Most Impressive Interwar Ship (Civil or Military)

[Jack Ray]

Despite the hard times, the interwar period produced some very impressive engineering marvels. Big fast ships, skyscrapers, dirigibles, supertrains, etc...

Here is a poll to determine the most impressive in the maritime category, civil, or military.

[Werner]

Could there be any doubt that Normandie was the finest ship of the age?

I really don't see how Fubuki is that much of a march as compared to her predecessors when you look at Shakespeare,"V", & "W" of late WW.I.

[Filipe Ramires]

I really don't see how Fubuki is that much of a march as compared to her predecessors when you look at Shakespeare,"V", & "W" of late WW.I.

Three double 5'' turrets plus three triple torpedo mounts. I guess that's far superior to the weaponry of a V/W DD.
The Fubukis marked in some sort of way the beginning of a new design for fleet destroyers that would include after them the Tribals and the Porters for instance.

[Laurence Batchelor]

It has to be Hood for me, the most beautiful warship ever built in the 20th century, let alone the Inter-war period!

For technical progress she was also the worlds first attempt at a fast battleship, shame she failed miserably in that department though

[MichelB]

Lexington class CV.
Big, fast, heavily armed, practically a hybrid CA/CV, biplanes on deck, almost that '20s sense of science fiction. It's something straight out of Metropolis' background. (had there been a CV in it).

[Guest]

Normandie, without any doubt. The most magnificent ship of the steam age and an artifact to inspire the soul of humanity.



All others are mere foot notes of interest only to weird naval freaks.

Oh, wait, never mind.

[Jack Ray]

I voted for Normandie because it is so cool esthetically inside and out as well as very big and very fast. Lexington class comes in a close second. By the way, both of these ships were turbo-electric.

Jack

[TTTTTTTTTT]

Agreed, Normandie with the others bringing up the rear.

[Guest]

By the way, both of these ships were turbo-electric.

Jack

I think the torpedoing of Saratoga in 1942 proved turbo-electric was a bad idea. Noticed no one else used turbo-electric on any major ships after the Normandie. I also understand the French used turbo-electric on the Normandie because it was cheaper than to build the necessary facilities to cut the gears needed for normal geared turbine of the necessary power.

[Laurence Batchelor]

Was it better at cruising speeds on fuel economy though?

[ar]

The Normandie suffered from what constructors call "torsional vibration".
The ship was taken into the yard to try and put this right after only a few transatlantic trips.
The vibration was particularly bad if you were cabined aft.
This problem was never really cured.
In the light of the above I cannot really say that the ship was a success technically.

The North Carolina class also had this problem, again one that was never really solved.

Normandie, without any doubt. The most magnificent ship of the steam age and an artifact to inspire the soul of humanity.



All others are mere foot notes of interest only to weird naval freaks.

Oh, wait, never mind.

[Jean-Paul Binot]

The Normandie suffered from what constructors call "torsional vibration". The ship was taken into the yard to try and put this right after only a few transatlantic trips. The vibration was particularly bad if you were cabined aft. This problem was never really cured. In the light of the above I cannot really say that the ship was a success technically.

Chasse-Mar�e published earlier this year a definitive book on Normandie by Fr�d�ric Ollivier: NORMANDIE, Un Chef d'Oeuvre Fran�ais. ISBN-13: 978-2914208802.

This is a richly illustrated book covering every aspect of this magnificent liner.

The author covers extensively the details of the turbo-electric power plant, why it was designed, its advantages and disadvantages etc. The serious vibration problems that plagued the ship were apparently caused by poorly designed propellers. Normandie spent a lot of time refitting during the first winters of her short career, considerable stiffening of the aft hull being felt necessary, including a new 2nd class lounge build on top of the elegant sweeping terraces overlooking the stern. However, it is the move to 4 bladed propellers that reduced the vibrations to bearable levels after the first season. The fitting of the third and final set of propellers in early 1937 cured the trouble for good. Cunard's favourite, the Queen Mary, experienced similar vibration issues that were cured in the same way, by stiffening the aft hull and fitting new propellers in 1936-37.

The turbo-electric drive was a great success, enabling Normandie to win back the Blue Ribbon from the Queen Mary with "only" 160.000 shp against the Queen's 200.000. The innovative hull form was a great advantage for the French liner. Aerial views of the ship at speed show little wake, and the liner appears to be cutting through the waves while the Queen is forcing her way across the Atlantic using brute force.

My opinion is that Normandie was a technical success, but rather much of an economic failure.

[Deckard]

The stupidity of its capsizing and loss is almost unbelievable. Damn shame.

[Werner]

Normandie makes Queen Mary look like an WW.I antique war reparation from the Germans.

[ar]

Surely you can use better bait than that?

Normandie makes Queen Mary look like an WW.I antique war reparation from the Germans.

[ar]

Blame the mob. AKA, Mafia.

The stupidity of its capsizing and loss is almost unbelievable. Damn shame.

[Guest]

Normandie makes Queen Mary look like an WW.I antique war reparation from the Germans.

Normandie makes every other passenger liner of the era look staid and middle aged. The first passenger liner that really began to close the gap of grace with Normandie was the SS France of 20 years later.

BTW, if the fate of Normandie is a shame, the fate of SS France will make you cry. She is currently being pried apart by crowbar and sledge hammer on a tidal mud flat in India.

[Jean-Paul Binot]

Normandie makes Queen Mary look like an WW.I antique war reparation from the Germans.

Ouch! That might be a bit harsh on the Old Lady... It is true though that Queen Mary was a evolution of previous ships, while Normandie was a complete breakaway in engineering, design and decoration.

Actually, both were outstanding achievements of their respective makers. Each had her devoted following, the establishment sailing on Queen Mary and the liberal elite on Normandie. Both ships had mostly an American client�le. When Normandie left New York on her first cruise to Rio, there were only 2 French passengers, one of which being the new Ambassador to Brazil joining his new posting. Most of the other 900+ were wealthy Americans escaping the cold weather for 2 weeks of tropical bliss on board the most magnificent passenger ship ever.

[Jean-Paul Binot]

BTW, if the fate of Normandie is a shame, the fate of SS France will make you cry. She is currently being pried apart by crowbar and sledge hammer on a tidal mud flat in India.

So true. A tragic loss would have been preferable to the indignity of such a sad end. But if the French can blamle the Americans for losing them Normandie, they have only themselves to blame for letting France go away.

This being said, I was never fascinated by France. She had the classic profile of a magnificent liner from the outside, but she was really nothing special inside. While Normandie must have been an Art D�co feast for the eye from stem to stern, France looked like a patchwork of early 1960 pop art.

[Mark Petersen]

The Lexington/Saratoga* for showing with the CV truely could be. As for unimpressive ships. Any of the treaty cruisers for howing what a warship should not be.

*Its not on the list but IMO the prettiest warship built in the period between the wars was Graf Spee. So sue me.