Was the SS Normandie Really All That

SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.^[2][3]

The beginnings of Normandie can be traced to the Roaring Twenties when shipping companies began looking to replace veterans such as the RMS Mauretania which had first sailed in 1907.^[7] Those earlier ships had been designed around the huge numbers of steerage-class immigrants from Europe to the United States. When the U.S. closed the door on most immigration in the early 1920s, steamship companies ordered vessels built to serve upper-class tourists instead, particularly Americans who traveled to Europe for alcohol-fueled fun during Prohibition.^[5] Companies like Cunard and the White Star Line planned to build their own superliners^[8] to rival newer ships on the scene; such vessels included the record-breaking Bremen and Europa, both German.^[5] The French Line began to plan its own superliner.^[7]



"The History of Navigation", an Art Deco mural by Jean Dupas, decorated Normandie's first class salon.

Joseph Osborne
Co-founder Academy of Inspiration

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