SS Île de France
SS Île de France
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Île de France |
| Owner: | Compagnie Générale Transatlantique |
| Port of registry: |
 France
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| Builder: | Chantiers de Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire, France |
| Laid down: | 1925 |
| Launched: | 14 March 1926 |
| Christened: | 14 March 1926 |
| Maiden voyage: | 22 June 1927 |
| In service: | 1927 |
| Out of service: | 1959 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in Osaka, Japan, 1959 |
| Status: | scrapped |
| Notes: | Act in "The last voyage" as ship SS Claridon. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage: |
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| Length: | 791 ft (241.1 m) |
| Beam: | 91 ft (27.7 m) |
| Speed: | 23.5 knots (42.5 km/h) |
| Capacity: |
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The SS Île de France was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. The ship was the first major ocean liner built after the conclusion of World War I, and was the first liner ever to be decorated entirely with designs associated with the Art Deco style. It was neither the largest ship nor the fastest ship, but was considered the most beautifully decorated ship built by CGT (also known as the "French Line") until the Normandie.
The construction of the Île de France was part of an agreement between the CGT and the French government dating back to November 1912. This agreement was for the construction of four passenger-mail ships, with the first ship named Paris and the second, Île de France. World War I delayed construction until the 1920s, with the Paris being launched in 1916 and not entering service until 1921 and the Île de France during 1927. The Île de France was launched on 14 March 1926 at the shipyard Chantiers de Penhoët and was greeted by thousands of government and company officials, workers, press, and French citizens. The ship would experience fourteen months of fitting-out before it left the shipyards on 29 May 1927 for its sea trials.
In 1926, the CGT released an elaborate gold-covered booklet devoted entirely to the company's new ship. The illustrations depicted huge, ornate yet modern public rooms, female passengers carrying feather fans and smoking cigarettes, and passengers being led around the uncluttered sun deck.
Never before had a ship had its own style of interior design like the Île de France. During the past, ships had imitated the shore-style. The Mauretania, the Olympic and the Imperator had all shown an interior that celebrated styles of the past and could be found in manors or châteaux situated on land. By contrast, the interiors of the Île de France represented something new. For the first time, a ship's passenger spaces had been designed not to reproduce decorative styles of the past but to celebrate the style of the present.
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Wikipedia