage, the very bloodline of many firms, was
sliced. Consequently, new liners were smaller, slower, more comfortable
and quaint than luxurious and opulent.
Then, in 1927, the He de France inaugurated service, becoming the very
symbol of the opulence that defined the luxury liner. She created a new
dimension in travel, a floating grand hotel rather than a mere commercial
ocean-going ferry.
 Sif^

BERENGARIA.
In the photograph above, Cunard Line's Berengaria (fore-
ground) rests at Pier 54, at the foot of West 12th Street, New
York City on July 11, 1924. Large, powerful, luxurious, she
was one of the Atlantic's prestige boats. The Berengaria, the
stately Aquitania and the illustrious Mauretania (then the
world's fastest steamship), were known as the "Big Three,"
carrying thousands of passengers each year between South-
ampton and New York on a weekly schedule. The service
continued even in the North Atlantic's most severe months
during the frigid winter. Shown with the Laconia (another
Cunarder), the Minnetonka, the Homeric, the Baltic, and
the Pittsburgh beyond her, the Berengaria originally was
built for the Hamburg-America Line as the Imperator and
came into service in 1913, on the heels of the Titanic
disaster. She was ceded to Britain following World War I.
[Built by Bremer Vulkan Shipyards, Hamburg, Germany,
1913. 52,226 gross tons; 919 feet long; 98 feet wide; 38-foot
draft. Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw. Service
speed 23 knots. 2,723 passengers (972 first class, 630 second
class, 606 third class, 515 tourist class.]
The sitting room of one of the Berengaria's finest suites
(left) gives an idea of the ship's luxury.

2 The Twenties
MAURETANIA.
The Mauretania (above), a Cunarder, was one of the most like conditions coaling the long string of furnaces. By the
publicized and popular liners ever built. When completed early twenties, however, oil-fired systems had come into
in 1907, she was not only the world's largest passenger ship, practical use. Immediately, thechangeover eliminated
but one of the very first to use steam-turbine engines, which those 200 additional crewman, improved maintenance and
were rapidly replacing the older, less efficient steam triple- overall efficiency and dispen.sed with the bothersome pro-
and quadruple-expansion styles. She also captured the cess of loading coal. Beginning in the summer of 1921, the
coveted Blue Ribbon in her maiden year and reigned for the Mauretania spent eight months at her builder's yard and
following 22 years as the fastest ocean liner on the Atlantic, was converted to oil firing. The process eventually affected
a distinction which doubtless brought her additional every major liner on the Atlantic. [Built by Swan, Hunter &
passengers. The trophy was finally snatched, in the summer Wigham Richardson Shipbuilders Limited, Newcastle,
of 1929, by Germany's new Bremen. Like most major liners England, 1907. 30,696 gross tons; 790 feet long; 88 feet
built prior to the First World War, the Mauretania was a wide. Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw. Service
coal burner. This meant that she was often seen belching speed 25 knots. 1,756 passengers after 1921 (589 first class,
huge amounts of heavy, dark smoke, and that below deck 400 second class, 767 third class.]
some 200 stokers — known with something of a fearful The magnificence and splendor of the Mauretania's in-
reverence as the "black gang" — worked in almost inferno- terior is apparent in the views shown overleaf.

The Twenties
 —

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The Mauretania. The first-class lounge (opposite) featured classical columns and a
glass dome. The main dining room (above) was two decks high with a center well.
The sports deck aft (below) was equipped for various games.
ALA [/MA.
Although Cunard operated some of the largest and most Limited, Clydebank, Scotland, 1925. 14,030 gross tons; 538
elegant liners, company directors envisioned a more relaxed feet long; 65 feet wide; 30-foot draft. Steam turbines geared
trend developing on the Atlantic during the twenties. Con- to twin screw. Service speed 15 knots. 1,706 passengers (484
sequently, there appeared a near assembly line of 14,000- first class, 1,222 third class).]
20,000 tenners which traded both to the United States and In 1928 photographs were taken of a better third-class
eastern Canada. These ships, such as the Alaunia (opposite, cabin (opposite, bottom) and the first-class main lounge
top), managed 15 knots, creating an 8-10 day Atlantic (above).
crossing from Britain. [Built by John Brown &
Company

6 The Twenties
 *•••
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HOMERIC.
White Star's Homeric (opposite), the largest twin-screw triple-expansion engines geared to twin screw. Service speed
liner in theworld during the twenties, gained the reputation 19 knots. 2,766 passengers (529 first class, 487 second cla.ss,
as one of the steadiest ships on the North Atlantic in a period 1,750 third class).]
long before stabilizers (antirolling devices). [Built by The view above catches two youngsters racing their
Schichau Shipyards, Danzig, Germany, 1913-22. 34,351 tricycles on the boat deck.
gross tons; 774 feet long; 82 feet wide; 36-foot draft. Steam

The Twenties 9
MAJESTIC.
White Star Line's Majestic (above) was the largest passenger flected in the liners and "biggest," "longest," "fastest" and
Uner afloat in the twenties. She had been designed and near- "most luxurious" could mean the difference between profit
ly completed by the Germans as the Bismarck, but was and failure. [Majestic: Built by Blohm & Voss Shipbuilders,
ceded to Britain following World War I. Her size, prestige Hamburg, Germany, 1922. 56,551 gross tons; 956 feet long;
and luxurious interiors made her one of the most popular 100 feet wide; 38-foot draft. Steam turbines geared to
and profitable liners on the North Atlantic prior to the quadruple screw. Service speed 23.5 knots. 2,145 passengers
Depression. At the end of the decade, she had the particular (750 first class, 545 second class, 850 third class).]
distinction of being the first liner to show motion pictures Speaking of passengers similar to those shown here (op-
with sound. Also operating the four-stack Olympic and the posite, top), one Majestic passenger wrote to a friend named
medium-sized Homeric, White Star provided weekly sail- Franklin Delano Roosevelt: "If you are a lover of the seas
ings between New York and Southampton, in direct com- and ships that sail them then the Majestic is nothing more
petition with Britain's ocean liner giant, Cunard. The than a gorgeous hotel filled with the usual obnoxious crowd.
56,551-ton Majestic had two "near sisters" — the 59,900-ton The same average case reigns in the second as in the first
Leviathan of United States Lines and the 52,200-ton class, the difference being solely a matter of dollars, certain-
Cunarder Berengaria. The Majestic's tonnage was regis- ly not habits. As the steward will tell you, the best class of
tered according to British standards while Leviathan, seem- people travel second class at third class rates." But the harsh
ingly larger at 59,900 was listed under United States regula- judgment could not have applied to the youngsters enjoying
tions, the American standard making ships larger in com- a birthday on board the ship in 1928 (opposite, bottom), nor
parison to those of Britain. Consequently, London's scales did it prevent crewmembers, stevedores and dry-dock
left Leviathan at a much lighter 48,000 tons. This was an workers from affectionately referring to her as the "Magic
era of furious competition when national prestige was re- Stick."

10 The Twenties
 rt II

1 itt
M
LEVIATHAN.
The Leviathan (above) was originally the German Vater- pillars, fountain cascades and upper-level spectator
land, seized at New York in the First World War. Following galleries. Her restaurant was managed by the famed Ritz
the Armistice, she underwent a refurbishing at Newport Carlton Company. The line showed passengers "pre-release
News, Virginia, one that kept her off the Atlantic until her talkies" in the lounge. [Built by Blohm & Voss Shipbuilders,
maiden voyage for United States Lines on July 4, 1923. Her Hamburg, Germany, 1914. 59,956 gross tons (48,932 by
career was marked by financial problems, the lack of a suit- British measurements); 950 feet long; 100 feet wide; 38-foot
able running mate within the company, American prohibi- draft.Steam turbines geared to a quadruple screw. Service
tion laws that kept her "dry," and a common theory of the speed 23 knots. 3,008 passengers (940 first class, 666 tourist
day that British and European liners were more glamorous, class, 1,402 third class).]
luxurious and gave better service. The Leviathan was a far Notable Leviathan passengers shown on the opposite page
cry from an ordinary passenger ship. Her indoor pool, for included Rudolph Valentino (top left), Gertrude Hoffman
example, known as the Roman Bath, was 65 feet long and (top right), Pola Negri (bottom h'jt) and a pet leopard with
done in tile, marble and bronze. There were supporting its unidentified mistress (bottom right).

12 The Twenties
 The Leviathan. The bedroom and sitting area in a first-class cabin.

14 The Twenties
HAMBURG.
Following the First World War, the great Hamburg- the large passenger ship with a substantial cargo capacity,
America Line was all but depleted of passenger-ship ton- in this case with six holds. [Built by Blohm & Voss Ship-
nage. Rebuilding began as soon as possible; their first new builders, Hamburg, Germany, 1926. 21.691 gross tons; 635
liner was ready by 1923. The Hamburg — a product of feet long; 72 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to twin
1926 — presented a very traditional profile: upright funnels screw. Service speed 19 knots. 1,150 passengers (222 first
with a slight rake and lifeboats in double tiers in rather class, 472 second class, 456 third class).]
historic quadrant davits. Furthermore, she was typical of

The Twenties 15
 -4 UIbl. tty

FRANCE.
The four-funnel France (left in the photo above) sits atlantic run and certainly one of the most lavish ever built,
alongside the larger Paris at the French Line's 15th Street was known with affection as the "Chateau of the Atlantic."
terminal in New York. [France: Built by Chantiers de Her decor throughout was opulent Louis XIV. However,
I'Atlantique Shipyard, St. Nazaire, France, 1912. 23,769 her most unusual feature was the introduction of the grand
gross tons; 713 feet long; 75 feet wide; 35-foot draft. Steam staircase at sea. Thissweeping arrangement in the ship's
turbines geared to quadruple screw. Service speed 23 knots. dining room (opposite) provided the passengers
first-class
1,623 passengers (517 first class, 444 second class, 510 third with dramatic entrances and developed such appeal that it
class, 152 steerage).] became a highlight of many major liners built in the twen-
The France, one of the most popular liners on the trans- ties and thirties.

16 The Twenties
'^
PARIS.
French Line ships had enormous appeal in the feet wide. 1,930 passengers (560 first class, 530 second class,
twenties — "floating bits of France itself," as one brochure 840 third class).]
aptly stated. Service and accommodations were fine but the The grand staircase aboard the Paris (opposite) descended
cuisine was its most outstanding feature. It is said that more to the foyer. The ceilings were done in glass extending into a
sea gulls followed the Paris (above) than any other ship in dome. The French Line embodied a continuing stress on
hopes of grabbing scraps of the haute cuisine that were modernity, made obvious by a comparison of the dining
dumped overboard. [Built by Chantiers de I'Atlanticiue, St. room aboard the France of 1912 to the style which appeared
Nazaire, France, 1921. 34,569 gross tons; 764 feet long; 85 a mere nine vears later.

The Twenties 19
The Paris. This sitting room in one of the ship's most lavish There were other occasions of more serious nature: distress
suites (top) represents the transitional period of the early calls from foundering freighters or for injured crewmen on
twenties, between the earlier preferred Jacobean, Tudor, other vessels needing the services of the liner's doctor.
Baroque and Palladian themes and the later heavy attrac- The oil-fired turbine emerged during the twenties,
tion for the sleekness and simplicity of Art Deco arrange- replacing the prewar coal system and allowing tidy, near-
ments. polished perfection in the engine rooms (bottom, right).
The wireless office (bottom, left) often witnessed some of Finally, interested passengers — who were very often the
the voyage's most exciting moments and tending it made gentlemen aboard — could be invited below decks by the
great demand on the attendant officers as messages were chief engineer for a tour of the machinery. The very core of
relayed between ship and shore, often in an almost endless the ship's energy system impressed these onlookers, such as
procession. A traveling Hollywood starlet or industrial that on board the Paris, where the 34,000-ton liner could be
tycoon might receive hundreds of cables during the course driven at 21 knots with over 2,500 souls hardly feeling the
of a week's crossing and might dispatch an equal number. effort.

20 The Twenties
ILE DE FRANCE.
In 1926, the French Line released an elaborate gold-covered
booklet devoted entirely to the company's new flagship,
seen above at sea. The illustrations depicted huge, ornate
yet modern public rooms, women passengers carrying
feather fans and smoking cigarettes, and borzois being led
around the sun deck. The ship's degree of modernity was
unlike anything previously seen. The dining room was spec-
tacular. There were also a chapel, a shooting gallery, an
elaborate gymnasium and even a merry-go-round for the
younger passengers. Every cabin had beds instead of bunks.
[Built by Chantiers de I'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France,
1927. 43,153 gross tons; 791 feet long; 91 feet wide; 34-foot
draft. Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw. Service
speed 23.5 knots. 1,786 passengers (537 first class, 603
second class, 646 third class).]
At sailing time, the three-deck-high main foyer (right),
with its grand staircase, was filled with elegantly dressed
passengers, their well-wishers,company officials and
possibly some reporters. Chatterand laughter filled the air
as did cigarette smoke and the sound of popping champagne
corks. Bellboys scurried in their glistening uniforms,
delivering bon voyage telegrams and shiny baskets of fruit.
Then, suddenly, a rattle passed through the ship. A mighty
blast on the He's whistle meant that departure was thirty
minutes off.
 The He de France. The first-class dining room (above). The first-class salon (below).

