THE FRENCH LINE TL: SS Normandie survives fire converted into a WW2 troopship.

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Let's say the advice of Vladimir Yourkevitch is taken and the ship is saved. Or the fire just doesn't happen and she is successfully converted. That gives the allies a THIRD mega troopship fast enough to not have to worry about u-boats. The SS Normandie can potentially carry nearly 15,000 troops per crossing. How does this affect the outcome of WW2? Does this shorten the length of the conflict? How does the North African campaign play out differently? Can D-Day happen earlier? Or when it does happen will the Allies have even more manpower, resources, weaponry?

Ultimately, how does this affect the upcoming Cold War settlement with the USSR? Are the Allies in a slightly stronger position, can they take Berlin first? Or maybe Czechoslovakia goes to the Allies? Hungary instead of Austria becomes neutral?

 

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(POD is the SS Normandie doesn't catch fire. De Gaulle orders the French crew onboard Normandie to assist in the troopship conversion and they know the ship very well and provide the manpower to assist. The fire-fighting crew are also on hand to assist in any accidental outbreaks of fire before they have a chance to spread...)

With the seizure of the SS Normandie following Pearl Harbour and the US entry into WW2, she was converted into a 15,000 capacity troopship and rechristened USS Lafayette. Repainted in grey camouflage colours, she officially entered service in February 14, 1942 with all her passenger furnishings removed and safely stored in a Manhattan warehouse guarded by officials and crew from the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique. The utility of superliner troopships had been clearly demonstrated by Cunard's Queens persuading the US Navy to drop their plans to convert Normandie into a Pacific carrier.

Like the RMS Queens Mary and Elizabeth the USS Lafayette could travel alone without escorts. Her 30 knot average speed made her practically invulnerable to German U-boats. While the RMS Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary controlled by the Royal Navy focused on the Pacific and ferrying US troops to Australia, the USS Lafayette continued with a transatlantic run transporting men and material to Britain throughout 1942.

By late 1942 the situation had changed and both Queens were relocated to the Atlantic. The USS Lafayette had shipped 300,000 mostly untrained troops to Europe during 1942 and Operation Torch had begun in October after US troops trained in maneuvers in 1941 and transported to Britain had received the requisite amphibious landing training and equipment from the British. The landings were finished just ahead of FDR's reelection giving him a nice boost. Despite Vichy resistance, the Allies quite easily managed to overrun French North Africa.

Just like in their civilian careers, the Queen Mary and Lafayette developed a friendly rivalry in two ways. First, they competed in how many crossings they could manage per year. And the number of men they could carry per journey as well as monthly. RMS Queen Mary ultimately had an edge over the USS Lafayette since her vast first class public rooms put her at a disadvantage and her record of carrying 15,740 soldiers and 943 crew in a single journey in 1943 was never bettered by the USS Lafayette. The RMS Queen Mary continued to hold an edge over speed as well maintaining a slight half knot advantage over the USS Lafayette.

But when it came to comfort, soldiers being transported to Europe would rate the USS Lafayette over the Queen Mary. Her superb open, uncluttered decks and streamlined profile meant that far more soldiers could enjoy being outside rather than being always crammed inside with over ten thousand others with poor ventilation. Lafayette was also much less prone to rolling than the Queen Mary.

During her civilian career, the SS Normandie had a problem with propellers that could solve her vibration problem as well as being sturdy enough not to constantly break and require replacements. This problem was solved by the US Navy in 1943.

The rapidity of the Allied landings and capture of French North Africa convinced them to push on into Tunisia which they captured by late October before the Italians and Germans were able to land any significant number of divisions. The speed of the Allied advance caught the Axis by surprise and by November all of Italian Libya had been captured.

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While Rommel had been the favoured commander to take on the Allies in North Africa in 1942, the rapidity of their advance meant he had to leave nearly as soon as he arrived back in Tunisia in late October, as the situation was deemed hopeless. Hitler wavered between keeping him in West Europe to stop an eventual Allied invasion of France but then transferred him to the eastern front to finish off the Russians where his expertise in tank warfare would be invaluable. Rommel would ultimately arrive in February, 1943 when the Battle of Stalingrad had already been lost and it seemed that the Eastern Front had reached a turning point. In the Summer of 1943, Rommel would participate in the German advances at Kharkov and Kursk where he attempted to replicate his Blitzkrieg successes in France. This culminated in the Battle of Prokhorovka in June, 1943, the biggest tank battle ever fought where the Germans scored a victory but also suffered heavy losses and so their victory in many ways was pyrrhic as they lacked the ability to replace their losses like the Soviets. This would mark the final involvement of Rommel in the east as Hitler recalled him to Germany due to the deteriorating situation in Italy. But due to the hilly terrain of Italy, Kesserling was given the command.

In December, 1942, the Allies invaded Sicily and had control of the island by January of the next year. The first Allied troops had landed in Calabria the following month and soon swept through Southern Italy with the Axis unable to stop the amphibious landings. These 200,000 strong mostly US troops supplementing all those who fought in North Africa had been trained in the Scottish Highlands and Hebrides to fight in Italy's rugged terrain and islands throughout 1942. Mussolini was deposed and arrested by the Italian authorities who tried to negotiate a peace with the Allies. German forces in Southern Italy were few next to the massive Allied landings and soon Hitler was forced to abandon the south. The Germans planned numerous defensive lines just south of Rome to stop the Allied advance and sent a large number of reinforcements. They also rescued Mussolini placing him in control of a new puppet regime in the north. The war in Italy soon ground to a halt for the remainder of 1943. But by the end of the year, with Allied forces in Italy having nearly doubled they resumed their advance.

Four major offensives broke the line and resulted in the capture of the entire German 10th Army. Rome was in Allied control by December 1943. With the removal of the 10th Army, the stage was set for a rapid offensive into Northern Italy. The Germans did not have the numbers to mount significant defensive lines and reinforcements from Germany would be too late. The last major defensive line, the Gothic Line was smashed in February 1944 by a concerted assault of a million Allied soldiers. The Germans retreated to the Ljubljana Gap while the rest of Italy rose up against the German occupation. Mussolini and his mistress would successfully escape to Switzerland. The road to Vienna was open.

