| |
N0KFQ > TODAY 12.12.11 20:13l 53 Lines 2513 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 14968_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Dec 12
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<JE7YGF<VE3UIL<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 111212/1749Z 14968@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
Dec 12, 1941:
United States seizes French liner Normandie
On this day, the U.S. Navy takes control of the largest and most
luxurious ocean liner on the seas at that time, France's
Normandie, while it is docked at New York City. Shortly
thereafter, the conversion for U.S. wartime use began.
The Normandie was unique in many ways. It was the first ship
built, in 1931, in accordance with the guidelines laid down in
the 1929 Convention for Safety of Life at Sea. It was also huge,
measuring 1,029 feet long and 119 feet wide. It displaced 85,000
tons of water. It offered passengers seven accommodation classes
(including the new "tourist" class, as opposed to the old "third"
class, commonly known as "steerage") and 1,975 berths. It took a
crew of more than 1,300 to work her. But despite its size, it was
also fast: capable of 32.1 knots. The liner was launched in 1932
and made its first transatlantic crossing in 1935. In 1937, it
was reconfigured with four-bladed propellers, which meant it
could now cross the Atlantic in less than four days.
When France surrendered to the Germans in June 1940, and the
puppet Vichy regime was installed, the Normandie was in dock at
New York City. Immediately placed in "protective custody" by the
Navy, it was clear that the U.S. government was not about to let
a ship of such size and speed fall into the hands of the Germans,
which it certainly would upon returning to France. In November
1941, Time magazine ran an article stating that in the event of
the United States' involvement in the war, the Navy would seize
the liner altogether and turn it into an aircraft carrier. It
also elaborated on how the design of the ship made such a
conversion relatively simple. When the Navy did take control of
the ship, shortly after Pearl Harbor, it began the conversion of
the liner-but to a troop ship, renamed the USS Lafayette (after
the French general who aided the American Colonies in their
original quest for independence).
The Lafayette never served its new purpose. On February 9, 1942,
the ship caught fire and capsized. Sabotage was originally
suspected, but the likely cause was sparks from a welder's torch.
Although the ship was finally righted, the massive salvage
operation cost $3,750,000--and the fire damage made any hope of
employing the vessel impossible. It was scrapped--literally
chopped up for scrap metal--in 1946.
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
Using Outpost Version 2.5.0 c33
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
