Career
Normandie's maiden voyage was on 29 May 1935. Fifty thousand saw her off at Le Havre on what was hoped would be a record-breaking crossing. Normandie reached New York after four days, three hours and 14 minutes, taking away the Blue Riband from the Italian liner, Rex. This brought great pride for the French, who had not won the distinction before. Under the command of master Captain René Pugnet, her average on the maiden voyage was around 30 knots (56 km/h) and on the eastbound crossing to France, she averaged over 30 knots (56 km/h), breaking records .
During the maiden voyage, French Line refused to predict that their ship would win the Blue Riband. However, by New York, medallions of the Blue Riband victory, made in France, were delivered to passengers and the ship was flying a 30-foot (9.1 m) long blue pennant. An estimated 100,000 spectators lined New York Harbor for Normandie's arrival.
Normandie had a successful year but RMS Queen Mary, Cunard White Star Line's superliner, entered service in the summer of 1936. Cunard White Star said the Queen Mary would surpass 80,000 tons. At 79,280 tons, Normandie would no longer be the world’s largest. French Line increased Normandie’s size, mainly through the addition of an enclosed tourist lounge on the aft boat deck. Following these and other alterations, Normandie was 83,423 gross tons. Exceeding the Queen Mary by 2,000 tons, she would remain the world’s largest in terms of overall measured gross tonnage and length.
On 22 June 1936, a Blackburn Baffin, S5162 of A Flight, RAF Gosport, flown by Lt Guy Kennedy Horsey on torpedo-dropping practice, buzzed Normandie a mile (2 km) off Ryde Pier and collided with a derrick which was transferring a motor car belonging to Arthur Evans, MP, onto a barge alongside the ship. The aircraft crashed onto Normandie's stern. The pilot was taken off by tender, but the wreckage of the aircraft remained on board Normandie as she had to sail due to the tide. It was carried to Le Havre, France. A salvage team from the Royal Air Force later removed the wreckage. The pilot was Court-martialled and found guilty on two charges. Evans' car was wrecked in the accident, which was brought up in Parliament.
In August 1936, Queen Mary captured the Blue Riband, averaging 30.14 knots (55.82 km/h), starting fierce rivalry. The Normandie held the size record until the arrival of RMS Queen Elizabeth (83,673 gross tons) in 1940.
During refit, Normandie was also modified to reduce vibration. Her three-bladed screws were replaced with four-bladed ones, and structural modifications were made to her lower aft section. These modifications reduced vibration at speed. In July 1937 Normandie regained the Blue Riband, but the Queen Mary took it back next year. After this the captain of Normandie sent a message saying "Bravo to the Queen Mary until next time!" This rivalry could have gone on into the 1940s, but was ended by World War II.
Normandie carried distinguished passengers, including the authors Colette and Ernest Hemingway; the wife of French President Albert Lebrun; songwriters Noël Coward and Irving Berlin; and Hollywood celebrities such as Fred Astaire, Marlene Dietrich, Walt Disney, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, and James Stewart. Normandie also carried the von Trapp family Singers of The Sound of Music from New York to Southampton in 1938, and from Southampton, the family went to Scandinavia for a tour before returning to America.
While the Normandie rarely was occupied at over 60% of her capacity, her finances were such that she did not require government subsidies every year. While she never did repay any of the loans that made her construction possible, she did cover her operating expenses almost exactly. The French Line considered a sister ship, the SS Bretagne, which was to be longer and larger, but war and limited finances prevented it.
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