 

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The withdrawal of Rommel from the East had a deleterious impact on Axis morale and as the Soviet counter-offensive began in the Autumn of 1943, the Germans were forced to gradually withdraw. By winter they had retreated to the Hagen line in front of Bryansk. In the south, Kharkov which had been won in the summer was lost by winter. This set up 1944 as the critical year where the German Eastern Front would collapse and the Ukraine, Belarus, Novgorod, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia would be taken by the Soviets by winter.

While the Allies could have advanced on the Ljubljana Gap and attempted to take Vienna, they did not want to relieve German pressure on the east against the Soviets. So the decision was taken to halt the offensive. The decision was made that the Italians could be trusted not to side with the Axis again as soon as the Allied troops left. However several hundred thousand troops would remain behind to guard the Ljubljana Gap. This decision infuriated the Soviets. The Germans would launch several limited offensives in 1944 attacking northeast Italy but fail to make any progress.

This was due to threat from the West persuading Hitler not to devote too much resources on that front. Throughout late 1943 coinciding with the liberation of Italy, the Allies also built up for an invasion of France. With three super liners ferrying men, the various cargo ships could concentrate mostly on ferrying vehicles, ammunition, planes, and other equipment where a sinking would result in few loss of lives. To mislead the Axis, the Allies launched Operation Bodyguard and led the Germans to think they would attack Normandy with Calais and southern France being the diversion to draw away German panzer divisions. In April 1944, a diversion fleet was massed in the area... while the Allies attacked Southern France

It was Operation Vendetta. The Germans had already dissolved the Vichy French govt and taken over the entire country. But they hadn't any time to build many fortifications in the area and the German army was stretched thin: Fighting the Soviets in the east, building and defending the Atlantic Wall, guarding the Ljubljana Gap and Vienna, and now southern France. The largest amphibious invasion in history involving 240,000 men in just the first day coming from Italy coincided with a land offensive against the French Riviera. The operation was a complete success helped by the extremely favourable weather. The initial invasion was followed up by further waves of men coming from North Africa as the three super liners were now plying the transatlantic Gibraltar-Algiers route.

However the Germans continued to think for weeks that it was a diversion tactic with the real target being Normandy. After a few weeks, Rommel finally took his tank divisions south to meet the Allies. But he was bogged down by difficult terrain in the Massif Central. The Royal Navy had also attacked Bordeaux, making transportation of men and tanks beyond the Garonne river impossible. With the Allies making advances using mostly infantry in the Massif Central, Rommel risked being cut off and retreated back to the plains of northern France.

 

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Rommel was frustrated. Despite winning numerous tank engagements and surrounding many Allied tank battalions and forcing their surrender, he was ultimately forced to retreat due to taking horrendous losses from Allied planes. Having never seen them in action before, he had severely underestimated Allied airpower. Rommel realized that even with a three to one tank kill ratio, he was losing the war. He was also being giving orders to abandon France and retreat east to preserve his Panzer divisions. But Rommel had somehow been given warning that Hitler had uncovered his personal involvement in the plot against him. Thus Rommel decided to disobey the Fuhrer and attempted to surrender to the Allies... only to be assassinated by one of his own officers. With the panzer divisions now in disarray over the leadership vacuum, with many not sure whether to believe Rommel had tried to surrender or why he was assassinated, they were overrun by the Allies. The German garrison surrendered Paris in July 13, 1944.

In what was by far the most intense celebration of France's National Day in its history, De Gaulle entered the city to great acclaim where a million Parisiens turned out. He assumed control of the city as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic. With the Free French armies joining the allies in greater and greater numbers, the German garrisons of the Atlantic Wall were themselves surrounded and besieged. Many surrendered, others attempted to break out and retreat east but were cut off by the Allies. The Allied forces made for Calais where the forces in Britain finally disembarked in Northern France, reversing the humiliation that they had suffered at Dunkirk. They made straight for the Low Countries. Despite intense German resistance in the Ardennes, they were ultimately forced to retreat. By the end of 1944, not only France, but Belgium and the Netherlands had been liberated.

In Northern Italy, spies reported that the German forces guarding the Ljubljana Gap were being weakened to strengthen defences both in the east against the USSR and west against the Allies. Thus in early 1945, in concert with planned Allied offensives into Western Germany and the Rhineland, the Allied forces in Italy attempted to seize the Ljubljana gap. Italy wanted to redeem herself in the eyes of the Allies and hopefully win a more favourable peace settlement. Thus Italian troops equipped with US weaponry performed well in the offensive and combined with Allied airpower took complete control of the area in just one month. Allied forces began to pour into Austria and Rhineland, simultaneously meeting ferocious German resistance. While in the east, the Soviets were advancing into Poland.

 

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By early 1945, the Soviets had knocked Romania out of the war and subsequently was expected to take Bulgaria. Greece had been completely liberated since the Germans retreated in a great hurry to Yugoslavia with the entire German occupation force in the Balkans ordered home swiftly to defend Vienna. Harassed the entire way by partisans and low on supplies and equipment, they proved to be little match to the well-equipped Allied forces now entering Austria. Vienna was taken in April and Hungary immediately signed an armistice with the Western Allies first rather than be occupied by the advancing USSR. This prompted the Germans to launch a coup to take over the govt and arrest Miklós Horthy. However, the allies then quickly entered Budapest by May defeating combined German and Hungarian armies. Afterwards, instead of mounting a more costly invasion into Bavaria, the forces in Austria opted to attack Bohemia or western Czechoslovakia even as Soviet forces moved in to take Slovakia.

Germany's desperation was apparent as they lost the Rhineland to the advancing Allies and all their cities and industrial centres had been become bombed out shells of their former self. The prevailing notion in the German armies of the West was that the war had been lost and they could expect more favourable treatment from the West than the USSR, thus the Allies were met with minimal resistance as they advanced quickly.

The Soviets on the other hand continued to face fanatical resistance in the East and they retaliated by committing atrocities against the German populations of the areas they seized, assisted in some cases by enthusiastic locals. This caused a migration of millions of eastern Germans westwards and many died along the way. But it also hardened the resolve of the remaining German armies in the east.

