The arrival in New
York Harbor of the gigantic ocean liner SS Normandie
in 1935 inaugurated a new era in transatlantic
travel. Normandie was the first large ship to be
built according to the 1929 Convention for Safety of
Life at Sea. She was designed so the forward end of
the promenade deck served as a breakwater,
permitting her to maintain a high speed even in
rough weather.
The Normandie would eventually break new ground on
many levels, she was to be the fastest, the
sleekest, and the most artfully decorated. But her
first distinction would be as the premier ship to
exceed 1000 feet in length.
Her designer Vladimir Yourkevitch had approached the
Cunard Line Limited with proposed designs for their
hull number 534, soon to be the renowned 'Queen
Mary', but was rejected as the plans represented too
radical a break from tradition for the British
shipping company.
The French Line adopted Yourkevitch's designs and
commissioned the new hull, designated "T6", to be
built at France's premier shipyard, the Penhoët
shipbuilders at St. Nazair. The new ship would draw
talent from the finest designers, architects, and
artisans of France. Yourkevitch's designs would
allow the ship to match the great speed of Britain's
'Queen Mary' with one-fifth less horsepower and
substantial fuel savings, and allow the Normandie to
be the first French Liner ever to be in competition
for the cherished 'Blue Ribbon'.
When construction was completed, Normandie was the
longest and largest ship afloat—measuring 1,028 feet
in length with an initial tonnage of 79,280.
The ship would be launched on October 29, 1932 and
all all of France, and indeed the world, would be
following the events of the launch. The largest
object ever set in motion by man at the time,
Normandie was the center of attention. The world's
largest bottle of Champainge was used to christen
the ship. With dignitaries and VIPs in attendance
including Albert Lebrun, President of France.
Normandie claimed the Blue Ribband from the Italian
Liner Rex on her maiden crossing in May 1935. Keen
on keeping the title “longest, largest, and fastest”
ship in the world, it did not escape her owner’s
attention that the British had announced the tonnage
of their new super-liner Queen Mary that was nearing
completion at 81,235. So during the winter refit in
1935, a deckhouse was added to her aft deck
increasing her final tonnage to 83,423, allowing her
to maintain title of world’s largest ship.
Normandie is a floating monument of Art Deco. She
also boasted a large movie theater, a huge open
dining hall, and a free and open deck space not
cluttered with ventilation ducts. She was famous for
her food as well. With flair his staff of waiters
and chefs made dining aboard him a once in a
lifetime experience. Meals were served around the
clock. The ship was a floating temple of cafe
society.
Normandie's life turned for the worse at the
outbreak of World War II. She was in mid-ocean when
her captain received words that the German liner
Bremen was following behind. It was feared that the
Bremen was armed and would open fire on the
Normandie, or she was guiding U-Boats. Normandie's
captain ordered her windows blacked out and she
continued to New York in the zig-zag pattern to
evade U-Boats. That was her last voyage.
The U.S. Navy seized Normandie on December 7, 1941.
Stripped of her luxurious trappings and plush
furnishings which had once been the sea-going refuge
for the great and near-great, Normandie was renamed
U.S.S. Lafayette. In the following two months,
nearly all of Normandie's great artwork was removed
and placed into storage.
On February 9, 1942, during the continuing
conversion work, a fire broke out aboard the ship
and the future of the magnificent Normandie would be
smothered in suffocating cloud of smoke. Charles T.
Collins, an 18 year old USN ironworker gave an
account of the incident:
"I was working on a chain gang. We had chains around
some pillars and eased them down when they were cut
through. Two men were operating an acetylene torch.
About 30 or 40 men were working in the room, and
there were bales and bales of mattresses. A spark
hit one of the bales, and the fire began. We yelled
for the fire watch and Leroy Rose, who was in our
chain, and I tried to beat out the fire with hands.
Rose's clothes caught fire, and I carried him
out..."
This is the best quality and most
accurate wooden Normandie model in the world.
It features:
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Scratch-built
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110 V power supply
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Can be displayed with or
without light
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Benches, transparent
skylights, realistic doors and windows on lower
deck levels
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All wooden and metal parts
30.5" long x 9" tall x 4" wide
$699
S & H is $50
48" long x 15" tall x 6" wide $1,199
S & H is $100
Click here for
details
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