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KF5JRV > TODAY 09.02.19 13:07l 44 Lines 2318 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 30935_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Feb 09
Path: IW8PGT<IR2UBX<IW0QNL<VE2PKT<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190209/1202Z 30935@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
On this day, the largest and most luxurious ocean liner on the seas at
that time, France’s Normandie, catches fire while in the process of
being converted for military use by the United States.
The Normandie, built in 1931, was the first ship to be constructed in
accordance with the guidelines laid down in the 1929 Convention for
Safety of Life at Sea. It was also enormous, measuring 1,029 feet long
and 119 feet wide and displacing 85,000 tons of water. It offered
passengers seven accommodation classes (including the new “touristö
class, as opposed to the old “thirdö class, commonly known as
“steerageö) and 1,975 berths. It took a crew of more than 1,300 to work
her. 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 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.
The Navy immediately placed it in “protective custody,ö since the U.S.
government did not want a ship of such size and speed to fall into the
hands of the Germans, which it certainly would if it returned 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 in honor of the French general who aided
the American colonies in their original quest for independence.
The Lafayette never served its new purpose, as it 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 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
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