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The He de France. Two first-class suites de luxe.
S. S. I)
jp^s ^BOAT DECK
First Class /

The He de France. Passengers in first class, such as those closets and arranging the dressing tables. Perfumes and
strolHng on the boat deck (above), enjoyed a new, sleek lux- cosmetics made their way to the separate bathroom. The
ury. The great first-class dining room aboard the He de gentleman would have the valet press his suits and evening
France towered three decks. Never before had the traveling clothes. The great steamer trunks were unloaded and sent
public seen a room of such massive simplicity yet startling off to a storage room for the remainder of the trip.
attractiveness. It was a design based not on some landside Even many of the chairs aboard the He de France were
theme, but created for this ship itself in complete originali- totally new in design. As each of the major liner companies
ty. The era of the "ocean liner style" had begun. Some subsequently planned their next passenger ships, one of the
cabins, although equally modern, still had exposed steel first steps was to visit this most exquisite, extraordinary and
ceilings. When portholes were opened, the sound of the sea trend-setting French vessel.
filled the room. A maid would assist madame, filling the

24 The Twenties
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT.
The great liners were not the only means of making a cross- York, the Channel ports and Bremen. [Built by New York
ing during the twenties. "Cabin liners" were quite typical. Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, 1922.
Cabin class dominated these ships in terms of shipboard 13,869 gross tons; 535 feet long; 65 feet wide. Steam tur-
space if not in numbers. They also had third-class accommo- bines geared to twin screw. Service speed 17 knots. 437
dations. United States Lines' President Roosevelt (above) passengers (201 cabin class, 236 third class).]
was a fine example of this type. She worked between New

The Twenties 25
 'HJJ.

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y
The President Roosevelt. The cabin-class dining room (opposite) boasted a stained-
glass arc-ceiling and plank-like flooring. Cabin-class stateroom No. 117 (above)
reveals the ship's unpretentious comfort.

The Twenties 27
SCANSTATES (above).
Combination passenger-cargo ships became popular, com- by de Schelde Shipyards, Flushing, Holland, 1921. 8,871
fortable modes of transport during the twenties. Some gross tons; 466 feet long; 58 feet wide. Steam turbines
travelers preferred them to the faster glamor queens on the geared to a single screw. Service speed 13 knots. 974
main runs. American Scantic Line's Scanstates sailed be- passengers (174 first class, 800 third class.]
tween New York and Scandinavian ports. The firm was a
division of the well-known Moore-McCormack Lines. [Built
by American International Shipbuilding Corporation, Hog
Island, Pennsylvania, 1919. 5,163 gross tons; 390 feet long;
LALANDIA (opposite, bottom).
Lalandia, of Denmark's East Asiatic Company, was one of a
54 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to a single screw. Ser-
series of combination passenger-cargo ships that had a
vice speed 13 knots. 90 cabin-class passengers.]
novelty: no traditional funnel. Exhausts were expelled
through a pipe system in the third of the four masts. She and
EDAM (opposite, top). her running-mates sailed from Copenhagen out to the
The Holland-America Line was known as the "Spotless Orient via the Mediterranean, through Suez and along the
Fleet." Its ships ranged from the 28,000-ton Statendam to East. [Built by Nakskov Shipyard Limited, Nakskov, Den-
smaller, combination passenger-cargo vessels such as Edam. mark, 1927. 5,146 gross tons; 405 feet long; 53 feet wide;
Edam's work was divided: Rotterdam to New York and 24-foot draft. Burmeister and Wain diesels geared to twin
Baltimore, or farther afield to Havana and Veracruz. [Built screw. Service speed 13 knots. 29 first-class passengers.]

28 The Twenties
The Twenties 29
LLANGIBBY CASTLE (above).
The foremost firm on the African runs was Britain's Union fiftiesdid British royalty use aircraft for overseas tours.
Castle Line, which had an elaborate mail-ship service be- [Built by Alexander Stephen & Sons Limited, Glasgow,
tween Southampton and the Cape. Among the many ships Scotland, 1922. 9,100 gross tons; 466 feet long; 60 feet wide.
on that service was Llangibby Castle, a classic example of Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service speed 13
twenties "motorship modern" — squat funnels against a rigid knots. 170 one-class passengers.]
profile. [Built by Harland and Wolff Limited, Govan, Scot-
land, 1929. 11,951 gross tons; 507 feet long; 66 feet wide. LECONTE DE LISLE (opposite, bottom).
Burmeister & Wain type diesels geared to twin screw. Ser- Messageries Maritimes of Marseilles had the Leconte de
vice speed 14.5 knots. 450 passengers (250 first class, 200 Lisle on the route to Saigon, then a French colonial
third class).] stronghold. During that era such ships had lounges and
decks filled with high commissioners with their entourages
MULBERA (opposite, top). and families, servicemen, engineers, traders and civil ser-
British India Line connected the eastern section of the Em- vants going off for a tour of duty in the colonies. [Built by
pire.Mulhera was one of six sister ships that sailed between Societe Provengale de Construction, La Ciotat, France,
London and Calcutta via the Suez Canal. Although other- 1922. 9,877 gross tons; 452 feet long; 61 feet wide. Steam
wise unnotable, she was selected to carry the Duke and turbines geared to twin screw. Service speed 15 knots. 240
Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Eliz- passengers in five classes.]
abeth) out to East Africa in the mid-twenties; not until the

30 The Twenties
Mm- ¥ t
\

^?mx
LANCASTRIA.
Charter sailings and pleasure cruises were becoming more
popular in the late twenties. Each winter, for example, the
Cunard Line ran a four-month cruise around the world. In
addition, there were sailings to the Caribbean, around
South America and Africa, to the Mediterranean and Black
Seas, and in the summer to the North Cape, Scandinavia,
western Europe, eastern Canada and short trips to Ber-
muda, Nassau and Havana. Fares for the 1929 world cruise
•s
started at $900. Here Cunard's Lancastria departs on a
special American Legion sailing in the spring of 1928, from
New York to London. [Built by William Beardmore & Com-
pany Limited, Glasgow, Scotland, 1922. 16,243 gross tons;
578 feet long; 70 feet wide; 30-foot draft. Steam turbines
geared to twin screw. Service speed 16.5 knots. 1,846
passengers (235 first class, 355 second class, 1,256 third
class) .
]

^^B

^&^

— 1^^...../^''?^'''/ ' -^
 » N
JASh'
Ml
 1

34 The Twenties
 00mmntrii ^
.!!!..'" «i III
»f III
nnn-i;

SANTA BARBARA (opposite, top). MALOLO (above).

The Grace Line of New York was commanded by the Santa Matson Navigation Company of San Francisco did much to
Barbara, shown here, and her sister ship, the Santa Maria. develop tourism in the Hawaiian Islands. In 1927, it com-
They traded to the Caribbean carrying port-to-port missioned its largest .ship, the Malolo (later rechristened the
passengers as well as round-trip cruise travelers. These ships Matsonia, as shown), for first-class luxury service between
are among the very few American-registry liners that were San Francisco, Los Angeles and Honolulu. Suddenly,
built abroad. [Built by Furness Shipbuilding Company, opulence had spread to the Pacific. The Malolo and later
Haverton-on-Tees, England, 1928. 8,060 gross tons; 486 Matson liners advertised superb public rooms, spacious
feet long; 64 feet wide. Diesels geared to twin screw. Service cabins, swimming pools, a gymnasium, and a staff, in-
speed 16.5 knots. 150 first-class passengers.] cluding a hairdres.ser, to provide superlative service. The
Malolo introduced new, va.stly improved safety standards
BERMUDA (opposite, bottom). which especially influenced all subsequent American
The Furness-Bermuda Line's New York-Bermuda holiday
passenger liners. During her trial runs in the western Atlan-
trade with older, smaller ships was so successful that it built tic, she collided with a Norwegian freighter with an impact
the luxurious Bermuda in 1927. Initially, the ship was in- equal to that which sent the Titanic to the bottom 15 \ears
tended to have Bermuda sailings only during the winter and earlier. Strides in compartmentation allowed the Malolo to
longer cruises for the remainder of the year. However, im- survive and sail into New York harbor flooded with over
mediate response was so great that the Bermuda run became 7.000 tons of sea water. [Built by William Cramp Ship-
a year-round operation. [Built by Workman, Clark & Com- builders, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania. 1927. 17.232 gross
pany Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1927. 19,086 gross tons; 582 feet long; 82 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to
tons; 547 feet long; 74 feet wide. Doxford-type diesels twin screw. Service speed 21 knots. 693 first-class
geared to quadruple screw. Service speed 17 knots. 691 passengers.]
passengers (616 first class, 75 second class).]

The Twenties 35
 *^-^*t^

,^ .5:-'>!
^^rtl^'^-f

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ii>:iCj WP^
^^^^ MS-^ .#

STELLA POLARIS.
One of the most classic cruise ships ever built, the Stella voyages around the Mediterranean; for winter, a luxurious
Polaris was delivered to Norway's Bergen Line in 1927. circumnavigation of the globe. [Built by Gotaverken
Styled after a millionaire-class luxury yacht, the Stella had Shipyards, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1927. 5,209 gross tons;
space for a mere 165 passengers. During the summers, she 416 feet long; 51 feet wide; 17-foot draft. Burmeister &
cruised along the fjords, to the North Cape and Spitzbergen Wain diesels geared to twin screw. Service speed 15 knots.
and into the Baltic. In spring and autumn, there were 165 first class passengers.]

36 The Twenties
 The Giants
The He de France was the first of the "floating luxury hotels," but hardly
the last. No
sooner had she been finished in 1927 when drawing boards
were turned toward a new select group — bigger, faster, more lavish than
any yet seen. Their accommodations were the publicity man's dreams come
true — from carpeted kennels with running water in the Conte di Savoia to
white grand pianos in the Normandie's finest suites. All of these giant ships
were beyond the financial scope of even the greatest firm. Fortunately,
governments were generous with loans, for national prestige rested in the
technology and magnificence of the ships.
The biggest rivalry was over the Blue Ribbon for the fastest transatlantic
crossing. Britain's Mauretania held it for 22 years; in 1929 it passed to
Germany's Bremen. The Italian Rex took it in 1933; France's Normandie
won it two years later. By 1938, the glory went back to Britain, firmly
secured by the Queen Mary.
Sadly, however, none of the giants — with the exception of the Queen
Mary — earned a profit. Apart from the staggering construction, mainte-
nance and fuel costs, other factors worked against them. The Bremen and
the Europa attracted fewer passengers than expected, victims of anti-
German and then anti-Nazi feelings. The Empress of Britain was too large
for either the Canadian or world-cruise trades. The "Sunny Southern Route"
of the Rex and the Conte di Savoia never had the lure of the supposedly more
plush northern run. Finally, the Normandie — probably the most
magnificent and surely the most innovative — inhibited many potential
passengers by her very luxury. In four years of transatlantic crossings, she
rarely sailed more than half-full.
 -^^|^^g^^,2^^v^.- ^ j_.. ,;

EVROPA.
Germany's resurgence following the First World War was
incredible. Nearly depleted of ships in 1918, there were two
50,000-tonners on the building ways a decade later: the
Bremen and the Europa (above). They appeared on the
drawing boards in the mid-twenties at 35,000 tons, 700 feet
long. Then, shortly after keel laying, ideas changed. Their
length jumped to over 900 feet and machinery and accom-
modations went in to make them the fastest, most luxurious
liners on the Atlantic. North German Lloyd's publicity
department decided on an extravagant introduction: the
two liners crossing together on their maiden voyages as they
both captured the Blue Ribbon from Britain's Mauretania.
The two ships were launched one day apart in August 1928.
Then the ambitious scheme went astray. While being fitted
out at Hamburg the following spring, the Europa was swept
by a fire which destroyed most of her interior. Repairs took
another full year. Consequently the Bremen —still adhering
to the original timetable — sailed alone to New York. Her
record, in July 1929, stood at 4 days, 17 hours. She had cap-
tured the Blue Ribbon. [Europa: built by Blohm & Voss
Shipbuilders, Hamburg, Germany, 1930. 49,746 gross tons;
936 feet long; 102 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to
quadruple screw. Service speed 27 knots. 2,024 passengers
(687 first class, 524 second class, 306 tourist class, 507 third
class).]
The decor of a first-class cabin (left) reflects the German
taste of the period.

38 The Giants
 The Europa. The main dining room (above) and the ballroom (below).

^
I A

ip^-.

'i^m

^wm
BREMEN.
The engineering world marveled at the new Bremen in her [Bremen: A/G Weser Shipbuilders, Bremen, Germany,
maiden summer of 1929. Aside from her enormous propel- 1929. 51,656 gross tons; 938 feet long; 102 feet wide. Steam
ling machinery, she introduced the use of the bulbous bow, turbines geared to quadruple screw. Service speed 27 knots.
a knife-like stem that substantially reduced drag. The 2,200 passengers (800 first class, 500 second class, 300
Europa took the Ribbon from her sister in 1930 by a very tourist class, 600 third class).]
slight increase in speed. But the Bremen proved the faster North German Lloyd publicists continued to work hard
and regained the title shortly thereafter until the honors at keeping the German sisters in the news. Early in their
were finally taken by Italy's Rex in 1933. The Bremen, hav- careers a seaplane resting in a catapult was placed between
ing slightly more prestige than the Europa, also proved to be the two funnels of each ship. Thirty-six hours before the ship
more popular than her sister ship. Originally the pair had docked the mails were sent ahead by air (below). The
low, squat funnels, which gave them a particularly sleek scheme succeeded for a time, but in the end proved costly
appearance. But smoke and soot often gathered on the aft and awkward. By 1935, the technique was dropped.
passenger decks so the funnels were doubled in height.

