Snapshot: The Hulk of the Normandie

After catching fire and ultimately capsizing on February 10, 1942 the French Line's famous Normandie (which had been renamed USS Lafayette during conversion to a troop transport) lay on her side in disgrace. It was not until August the following year that she was righted; it had been hoped to restore her to sailing condition. The damage was too extensive, however, and the burned out hulk was later sold in 1946 to Lipsett, Inc. for scrap.

Less than a decade old and the grand liner's days were numbered. The Normandie/Lafayette would be completely broken up by the end of 1948.

"...the last of the Line."

Continuing on my recent string of Nomadic posts, this documentary clip shows the ship as she was in Paris while serving as a restaurant.

Snapshot: Olympic & Nomadic

The tender Nomadic services the RMS Olympic, the last remaining ship of the White Star Line's grand trio that included Titanic and Britannic.

Of all these great ships, however, only the small 1,270 GRT Nomadic remains. She is currently undergoing renovations in Belfast, Northern Ireland and slated to be opened as a museum ship in the near future.

Snapshot: Nomadic Returns Home

Nomadic - the last remaining White Star Line ship afloat - returned home to Belfast, Northern Ireland in July 2006 after serving as a restaurant in Paris for a number of years. Launched in 1911 and ported in Cherbourg, France, she was a tender for the great Olympic and ill-fated Titanic.

After the merger with Cunard in 1934, however, Nomadic went on to service the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth until their respective retirements.

Norway's Boiler Explosion

Steam powered many of the great ocean liners and gave them their terrific speed. If not handled properly, however, it can prove fatally tragic.

May 25, 2003 saw a deadly boiler explosion aboard the SS Norway (ex-France) that ultimately killed eight crew members and seriously injured an additional ten. The accident happened early in the morning at Florida's Port of Miami. Norway had just returned from a cruise and docked when the boiler ruptured.

The ship's owner - Norwegian Cruise Lines - was charged with gross negligence by federal prosecutors. They pleaded guilty. An investigation found that the accident could have been easily prevented: Norway's boilers were old, cracked and leaky by the time of the explosion. Repairs had been made over the years, but they were shoddily done and unsafe. The ship's busy schedule also added strain to the aging boilers.

Norway was subsequently taken out of service and laid up in Germany for a time. She was ultimately sold for scrap and broken up at Alang, India like so many other ships.

References: "NCL pleads guilty to 'gross negligence' in Norway explosion," The Miami Herald, May 3, 2008.

Launch of the France

The French Line (CGT) launched its new flagship - the France - on May 11, 1960. Built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and weighing just over 66,000 GRT, she was smaller than her rivals Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. But that did not concern the new ship's owners; they wanted the longest ship in the world instead. The France came in at 1,035 feet and maintained that record for the next three decades.

Launched by Yvonne de Gaulle, she was to be a new and modern Normandie that would instill a great sense of pride to the French people. Her designers accomplished this task, and the France (later renamed the Norway) ended her sailing days as perhaps the last of the Golden Age liners.