By June 1945, Hitler had committed suicide alongside most prominent Nazi officials as the Soviet and Western armies surrounded Berlin. Berlin was cut off from Bavaria by mostly Italian forces after they captured Prague. Both sides agreed (after much diplomacy as to who was to be allowed to seize the city) to launch the final offensive together and hours later, Berlin fell. The remaining holdouts of German garrisons in places like Denmark, Norway, Aegean Islands, Channel Islands, Bavaria quickly surrendered in the following months. The war in Europe was over.

 

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Changes from OTL.

-For its western borders, Germans go back to pre-WW2 borders + lose East Frisia to Netherlands, North Frisia to Denmark and Sarre to France.

-Berlin becomes a UN international city. (no division) Will be given back to a united Germany in thirty years time.

-USSR occupies East Germany (similar borders to OTL minus Dresden/Leipzig) for thirty years. Supposing West Germany is peaceful for 30 years, East Germany will be allowed to unite with West Germany.

-Poland (same borders as OTL), Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria become USSR satellites (as in OTL).

-Hungary, Czechia, Austria become non-aligned countries.

-Italy keeps its pre-WW2 borders, except for Albania and Rhodes/Dodecanese given to Greece. Loses no territory to Yugoslavia except Zadar. Just like OTL Ethiopia is given independence again.

 

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With the dropping of the atomic bombs and the surrender of Japan, the Soviets subsequently seized Manchuria even as the Americans occupied Korea. The Soviets demanded the Americans retreat from Northern Korea as they want to set up a buffer state. The US agrees under the condition Soviets turn over all captured Japanese weaponry in Manchuria to prevent them being given over to the CCP or Korean communists. The equipment is then used to arm South Korean forces. But the Soviets deliver their own surplus weaponry to these factions and Mao’s CCP end up winning the Civil War and managed to take Taiwan in 1951 while Kim’s Communist faction wage an intense guerrilla war against the South Korean authorities. As part of the agreement, the US withdraws from the two northernmost Korean provinces Pyongan and Hamgyong which become a North Korean Soviet satellite. The six southern provinces become the Korean Republic.

The Soviets after all, are extremely angry at the Allied forces for not attacking Austria until 1945 and they claim the war could have been shortened by a year if they had done so. They were also annoyed that the Lend Lease aid delivered fell far short than they had expected. Thus they are outright arming Communists. The US responds with a strong weapons delivery and training program given to Greece and South Korea which successfully suppresses these threats.

Back in Europe, the transportation of war brides and troops back home continues apace until de Gaulle finally requests that the USS Lafayette be given back to the French which they receive in December 1946.

Two northernmost provinces become a Soviet satellite.

 

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When the Normandie rolled back into the shipyard for conversion work, the directors of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique were breathing a sigh of relief that she had survived the war. But they were also daunted at the task that lay ahead of them. They had plenty of photographs taken to document how the ship was nearly 10 years ago and now began the arduous task of setting the clock back. All of her passenger furnishings had been shipped from New York to Le Havre and restoration work began. The ship was repainted in her old colours. Great care was taken to returning the rooms to what they were purposed for in the 1930s. But rather than trying to replicate exactly the look of the 1930s, the directors decided to tone down the first class decor (in particular the grand salon) to provide a less intimidating and more informal atmosphere and to better suit contemporary tastes. Normandie had not been a commercial success in her previous life and many considered her decor overdone even in the 1930s let alone the more sombre mood of the 1940s after the war. All giant statues were removed from the ship as they were deemed too intimidating. And the best French artisans went to work replacing damaged or graffiti interior sections of the ship that were not removed during the conversion.

The problem was Normandie was a commercial failure next to her "great rival" the Queen Mary and the problem lay in that too much space had been devoted to First Class sections of the ship. Consequently, there wasn't enough space for both tourist and third class to meet the standards of the new travelling public. Thus she sailed almost never more than 60% capacity and was severely under-booked in the lower classes as she was considered a bad deal for her ticket price. So the question was how to make her a commercial success? Unlike the pre-war years, they weren't certain they could count on govt subsidies to operate the Normandie.

The solution therefore was to make her a two-class ship. The first ocean liner in the world to cater only to First Class and Tourist Class passengers, throwing out the third class passengers entirely who weren't all that lucrative in the end. As such, much work began connecting the tourist and third class sections of the ship and making them easily accessible. This involved the construction of new entrances and new elevators. The 3rd class stairway was removed altogether saving a lot of extra space. Aluminium was used in many places where it would help the structural integrity of the ship as her interior shape in her aft section was changed somewhat.

All means possible was undertaken to improve the facilities of the tourist class. In the site of the former tourist class enclosed promenade (51), tourist class gymnasium (52), an indoor pool area was constructed that was right next to the outdoor tourist class pool (50). There was still one enclosed promenade (30) in front of the former tourist class smoking room, now called the observation bar, for tourist class passengers to enjoy. The new tourist class gymnasium with the same basic design would be moved to and replace the 3rd class bar (86) and the former commissaire's office (87).

Tourist class indoor pool with pool bar

One of the biggest changes would be the location of the tourist class lounge which had already been changed once before in the ship's history. The tourist class lounge located on the former promenade (20) next to the grillroom was converted into a new more modern designed smoking room for the tourist class. During cruises, it would be known as the Café Parisien. Directly above with connecting stairs, is the tourist class open sports deck. The cafe veranda facing the aft of the ship next to this area was kept.

Tourist class smoking room

As for the new tourist class lounge, it was a grand room constructed in the former 3rd class salon (107). It is a dual-purpose room that also shows films and acts as a cinema for the tourist class. During cruises, it would be used as a ballroom.

Tourist class lounge (a double-height room)

Due to the increased size of the tourist class (895) compared to previous (625), it was decided to keep the 3rd class dining room (164), which was now to be called the banquet room for the tourist class. During cruises however, it would be converted into a club area for teenagers. The tourist class synagogue was also converted into a stylish new bar due to a decreased number of Jewish passengers on the transatlantic run following WW2. During cruises, the tourist class chapel would be repurposed as a prayer room for Jewish passengers.