40
EMPRESS OF BRITAIN.
In 1928, Canadian Pacific ordered a luxury liner for their was one of the least profitable liners of her time. Her proud-
Atlantic service to Quebec City, hoping to lure Americans est moment probably came when she brought King
in 1939,
from the Middle West and West away from the traditional George VI and Queen Elizabeth home to England after a
patterns of sailing out of New York. She was launched as the goodwill tour of North America in June. The royal couple
Empress of Britain on June 11, 1930 when, for the first time, and their entourage occupied a string of suites for the cross-
ceremonies were broadcast by radio to Canada and the ing. [Built by John Brown & Company Limited, Clvde-
United States. After her maiden trip, the novelty wore off bank, Scotland, 1931. 42,348 gross tons; 758 feet long; 97
and in the end her northerly service could not compete with feet wide. Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw. Ser-
the shorter, more glamorous crossings from Manhattan on vice speed 24 knots. 1,195 passengers (465 first class, 260
more fashionable ships. The designers of the Empress of tourist class, 470 third class).]
Britain provided carefully for around-the-world winter The Empress of Britain's Mayfair Lounge was inspired by
cruises and each January until 1939 (except 1933) she sailed ancient Greek architecture. Rich walnut complemented by
from New York on a 30,000-mile, 128-day globe-circling modern designs of silver were used for wall paneling. The
journey. For this trip, the two outer screws were shipped in- columns and pilasters were of scagliola. The vault overhead
board to save drag and reduce fuel costs. The route was was done in panels of amber glass, each one bearing a
traditional: east through the Mediterranean and Suez to In- golden sunburst while at the intersection of the ribs were the
dia, Java, Bali, China, Japan, the American West Coast and signs of the zodiac in bas-relief.
back to New York via Panama. The Empress held the Rich woods from the British Empire decorated the sitting
records for size for transit of the Suez and Panama Canals rooms of the apartments de luxe.
until they passed to the Bremen in the thirties. The fare for The first-class g\mnasium featured electric horses, row-
these cruises was no trifle. Minimum was $2,100, and a suite ing and bicycling machines, punch bags, medicine balls and
could cost $16,000. Servants went for $1,750 extra. How- "automatic camels."
ever, the cruises operated in the red; the Empress of Britain

The Giants 41
 ^^

p<^r
The Empress of Britain. The Mayfair Lounge (opposite). An apartment de luxe
(above). The first-class gymnasium (below).
REX.
Amid great competition from other steamship companies,
the Italian Line carried out a very attractive and en-
thusiastic publicity campaign for its two largest liners, the
Rex and the Conte di Savoia. Both ships were dubbed "the
Riviera afloat." To carry the theme even further, sand was
scattered around the outdoor swimming pools, creating a
beach-like effect highlighted by multicolored umbrellas.
The first of this pair to be completed was, appropriately,
the largest and the fastest. It was christened the Rex in
August 1931, in the presence of the King and Queen of Italy.
In her goal of a record-breaking maiden trip, her first run
was a dismal failure. She sailed from Genoa in September
1932, after a send-off from Premier Mussolini, with a
passenger list of international celebrities. Unfortunately,
while approaching Gibralter, serious mechanical dif-
ficulties arose. Repairs took three days. Half her passengers
requested to leave. Further complications arose on the
Atlantic; lengthy repairs were required in New York before
returning to Europe. The Rex finally captured the Blue Rib-
bon in August 1933, an honor held for two years before pass-
ing it on to the Normandie. [Built by Ansaldo Shipyards,
Genoa, Italy, 1932. 51,062 gross tons; 880 feet long; 96 feet
wide. Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw. Service
speed 28 knots. 2,258 passengers (604 first class, 378 second
class, 410 tourist class, 366 third class).]

44 The Giants
 f*

-^ I
^\^.
\\\'

1
' • *1 iiity

n'-tr

'
I I I
 The Rex. The Hdo deck was the largest yet seen on a transatlantic liner.

46 The Giants
 ff

'
-r,^>ie— qr^.-: "^

CONTE DI SAVOIA.
No less popular or extravagant than the Rex, although not a tunateK', due to the superhuman labors of the crew and
record-breaker, the Conte di Savoia carried off most of her engineers, temporary repair efforts succeeded in plugging
maiden trip in November 1932 without event until, 900 the hole with cement. [Built bv Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adria-
miles off the American coast, an outlet valve below the 48.502 gross tons: 814 feet long; 96
tico, Trieste. Italy. 1932.
waterline jammed and blew a sizable hole in the hull. In a feet wide. Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw. Ser-
matter of minutes, the huge ship's dynamo compartment vice speed of 27 knots. 2,200 passengers (500 first class, 366
was flooded with seawater. After inspection it was com- second class, 412 tourist class, 922 third class).]
puted that she might sink within five to eight hours. For-

The Giants 47
 i'lll

..... ^^^ -'t-* T.j« • '

tmiH
^--I^IUJ = = ?=» = = = rrEiss I isiii Hi mill HI I nil I mil
nrr
 NORMANDIE.
The Normandie (left) was the world's most glamorous ship
of the thirties. The $60 million she cost to build, a figure not
easily matched in the decade between the wars, was under-
written heavily by the French government. Novelty and ex-
travagance were the keynotes of her design. The famed
Penhoet shipyards, the builders of the He de France, were
commissioned, along with the finest designers, decorators,
sculptors, engineers and specialty technicians in Europe. A
former designer of the Czar's warships, Vladimir Yourke-
vitch, was placed in charge. The ship was originally known
as the "super-//e de France" and the French Line gradually
released each alluring detail: the first liner to exceed 1,000
feet in length, the first to surpass 60,000 tons. (The com-
parison with a four-masted schooner below gives some idea
of her size.) The same Paris offices were overwhelmed with
suggestions for names: the Neptune, the Lindbergh, the Per-
shing, the President Doumer, the Jeanne d'Arc, the
Napoleon, the Benjamin Franklin and even the Maurice
Chevalier. The world's largest bottle of champagne — six
quarts in all — was used by Madame Lebrun, the First Lady
of France, to christen the ship Normandie at the launch on
October 29, 1932. A ton of soap and more of suet and lard
were used to grease the launching ways. Even at that, 100
workmen were swept into the Loire River by the backwash.
A victim of the Depression, the big liner was laid up for a
time at her fitting-up dock. Her maiden trip was postponed
until May 1935. [Built by Chantiers de I'Atlantique, St.
Nazaire, France, 1935. 82,799 gross tons; 1,028 feet long;
117 feet wide. Steam turboelectric engines geared to qua-
druple screw. Service speed 29 knots. 1,972 passengers (848
first class, 670 tourist class, 454 third class).]

iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iii^i
iRMtimiii n On her maiden crossing, the Normandie averaged 32
knots and broke all records. Her time: 4 days, 3 hours, 14
minutes. The Italians sadly relinquished the Blue Ribbon
held by the Rex. Berlin Radio announced that "true" speed
of the Bremen and Europa would soon be shown, retaking
the honor. The British calmly reported that the Normandie
would probably crack in half on her return sailing. Seen
overleaf are half the crew of the great liner, about 675
figures, ranging from officers and department chiefs to
gardeners and bellhops.
/
1
The Normandie. The first-class restaurant (opposite, top)
was slightly larger than the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
Surely one of the most outstanding rooms ever put to sea, it
was a superb creation of Lalique fixtures, hammered bronze
and glass. Other details were equally mind-boggling: the
restaurant measured 300 feet in length, rose three decks and
seated 1,000. The indoor pool was 80 feet long with a gradu-
ated depth. The theater seated 380 on two levels. The
chapel comfortably held a 100 total. The garage held 100
cars. There were large foyers, private drawing rooms, bars,
a grill room, terrace cafe, writing rooms, libraries, a
shooting gallery, a novelty shop, a bank, clothing store,
gymnasium and special restaurants for children and ser-
vants. The Winter Garden boasted fresh greenery, fountain
and caged birds. Doormen outsidelHe main restaurant wore
powdered wigs.
The great bronze twin doors to the Grand Hall (opposite,
bottom) were removed during the early years of World War
II and eventually found their way to Our Lady of Lebanon
Church in Brooklyn Heights, New York.
Beautiful Dupas glass panels covered the walls in the
Main Lounge (above) and specially created Aubusson tapes-
tries were used for chair upholstery.
The ship's touri.st-class accommodations, such as the
Grand Salon (below), were outstanding compared to most
other liners of the period.

The Giants 53
 ^^1.^.0*^

i-kl A.*^-
itwa-*m*a-t-a«*»i*'*-^ -

•S'»-

QUEEN MARY.
Before they merged in 1934, Cunard and White Star were was on before either was launched. Queen Mary traveled to
each planning a superliner. Cunard ordered an 80,000-ton- the Clyde in September 1934 to give the liner her name. It
ner from Clydebank, Scotland. White Star had a 60,000-ton was the first christening by a British monarch, and marked
motorship in mind that would come from Harland and as the Queen's first public speech in her 24 years as consort.
Wolff at Belfast,, but the company's unhealthy financial The new Queen Mary emerged in the spring of 1936, a year
state was further complicated by the Great Depression and after the NoriJiandie. She was less modern than her rival.
their "dream ship" was abandoned. Cunard's liner survived, Instead, Cunard had built a stately looking ship with less
despite periodic and sometimes lengthy delays at the ship- pretentious interiors. [Built by John Brown & Company
builders. Her name was kept a tight secret at first. Stagger- Limited, Clydebank, Scotland, 1936. 81,235 gross tons;
ing statistics floated out of the Cunard Liverpool head- 1,018 feet long; 118 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to
quarters. Simultaneously, across the Channel, France's Nor- quadruple screw. Service speed 29 knots. 2,139 passengers
mandie was under construction. The race between the two (776 first class, 784 tourist class, 579 third class).]

54 The Giants
 :3«9Kt>

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i::::^

»i»—i»i ti>»*ii ••pp NVM*"

The Queen Mary. Splendor and majesty are clearly evident mandie had a was the
gross tonnage of just over 79,000. She
in the first-class main lounge. On her sixth Atlantic crossing, biggest in the world. A
year later, the Marij was placed at
in the summer of 1936, the Mary took the Blue Ribbon from 81,000. Not to be outdone, the Normandie had a large
the Normandie. After a hard-pressed battle, the Normandie deckhouse built on one of her aft decks, which pushed her
regained the title in 1937. Another year passed before the tonnage to 83,000. Such were the national and corporate
Queen recaptured the prized pennant with a run of 3 days, rivalries of the era.
21 hours, at a speed of nearly 31 knots. The rivalries be- On the vast expanse of the boat deck (over) passengers
tween the two superships were not restricted to speed. Other promenaded during idle moments.
publicity figures were just as desireable. In 1935, the Nor-

The Giants 55
56
57
FIVE GIANTS.
Occasionally the world's largest liners were docked together Europa, the Rex, the Normandie, the Georgic and the
between sailings to and from Europe. Seen in this March Berengaria.
1937 view, taken in New York, are (from left to right) the

58 The Giants
 The Depression
These were the leanest years for every passenger-ship firm. Their very Hfe-
blood — the voyager — disappeared in vast numbers. Over a milUon
passengers had crossed the Atlantic in 1929. By 1935, the figure had
dropped by more than half.
Although the greatest giants were built during these very years, sponsored
by government monies, liners struggled for their very existence. Some were
sent cruising — sometimes less than half full. It was a preferable alternative
to mothballs or, far worse, the scrapheap. Others were less fortunate, such
as the classic case of the Atlantic Transport Line's Minnetonka, a 21,000
tonner junked on her tenth birthday in 1934.
Most of the older Atlantic queens went and — with the exception of the
Aquitania — the four-stacker disappeared. Near the end, each underwent
slow, painful stripping. Stained-glass windows, sofas, mantelpieces, even
washbasins, were auctioned off — sometimes to nostalgic fans. Then the
empty hulls went off to the scrappers.
 4

DEPRESSION RUNS,
Cunard's regal Mauretania (above), the Blue Ribbon holder made her seem almost shabby. She turned to Depression
for 22 years, was repainted white in the early thirties and cruising — overnight "booze cruises" that overcame
sent on weekend "cruises to nowhere," escapist voyages out American Prohibition, weekends at sea, jaunts along the
to sea. There were also trips to Havana and Nassau, Port- East Coast to Nova Scotia and occasional runs to Bermuda
au-Prince and Bermuda. Six days to Nassau in 1934 cost $70. and the Caribbean. The prices were low and right for the
Another Cunarder, the Berengaria (opposite), was in day. Those who remembered her in the palmier Atlantic era
equally serious trouble: hard times killed off her profits, her now referred to her as the "Bargain-area."
aging structure left her prey to small fires and staff cutbacks

60 The Depression
 *^-#
Il-*'
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SCRAPPING.
The dismantling process often presented some horrifying staterooms have been reduced to rubble. The promenade
scenes. In this case,aboard the Berengaria in 1938 at the and boat decks are cluttered with debris and the forward
breakers in Scotland, the former main ballroom and some funnel has been sent crashing down.

62 The Depression
OLYMPIC.
The great ships desperately sought income during the tons, 882 feet long; 92 feet wide. Steam triple expansion
Depression. Cunard-White Star's Olympic, resting in the engines geared to triple screw. Service speed 21 knots. 1,447
floating dock at Southampton during her annual overhaul, passengers in 1932. (618 first class, 447 tourist class, 382
made one-dav Bank-Holidav cruises. [Built bv Harland & third cla.ss).]
Wolff Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1911. 46,439

The Depression 63
THE TREND TOWARD CRUISING.
What remained of the regular Hner trades at this time had to Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service speed 16 knots.
struggle to survive. TheItalian Government created the 2,300 passengers (600 cabin class, 1,700 third class).]
Italian Line from three Atlantic companies in 1932. North The Roma of the Italian Line (above, bottom) set sail
German Lloyd and Hamburg America merged their sailings from New York in 1935 on a 58-day Mediterranean cruise.
asHapag-Lloyd. Cunard joined with the financially ailing With fares beginning at $340, she went to Madeira, Cadiz,
White Star Line in 1934. Immediately following the union, Tangier, Malaga, Algiers, Palma de Majorca, Cannes,
Cunard-White Star sent eight liners — including the mam- Malta, Port Sa 1, Haifa, Beirut, Rhodes, the Dardanelles
moth Majestic and the Olympic — to the boneyards. (advertised as "passage by daylight"), Istanbul, the
The White Star Doric (above, top) was also pulled off the Bosporus, Fir n. Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Venice,
North Atlantic in the early thirties. Revamped as a cruising Messina, Naph ^, i raco, Southampton, Boulogne-sur-Mer
liner, she made some voyages to theMediterranean, the and Rotterdam b o. ^' returning to New York. [Built by An-
Canary Islands, Scandinavia and the Caribbean. She was saldo Shipyards, Genoa, Italy, 1926. 32,583 gross tons; 709
sold for scrap in 1935 after only 12 years service. [Built by feet long; 82 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to quadruple
Harland & Wolff Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1923. screw. Service speed, 22 knots. 1,675 passengers (375 first
16,484 gross tons; 601 feet long; 68 feet wide; 31-foot draft. class, 600 second class, 700 third class).]

