LE NORMANDIE LINER

LE NORMANDIE LINER - Ref 06014

(Normandy)

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique

France, 20th C.

CERAMIC

Width : 21.65"(55cm), Height : 4.7"(12cm), Depth : 3.9"(10cm)

Incised "Cie  Gle Transatlantique Le Havre" under the base (see photo)

Excellent+++++ condition !

contact : Laetitia@artdecoceramicglasslight.com

SS Normandie was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). It entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat, crossing the Atlantic in a record 4.14 days, and remains the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.

Normandie's novel design and lavish interiors led many to consider it the greatest of ocean liners, and it would go on to heavily influence the French arm of the Streamline Modern design movement (called the style paquebot, or "ocean liner style"). Despite this, it was not a commercial success and relied partly on government subsidy to operate. During service as the flagship of the CGT, it made 139 westbound transatlantic crossings from its home port of Le Havre to New York City. Normandie held the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing at several points during its service career, during which the RMS Queen Mary was its main rival.

During the Second World War, Normandie was seized by U.S. authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette. In 1942, while being converted to a troopship, the liner caught fire and capsized onto its port side and came to rest, half submerged, on the bottom of the Hudson River at Pier 88 (the site of the current Manhattan Cruise Terminal). Although salvaged at great expense, restoration was deemed too costly and it was scrapped in October 1946.