Tourist class private bar

Tourist class prayer room (chapel during transatlantic runs, Jewish prayer room during cruises)

The former 3rd class smoking room (84) was converted into a new, much more expansive playroom for tourist class children.

Tourist class playroom

While the old playroom would be turned into a new writing room for the tourist class.

Tourist class writing room

For the first class, a new funnel bar (or Bar des Flandres) was constructed in the building underneath the second/middle funnel. This was done to give first class passengers easy access to refreshments on the sports deck.

1st class funnel bar

As for general improvements, the new SS Normandie boasted a modernized air conditioning system with fans installed within the ship that extended AC to all sections of the ship including her theatre. As such, the rear dummy funnel that housed the kennels underneath no longer had to hold the air-conditioning unit. Instead, a small open-air pool was constructed above the kennels and within the funnel itself for 1st class passengers to use. Normandie became the first ship in the world to provide private telephones in all staterooms (including tourist class) that could call any part of the world as well as adjustable heating and air-conditioning controls to all passengers. In addition all 1st class staterooms (after their placement had been reworked extensively) were given their own private bath. The former 3rd class area of staterooms, of course, had their living density drastically reduced when they were converted into tourist class staterooms. All tourist class staterooms now boasted private showers. SS Normandie also featured modernized fire safety equipment including a sprinkler system installed throughout the ship and early warning radar which had been developed during the war. Lastly, because her boilers were severely run down from the war, they were replaced with 12 new ones. (Previously, she ran with 33.) This would boost her fuel efficiency and increase her longevity. Normandie's boilers would be split and given to the Ile de France and De Grasse respectively increasing the base speed of these ships.

Due to modernization and a reduction in passengers, the crew size was reduced to just 1100 from 1347. With a first class capacity of 750 and a tourist class capacity of 895, she carried 1645 passengers, a tiny number for such a massive ship, although all were well-paying. Considering that she sometimes ran below half capacity during the 1930s, this was considered a good trade off to increase tourist class passenger numbers. After all, 895 tourist class passengers was equivalent in ticket sales value to 625 tourist and 340 third class (Normandie's pre-war passenger capacity in 1935 for the tourist and third class). During cruises, she had a maximum capacity of 1518.

The Normandie's restoration to former, or even greater glory was a source of national pride for the French scarred by war and occupation and a sign that things were finally returning to normal. The final bill wasn't cheap, but was deemed necessary to make her competitive. SS Normandie returned to passenger service in May 1948.


Here is the interior plan of SS Normandie that I used to reference the changes made TTL + the numbers code. It is the 1935 Normandie, so note the location of the tourist class lounge hasn't yet been moved (from 56 to 20). Also, the sundeck is very different after 1936.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0c/9a/4e/0c9a4e34fd9bc4c91e63ae25f4243e37.jpg

For a more accurate exterior plan that dates post 1936 and shows the change in sundeck plan + the new tourist class lounge location:

https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2008/NYR/2008_NYR_02073_0194_000(040835).jpg

 

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The following decades were golden years for the French Line where the company made a conscious decision to take on debt to expand and build new ships in the post-war boom. Firstly, after the Normandie, the Ile de France was restored and resumed passenger service in 1949. She was not a true running mate to Normandie as she was too slow at 23.5 knots. But the decision was made to focus elsewhere due to the already highly competitive, oversupplied North Atlantic market. The French had a third ship the SS De Grasse which also survived the war and after modifications to increase speed, between the three ships, the French Line were able to offer a weekly service between NY and Europe.

The real profits that the directors could foresee lay in the Mediterranean. As such, the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique had managed to convince the Société Générale de Transport Maritimes that was primarily based in Marseilles to merge with their company. Their first task was to construct new ships for the Riviera-Italy-US and Riviera-Italy-South American routes. Between 1951-1953, four diesel-electric ships were constructed. Diesel was specially chose to reduce fuel costs and to gain a competitive edge over the Italian Line. This would also allow the ships to serve the cruising market later in their careers after jet travel took over those routes as well.

The Antilles and Comte de Nice were sister ships and 225 m long. They were finished in 1953 and 1952 respectively and purposed for the South American route. The Provence and Flandre were sister ships finished in 1951 and 1952. They were 275 m long and served the Riviera-Italy-US route. Due to the demand, a third sister ship the Bordeaux was eventually built. These ships were painted all-white to better deflect heat in the warmer Mediterranean environment.

With these ships (constructed with the help of a govt subsidy), the French Line outclassed anything the Italian Line had to offer whether it came to comfort, speed, and prices. The Italian Line in the 1950s was plagued by bad naval engineering design, infamous ship instability problems, unreliability from strikes, and even a shipwreck that resulted in the loss of their flagship, the beautiful Andrea Doria. The French Line gained the lion's share of profits from these routes. They were famous for being the first line to run exclusively two-class accommodation ships which meant more space and comfort for the tourist class passengers. This was in addition to the emphasis the French Line placed on caring for tourist class passengers. The French emphasis on cuisine, service, and the just plain inimitable sense of style on their ships, the carefully planned art and decor won over the Italian and American market.

Tourist class

First class

From 1953-1957, two further diesel-electric ships were built for the Britain-Riviera-Italy-Greece-Australia route. The two sister ships were named Napoleon and Corse respectively and were 250 m in length. They were famous for immediately introducing single class accommodation in their long voyages that resembled cruise environments rather than the traditional ocean liner. Passengers would have full freedom to access the entire ship to stave off boredom and repetition during the three week journey.

In addition, the SS Pasteur was ultimately rebuilt in 1959 for the Germany-UK-France-Canada-US route after being requisitioned in the 1950s by the French military.