64 The Depression
PARIS.
The brilliant acclaim for her kitchens did not keep the lux- the ship into cruise work. To some, it seemed scandalous to
urious Paris from sailing a third full in the early thirties. The have such ships lazily roaming the Mediterranean or Scan-
French Line avoided the possibility of "lay-up" by pressing dinavia with a mere 300 millionaires on board.

The Depression 65
 I

66 The Depression
EFFECTS OF THE SLUMP.
Even combination passenger-cargo ships on the Amsterdam- bottom) went her way in 1932. Among her passengers
site,
to-indonesia run were hard hit. The Nederland Line was had been Rudyard Kipling. [Built by Harland & Wolff Lim-
resourceful in sending the Tarakan (opposite, top) on "youth ited, Belfast,Northern Ireland, 1902. 12,546 gross tons; 576
cruises" from Holland to the Norwegian fjordlands. As feet long; 74 feet wide. Steam quadruple-expansion turbines
many as 600 teenage boys traveled in specially created geared to twin screw. Service speed 17.5 knots. 754 pas-
dormitories for as little as 25 Dutch guilders. [Built by sengers (336 first class, 174 second class, 244 third class).]
Wilton-Fijenoord Shipyards, Rotterdam, Holland, 1930. The Majestic (above) docked at Southampton for the last
8,183 gross tons; 469 feet long; 62 feet wide; 32-foot draft. time in March 1936. Two months later she was sold to
M.A.N, diesel geared to single screw. Service speed 14.5 British shipbreakers for a mere £115,000. Her masts were
knots. 21 passengers.] cut down, funnels shortened and lifeboats stripped. Then
The number of ships declined even further during the came a brief reprieve. At the scrappers she was sold to the
Depression as many of the older liners reached their normal Admiralty and became the permanently moored training
and mandatory retirements. These older ships generally ship H.M.S. Caledonia. Unfortunately, she was swept by
required more repairs and maintenance, and therefore more fire in 1939 and was then quickly dismantled for the war
money. Union Castle's 30-year-old Walmer Castle (oppo- effort.

The Depression 67
LEVIATHAN.
The end of the United States Lines' Leviathan was one of the men. Few foresaw another great war coming, when she
saddest of all, a slow death that took nearly four years. She could have been invaluable as a trooper. Her owners aban-
finished her last commercial trip in September 1934 and, doned any hope for revival. Numerous tugs yanked the
docked at Hoboken, turned into a ghost ship — lifeboats dinosaur from her slip winter of 1938, and she crossed
in the
gone, funnels capped, silent innards, lonely vigils by watch- to a Scotland scrapyard with a skeleton crew.

68 The Depression
p

BELGENLAND.
The Red Star Line's Be/g^n/anc/ — renamed Columbia in her the task provided jobs for the junking crews. [Built by
lastyear — was a favorite cruiseship of the late twenties and Harland & Wolff Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1914-
early thirties. But then the gaiety and loyal following were 1917. 24,578 gross tons; 697 feet long; 78 feet wide. Steam
suddenly gone. Even cheap "booze cruises" failed. On May tripleexpansion turbines geared to triple screw. Service
4, 1936, she was deliberately run aground at the scrapping speed 17 knots. 2,600 passengers (500 first class, 600 second
yard and invaded by a small army of torch-bearers. In itself, class, 1,500 third elass).]

The Depression 69
PILSUDSKI.
Poland's Gdynia America Line was in great need of new Czechoslovakia furnished the iron used in the hull; England
tonnage by the but could do nothing without suffi-
thirties, provided the steering gear, boilers and propellors; Scotland
cient cash reserves. A novel solution developed: Poland gave contributed the distilling plants; the bow and stern portions
Italy five years worth of coal shipments in return for two were delivered by Hungary; sheets of plating came from
14,000-ton passenger ships. The new ships — the Pitstidski Austria; the lifeboat davits and switchboards from Ger-
(above) and her sister Batory — had materials and equip- many; and the fuel pumps and engine parts from Switzer-
ment that came from no less than a dozen countries. Affec- land. [Built by Cantieri Riuniti deH'Adriatico, Monfalcone,
tionately they were dubbed the "international ships." Kitch- Italy, 1935. 14,294 gross tons; 526 feet long; 70 feet wide.
en utensils, kettles, fire-fighting gear and gyrocompasses Sulzer diesels geared to twin screw. Service speed 18 knots.
came from the United States. The anchors, laundry 759 passengers (355 tourist class, 404 third class).]
machines and refrigerating plants were from Denmark.

70 The Depression
 Colonies,
Cruising and the Mails
In spite of the Depression some shipowners actually managed to add new
liners while others somehow kept their existing fleets intact.
The new ships tended to be medium-sized. On the Atlantic they were
more economical and could be pushed into cruising quite easily. In other
trades, they came into being largely to serve the vast colonial empires. These
ships were vital links for administrative personnel and their families, the
military, traders and — just as important — for the uninterrupted flow of
cargo and mail to and from the motherland. Quite comfortable and ade-
quate, these ships had little need for great size and speed.
Cruise ships — again in the medium-size range — grew in importance,
possibly because of the escapism they provided from world conditions.
However, few of them were pure cruise in nature. They also catered to port-
to-port passengers and were fitted with profitable, if not large, freight
spaces. In some instances further support came from mail contracts.
The mails were a justifiable reason, at the time, for the very being of a
passenger ship. Freighters were able to handle this precious cargo but were
all too often much slower. Therefore, many liners, although not greatly

profitable in the thirties, survived as a result of their combined passenger

and cargo roles, world politics and a lack of aircraft competition. Quite
simply, for many trips a ship literally provided the only way to go.
BRITANNIC.
Despite the slump in the thirties, some North Atlantic ship- diesels geared to twin screw. Service speed 18 knots. 1,553
lines actually developed a fine new class of medium-sized passengers (504 first class, 551 tourist class, 498 third class).]
liners, ofteil referred to as the "mailships." White Star Line's The main restaurant in the Britannic's sister ship Georgic
Britannic (above) came out of Belfast in May 1930. De- (opposite, top) was two decks high in the center, had in-
signed for the Liverpool-New York service, she and her direct ceiling lights and a large three-paneled mirror at the
sistership Georgic (1932) were great examples of motorliners entrance.
of the day: flat funnels (the forward one was a dummy hous- The first class indoor promenade aboard the Georgic
ing wireless equipment) and low superstructures that (opposite, bottom) boasted flowered-print armchairs and
created a long, slender silhouette. [Built by Harland & sofas set against a modern carpet. The upright "trumpet"
Wolff Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1930. 26,943 light fixtures on the right were common to many passenger
gross tons; 712 feet long; 82 feet wide. Burmeister & Wain ships during the thirties.

72 Colonies, Cruising and the Mails

73
 The Britannic. The bedroom of a first-class suite, 1930.

74 Colonies, Cruising and the Mails"

 •*^

WASHINGTON.
The Washington (above) and her sistership the Manhattan gross tons; 705 feet long; 86 feet wide. Steam turbines
were United States Lines' run to the Channel
built for the geared to twin screw. Service speed 20 knots. 1,130 passen-
ports and Hamburg. They had the simple well-balanced gers (580 cabin class, 400 tourist class, 150 third class).]
profile of two masts and two funnels, a concept best seen The officers of the Washington underwent periodic ex-
later in Cunard's Queen Elizabeth. [Washington: New York aminations on the bridge. In the case below, the use of the
Shipbuilding Company, Camden, New Jersey, 1933. 24,289 sextant was being checked.
The Washington. Although the overall
decor of the ship was intended to be
sleekly modern, the smoking room
returned to an earlier style that in-
cluded carved woodwork, heavier-
looking furniture, a center skylight
and the stuffed heads of a moose, deer
and bison. The room was obviously a
male preserve.

77
LANCASTRIA (above).
Cunard's Lancastria met with some brisk weather as she pansion engines geared to twin screw. Service speed 15
headed out to sea in the autumn of 1937. During the thirties, knots. 143 first-class passengers.]
her owners had the largest fleet on the Atlantic and one of
the most extensive. Passenger services were run from Lon-
don, Southampton, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Cobh as SANTA PAULA (opposite, bottom).

well as across the English Channel, from Le Havre, Cher- Passenger-ship sailings out of New York during the thirties
bourg and even more distant Hamburg. Cunarders called at sometimes ran to as many as eight or ten per day, frequently
New York, Boston, Halifax, St. John's, Quebec City and providing parades for lunchtime viewers on the Manhattan
Montreal. In itself, Cunard was a small empire. shore. In this aerial photograph, there were three noontime
departures: Santa Lucia (bottom) was bound for a cruise
around South America; President Harrison (top, left) was
off on a four-month trip around the world; and Santa Paula
CALAMARES (opposite, top). (top, right) went for two weeks in the Caribbean. Santa
The United FruitCompany's combination passenger-cargo Paula was one of four sister ships built for the Grace Line's
liners, such as the Calamares, were known as "the Great runs to the Indies and South America both from New York
White Fleet." It was made of a vast assortment of attractive and San Francisco. The design balance rested between the
ships, all with hulls painted a crisp white, that carried 300 passengers and about 7,000 tons of cargo. The accom-
about 100 passengers each on two- and three-week voyages modations were of high standard and included a well-
to Central and South America and the Caribbean. The appreciated tropical novelty: a roll-back ceiling over the
points of departure varied: New York, Boston, Baltimore, restaurant which was located between the twin funnels,
even New Orleans. In this age before mass aircraft holidays, allowing passengers to dine under the stars. [Built by Fed-
the ships provided the grandest and most comprehensive ex- eral Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New
cursions to romantic, far-off lands. [Built by Workman, Jersey, 1932. 9,135 gross tons; 508 feet long; 72 feet wide.
Clark and Company, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1913. 7,782 Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service speed 19 knots.
gross tons; 470 feet long; 55 feet wide. Steam quadruple ex- 300 passengers (240 first class, 60 second class).]

78 Colonies, Cruising and the Mails

.JM
A iji
#%
'
ORIENTE (opposite).
The Ward week from New
Line's Oriente sailed every other used the ships for business and holiday. However, just as on
York on seven-day cruises to Havana, then one of the Carib- the North Atlantic, the greatest revenues came from those in
bean's most popular ports-of-call. The ship was a great third class, the immigrants, who were seeking new lives or
favorite of honeymooners since minimum fares began at escaping oppression. Homebound, the profits were made in
$75. [Built by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock transporting the vast quantities of Argentine beef in the
Company, Newport News, Virginia, 1930. 11,520 gross freezer compartments. Britain's Alcantara of the Royal Mail
tons; 508 feet long; 70 feet wide. Turboelectric engines Lines was one of the mightiest and fastest on the Latin-
geared to twin screw. Service speed 20 knots. 530 passengers American circuit. With her sister Astiirias, she provided
(430 first class, 100 tourist class).] monthly sailings from Southampton via Cherbourg and
Permanently outdoor swimming pools were coming
fitted Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Montevideo and Buenos
into their own by the thirties. Aboard the Oriente (bottom) Aires. At the end, there was a two-week layover, making it
there were side benches and tables covered by multicolored the ideal cruise for at least a few of her first-class passengers.
umbrellas. There was luncheon on deck, cocktails before [Built by Harland & Wolff Limited, Belfast, Northern
dinner and dancing under a night sky. Ireland, 1927. 22,909 gross tons; 666 feet long; 78 feet wide.
Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service speed 18 knots.
ALCANTARA (above). 1,319 passengers (331 first class, 220 second class, 768 third
class)
Services to South America from British and European ports .
]

were quite sizeable during the thirties. First-class passengers

Colonies, Cruising and the Mails 81

X

1 I

-^
W
•^

rihtBMMiMiM

Mn
MONARCH OF BERMUDA and QUEEN OF BERMUDA
(opposite).
The Monarch oj Bermuda and the Queen of Bermuda (top) turboelectric engines geared to quadruple screw. Service
berthed together in the harbor of Hamilton, Bermuda. speed 19 knots. 731 passengers (700 first class, 31 second
Deluxe by world standards of the time, they became known class).]
as the "millionaire's ships." Every passenger cabin was fitted The two-deck-high main lounge of the Queen of Bermuda
with a private toilet and full bath or shower, quite a prece- (bottom) was done in polished woods with slight metallic
dent for the early thirties. At times these sisterships — so balances, and with a stage at the far end. White ducts for
marvelously popular — carried as many as 4,500 passengers the ventilation system are located on the trims.
every three weeks on cruises to Bermuda. [Monarch of Ber-
muda: Built by Vickers-Armstrongs Shipbuilders Limited, ALBERTVILLE (above).
Newcastle, England, 1931. 22,424 gross tons; 579 feet long; The Belgian Line's Albertville was in service to the colonies,
76 feet wide. Steam turboelectric engines geared to quad- sailing from Antwerp to ports the Congo. [Built by
in
ruple screw. Service speed 19 knots. 830 passengers (799 first Ateliers et Chantiers de Nazaire, France, 1928.
la Loire, St.
class, 31 second class). Queen of Bermuda: Built by Vickers- 11,047 gross tons; 521 feet long; 62 feet wide. Diesels geared
Armstrongs Shipbuilders Limited, Newcastle, England, to twin screw. Service speed 16.5 knots. 400 passengers in
1933. 22,575 gross tons; 580 feet long; 76 feet wide. Steam three classes.]

