SS Liberté
SS Europa prior to her maiden voyage
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| History | |
|---|---|
  Germany
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| Name: | Europa |
| Owner: | Norddeutsche Lloyd |
| Port of registry: | Bremen,Germany |
| Ordered: | 1927 |
| Builder: | Blohm & Voss shipyard, Hamburg, Germany |
| Launched: | 15 August 1928 |
| Christened: | 15 August 1928 |
| Maiden voyage: | 19 March 1930 |
| In service: | March 1930 |
| Out of service: | May 1945 |
| Identification: | Not known |
| Fate: | Captured by Allied forces |
| Status: | Claimed as war prize by the US Navy |
| Notes: | Was largest German ship built during the 1930s |
 United States
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| 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 |
| Status: | Turned over to the French Line in 1946 |
| Notes: | Served as a Troop Transport from Brest, France to New York, New York |
 France
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| Name: | SS Liberté |
| Operator: | Compagnie Générale Transatlantique |
| Route: | Le Havre, France- New York, USA |
| 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. |
| Status: | Scrapped |
| Notes: | Was the replacement of Normandie |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage: | 49,746 GRT |
| Displacement: | 55,500 long tons (56,400 t) |
| 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, IMO 5607332, was a German ocean liner built for the Norddeutsche Lloyd line (NDL) to work the transatlantic sea route. She and her sister ship, Bremen, were the two most advanced, high-speed steam turbine ocean vessels in their day, with both earning the Blue Riband.
After World War II French line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique was awarded the Europa as a war prize to replace the destroyed SS Normandie, which had caught fire and capsized at her moorings while interned by the United States in New York City. Europa was refitted at Le Havre and rechristened the Liberté, serving until the arrival of the SS France in 1961 as the premier liner in the Compagnie's fleet. She was laid up in 1962 and scrapped at La Spezia, Italy, in 1963.
Europa was built in 1929 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 and a low streamlined profile.
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, a feat that previously required three.
The launching of Europa took place at Blohm & Voss shipyard, Hamburg on Wednesday, August 15, 1928. Europa was intended to be completed in spring 1929. However, on the morning of 26 March 1929, a fire broke out while still at the equipment dock. The fire raged all day long and it was not until the evening when the fire was under control. The ship's turbines were damaged heavily and also the remainder of the ship had been significantly damaged. After long discussions between builder and shipping company, it was decided to repair the ship. Within eleven months the ship was finished and completed on February 22, 1930. The cause of the fire has never been clearly identified.
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