Normandie, the Liner of superlatives

NORMANDIE

His name alone invokes for the lovers of all liners

superlatives commonly used at the time.

The largest ever built in the world with 313.75 m.

The more spacious. Tonnage exceeds anything that has ever sailed on the oceans.

The most modern. Technicians, designers and others ingeneers

most of the time scientists are engaged in this pioneering venture.

They will use the latest patents of inventions and the most advanced techniques.

Innovative new concepts of technology, they will raise Normandie to the rank of

The fastest ocean liner since her maiden travel, she wins the Blue Ribbon.

This trophy recognizes the speed record for crossing North Atlantic.

In August 1937, she will set the record with

3 days, 22 hours and 7 minutes to the average of never equaled 31.20 knots.

If Normandie is the fastest, she is also...

The most powerful... Her engines can develop up to 200.000 horsepower.

This performance is matched by her electrical power

exceeding more than 140.000 kilowatts.

The "Metropolitain" of Paris absorbed at the time, only 120.000 Kilowatts.

Normandie has then onboard the most powerful thermic power station

in the world and propelled her to the rank of

The most electrified liner.

At those obvious superlatives, we could add those,

more subjective but nevertheless real, of...

The most beautiful. La Compagnie Générale Transatlantique - "la Transat" -

brought together the finest of arts and crafts.

Whether designers, sculptors, cabinetmakers, upholsterers,

painters and ordinary companions, all work

around among the architects for the moment :

Patout, Pacon, Expert et Bouwens de Boijen.

Committee met in study and implementation for facilities.

This collaboration will help make of Normandie

The French chef-d'oeuvre of Decorative Arts.

The most elegant. Her hydrodynamic and fully modern lines

relegate her rivals to the rank of marine dinosaurs...

The most refined. Luxury, comfort and modernity of her facilities

earned her the title of "floating Ritz".

Gaston Magrin, the outright chef of Normandie kitchens,

will largely contribute to that reputation.

If one were to summarize in a few words the sum of these superlatives,

it should be remembered that Normandie was certainly

The most criticized as the most expensive liner ever built in France (about 863 million francs of the time)

in a specially difficult economic period.

The crisis of 1929 and its consequences in the early 30'

not only facilitated the project which was critized, considered expensive, described as "pharaonic".

Her construction did suffer many financial, political and social adventures.

She was and remains one of the greatest accomplishments and technical prowess

means of transport of the 20th. century as France has in continuing the tradition

with the liner S/S FRANCE, supersonic CONCORDE, T.G.V or ARIANE rocket.

Projects and crazy technological challenges, futurist visions and progressives sometimes offbeat

against the current economic realities of the moment...

This is France, unreasonnable and capricious...

But innovative, avant-garde and creative dreams.

And that was NORMANDIE, "the most beautiful liner in the world..."

Philippe SOCQUIN-BRILLAN