Back on the North Atlantic, the SS Normandie had become the ship of choice for the wealthy and celebrities. First class onboard her provided the best chance anywhere in the world for one to see all the important personages of the day up close, a magnet for socialites and the epitome of haute couture. Only Queen Mary was remotely her rival in this regard, her more relaxed charm retained her the favour of others. The Normandie became even more iconic after the release of popular movies: The French Line (1953) starring Jane Russell, Sabrina (1954) starring Audrey Hepburn, and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) starring Marilyn Monroe. In particular, the ship’s clean/streamlined exterior profile and monumental first class dining room was well-known internationally all across Europe and the US. The dining room was eventually considered one of the high points of western civilization art emblematic of modern art deco and its design taught in art history schools worldwide. Anyone who fancied themselves slightly important and had the money would travel at least once on the Normandie first class during the 1950s. In 1955, Normandie was fitted with two sets of retractable stabilizers which reduced the seasickness complaints of some first class passengers who were overwhelmed by her splendour. Similar modifications were made to the Ile de France.

There was no attempt, however, by Normandie to challenge Queen Mary for the Blue Riband again as WW2 had demonstrated which ship had the slight edge in speed. With the advent of jet travel, records such as the Blue Riband seemed increasingly pointless in any case to the public. Overall the French Line saw tremendous commercial profit growth in the 1950s and it was expected that her heavy debt burden (at low interest rate loans provided by the govt) would not be an issue. By 1957, the French Line were planning for a successor ship on the North Atlantic: for both the Ile de France and eventually Normandie.

 

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William Francis Gibbs was the foremost American naval engineer of his generation and responsible for building the Liberty ships of WW2 that transported cargo and weaponry economically across the Atlantic. He was also well-known for being a pioneer in areas of hull design and well-respected internationally. But Gibbs' ultimate dream was to build a super liner for his home country. The United States had only built one grand liner in its history the SS America.

After WW1, Gibbs had come close to persuading the US Lines to build the SS Constitution, but ultimately the company decided on the less risky option of simply converting the existing seized German ocean liner SS Vatherland as the SS Leviathan. Now after WW2, history would repeat itself. Gibbs again came close to persuading the US govt to subsidize a new superliner that could be converted for military purposes into an efficient troopship. He had put a lot of effort refining his design plans. However his efforts would not succeed as the US Navy determined that the captured German liner the SS Europa would be good enough for the role as she could do 27-29 knots. The SS Europa (keeping her original name) would in subsequent years prove to be a popular running mate to SS America after she entered service with the US Lines in 1950. By the time the US Lines was thinking of a replacement in the late 50s, thanks to Soviet advances in nuclear propulsion submarines, an ocean liner sailing independently and quickly faster than any escorts for troop transport was looking less viable. The advances of jet aircraft put off the US Lines from ordering a replacement.

Now seventy years old and with seemingly little chance of ever designing a superliner which had been his ultimate ambition since he was a kid, Gibbs looked set for retirement from his advisory role on naval engineering for the Navy. However two weeks after leaving his job, he received an unbelievable, irresistible offer from the French Line. They wanted Gibbs as the chief naval architect for their next ocean liner, the successor ship to the Ile de France and Normandie. Gibbs could hardly believe it. Part of him was extremely excited and he felt like a child again. The other, more rational side of him, was daunted at the task of building a follow-up to such famed and reputable ships.

The French Line by 1957 had finished building their seven diesel ships for Mediterranean service and were finally focusing on the North Atlantic again due to the aging state of their ocean liners there. In particular, the Ile de France was set for retirement in just a few years and although jet travel was predicted to take away the majority of passengers in the following decade, the French Line could not resist building a true follow-up and running mate to the SS Normandie. It had to be a ship that would prove as iconic as its predecessor that people wanted to sail on, even if they had other much faster options. In the tradition of the SS Normandie, they offered the job to who they believed was the best naval architect on the planet, not necessarily a Frenchman. SS Normandie had after all been designed by Vladimir Yourkevich, a Russian who introduced a revolutionary new clipper bow and streamlined design. They believed that Gibbs could do a similar job thanks to his expertise in propulsion and efficient hulls. Funnily enough, neither Gibbs nor Yourkevich had ever received any formal naval engineering training or education. Yet both had revolutionized the field, and as such they stood out as true, self-taught geniuses. Only a naval architect of a similar unorthodox background who could think outside the box would do for such an important ship.

OTL, SS Europa was given to the French line by the US as a replacement for the SS Normandie that caught fire and capsized in New York during her conversion into a troopship. She would serve from 1950-1961 as SS Liberté, the flagship of the French line.

 

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The precise kind of ship they wanted to build as a replacement caused many headaches for the directors of the French line. Initially, they were planning on building a pair of smaller sister ships but upon receiving assurances from the govt led by de Gaulle who wanted to see one grand liner in the tradition of the Normandie, they opted to build one ship in exchange for the govt paying 20% of all costs plus the rest covered by low interest loans.

Since the Jet Age had already begun, directors were also conscious that the ship needed to be successful in cruising to remain viable. It would also need to be fuel efficient and built for the cold North Atlantic as well as the warm Caribbean. Despite the grumbling of the French govt, the company would include the best of shipbuilding technology from various countries as they had in their previous ships built for Mediterranean service. It would be a true collaborative, multinational effort. The propellers, engines, boilers was American tech. The designer of the hull, bow, and superstructure was an American naval architect. The funnel design, lifeboat system, and desalination system was Italian tech including from Turin Polytechnic. The alternators employed British technology.

As she was going to built in Saint-Nazaire, the traditional birthplace of all great French liners, and perhaps would be the last great French ship of state, she would be called the SS Bretagne in honour and recognition of the region's shipbuilding industry. The French Line would market her as the longest ship in the world, and indeed she would be the longest. Stretching 321 metres, she was also marketed for being the exact height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris that had recently been extended in height due to the addition of a television antenna. But in fact, she would be smaller than Normandie and Cunard's Queens overall with a beam of 34 m, and 68 m in height from keel to mast (with 12 decks, 9 for passengers) and there were no plans to compete in the weight department.