Colonies, Cruising and the Mails 83

 mm^'s

y*LM
IROQUOIS (opposite).
The American liner Iroquois of the Clyde Mallory Lines were quite separate firms in the thirties but both dominated
made winter runs between New York and Miami, Jackson- the Australian service. Together, over 20 liners sailed from
ville and Havana and summer sailings to Maine and Nova London or Southampton to Fremantle, Brisbane, Mel-
Scotia. [Built by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock bourne and Sydney. Their ships were of two types. The
Company, Newport News, Virginia, 1927. 6,209 gross tons; larger breed, generally in excess of 20,000 tons, handled the
409 feet long; 62 feet wide; 21-foot draft. Steam turbines normal passenger business. The second group, smaller,
geared to twin screw. Service speed 18 knots. 600 slower and usually older, worked the immigrant line with
passengers.] vast numbers in a single, steerage-like etting. [Built by
Vickers-Armstrongs Shipbuilders Lis sited, Barrow-in-
STRATH MORE (above). Furness, England, 1935. 23,428 gross tt^ns; 665 feet long; 82
P &O Steam Navigation's Strathmore, launched in August feet wide. Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service
1935, was noteworthy as one of the biggest liners ever built speed 20 knots. 1,110 passengers (445 first class, 665 tourist
for the "Down Under" trade. The P & O and Orient lines class) .
]

Colonies, Cruising and the Mails 85

KARANJA (above). PRESIDENT HOOVER (opposite).
British India Line's Karanja ran a local run, shuttling out of The President Hoover (top) and her sistership the President
Indian ports. Colonial administrators and servicemen and Coolidge of American President Lines carried the Stars and
their families filled the upper deck quarters. Below, over Stripes on the transpacific trade from San Francisco,
1,000 "deck passengers" used her for resettlement voyages, touching at Yokohama, Hong Kong, Manila and Shanghai.
pilgrimages, even remote work projects. [Built by Alexander [Built by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Com-
Stephen & Sons Limited, Glasgow, Scotland, 1931. 9,890 pany, Newport News, Virginia, 1931. 21,936 gross tons; 654
gross tons; 486 feet long; 64 feet wide. Steam turbines feet long; 81 feet wide. Steam turboelectric engines geared
geared to twin screw. Service speed 18 knots. 1,350 to twin screw. Service speed 20 knots. 988 passengers (307
passengers (250 saloon class, 1,100 third class).] first class, 133 tourist class, 170 third class, 378 steerage).]
The ship featured an elegant and spacious first-class main
lounge (bottom).

86 Colonies, Cruising and the Mails

^

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MILWAUKEE (opposite).
In 1935, after some time on the transatlantic route, Ham- /
burg America Line's Milwaukee was repainted white and
was restyled as a floating health spa. [Built by Blohm & Voss
Shipbuilders, Hamburg, Germany, 1929. 16,754 gross tons;
575 feet long; 72 feet long. M.A.N, diesels geared to twin
screw. Service speed 16.5 knots. 559 first-class passengers.]

HAZARDS AT SEA.
Mishap on a summer cruise (above). The Iroquois, on a trip
out of NewYork, ran aground in a dense fog at Bald Por-
cupine Island, Maine, on July 14, 1936. Several hundred
passengers and crew had to be sent ashore in small boats —
dramatic way of starting a summer vacation.
In December 1937, following a frigid Atlantic crossing,
crewmen chipped away at chunks of ice aboard the Polish
liner Pitsudski (right).
Not all pleasure cruising was pleasure. Returning from a
holiday run with over 500 passengers and crew aboard.
Ward Line's Morro Castle (over) caught fire on September
8, 1934. Although she was only a few hours steaming time
south of New York harbor and a mere six miles off the Jersey
coast, incompetence and chaos turned the situation into
disaster. She was abandoned, all too late, after claiming 133
casualties. Tides brought the blistering hulk to the shoreline
of resort Asbury Park, where a horrifying impression was
made on the thousands of spectators who gathered in mor-
bid curiosity. After a thorough investigation of the tragedy,
more stringent safety standards were instituted for
American passenger ships. [Built by Newport News Ship-
building and Drydock Company, Newport News, Virginia,
1930. 11,520 gross tons; 508 feet long; 70 feet wide. Steam
turboelectric engines geared to twin screw. Service speed 20
knots. 530 passengers (430 first class, 100 tourist class).]

Colonies, Cruising and the Mails 89

 —

V • t-'" » < 1 » 1

r§m^- gin. »«**• -j»*. « i^* "A-i 'P..;^

, , - a? •-'•vjl. -

^J0M

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'Il J .
 "

^liStMm^'^Ksorr.

MONTE SARMIENTO (above).

In the mid-thirties the Nazi propaganda machine ran build a large national flagship, the biggest ever to be con-
"Strength through Joy" cruises — poHtical indoctrination ses- structed in Holland. Queen Wilhelmina named her the
sions aboard a variety of German hners under the guise of Nieuw Amsterdam in the spring of 1937. Proudly, she was
hoUday trips along the Norwegian coast or into the Baltic. dubbed the Dutch "Ship of Peace," since there were ab-
Hamburg-South America Line's Monte Sarmiento, dressed solutely no provisions for possible waruse incorporated in
in swastika banners, carried as many as 1,500 per trip. her design. When she crossed to New York for the first time,
[Built by Blohm & Voss Shipbuilders, Hamburg, Germany, in May Nieuw Amsterdam could
1938, the owners of the
1924. 13,625 gross tons; 524 feet long; 66 feet wide. M.A.N. hardly ignore the frightening strength of neighboring Nazi
diesels geared to twin screw. Service speed 14 knots. 2,470 Germany. [Built by the Rotterdam Drydock Company,
passengers (1,328 third class, 1,142 steerage).] Rotterdam, Holland, 1938. 36,287 gross tons; 758 feet long;
88 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service
NIEUW AMSTERDAM (opposite). speed 20.5 knots. 1,220 passengers (556 first class, 455
The Holland America Line had sufficient cash reserves to tourist class, 209 third class).]

92 Colonies, Cruising and the Mails

 % -i

r?":'
The Nieutv Amsterdam. The Hner was Holland's "ship of light-coloredand spacious. Her owners proclaimed her "the
state," just as the Normandie was France's and the Queen ship of tomorrow," and consequently, in some obvious
Mary was Britain's. Numerous Dutch artists vied for the ways, such as the sitting room in the Surinam Suite, she was
honor of creating some part of the ship, which was to be the most modern European liner of the thirties.

94 Colonies, Cruising and the Mails

 1939
Although this was an uneasy year, with war machines building in Europe
and the Far East, ocean-liner business continued. The Bremen and the
Europa worked just as before, if only guarded a bit more heavily while in
New York. The Normandie cruised to Rio for Carnival in February, and the
Empress of Britain, as usual, went around the world for four months.
New liners were coming out of the yards at a faster rate than any time since
the twenties. American, British, French, Dutch, Swedish, German and even
Japanese lines were building or ordering brand-new flagships for routes
throughout the world. Then, suddenly, on September 1, it all collapsed.
Almost all liner services ceased and commercial trade, if only temporari-
ly, was shunted aside. Shipyards were hard pressed to convert liners quick-
ly to transports and troopers.
Many ships — particularly the giant class — sat out the end of this year in
safety. The neutral ships, such as America's, worked at evacuation. Their
capacities more than tripled, they were filled with thousands of fortunate
souls able to escape the threatening, fast-moving enemy armies.
THE APPROACH OF WAR.
The Nazi banner flies at the bow of the Europa (opposite, Germany who were barred from entering the island.
top) in the summer of 1939. Friends and relatives could only wave from shore. Small
The 51,000-ton Bremen (opposite, bottom) passed boats with Cuban police and soldiers surrounded the ship to
through the Panama Canal during her winter South Amer- pick up possible suicides. The ship was forced to sail from
ican cruise in 1939, establishing a record for transit size and Cuban waters and returned to Europe. [Built by Bremer
emphasizing German might. This record by a passenger Vulkan Shipyards, Vegesack, Germany, 1929. 16,732 gross
liner was not altered until, nearly 35 years later, the tons; 574 feet long; 72 feet wide. M.A.N, diesels geared to
66,000-ton Queen Elizabeth 2 outranked her German twin screw. Service speed 16 knots. 973 passengers (270
predecessor. cabin class, 287 tourist class, 416 third class).]
In June the Hamburg America liner St. Louis drifted off
Havana (above) carrying 915 Jewish refugees from Nazi

1939 97
-^
DESTRUCTION OF THE PARIS.
The Normandie was temporarily trap-
ped in drydock at Le Havre as the
Paris (right) burned on April 18 and
then quickly capsized. She was one of
the nearly a dozen French-owned
passenger ships which had been
destroyed by fires within a decade.

1939 99
 \
\

B T:_ j- < .-. .^

f,- .11

VHMBI
GEORGIC (opposite, top).
Meanwhile, much of the world continued to ignore the dark quickly jumped from 1,360 passengers to 7,124 troops.
clouds on the horizon. Cunard- White Star sent the stately [Built by Cammell Laird Shipbuilders Limited, Birken-
Georgic on a four-day Fourth of July weekend cruise from head, England, 1939. 35,738 gross tons; 772 feet long; 89
New York to Halifax — escapism for $45. [Built bv Harland feet wide. Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service
& Wolff Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1932. 27,759 speed 23 knots. 1,360 passengers (440 cabin class, 450 tourist
gross tons; 711 feet long; 82 feet wide. Burmeister & Wain class, 470 third class).]
diesels geared to twin screw. Service speed 18 knots. 1,542
passengers (479 cabin class, 557 tourist class, 506 third COLOMBIE (above).
class).] French Line's Colotnbie, normally on the Le Havre-West
Indies run, made a special cruise to New York and the
World's Fair in that fateful summer. [Built by Ateliers et
MAURETANIA (opposite, bottom). Chantiers de France, Dunkirk, France, 1931. 13,391 gross
Cunard's second Matiretania was given a maiden reception tons; 509 feet long; 66 feet wide. Steam turbine geared to
at New York in June, but after several round trips, she was twin screw. Service speed 16 knots. 491 passengers (201 first
repainted gray and took on gun mountings. Her capacity class, 146 second class, 144 third class).]

1939 101
 MOM

COLUMBUS.
On August 24, with the political situation in grave uncer- Hitler suggested a quick trip home to Germany. The poorly
tainty, the Eiiropa headed for New York with a full load of planned voyage ended when she was deliberately scuttled
passengers. While still off European shores, Berlin ordered by her crew to avoid capture some 300 miles off the Virginia
her to return immediately. Blacked out and with radio coast. [Built by Schichau Shipyards, Danzig, Germany,
silence, she reversed course and dumped her worried 1922. 32,581 gross tons; 775 feet 'long; 83 feet wide; 36-foot
passengers back on the Bremerhaven docks. Another North draft. Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service speed 23
German Lloyd liner, the Columbus, was on a Caribbean knots. 1,724 passengers (479 cabin class, 644 tourist class,
cruise at the time. She unloaded her American passengers at 602 third class).!
Havana and darted to neutral Veracruz. In December,

102 1939
 i^ih

i rl*-

^m r •
'f

THE LAST SAILING OF THE BREMEN.

The Bremen was at New York on August 30, less than two haven, no matter how risky. Instead, she was repainted in
days before the peace-breaking invasion of Poland. She had gray camouflage while at sea. She wandered far north to
been detained deliberately by American authorities, who Iceland and finally to Murmansk. Briefly, she bolstered the
were fearful that munitions might go abroad in her. Soviet flag as a precaution. Then she worked her way slowly
However, American neutrality and political pressures per- along the Norwegian coast, hiding in fogbanks and clinging
mitted her to sail that evening, without passengers. Her 900 close to the shoreline. Nearly four months later, on
crew members gave the Nazi salute as she passed the Statue December 10, she docked at Bremerhaven — never to sail
of Liberty. Some expected a speedy, direct trip to Bremer- again. She was destroyed by fire at her pier in March 1941.

1939 103
THE SINKING OF THE ATHENIA (opposite).
The British-flag Donaldson liner Athenia was the first Having been warned by the German Admiralty that she
casualty of the war. On September 3, 200 miles west of the would meet the Athenia s fate in the Atlantic waters, the
Hebrides, she was torpedoed and sunk by a Nazi U-boat ship was met at sea by destroyers and a Coast Guard vessel
with the loss of 112 lives. The news was horrifying. War had and was escorted into the harbor.
begun on the high seas. [Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and
Engineering Company, Glasgow, Scotland, 1923. 13,465 COMMERCIAL CROSSINGS CEASE (over).
gross tons; 538 feet long; 66 feet wide. Steam turbines A photograph of New York's West Side luxury liner piers in
geared twin screw. Service speed 15 knots. 1,552
to the fall 1939 reflects the unusual, tense situation.
of
passengers (314 cabin class, 310 tourist class, 928 third Cunard's Aquitania was already repainted in wartime gray.
class).] Across the slip, Italy's Rex continued in regular service to
the Mediterreanean as if totally unaffected by the events in
TRANSPORTING REFUGEES (above). Northern Europe. In the end, the Italian liners proved to be
Their anxiety ended, European refugees wave to friends on among the final ships trading on a commercial basis. Their
the pier as the Iroquois docks in New York on October 11. sailings ceased in the spring of 1940.

1939 105
 '\->

f
III '
iiin
"
.^ f i

P'r»

^^Hiiii^^ '
s * ••<^r
MAINTAINING NEUTRALITY.
In the fall of 1939, the ferocious German Wehrmacht was
aiming at its relentless march through France. Hordes of
refugees and trapped tourists sought passage, preferrably to
America. The United States liners Manhattan and Washing-
ton were still neutral and trying to maintain something of a
commercial service. American colors were painted along the
sides, on the sun deck and even on the tops of the hatch
covers of the Manhattan (above), hopefully warding off
prowling enemy subs or bombers. The Manhattaii and the
Washington had certificates for 1,200 passengers, but in this
desperate time, they often sailed with over 2,000. Four and
six shared cabins while others used cots in the public rooms
(right) and even the bottom of the drained indoor swim-
ming pool. Arturo Toscanini shared the chief surgeon's
cabin while cosmetic queen Helena Rubinstein made do
with a sofa in the smoking room. [Manhattan: Built by New
York Shipbuilding Company, Camden, New Jersey, 1932.
24,289 gross tons; 705 feet long; 86 feet wide. Steam tur-
bines geared to twin screw. Service speed 20 knots. 1,239
passengers (582 cabin class, 461 first class, 196 third class).]

