SS L'Atlantique

History
France
Ordered	1926
Builder	Penhoet Shipyards
Laid down	November 28, 1928
Launched	April 14, 1930
Christened	April 14, 1930
Commissioned	1931
Decommissioned	1936
In service	1931
Out of service	1933
Stricken	1936
Homeport	Bordeaux
Fate	scrapped 1936
General characteristics
Tonnage	42,000 gross tons
Length	717 ft (219 m)
Beam	91 ft (28 m)
Draught	53 ft 5 in (16.28 m)
Propulsion	Four sets of Parson steam turbines by builders; Quadruple Screw; 55,000 IHP
Speed	22 knots
Boats & landing craft carried	26
Capacity	1,238 passengers
Complement	663

Owned by the Compagnie de Navigation Sud Atlantique (a subsidiary of the French Line) was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner on the Europe-South America run until her untimely destruction by fire.

History

She was 717 feet long and registered over 42,000 gross tons, surpassing her closest rival, the German Cap Arcona of the Hamburg-South America Line in size and speed. Her sumptuous interiors, which included a department store, rivaled those of liners on the North Atlantic run. Most of her interior spaces were designed by the same interior decorators who designed the Ile de France and the legendary Normandie.

While her interiors were beautiful, her exterior appearance was not; her funnels were too short, she had no sheer and she had a rather top-heavy appearance. Her funnels were later raised in height to improve her looks.

Demise

L'Atlantique made only nine round voyages. On January 3, 1933, sailing without passengers to Le Havre, France for a refit, fires mysteriously broke out in several cabins at once. The crew bravely attempted to quell the fire, but the speed and intensity (as well as the rough seas) made it impossible, and soon the L'Atlantique was ablaze from stem to stern. Naval ships and salvage tugs eventually brought the ship into tow, but not before nine crewman died fighting the fire.

The ship's engines and boilers were unharmed, but her interiors were totally destroyed. Sabotage by the French Communist Party was suspected, but could not be proven. Sud-Atlantique said she was beyond repair, but her underwriters believed that she could be salvaged. The line took the insurance company to court. In the meantime, the ship remained at her berth, a forlorn sight. It was not until 1936 that the courts decided in the favor of the shipping line, and the vessel was towed to Port Glasgow and scrapped. According to Les Streater's book, as L'Atlantique was towed to her doom, she passed the brand-new RMS Queen Mary, about to depart on her maiden voyage. As the two ships passed, Mary's captain blew his ship's whistle in a poignant tribute to the soon-to-be-scrapped liner.

References

• L'Atlantique: Queen of the South Atlantic, by Les Streater
• The Story of the L'Atlantique