SS France (1961)
SS France docked in Hong Kong, 1974
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| History | |
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 France
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| Name: | SS France |
| Owner: | Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (French Line) |
| Operator: | Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (French Line) |
| Port of registry: | Le Havre, France |
| Route: | Southampton - Le Havre - New York City |
| Ordered: | 26 July 1956 |
| Builder: | Chantiers de l'Atlantique |
| Laid down: | 7 September 1957 |
| Launched: | 11 May 1960 |
| Christened: |
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| Decommissioned: | 25 October 1974 |
| Maiden voyage: | 3 February 1962 |
| Out of service: | 24 October 1974 |
| Fate: | Sold to Norwegian Cruise Line after 5 Years of decommission |
| Status: | Scrapped in Alang, India 2008 |
 Norway
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| Name: | SS Norway |
| Owner: | Norwegian Cruise Line |
| Port of registry: |
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| Route: | Miami, Key West, Cozumel, Roatán, Great Stirrup Cay, Miami, and also European cruises |
| Ordered: | 26 June 1979 |
| Builder: | Lloyd Werft (Refitting for Cruising Duties) |
| Christened: |
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| Completed: | 3 May 1980 |
| Acquired: | 26 June 1979 |
| Decommissioned: | 23 May 2005 (End Of Internal Use By Norwegian Cruise Line) |
| Maiden voyage: | 6 May 1980 |
| Out of service: | 25 May 2003 (End Of Revenue Service) |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap in 2005 |
| Status: | Scrapped Alang, India 2008 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 316.1 m (1,035 ft) |
| Beam: | 33.8 m (110.6 ft) waterline |
| Draft: | 10.8 m (34 ft) |
| Decks: | 12 |
| Ice class: | none |
| Propulsion: |
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| Sail plan: | none |
| Speed: | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) approx. |
| Capacity: |
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| Crew: |
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| Notes: | Cost US$80 million approx. |
SS France was a Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, or French Line) ocean liner, constructed by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard at Saint-Nazaire, France, and put into service in February 1962. IMO number 5119143. At the time of her construction in 1960, the 316 m (1,037 ft) vessel was the longest passenger ship ever built, a record that remained unchallenged until the construction of the 345 m (1,132 ft) RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004.
France was later purchased by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) in 1979, renamed SS Norway and underwent significant modifications that better suited her for cruising duties. She was sold to be scrapped in 2006, and scrapping was completed in late 2008.
SS France was the French Line flagship from 1961 to 1974, combining regular five days/nights transatlantic crossings with occasional winter cruises, as well as two world circumnavigations. During her last years, to save fuel costs, crossings took six days/nights.
As the SS Norway she was the flagship of the Norwegian Cruise Line from 1980 to approximately 2001.
Some, like ship historian John Maxtone-Graham, believe that France was purposely built to serve as both a liner and a cruise ship, stating: "Once again, the company had cruise conversion in mind... for cruises, all baffle doors segregating staircases from taboo decks were opened to permit free circulation throughout the vessel." However, others, such as ship historian William Miller, have asserted that France was the "last purposely designed year-round transatlantic supership."
The SS France was constructed to replace the line's other ageing ships like the SS Ile de France and SS Liberté, which by the 1950s were outdated. Without these vessels, however, the French Line had no ability to compete against their rivals, most notably the Cunard Line, which also had plans for constructing a new modern liner. It was rumoured that this ship would be a 75,000-ton replacement for their ships RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth. (This ship would eventually be the 68,000-ton Queen Elizabeth 2.) Further, the United States Lines had put into service in 1952 the SS United States, which had broken all speed records on her maiden voyage, with an average speed of 35.59 knots (65.91 km/h; 40.96 mph).
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Wikipedia