108 1939
 TheWar'fears
In the years between 1940 and 1945, a third of the world's Hner fleet was
destroyed. All but three of the superliners were gone. Modern company
terminals and piers, such as those for Holland-America at Rotterdam, were
turned to twisted masses of steel.
The Allied war effort at sea was a magnificent feat. By 1941, every
passenger ship — from the Cunard Queens to small coastal steamers — was
in use by the military. Their routes and needs were diverse, often
changeable and usually top secret. The Mauretania had been to Sydney,
the lie de France to Capetown, and the Queen Elizabeth to San Francisco.
Life in a medium-sized liner converted to trooper was quite different from
that on the old glamor runs. With as many as 10,000 servicemen on board,
two meals per day — breakfast and dinner — were served in ten sittings of
20 minutes each. Breakfast started at seven. A typical menu featured
cereal, boiled eggs, bread and jam, cheese and coffee or tea. Dinner began
at 4:30 with thick soup, meat and potatoes or stew, and dessert. The daily
consumption was mind-boggling: 240 gallons of milk, 14,000 loaves of
bread, 880 pounds of butter, 80 bags of flour.
Both Allied and Axis liners suffered a variety of fates. While most were
transformed into troopships, some were converted to aircraft carriers,
hospitals, diplomatic exchanges, prisons, repair plants, even floating con-
centration camps. Fire, torpedoes and aerial bombings were ever-present
dangers. Those that survived were sometimes no longer recognizable: fun-
nels and masts were gone, new decks had been built, interiors were com-
pletely changed.
At the war's end all of the German liners were either destroyed or seized
as prizes. The Japanese had only one passenger ship surviving, an
11,000-tonner. All but four of Italy's superb fleet was in ruins.
110 The War Years
J** jtm-'

>-«^
a;-:^

THE SPRING OF 1940.

Many liners remained in safer American waters. Together at and then to San Francisco before going home to Rotterdam
piers inHoboken (opposite, top) Holland-America's West- in 1946. Her transformation included the stripping of all C
ernland (top), Nieuw Amsterdam (center) and Volendam Deck cabins, which were replaced by more than 1,000 ham-
(bottom) were either laid-up or resting between short mocks. The grand hall became a duplex dormitory for 600
pleasure trips to Bermuda and the Caribbean. in three-tier standee bunks. The theater slept 386 and each
Subsequently, in September, the Nieuw Amsterdam was suite held 22.
converted into a troopship (opposite, bottom). Over the next The scene along New York's Chelsea docks (above) was
six years, she carried over 378,000 troops, an average of rapidly showing signs of the coming war. The Cunarder
8,599 per voyage. Samaria, at the lower Pier 54, has had her commercial fun-
The initial task of removing her beautiful public rooms nel colors painted over in black. The Mauretania is already
and cabins was done largely by Chinese labor at Singapore. completely in gray and soon to sail on her first military
Much of it suffered grievous damage through haste, care- voyage. At the top, the stacks of the United States Lines'
lessness and misuse. Furniture, decorations and carpets re- Washington retain their peacetime markings, since America
mained in piles, along the Singapore docks for weeks, in all was officiallv still neutral.
weather. Later, the furnishings were shipped to Australia

The War Years 111

STOCKHOLM (above). OSLOFJORD (opposite)
The largest Swedish Stockholm, was still
liner yet built, the Another Scandinavian, the two-year-old Norwegian
under construction when the war started. She was launched America Oslofjord, fell victim to a magnetic mine in
at Trieste on March 10, 1940, appearing quite normal in her December 1940. [Built by A. G. Weser Shipyards, Bremen,
commercial colors. Shortly afterward, the Italian govern- Germany, 1938. 18,673 gross tons; 590 feet long; 73 feet
ment seized her and she was finished as the trooper Sabau- wide. M.A.N, diesels geared to twin screw. Service speed
dia. Her brief life ended during an Allied air attack on the 19.5 knots. 860 passengers (152 cabin class, 307 tourist class,
port of Trieste in July 1944. [Built by Cantieri Riuniti 401 third class).]
dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy, 1941. 29,307 gross tons;
675 feet long; 83 feet wide. Sulzer diesels geared to triple
screw. Service speed 19 knots. 1,350 passengers.]

112 The War Years

 •M^

jm^'m
ROYAL REFUGEES (above).
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were evacuated from were, without question, the most outstanding troopships of
Europe in the summer of 1940, traveling in American Ex- the war. Churchill claimed that together they helped to
port's Excalibur from Lisbon to a specially arranged stop at shorten the war in Europe by at least a year. Their speed
Bermuda. The Windsors occupied six connecting cabins, and capacity made them invaluable. Hitler offered an Iron
had a private deck area and sailed with over 50 pieces of Cross and $250,000 to the U-boat commander who could
luggage. Few individuals could claim to have escaped with sink them. Fortunately, they outstepped most warships and
such style. [Built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, worked independently from the customary convoy cross-
Camden, New Jersey, 1930. 9,359 gross tons; 474 feet long; ings. In the early part of the war the great pair sailed in the
61 feet wide. Steam turbine geared to a single screw. Service Indian Ocean, ferrying soldiers to the Middle East and
speed 16 knots. 125 first-class passengers.] Africa from Australia. Returning, they carried prisoners of
war, the wounded and evacuees. Although the ships gave
sterling service, they lacked adequate air-cooling systems in
ILE DE FRANCE (opposite, top).
a climate for which they were never intended. Very often,
At the war's outbreak, the He de France was berthed at her
they were sizzling infernos. In 1943, the two switched to the
New York pier. Since the French were not anxious to return
Atlantic troop shuttle, taking 15,000 from New York to Brit-
the ship to its homeland, she was towed to Staten Island by
ain each week, a figure seven times greater than their
ten tugs and was laid up following special dredging that cost
designed capacities. Careful steps were taken to avoid the
$30,000. Her crew of 800 was reduced to a security staff of
possibilities of one of these massive ships capsizing. Equal
100 while she sat inoperative for the next five months. Then,
numbers of troops were contained in separate areas to
during March 1940, under the command of the British Ad-
balance the hulls. The Mary established the highest record
miralty to whom she had been loaned, the He was loaded
of all time: 16,683 during a crossing in July 1943. Both ships
with 12,000 tons of war materials, submarine oil, copper in-
worked well into 1945.
gots, brass bars, shells and several uncrated bombers that
They were not without their share of mishaps. The Queen
were stowed on aft open decks. On May 1, she departed for
Mary rammed and sank the British cruiser Curaqoa on Oc-
Europe, veiled in gray and black. From there, she sailed to
tober 2, 1942, off the Scottish coast. 338 crew members from
Singapore where, following the fall of France, she was of-
the warship perished. The Queen Elizabeth fared better.
ficially seized by the British.
During a Pacific trip early in the war, however, she was
grounded for several hours in San Francisco Bay, fortunate-
THE QUEENS AS TROOPSHIPS (opposite, bottom). ly without serious damages. By the war's end, the Queens
The Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary (shown here) had carried over two million troops.

114 The War Years

QUEEN ELIZABETH.
The world's biggest liner, Cunard's Queen Elizabeth have been her reception in better times. [Built by John
(above), was still at the shipbuilders when hostilities started Brown & Company Limited, Clydebank, Scotland, 1940.
— a target for sabotage or Nazi bombers. She was finished in 83,673 tons; 1,031 feet long; 118 feet wide. Steam turbines
gray, and preparations were made at Southampton for her geared to quadruple screw. Service speed 28.5 knots. 2,283
arrival from Clydebank. Instead, under strict Allied passengers (823 first class, 662 cabin class, 798 tourist class,
secrecy, she went direct from Scotland to the security of 11,027 troops during wartime).]
New York. She had sailed in such a haste that some work- In the spring of 1940, for a brief period at New York's
men found themselves left aboard. On the dangerous cross- Piers 88 and 90 (opposite) the Queen Elizabeth (right) and
ing, she had the speed to outrace any Axis warship or sub- the Normandie (left), the two mightiest liners ever built,
marine that might have spotted her. She docked at New were berthed together.
York in March 1940, but without the fanfare that would

116 The War Years

 '"^i

Ik H^

X
THE DESTRUCTION
OF THE NORMANDIE.
The Normandie had been scheduled
to be at sea, bound for Europe, when
Poland was invaded on September 1,
1939. The American Coast Guard,
fearful that munitions moved abroad
in foreign liners, delayed her sailing
for several days of more thorough in-
spections. As the war reached more
serious proportions, it seemed the best
course to keep the Normandie in New
York. When France fell in the follow-
ing year, she was still idle at Man-
hattan's Pier 88. Her crew had been
reduced to a bare 110. Proposals sug-
gested rebuilding her as an aircraft
carrier, gutting her vast interiors.
Finally, on May 15, 1941, she was
Government. Seven
seized by the U.S.
months was transferred to
later, she
the Navy and renamed U.S.S. La-
faijette, the war's second-largest
troopship. Shipyard crews invaded
the great ship, removing the sump-
tuous fittings, and preparing her for
military duty. On February 9, 1942,
sparks from an acetylene torch ignited
a group of life jackets and mattresses.
The fire spread quickly.

The War Years 119

 nuiM

SALVAGING THE NORMANDIE (opposite). declared surplus in 1945 and later sold to a local scrapper for
Although the fire destroyed a good portion of the Norman- a mere $161,000.
die's inner parts, her total destruction was the result of fire- WESTERNLAND (above).
fighting methods. Numerous tugs, fireboats and land equip- After the fall of Holland in May 1940, the seat of the exiled
ment poured tons of water onto the blistering hull. She was Dutch Government was moved to the troopship Western-
unable to withstand the pressure and capsized within 12 land, anchored off Falmouth, England. For two months she
hours. On her side (top), the Normandie presented the most was the headquarters for 800 officials under the direction of
difficult salvage job in history. Prince Bernhard, the husband of Crown Princess Juliana.
On October 27, 1943, after 20 months, the Normandie [Built by Harland & Wolff Limited, Belfast, Northern
was righted. The process involved removing the masts, the Ireland, 1918. 16,314 gross tons; 601 feet long; 67 feet wide.
three funnels and all of the superstructure (bottom). The Steam triple expansion engines geared to triple screw. Ser-
complete project, although used for important Navy diving vice speed 15 knots. 1,500 passengers (350 cabin class, 350
training, cost $5 million. Laid up for a time, the ship was tourist class, 800 third class).]

The War Years 121

 "''
iiiiii' """!;;;;
:r.i:-^i
VOLENDAM (opposite, top).
Holland-America's Volendatn was assigned to the scheme to Govan, Scotland, 1922. 15,434 gross tons; 579 feet long; 67
evacuate children from Britain to the United States and feet wide. Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service
Canada in the summer months of 1940. On August 30, with speed 15 knots. 1,175 passengers (263 first class, 428 second
335 children and 271 adult passengers aboard, she was class, 484 tourist class).]
torpedoed 300 miles off the Irish coast. Sinking by the bow,
the passengers and crew left the liner, miraculously with the TROOP TRANSPORT.
loss of only one life. Volendam's bow was awash, with the Waiting berths (opposite, bottom), were photographed
ship drawing 54 feet of water. She was taken in tow and aboard the former Ward Line cruiseship Oriente, which by
brought to the Isle of Bute. Temporary repairs were made 1942 had become the U.S. Army transport Thomas H.
before she was taken to a Birkenhead shipyard for more Barry. The ship held 530 pa.ssengers in peacetime but had a
thorough patching. At the shipyard, a second torpedo was troop capacity of 3,609 during the war.
found embedded in the hull. It had obviously failed to ex- With life jackets in place, over 4,000 troops (above) are
plode on contact. [Built by Harland & Wolff Limited, aboard the Britannic for an Atlantic crossing in 1942.

The War Years 123

 ^^m mc

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WARTIME SINKINGS.
On November 1942, while on a voyage from South Africa
2, voyage from England to North Africa. Four passengers
to New York, Holland-America's Zaandam (opposite, top) died. During the war it was not unusual to have 15 to 20
was struck by two Nazi torpedoes 400 miles off the Brazilian ships sunk in a single day. [Built by Vickers Armstrongs
coast. She sank within 10 minutes. There were 124 casu- Shipbuilders Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, England, 1938.
alties. An American Navy vessel rescued three survivors 82 23,722 gross tons; 668 feet long; 82 feet wide. Steam tur-
days later. Their endurance against the open seas was the bines geared to twin screw. Service speed 20 knots. 5,000
greatest on record. [Built bv Wilton-Fijenoord Shipyards, troops.]
Schiedam, Holland, 1938. 10,909 gross tons; 501 feet long;
64 feet wide. M.A.N, diesels geared to twin screw. Service MONTEREY (over).
speed 17 knots. 160 tourist-class passengers.] The former Monterey rests in dry dock in
Pacific cruise liner
With 5,000 troops aboard, the transport President Brooklyn, in September 1942. The ship had a peacetime
Coolidge (opposite, bottom) struck a mine off Noumea, capacity of 701 passengers. Although the wartime certificate
New Caledonia, in October 1942, and quickly sank. Five was for 3,851, that number was often exceeded. [Built by
perished. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Quincy, Massachu-
P & O's Strathallan (above), loaded with a large number setts, 1932. 18,017 gross tons; 632 feet long; 79 feet wide.
of troops and some of General Eisenhower's immediate Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service speed 20.5
staff, was torpedoed on December 21, 1942, while on a knots. 3,851 troops.]

