SS Europa (1928)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2010) |
SS Europa prior to her maiden voyage
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History | |
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Germany | |
Name | Europa |
Owner | Norddeutscher Lloyd |
Port of registry | Bremen, Germany |
Route | Bremerhaven-Southampton-Cherbourg-New York |
Ordered | 1927 |
Builder | |
Launched | 15 August 1928 |
Christened | 15 August 1928 |
Completed | 22 February 1930 |
Maiden voyage | 19 March 1930 |
In service | March 1930 |
Out of service | May 1945 |
Fate | Captured by Allied forces and claimed as war prize by the US Navy |
Notes |
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United States | |
Name | USS Europa |
Operator | United States Navy |
Port of registry | Boston, USA |
Route | Transatlantic |
Acquired | 1945 |
In service | 1945 to 1946 |
Out of service | 1946 |
Identification | Pennant Number AP-177 |
Fate | Turned over to the French Line in 1946 |
Notes | Served as a Troop Transport from Brest, France to New York, USA |
France | |
Name | SS Liberté |
Operator | Compagnie Générale Transatlantique |
Route | Le Havre-Southampton-New York |
Acquired | 1946 |
Maiden voyage | 16 July 1950 |
In service | 1950 to 1963 |
Out of service | 1946 to 1950 |
Fate | Retired in 1962 and scrapped in 1963. |
General characteristics | |
Type | Ocean liner |
Tonnage | 49,746 GRT |
Displacement | 55,500 long tons (56,391 t)[1] |
Length | 936.7 ft (283.5 m) |
Beam | 101.7 feet (31 m) |
Height | 150.6 feet |
Decks | 12 |
Installed power | Four steam turbines generating 105,000 shp |
Propulsion | Quadruple propellers |
Speed | 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph) |
Capacity |
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Crew | 965 |
SS Europa, later SS Liberté
After World War II French line
History
Construction
Europa was built in 1928 with her sister ship SS Bremen to be the second 50,000–gross ton North German Lloyd liner. They both were powered with advanced high-speed steam turbine engines and were built with a bulbous bow entry[citation needed] and a low streamlined profile.[citation needed]
Europa and her slightly larger sister ship were designed to have a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, allowing an Atlantic crossing time of 5 days. This enabled Norddeutsche Lloyd to run regular weekly crossings with two ships, an operation that previously required three.[citation needed]
The launching of Europa took place at
Blue Riband
Europa made her maiden voyage to New York on 19 March 1930 taking the westbound Blue Riband from SS Bremen with the average speed of 27.91 knots and a crossing time of 4 days, 17 hours and 6 minutes. During the voyage many of her passengers were disturbed by the soot coming out of Europa's low funnels. The problem was corrected by raising the funnels by 15 feet, though decreasing her low profile. After they were raised, there were no more complaints.[4] She held the Riband until Bremen recaptured it in June 1933.[2]
Aircraft
Like Bremen, Europa had a small seaplane launched from a catapult on her upper deck between the funnels. The airplane flew from the ship to a landing at the seaplane port in Blexen.
The catapult was removed from both Bremen and Europa after a few years of service.
World War II
Europa was inactive for most of World War II. There were plans to use her as a transport in
Europa suffered from small fires caused by the removal of the ship's original high-quality fittings and installation of inferior replacements to compensate for material shortages in the war effort. Also, several serious hull cracks were discovered.
French Line
After World War II French line
Liberté was featured prominently in the Jane Russell film The French Line. Liberté made an appearance in the opening credits of the 1953 film How to Marry a Millionaire, as well as the 1954 classic film Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, in the final scenes of the film.[9]
Fate
Liberté was scrapped in La Spezia, Italy, in 1964.
References
- ^ Europa, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- ^ ISBN 0-85059-504-5.
- ^ "The Ocean Liner Virtual Museum". Archived from the original on 2007-10-08.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ISBN 1-86176-141-4.
- OCLC 22101769.
- ^ "Europa, Once Superliner, Smashed at French Port"[permanent dead link], Milwaukee Sentinel, December 10, 1946, p3
- ^ "Big Liner Sails", Saskatoon Star-Phoenix - August 2, 1950, p12
- ^ Christopher P. Winner (November 29, 2009). "Pinups". The American. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Further reading
- Miller, William H. (2013). Île de France and Liberté: France's premier post-war liners. Classic Liners series. Stroud, Gloucestershire: ISBN 9780752474861.
- Willoughby, J. Russell (2010). Bremen and Europa: German Speed Queens of the Atlantic. Canterbury: Maritime Publishing Concepts. ISBN 9780953103553.
- "AP-177 Europa". Service Ship Photo Archive. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
External links
- Media related to IMO 5607332 at Wikimedia Commons
- Steamship EUROPA, Maiden Voyage, March 1930 (Fox Movietone with Sound)