Despite her size, she would be a dual propeller/engine ship. Her propellers would be five-bladed. Powered by two of the most powerful double-reduction steam turbines on the planet by Westinghouse, she would do over 120,000 shp considerably less than the Normandie. She had roughly half the power of a Forrestal/Kitty Hawk Class aircraft carrier which carried 4 of those turbines with 8 boilers and 4 five-bladed shafts. She would have four Babcock & Wilcox boilers. Due to this, she would only have one engine room and one boiler room, greatly reducing the need for maintenance crew and improving efficiency in addition to having highly modernized engineering/control panels, automation, and a closed-circuit-television system. To ensure safety and reliability, the ship would be able to be powered with either engine/propeller with the other switched off. This allowed her to run at half her normal fuel consumption during cruises. For efficiency reasons, she would use alternators and alternating current to generate electricity for passenger services. Her planned service speed was 27.5 knots, the minimum needed to maintain a weekly transatlantic service with Normandie.

There were various ways in which the designers planned to reduce the weight of the vessel to reduce the fuel needed to run her. Firstly her water needs would be met entirely by 3 desalination evaporators producing 1200 tons of freshwater daily installed on the ship. Her superstructure was mostly built of aluminium and Gibbs pioneered new use of lightweight materials and construction techniques. This included unique metal-metal isolation techniques using specialized barrier tapes to solve problems of galvanic corrosion for aluminium. All of this significantly lowered the ship’s center of gravity, resulting in better stability. The exception was the frontal section of the superstructure which remained reinforced in steel due to the dangers of North Atlantic rogue waves. A large part of the construction would be prefabricated thus cutting down construction time significantly.

Her hull was also welded rather than riveted and featured extended watertight bulkheads for added safety. The underside of the hull, especially the bow, used an unusual bulbous shape instead of the traditional knife-edge to improve high-speed performance and reduce water resistance and friction. She would have bow thrusters with guillotine doors for added manoeuvrability so she could dock without the aid of expensive tugboats. There was some pushback by the French line directors against Gibbs' fastidious use of fire-proof materials, but the end result was still a ship that used far more aluminium, metal, plastics, formica, glass, and spun-glass fiber for its decor and relatively little use of woods. For fire-safety reasons, the ship would feature fewer double and triple height rooms than the Normandie.

She would have a similar clipper-like bow as that former ship, but feature an updated cruiser stern. In addition, the lifeboat davits were capable of launching lifeboats against a 25 degree list and all lifeboats were motorized and equipped with radios. For stability, the ship featured two sets of active retractable stabilizers. It had an advanced bilge keel design situated at the fullest part of the underwater hull. The forward part, just as the forward stabilizer pair begins, is radically swept inward.

One of the most distinctive features of the ship was the design and placement of the single funnel and machinery. To maximize space saved, they were shifted to the two-thirds aft position of the ship. Instead of a traditional even surface, the funnel had a trellis pipework structure to reduce weight and allow wind to pass through it. This was deemed necessary to prevent such a massive funnel from being caught by the wind making the vessel difficult to handle. On top, there was a cap that acted as a smoke deflector but also a filter for heavier solids. This revolutionary design would be copied by most ships in the future but it was extensively criticized by the French press for being ugly. But the design greatly reduced smoke on the open decks. In the tradition of the Normandie of course, the funnel area housed the kennels and featured a dog promenade and washing pool area underneath.

The basic funnel design seen here on an Italian ship.

A large portion of the frontal sundeck would feature a lido pool area covered by a magrodome that could be opened or closed according to the weather. This was done both to make the ship competitive in cruising but also to reduce friction to boost speed efficiency. All the ship's outdoor pools would be infrared-heated capable of boosting temperatures by several degrees. Of course, all the rooms in the ship would be fully air-conditioned and all cabins would have heating and AC controls to allow passengers to adjust temperatures as they see fit. All staterooms would also feature bathrooms (including baths for both First and Tourist class). Tourist class cabins would offer an unprecedented amount of living space, including no bunk beds. Overall, she would be designed to carry 700 first class and 1100 tourist class passengers with the capacity for a 100 car garage. She carried a complement of only 942 crew. It is still considered an astonishing feat of naval engineering that a ship featuring so many revolutionary new types of technology for the first time was able to be built with relatively few mishaps.

These are the main details and specifications of SS Bretagne's exterior design and the generalities that were decided upon. Up next, was the question of the interior design and decor of the rooms which SS Bretagne had a lot to live up to as she was SS Normandie and SS Ile de France's successor.

 

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In 1961, the long serving French liner SS Ile de France was retired at the end of the year. Preparations were already underway for the SS Bretagne to enter service and she was undergoing sea trials, due to make her maiden voyage in a few months. Originally, the plan had been to sell her for scrap as was usual. But the Ile de France was a significant vessel having served for 34 years with great popularity. She was the first ship to pioneer the new modern Art Deco style that turned the ocean liners from being floating historical palaces and museums to having a style of their own as "ships." In the 1920s-50s, she carried a vast number of famous clientele, especially film stars.

The French Line was also deep in debt due to the unfathomable 100 million USD price tag for the SS Bretagne and although revenues were also high, they decided to spend a bit more money and take a risk to increase revenues. They would go on to pioneer the first floating hotels business. They chose Cannes, which was the site of France's premier film festival and a magnet for directors, actors and actresses. They would transform the Ile de France into a famous hotel and museum ship, which in addition to her magnificent Art Deco interiors, would showcase famous photographs of all the celebrities and film stars that travelled on her over the years.

The floating hotel Ile de France was considered to have the best French restaurant in Cannes.

And so the Hotel Ile de France began her extremely successful second life. Celebrities and film stars flocked to stay on her still attracted by her glamorous legacy. During the "off-season", she was also frequented by wealthy tourists staying in the French Riviera who often made sure to book a night on the Ile de France. Her success was greatly encouraging to the French Line who had discovered another lucrative avenue for increased profits. When the monumental SS Normandie was finally retired at the end of 1973, the company entered a joint venture with Prince Rainier of Monaco to turn the ship into a hotel and floating casino. As the years went by, the Principality of Monaco would become associated internationally with its greatest tourist attraction. And likewise when one spoke of the Casino and Hotel Normandie, Monaco immediately came to mind.

The monumental dining room of the former SS Normandie transformed into the main cardroom of the casino and hotel, by far the most famous image from the moneyed Principality of Monaco.

Wealthy gamblers can take a break in Normandie's superb winter garden with real rare plant exhibits and birds.