The War Years 125

126
127
WILHELM GUSTLOFF (opposite, top).
The former German luxury cruise ship Wilhelm Gustlojf the first Allied ships to steam into Tokyo Bay in August
was turned into a floating concentration camp early in 1945. Wedged between Halsey's battleship Missouri and
1945. As the war turned against the Nazis, she attempted a Nimitz's South Dakota, the former liner played host to over
dash into the Baltic while heavily loaded. She was 150 war correspondents, photographers and newsreel tech-
torpedoed and quickly sank in icy waters. An estimated nicians. From her decks came the news of the Japanese sur-
6,096 perished — the worst maritime catastrophe in history. render. [Built by Bethlehem Steel Company, Quincy,
[Built bv Blohm & Voss Shipyards, Hamburg, Germany, Massachusetts, 1939. 10,021 gross tons; 493 feet long; 64 feet
1938. 25,484 gross tons; 684 feet long; 77 feet wide. M.A.N. wide; 26-foot draft. Steam turbines geared to twin screw.
diesels geared to twin screw. Service speed 15.5 knots. 1,465 Service speed 17.5 knots. 215 peacetime first-class
tourist-class passengers.] passengers. 2,087 troops in wartime.]

RETURNING TROOPS (above).

ANCON (opposite, bottom). By the late spring of 1945, the fighting in Europe was over.
Panama Line's Ancon, flying the Stars and Stripes, was The Queen Mary arrived in New York harbor on June 20
restyled for a time as a communications ship. She was one of with the first shipload of returning soldiers, 14,777 in all.

The War Years 129

A WELCOME HOME.
The American Export Lines repainted the far end of their for "a job well done." Indeedit was. [Built by Armstrong

Jersey City pier in New York harbor as part of the home- Whitworth & Company Limited, Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
coming celebrations. Many joyous moments occurred at England, 1925. 19,105 gross tons; 590 feet long; 74 feet
these piers.The Gripsholm, shown in the photograph, had wide. Burmeister & Wain diesels geared to twin screw. Ser-
justlanded over 1,000 refugees. Across the Hudson, the vice speed 16 knots. 1,557 peacetime passengers.]
United Fruit piers had a sign that thanked returning troops

130 The War Years

 The Postwar Period
In the summer of 1945, liner companies took immediate steps toward
revitalizing the old commercial trades. Sadly, however, they had fewer
ships than before. Therefore, orders of the day were twofold: refitting and
rebuilding the survivors, and creating new tonnage.
Many of the troopships were released from military duty at slower rates
than expected, some not until 1950. A few were never returned to the lux-
ury business. The remainders went off to the shipyards, often their original
builders, for the great transformation to peacetime use. Frequently, it was
a long and difficult process. Supplies and materials were in staggering
shortages, particularly in Europe. Shipyards were vastly overcrowded.
Sometimes there was an additional delay. A troopship refitting at Glasgow
might have to wait for furniture and other fixtures, which might have been
hurriedly dumped ashore at a point as remote as Singapore in 1939. The
postwar transshipment was sometimes incredibly slow.
Over a dozen brand-new liners appeared between 1948 and 1954.
America produced the most brilliant of all — the speedy United States — in
1952.
Rather quickly, the commercial trades settled back into prosperity.
Tourist services resumed, and there were vast numbers of refugees, im-
migrants and repatriates in need of ships. By 1948, for example, the North
Atlantic run was beginning its most profitable decade in history.

EUROPA-\ PRIZE OF WAR (over).

In May American invasion forces raced for the German port of
of 1945,
Bremerhaven. The prize was the then third-largest liner in the world,
North German Lloyd's Europa. Upon boarding, the troops found little
of her prewar elegance. She had been rusting and ill-kept since being
laid up in September 1939. Yellowing boarding signs had been posted
for Nazi troops that had never come aboard. Huge doors had been cut
into her sides for the intended invasion of Britain. But she had never
been used. At the war's end, an order came from Berlin to destroy the
ship. It was disobeyed. The prewar commander and his small crew
offered their services to the Allies. The ship was quickly designated
AP-177, the U.S.S. Europa. In mid-September, after a brief cleaning
and paint job, she steamed off to New York with 4,300 troops and 960
crew aboard. She was at sea for the first time in six years. After a
refitting at New York, the Europa made a few hurried trooping
voyages. But she was plagued by a series of fires, one of which lasted
nine hours. On another day, five had to be extinguished. Then, just to
complicate matters, some serious hull cracking was uncovered.
Although very much in need of repair she was handed over to the
United Nations Reparations Commission in February of 1946. Here she
is seen next to the U.S.S. Missouri.
132
 r
\

133
EVROPA BECOMES THE LIBERTE.
The loss of the Normandie gave the French the strongest The French Line's new flagship Liberie arrived in New
claim to the Europa, so the ship hoisted the tricolor. The York for the first time in August 1950 (opposite, top). She
new name chosen for her was the Lorraine, but in the great had been through three years of amputations, transplants
outpouring of feeling at the war's end. Liberie seemed more and face-lifting. The Germanic profile remained but the
fitting. The first step was to paint the funnels in French French produced a magnificent Art Deco interior. Looking
Line red and black. Then she docked at Le Havre for the at the ship's columned main lounge (opposite, bottom), it
long rebuilding for luxury service. Because of shortages, was difficult to remember the trials she had endured. [Built
work progressed at a snail's pace. A December gale tore the by Blohm & Voss Shipyards, Hamburg, Germany, 1930.
Liberie from her moorings and threw her into the half- 51,839 gross tons; 936 feet long; 102 feet wide. Steam tur-
submerged wreck of the prewar liner Paris, creating a bines geared to quadruple screw. Service speed 27 knots.
30-foot gash. She settled quickly, but fortunately in an 1,513 passengers (569 first class, 562 cabin class, 382 tourist
upright position (above). The restoration work stopped as class).]
salvage took priority. Six months later, she was refloated
and by spring 1947 was at St. Nazaire for the final
rebuilding.

134 1939
—
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136 1939
STAVANGERFJORD (opposite).
Idle and unharmed during the war, Norwegian America September 27, 1946, the Queen Marij (right) steamed into
Line's Stavangerfjord made the first commercial sailing, in Southampton, returning from her final military voyage and
August 1945, on the North Atlantic. [Built by Cammell passing the nearly complete Queen Elizabeth. The restora-
Laird & Company, Birkenhead, England, 1918. 13,156 gross tion had been a staggering project. Warehouses in both Brit-
tons; 553 64 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to
feet long; ain and America had to be unloaded and the contents ship-
twin screw. Service speed 18 knots. 679 passengers (122 first ped to the Clydebank, Scotland shipyards. Labor was so
class, 222 cabin class, 335 tourist class).] hard-pressed that additional help came from France. Final-
ly, on July 31, 1947, the Queen Mary joined her running-
THE RETURN OF THE QUEENS (above). mate and began the two-ship Cunard weekly express ser-
To the British, one of the greatest signs of "peace at last" was vice. It was the first time in Cunard history that weekly
the return of the mighty Cunard Queens. The Queen Eliz- departures could be made in each direction by two liners. As
abeth was released first. She was quickly turned into the a result, their success was brilliant. For the next decade,
luxury ship that was originally planned in 1940. On they were the most profitable pair on the Atlantic.

1939 137
REFITTING THE NIEUW AMSTERDAM (opposite, top). STOCKHOLM (opposite, bottom).
The Nieuw Amsterdam triumphantly returned to her home The motorliner Stockholm of the Swedish American Line
port of Rotterdam on April 10, 1946. Fifteen weeks were re- was the first new passenger ship built for the North Atlantic
quired to remove the troop fittings: the special kitchens, run following the war. Her keel plates were laid down in
alarm systems, hammocks, standees and the 36 guns. Then 1946 and she crossed to New York on her maiden voyage in
2,000 tons of furniture and decorations were shipped to the winter of 1948. [Built by Gotaverken Shipyards, Goth-
Holland from wartime storage in San Francisco. The fur- enburg, Sweden, 1948. 11,700 gross tons; 525 feet long; 68
nishings were often in very poor condition, a result of six feet wide. Gotaverken diesels geared to twin screw. Service
years of neglect. About 3,000 chairs and 500 tables were speed 19 knots. 395 passengers (113 first class, 282 tourist
sent back to their original builders for reupholstering and class).]
refinishing. One quarter of the furnishings had to be re-
placed entirely. Factories and warehouses in Europe
combed their supplies of materials and fabrics, much of CARONIA (above).
which had been concealed from the Nazis during the occu- The Cunard Line conceived of the Caronia in 1948. She was
pation. Many smaller parts, such as hinges and clamps, had Britain's biggest postwar liner and Princess Elizabeth (today
to be made by hand, the machinery that once made them the Queen) traveled to Scotland for the launching
having been stolen or destroyed by the enemy. The entire ceremony. But there were other novelties: She was dual pur-
rubber flooring was renewed, as was nearly all of the pose, running transatlantic crossings only in the peak sum-
carpeting. All of the steel work was scaled and preserved mer months and spending the remainder of the year on
and all piping cleaned. All ceilings and floors were remov- long, expensive cruises. The was painted in four shades
hull
ed; all of the liner's 374 bathrooms were rebuilt. In the of green, supposedly for heat resistance and easy identifica-
passenger spaces, the wood paneling, which had been tion. She had the greatest single mast and the largest stack
scratched and mutilated, was planed down to half its thick- afloat. Finally, and just for good measure, every cabin had
ness and relacquered. All the cabins' closets and fixtures a private adjoining bathroom — a far cry from all previous
were replaced. The entire electrical wiring system was Cunarders. Affectionately known as the "Green Goddess,"
renewed. Having been painted over for blackouts and the Caronia was also called the "millionaire's ship." Her ex-
cracked in tropical climates, 12,000 square feet of glass was otic pattern remained much the same: in winter, around the
refurbished. Even the handrails had to be repolished to world or the South Seas; in spring, the Mediterreanean and
eradicate thousands of carved initials. The project was Black Seas; in summer, Scandinavia; and in fall, the
monumental, because of the material shortages and the Mediterranean again. [Built bv John Brown & Company
decline of the number of skilled craftsmen. On October 29, Limited, Clydebank, Scodand,'l948. 34,183 gross tons; 715
1947, after 18 months at the shipyards, the Niernv Amster- Steam turbines geared to twin screw.
feet long; 91 feet wide.
dam reentered transatlantic service. Over 100 liners were Service speed 22 knots. 932 passengers (581 first class, 351
restored with similar efforts. cabin class).]

1939 139
 •ai^u

ORONTES (above).
Britain's Orient Line had lost four liners, each over 20,000 Costing $9 million, she was distinctive in being the first
tons, during the war years. Refits and rebuilding were passenger ship to group her funnel and mast above the
therefore immediate orders of business to reestablish the bridge so closely. Her speed cut the sailing time from Lon-
busy Australian passenger trade. The Orontes, dating from don to Melbourne to 26 days, ten less than the previous stan-
1929 and fortunate enough to have survived the war, had a dard. [Built by Vickers Armstrongs Shipbuilders Limited,
$2.5 million refurbishing after military duty. Shipyard costs Barrow-in-Furness, England, 1948. 28,164 gross tons; 709
were rising rapidly. She had been built less than 20 years feet long; 90 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to twin
before for the same amount. [Built by Vickers Armstrongs screw. Service speed 22 knots. 1,545 passengers (773 first
Shipbuilders Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, England, 1929. class, 774 tourist class).]
20,186 gross tons; 664 feet long; 75 feet wide. Steam tur-
bines geared to twin screw. Service speed 20 knots. 1,112 HIMALAYA (opposite, bottom).

passengers (502 first class, 610 tourist class).] and card tables filled out the
Soft chairs, comfortable sofas
tourist-classmain lounge aboard the British Himalaya of
ORCADES (opposite, top). P&O Lines. The arrangement dates from 1949.
The Orcades was the first of the new postwar liners built for
the Orient Line. She was completed in December 1948.

140 The Postwar Period

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ORONSAY (above). RETURN OF THE ILE DE FRANCE (over).
The simple attractive tourist-class restaurant of the Orient In the autumn of 1945, the He de France was returned to the
Line's Oronsay, 1951. French Line after five years of outstanding military service
with the British Admiralty. In honor of her wartime per-
PRESIDENT WILSON (opposite). formance, British Rail named one of its locomotives Com-
The passenger run on the Pacific did not revive as quickly as pagnie Generate Transatlantique. At first the He made
that on the Atlantic. However, American President Lines of lusterity trips to Canada and Indochina. Then, in April
San Francisco took a great step in 1947-48 by commission- 1947, she went to her builders' yard at St. Nazaire for a two-
ing the sister ships President Cleveland and President year restoration. The outcome included the removal of her
Wilson (top). The pair reopened something of the prewar third, "dummy," stack. She sailed into New York on her first
service: from San Francisco to Honolulu, Yokohama, Kobe, postwar luxury crossing in July 1949. [Built by Chantiers de
Hong Kong and Manila. [Built by Bethlehem Alameda I'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France, 1927. 44,356 gross tons;
Shipyard, Alameda, California, 1948. 15,359 gross tons; 609 791 feet long; 91 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to quad-
feet long; 75 feet wide. Steam turboelectric engines geared ruple screw. Service speed 23.5 knots. 1,345 passengers (541
to twin screw. Service speed 19 knots. 778 passengers (324 first class, 577 cabin class, 227 tourist class).]
first class, 454 tourist class).]
A view of the sitting room in a first-class suite (bottom)
reflects the trend to greater simplicity in design and decora-
tion.

142 The Postwar Period

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BATORY.
Beginning in May 1949 and lasting through January 1951, withdrawn and was rerouted on a new service from Poland
the Batory of the Polish Ocean Lines was the subject of a to India and Pakistan via the Suez Canal. [Built by Cantieri
series of political incidents. The most serious was the accusa- Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy, 1936. 14,287 gross
tion that an alleged spy had escaped from New York aboard tons; 526 feet long; 70 feet wide. Sulzer diesels geared to
her. The situation climaxed when American stevedores and twin screw. Service speed 18 knots. 832 passengers (412 first
repairmen refused to handle the ship. The Batory had to be class, 420 tourist class).]

