World War II
The war found Normandie in New York. Looming hostilities in Europe had compelled Normandie to seek haven in New York harbor, where the US government interned her on 3 September 1939, two days after Germany invaded Poland. Soon the Queen Mary, later refitted as a troop ship, docked nearby. Then the RMS Queen Elizabeth joined the Queen Mary. For two weeks the three largest liners in the world floated side by side. Normandie remained in French hands, with French crewmembers on board, led by Captain Herve Lehude, into the spring of 1941.
On 15 May 1941, after the Fall of France, the U.S. Treasury Department detailed about 150 Coast Guardsmen to go on board the ship and Pier 88 to defend against possible sabotage. When the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) became a part of the Navy on 1 November 1941, Normandie's USCG detail remained intact, mainly observing while the French crew maintained the vessel's boilers, machinery, and other equipment. On 12 December 1941, five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Coast Guard removed Captain Herve Lehude and his crew and took possession of the Normandie under the right of angary, maintaining steam in the boilers, a fire watch, and other activities on the idled vessel.
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