Cunard also took notice and when its pride ship the RMS Queen Mary was retired in 1967, she would be converted into a floating hotel, exhibition space and tourist attraction in the resort town of Brighton. The ship would become the most famous tourist attraction of the town and would go a long way to restoring Brighton's former status as a premier seaside resort as visitors all over England flocked just to see arguably Britain's greatest liner, still the proud holder of the Blue Riband to this very day.

Queen Mary in all her unchanged glory still docked in Brighton's famous palace pier that was expanded just to accommodate her.

Even the US caught on to the new popular trend of ocean liners being turned into popular attractions and floating hotels. The US-made SS America, the greatest liner ever built in that country with all its remarkable elegance would find a gentle retirement home in Long Beach, California in 1978 after being sold to Chandris and serving the Europe-Australia immigrant route as SS Australis. She was repainted in her old colours, refurbished and restored to her original interior look, and rechristened to her former name before retirement.

SS America, the pride of Long Beach, the state of California, and the nation

And of course the self-proclaimed greatest city in the world, New York, had to have its own ship. Thus in 1973, when the Dutch liner SS Nieuw Amsterdam was finally retired, she was sold to the city of New York over the vociferous protests of Dutch patriots who wanted their ship to come home. But the Americans had placed the higher offer and New Amsterdam WAS the former name of New York. She would find great success as one of New York's noteworthy establishments with a great hotel, beautiful interiors, and an excellent restaurant complete with a well-built theatre and performance venue.

New Amsterdam, the toast of New York high society.

But the Dutch would get a ship of their own much later. In 1997, when the liner SS Rotterdam was retired she would return to the port of her birth: Rotterdam. In the same year, the by-then legendary SS Bretagne would also find a home in the city of Nice.

Rotterdam returning to Rotterdam, in her original state that she was launched in 1959, to the great joy of all of the Netherlands.

These seven ships: the French Line's Ile de France (Cannes), Normandie (Monaco), Bretagne (Nice), Cunard's Queen Mary (Brighton), Holland America Line's Nieuw Amsterdam (New York City), Rotterdam (Rotterdam), and US Lines' America (Long Beach) stand as the only seven surviving liners from the ocean liner era. But they give visitors an excellent insight into the realities, but also the beauty of the old liners, so that we may never forget our common history and the hard work of its designers. And they still prove to be quite profitable for their owners.

 

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Designing a "modern" ship has always been a challenge in every era. Every generation has its definition of "modern", and Art Deco by 1960 was considered distinctly old-fashioned and staid despite being considered progressive and radical when it was introduced in the 20s. The directors of the French Line mandated that the SS Bretagne should be a showcase for modernist design in its epitome, just as Normandie was the ultimate showcase for Art Deco. They ultimately sided with the purists wanting to uphold the tradition of the ocean liner, refused to make ocean views the predominant feature of design thinking since it supposedly would detract from the quality of their artistic designs of the rooms themselves. Traditionally people went on ocean liners not because they were fond of the sea, but because they were forced to. This forced the quality of room design to be elevated compared to the cruise ships which made sea views the predominant feature of the design of their rooms.

But it was agreed that it was necessary to mimic the new culture of modern informality that had been created from cruise ships. The ship could not be as remote, detached, and standoffish as the old liners. It had to be both forward-looking but also respectful of tradition. To get the best possible designs, the French Line opened an international design competition to garner the widest possible choices for the public rooms and staterooms onboard the Bretagne. Companies and designers from France, Italy, Britain, the US, and Germany had numerous entries.

In particular, the French Line had decided to come down in the middle of the fierce philosophical debate as to what style the ship should be. One side stressed she needed to be elegant and radically minimalist in the mid-century modernist tradition. They stressed she should make extensive use of decorative, abstract as well as impressionistic art and paintings rather than object design to convey sensations to passengers. The other side rejected this stance as self defeating and insisted that the future lay in new space age designs that were flamboyant and futuristic and forward-looking, just like Art Deco had been in the 1920s. Ultimately it was decided that these two contrasting aesthetic principles would be incorporated together in the Bretagne with the idea that they would lend beauty to the other through contrast.

Although Bretagne is now widely considered to be the last, elegant ocean liner built and a masterpiece of contrasting designs, its initial reception from critics was not favourable. They acknowledged she could not be directly compared to the Normandie as she was built upon very different aesthetic principles (apples vs oranges), whereby if Normandie was Yang, Bretagne was the Yin as she was designed to be an aesthetic contrast to her running mate. However, they found her interiors to be much too eclectic. Too many cooks spoil the broth was their consensus. However the passengers had a different view and rated her interiors very favourably. This was because for the first time in ocean liner history, the French Line gave nearly as much care, consideration to design in tourist class areas as the first class.

 

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Bretagne's interiors were characterized by being extremely cosmopolitan as hinted by the name of the ship: many a non-French child on the Bretagne would at first mistakenly believe her to be a British ship, since the French word Bretagne for Brittany was pronounced Britannia. The French Line had no problem incorporating artistic designs of other places if they were designed to be beautiful. This corresponded well to the emerging new French identity (finally moving past the scars of WW2), which was to be cosmopolitan in the modern era. The Bretagne would quickly set a new standard for ocean liners that put Cunard's Queen Elizabeth, the largest liner afloat, in financial jeopardy. SS Normandie remained viable only by slashing prices for the tourist class and the monumental rooms of the first class saved her and allowed her to remain profitable for a few more years.

The American press called her a hundred million dollar gamble expressing unlimited naive faith that ocean liners would be able to survive, in one form or another, no matter how far jets developed in the future. The French retorted that she, alongside Normandie, were the "last refuges of a good life." The impact of Bretagne when she made her maiden voyage in the summer of 1961 (the 100th year anniversary of the Compagnie's history) was similar to the impact of the Ile de France, when she first came into service some 35 years ago. The ship introduced revolutionary new ship interior designs that represented almost a complete break from the past, in this case Art Deco, and all existing ships suddenly felt old-fashioned when standing next to her. In short, for the second time in its history, the French Line launched a ship that fully updated interior ship designs to the most progressive trends of the contemporary age.