146 The Postwar Period

 f

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AMERICA.
Ittook $6 million to refurbish United States Lines' America 94 feet wide. Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service
following six years of strenuous war service. [Built by speed 22.5 knots. 1,046 passengers (516 first class, 530
Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, New- tourist class).]
port News, Virginia, 1940. 33,961 gross tons; 723 feet long;

The Postwar Period 147

 >
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The America. Elegance and luxury returned to sea in the (opposite, bottom) had a circular dance floor illuminated by
postwar era. A first-class suite de luxe (opposite, top) was indirect lighting. The first-class restaurant (above) was all
decorated in quiet, restrained taste. The main ballroom shine and sleekness.

The Postwar Period 149

SATURNIA (opposite, top). GIULIO CESARE (above).
The Italian Line's Saturnia viewed from her running-
is The company directors of the Italian Line, faced with
mate Vulcania in 1949. The ships were two of Italy's four rebuilding, thought that superliners were wasteful symbols
major liners to survive the war, the others being the Conte of a bygone era. Therefore, building blueprints called for
Biancamano and the Conte Grande. [Built by Cantieri nothing larger than 30,000 tons. The Giulio Cc.sare — photo-
Navale Triestino, Monfalcone, Italy, 1927. 24,346 gross graphed at the fitting-out berth at Monfalcone — entered the
tons; 632 feet long; 79 feet wide. Sulzer diesels geared to Italian service to Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Buenos
twin screw. Service speed 21 knots. 1,370 passengers (240 Aires in October 1951. [Built by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adria-
first class, 270 cabin class, 860 tourist class).] tico, Monfalcone, Italy, 1951. 27,078 gross tons; 681 feet
long; 87 feet wide. Fiat diesels geared to twin screw. Service
CONTE BIANCAMANO (opposite, bottom). speed 21 knots. 1,180 passengers (178 first class, 288 cabin
The first-class Gallery in the Italian Line's Conte Bianca- class, 714 tourist class).]
mano is seen followng her 1948-49 postwar refit. The ship
dated from 1925.

The Postwar Period 151

CRISTOFORO COLOMBO.
New York trade,
For the fancier the Italian Line built the war rebirth of Italy's passenger fleet of 11 new passenger
sistershipsAndrea Doria and Cristojoro Colombo. They ships. by Ansaldo Shipyards, Genoa, Italy, 1954.
[Built
were more ornate and spacious, and among the finest 29,191 gross tons; 700 feet long; 90 feet wide. 1,055
modern liners on the North Atlantic in the fifties. When the passengers (229 first class, 222 cabin class, 604 tourist
Cristojoro Colombo arrived at New York on her maiden class).]
voyage in July 1954, she signaled the completion of the post-

152 The Postwar Period

THE END OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON (above). INDEPENDENCE (over).
One oldAmerican liner, the George Washington, burned at On a brighter note, $20 million brought out the Indepen-
Baltimore in January 1951. The loss of ship and pier dence for American Export Lines in the same year. [Built by
amounted to $20 million. [Built bv A. G. Vulcan Shipyard, Bethlehem Steel Company, Quincy, Massachusetts, 1951.
Stettin, Germany, 1908. 23,788 gross tons; 722 feet long; 78 23,719 gross tons; 683 feet long; 89 feet wide; 30-foot draft.
feet wide; 30-foot draft. Steam quadruple e.xpansion engines Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service speed 23
geared to twin screw. Service speed 18. .5 knots. 6,500 knots. 1,000 passengers (295 first class, 375 cabin class, 330
troops.] tourist class).]

The Postwar Period 153

illl ill imiFiiH lit nftiiHinil Mi

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MAASDAM (above, top). FLANDRE (above, bottom).

The Ryndam and Maasdam (shown here) were notable ad- The French Line's first new postwar liner, the smart-
ditions to the "Atlantic Ferry" in 1951-52. Their design in- looking Flandre, Le Havre on her maiden voyage to
left
troduced tourist-class dominance of the accommodations. New York on July 23, 1952. When nearing the American
First-class space, with a mere 39 berths, was arranged in an Coast, she was abruptly immobilized by mechanical and
exclusive penthouse section on the upper decks. It had a electrical failures. Without power, the Flandre gained the
separate restaurant and public rooms. The tourist-class sec- dubious distinction of being the only passenger ship towed
tion, which occupied 90 percent of the ship's passenger into port on her first trip, and was quickly dubbed "the
spaces, had staterooms for 822 passengers. There were also Flounder" by stevedores. Later she was sent back to her
several public rooms, a large dining salon, an outdoor swim- builders for repairs that kept her off the Atlantic for nine
ming pool and considerable open-air deck areas. These months. [Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk,
berths, although quite modern and comfortable, were of- France, 1952. 20,469 gross tons; 600 feet long; 80 feet wide.
fered at inexpensive rates, averaging $20 per day. [Built by Steam turbines geared to twin screw. Service speed 22
Wilton-Fijenoord Shipyward, Schiedam, Holland, 1952. knots. 784 passengers (402 first class, 285 cabin class, 97
15,024 gross tons; 503 feet long; 69 feet wide. Steam tur- tourist class).]
bines geared to single screw. Service speed 16.5 knots. 861
passengers (39 first class, 822 tourist class).]

156 The Postwar Period

UNITED STATES.
As early as 1943, America's foremost marine designer, the bridge and two raked, massive funnels. Although a mere
William Francis Gibbs, began drawings for a supership that 40 feet shorter than the Queen Elizabeth, the American
would be the fastest and safest ever built. The U.S. Govern- flagship was 30,000 tons lighter, because of the use of
ment gave its support, realizing such a ship's value as a aluminum alloys. Her naming ceremony was a rather sim-
possible troopship, especially after the blazing success of the ple affair, unlike the royal or celebrity launches given to
Cunard Queens during the war. By the late forties, the final most of the European superliners. The name United States
plans had been completed under the tightest security. The seemed a most appropriate choice. [Built by Newport News
keel was laid down in February 1950, and work progressed Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, Newport News,
through day and night shifts. She was floated out (not tradi- Virginia, 1952. 53,329 gross tons; 990 feet long; 101 feet
tionally launched) when 90 percent complete, little more wide. Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw. Service
than 15 months later. The new greyhound was outstand- speed 30-33 knots. 1,928 passengers (871 first class, 508
ingly modern: a long, slender hull with a brief mast above cabin class, 549 tourist class).]

The Postwar Period 157

 The United States. The ship was fitted out at Newport News
early in 1952 (above).
Her interiors, such as a cabin (left), displayed functional,
less opulent, luxury. Safety, particularly against fire, was
the ruling force: no wood except in the pianos and butchers'
blocks, no flammable materials, not even in the oil paint-
ings. The government sponsors, which paid three-quarters
of the $77 million cost, were more than pleased with the
ship, especially because she could be transformed in 48
hours to handle 15,000 troops.
A head-on view (opposite) reveals the knife-like prow of
the ship.
•• • •
By the late spring of 1952, she was ready. Her statistics
were still a well-guarded secret. The sea trials were
brilliantly successful; it was revealed much later that she
had exceeded 40 knots, making her by far the fastest passen-
*
^k.
ger ship ever built. The "Big U," as she was fondly known,
was given a spectacular reception at New York (over). Dur-
^^1 ing her maiden voyage to Southampton, in July 1952, she
immediately captured the Blue Ribbon, running 5 knots and
10 hours faster than the Queen Mary's best run. The United
States averaged 35 knots. No luxury ship will ever outpace
her.

758 The Postwar Period

 'mm

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 Bibliography

Bonsor, N. R. P.: North Atlantic Seaway, Prescot, Eisele, Peter: Steamboat Bill (Steamship Historical
Lancashire, 1955. Society of America journal). New York, 1966-
Braynard, Frank O.: Lives of the Liners, New York, 1979.
1947. Gibbs, C. R. Vernon: British Passenger Liners of the
Brinnin, John Malcolm: The Sway of the Grand Five Oceans, London, 1963.
Saloon, New York, 1971. Kludas, Arnold: Great Passenger Ships of the World,
Buchanan, Lamont: Ships of Steam, New York, 1956. Volumes 1-5, Cambridge, 1972-1974.
Cairis, Nicholas T. North Atlantic Passenger Liners
: Maxtone-Graham, John: The Only Way to Cross, New
Since 1900, London, 1972. York, 1972.
Coleman, Terry: The Liners, New York, 1977. Mitchell, Alan: Splendid Sisters, London, 1966.
Cronican, Frank and Mueller, Edward A.: The State- Moscow, Alvin: Collision Course, New York, 1959.
liest Ship, New York, 1968. Seabrook, William C: hi the War at Sea, New York,
Crowdy, Michael (editor): Marine News (World Ship 1947.
Society journal), Kendal, Cumbria, 1964-1979. Smith, Eugene W. Passenger Ships of the
: World Past
Dunn Laurence: Passenger Liners, Southampton, and Present, Boston, 1963.
1961. Wall, Robert: Ocean Liners, New York, 1977.
 Index

Alaunia, 6, 7 liede France, 21-24, 114, 142 Pilsudski, 70, 89

Alcantara, 81 Independence, 153 President Coolidge, 125
America, 147-149 Iroquois, 85, 89, 105 President Hoover, 86
Athenia, 105 Karanja, 86 President Roosevelt, 25-27
Batory, 146 Lalandia, 28 President Wilson, 142
Belgenland, 69 Lancastria, 32, 78 Queen Elizabeth, 116, 137
Berengaria, 2, 60, 61 Llangibby Castle, 30 Queen Mary, 55-57, 137
Bermuda, 34 Leconte de Lisle, 30 Queen of Bermuda, 83
Bremen, 40, 97, 103 Leviathan, 12-14, 68 Rex, 44-46
Britannic, 72, 74 Liberte, 134 Roma, 64
Calamares, 78 Maasdam, 156 Santa Barbara, 34
Caronia, 138 Majestic, 10, 11, 66 Santa Paula, 78
Colombie, 101 Malolo, 34 Saturnia, 151
Columbus, 102 Manhattan, 108 Scanstates, 28
Conte Biancamano, 151 Mauretania (1907), 3-5, 60 St. Louis, 97
Conte di Savoia, 47 Mauretania (1939), 101 Stavangerfjord, 137
Cristoforo Colombo, 153 Milwaukee, 89 36
Stella Polaris,
Doric, 64 Monarch of Bermuda, 83 Stockholm (1940), 112
Edam, 28 Monterey, 125 Stockholm (1948), 138
Empress of Britain, 41-43 Monte Sarmiento, 92 Strathallan, 125
Europa, 38, 39, 131-134 Morro Castle, 89-91 Strathmore, 85
Excalibur, 114 Mulbera, 30 Tarakan, 66
Flandre, 156 Nieuw Amsterdam, 92-94, 138 United States, 157-161
France, 16, 17 Normandie, 49-53, 118-121 Volendam, 123
George Washington, 153 Olympic, 63 Walmer Castle, 66
Georgic, 72, 73, 101 Orcades, 141 Washington, 75-77
Giulio Cesare, 151 Oriente, 81 Westernland, 121
Gripsholm, 130 Oronsay, 142 Wilhelm Gustloff, 129
Hamburg, 15 Orontes, 141 Zaandam, 125
Himalaya, 141 Oslofjord, 112
Homeric, 8, 9 Paris, 18-20, 65, 99
 3 9999 01821 023 5

VM381
.G73

82039088-22 BR

.%'k
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William H. MillerJr

THE GREAT LUXURY LINERS

1927-1954
A Photographic Record
Of all the craft man has designed to transport himself over the seas, none is more im-
pressive than the great luxury liners. More than mere transportation, they were
floating palaces — sea-going symbols of opulence, glamor and romance. In their
heyday — the years covered by this book — they ferried passengers across the oceans in a
style and magnificence unequalled before 6r since. As a special breed of ship, the great
luxury liners are all but extinct today, a glorious chapter in the history of transporta-
tion. This sumptuous volume, beautifully printed on high-quality coated stock, recalls
that splendid.quarter-century when the great steamers were the proudest ships afloat.

Beginning in the 1920s, over 180 superb photographs depict a total of 101 ships, rang-
ing from earlier vessel? iike the Leviathan of the United States Lines (largest ship ever
to fly the U.S. flag)and Cunard's Mauretania, which held the Atlantic speed record
for 22 years, United States. The photographs (many never before publish-
to the
ed and some quite rare) include exterior views from many different vantage points and
numerous interior shots. Here are the incredibly lavish staterooms, suites, dining
rooms and lounges of such ships as the lie de France, Normandie, Rex, Europa,
Berengaria, Queen Mary and many other liners, whose opulence was to become the
very symbol of the modern luxury liner. The main dining room of the Normandie, for
example, was larger than the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. With its hammered bronze,
glass and elaborate Lalique fixtures, it w^s^ early as impressive.

Luxury is not the only aspect covered here, however. During World War II many of
the ships, camouflaged, were pressed into service as troop carriers. Among the vivid
scenes included are shots of troops abandoning the sinking transport President
Coolidge in 1942, and the arrival of the Queen Mary in New York harbor in 1945 with
thefirst shipload of returning soldiers. Other striking images include the ill-fated Nor-

mandie ablaze at her New York pier, and the same ship capsized on her side; seamen
on the Polish liner Pilsudski chopping ice from the ship after a frigid winter voyage;
and the Morro Castle adrift and still smoldering off Asbury Park, N.J. after a tragic
fire that claimed 112 lives.

These and many more classic images make this a volume every ocean liner enthusiast
will want to have. William H. Miller, Jr., historian at the American Merchant Marine
Museum, has supplied an introduction and informative captions for each vessel
shown. Captions include background and history of the ship, tonnage, size, engines,
builders, etc. The giant steamships, with their leisurely speeds and high upkeep, were
inevitably doomed by the advent of continent-hopping passenger jets. But this
nostalgic tribute is sure to find a large and appreciative audience among those for
whom the great liners will always be "the only way to cross."

Dover (1981) Original. 186 black-and white photographic illustrations. Captions. In-
troduction. Bibliography. Index. Printed on coated stock. 176pp. S'/g x liy4. Paper-
bound.

A DOVER EDITION DESIGNED FOR YEARS OF USE!

We have made every effort to make this the best book possible. Our paper is opaque,
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ISBN 0-486-24056-8 $8.95 in U.S.A.