 

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This deck can be divided into two sections. The rear section houses the kennels (underneath the funnel) as well as the indoor squash court and café grille towards the aft end of the ship. The front section houses the first class magrodome, and veranda.

Kennels and dog promenade

1st class grill-room
The ship's à la carte restaurant available to 1st class passengers for an extra cost. Actually located on the observation deck above the Lido, the floor downstairs on the Lido deck serves as a kitchen)

Indoor squash court seen from above

Midship, we have the outdoor patio for first class passengers. It is connected with the two appartements de grand luxe on either side named (Cornouaille and Penthièvre). The walkway above the patio is the observation deck level.

First class Patio Riviera (passengers often choose to dine here in good weather)

The lido pool area with the magrodome open (usually during cruises)
There are two pools with splash areas for children. There is a walkway above where passengers can travel past this area below and get a view of the sea from the observation deck. In chilly weather, infrared heating can raise the temperature of the pool water by several degrees.

The iconic lido pool area with the magrodome closed (usually during transatlantic runs)
Note the semi-private dining areas to the side with floor-to-ceiling windows where passengers can have a meal if they want to eat with a sea view. Also popular with romantic couples watching the sea and sunrises and sunsets with some privacy.

The area is also popular during evenings with the magrodome closed where passengers can enjoy a late night buffet and swim under the stars.

At the very end, we have the first class veranda. First class passengers can take a break here from the sun.

First class café veranda
This veranda has a simple bar, a piano, and dance floor for music. The veranda is extremely futuristic in its design, drawing the displeasure of some conservative passengers.

 

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The majority of the first class staterooms are located on this deck. The 25 suites onboard Bretagne are named after various cities and picturesque towns of the region: Brest, Morlaix, Quimper, Guingamp, Sant-Brieuc, Rennes, Fougéres, Saint-Malo, Vannes, Lorient, Concarneau, Nantes, Saint-Nazaire, Treguier, Saint-Pol-de-Léon, Dinan, Guerande, Vitré, Redon, Dol, Pontivy, Lamballe, Auray, Carnac, Quiberon.

This is the deck where the lifeboats and their davits are located.

 

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The first class enclosed promenade wraps around the perimeter of this deck. It is modelled after the Champs-Élysées. Located underneath the lifeboat davits, it's where all passengers meet for required emergency drills.

At the aft end, we have the first class drawing room.

First class drawing room (Club Internationale)
This room manages to be both ornate and minimalist at the same time as well as incorporating some space age motifs. It is light and airy and relaxing. The room is particularly spectacular at dawn and dusk on a clear day as the changing sky outside does wonders to the ambience of the room. Connected to the first class drawing room is the outdoor salon terrace at the aft end of the ship where first class passengers can take in some sea air whenever they get tired of the indoors.

The first class salon terrace

Between the first class drawing room and lounge is the reading room and library as well as the cardroom for the first class.

First class reading room and the connecting library (Upper Deck Library)
The brightly lit reading room offers mock chimneys as writing desks.

First class cardroom (Salon Monaco) (decorated with various card and game icons)

First class main lounge (Salon Fontainebleau)
The design of this room is simple in the mid-century modern style and is dominated by impressionistic wall paintings which are meant to engage the passengers that sit in front of them. Most famous of all are the paintings modelled after the autumn forests of Brittany. The lights hanging from the ceiling are said to evoke a reminder of hanging autumn leaves and branches, although other don't see this at all and find the room rather boring overall.

First class private room
Perfect for discreet meetings, a side room from the lounge. In the past, luxurious ocean liners would offer first class passengers a fireplace in the lounge, but this is now obviously out of the question due to fire safety concerns. To compensate, the designers created a halfway transparent wall painting with lights that mimic a fire in a hearth.

Also connected to the lounge is the music room.

First class music room (Salon Debussy)
It is an entirely soundproof music studio where one can make very good recordings.

 

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The tourist class salon terrace and promenade wrap around the perimeter of this deck.

Tourist class salon terrace and enclosed promenade
Located underneath the first class enclosed promenade. The salon terrace can be used as an alternative dining space for passengers who wish to eat with a sea view.

Next, we will tour the tourist class passengers only sections of the deck which are located to the aft.
We start at the tail end of the ship.

From this level (Lido Deck), you can see the multiple levels. One level below is the Boat Deck (still first class area) which can be reached by stairs from here and connects with the boat davits corridor. Immediately below that (obscured) is the first class salon terrace on the level of the Verandah Deck. One level below that is the Promenade Deck (with the swimming pool dome) which is a tourist class area and where we begin. A Deck, which is one level below the promenade deck, is the level of the tourist class swimming pool itself covered by a dome and extends to the stern of the ship.

Tourist class drawing room (Salon Saint Tropez)
From the bar, one can look out on the open deck area of the promenade deck level.

Tourist class cardroom
The tourist class cardroom is located behind the painting of Notre Dame.

On the other side of the drawing room (across from the painting of Notre Dame) is the music salon located behind another painting.

Tourist class music room (Salon Ravel)

Moving to the fore of the ship:

Tourist class main lounge (Salon Tuileries)
Considered by many to be a masterpiece, it achieves grandeur in its sheer simplicity and is dominated by a section of double-height ceiling with three large chandeliers. This room is said to strip away all the superfluities of grand design and focus only on the bare, most economical elements necessary to give a grand impression. It is located directly underneath the first class drawing room.

 

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Continuing in the fore direction, we reach the theatre area.

The theatre bar (cabaret) is next to the theatre and generally serves passengers who are looking to attend a show, or after the show. In the night however, it serves as the ship's nightclub for after-hours drinking and dancing. It is open to both first and tourist class passengers.

The ship's theatre (salle de spectacle) looks like it could come straight from Paris. The balcony seats are reserved for first class passengers (entrance from Veranda Deck).

Tourist class library (Bibliothèque de l’Atlantique)
On the whole it is very traditionally modern in its main design, but it does possess some flair with a disguised mirror archway that can't be identified from a distance as well as marine animal sculptures carved into tables.

Tourist class writing room
The writing room is austere, sparse, even antiseptic, but it is also very avante-garde.