SS Europa (1928)

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SS Europa prior to her maiden voyage
Career
Name:	Europa
Owner:	Norddeutsche Lloyd
Port of Registry:	Germany
Builder:	Blohm & Voss shipyard, Hamburg, Germany
Launched:	1 August 1928
Maiden voyage:	19 March 1930
Fate:	Turned over to France as a war reparation in 1946.
Career
Name:	SS Liberté
Operator:	Compagnie Générale Transatlantique
Port of Registry:	France
Acquired:	1946
In service:	1950 to 1961
Out of service:	1946 to 1950
Fate:	Retired in 1961 and scrapped in 1962.
General characteristics
Class and type:	Ocean liner
Tonnage:	49,746 gross tons
Length:	936.7 ft (283.5 m)
Beam:	101.7 feet (31 m)
Installed power:	Four steam turbines generating 105,000 shp
Propulsion:	Quadruple screws
Speed:	27.5 knots
Capacity:	2,193 total passengers: 860 first class 500 second class 305 tourist class 617 third class
Crew:	965 total

The SS Europa (later SS Liberté) was one of a pair of fast ocean liners built in the late nineteen-twenties for the Norddeutsche Lloyd line (NDL) for the transatlantic passenger service. Her sister ship was the Bremen, and the two were very similar, though not identical (the Bremen was slightly larger, among other differences).

History

Construction

Europa was built in 1929 with her sister ship Bremen and to be the second 50,000 grosse tons North German Lloyd. With both ships, the NDL will reach the top class shipping company of Atlantic traffic once more.

Europa and her sister were designed to have a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, allowing an Atlantic crossing time of 5 days. This speed enabled Norddeutsche Lloyd to run regular weekly crossings with two ships, a feat that normally required three.

Europa in flames during her fitting out

The launching of Europa took place at Blohm & Voss shipyard, Hamburg on August 1, 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 22 February 1930. The cause of the fire could be never clarified completely.

Blue Riband

Europa made her maiden voyage to New York on 19 March 1930 taking the westbound Blue Riband from her sister SS Bremen with the average speed of 27.91 knots and a crossing time of 4 days, 17 hours and 6 minutes.

Aircraft

Like her sister Bremen, Europa had a small seaplane launched from a catapult on her upper deck between the funnels. The airplane flew from the ship to a landing at the seaplane port in Blexen. The pilots and technicians gained experience later applied to equiping German warships with on-board aircraft.

The catapult was removed from both Bremen and Europa after a few years of service, because it was too expensive and complex.

World War II

Liberté sunk following a collision with the capsized Paris at Le Havre. Note the funnels painted in French Line colors.

During World War II, she was in German hands and largely inactive. There were plans to use her as a transport in Operation Sealion, the intended invasion of Great Britain, and later conversion to an aircraft carrier. None of these plans came to pass, and in 1945, she was captured by the allies and used as a troopship, sailing as the USS Europa (AP-177). However, after it was discovered that the ship had infrastructural problems from years of neglect (defective wiring and hull cracks), she was removed from this service.

French Line

Sailing as the SS Liberté in the 1950's

After the war she was turned over to the French as war reparations and France began to refit her for passenger service. In 1946 while being refitted, she broke free of her moorings during a storm and collided with the wreck of the Paris and sank.^[1] She was raised, and in 1950, made her maiden voyage under her new name, Liberté, to New York.

The refitted Liberté received the colours of the French Line, Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, as well as lengthened funnels. The original squat-shaped funnels had already been lengthened while in service as the as the SS Europa, to address the problem of exhaust soot coating passengers, but gained further height for the French Line.

Following eleven years of service as one of the largest transatlantic liners in the French Line fleet, SS Liberté was laid up in 1961 and scrapped in 1962.

SS Liberté also made an appearance in the 1954 classic film Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, as the ocean liner which features in the final scenes of the film.

Route

• Bremerhaven – New York (as Europa)
• Le Havre – New York ( start in 1950 as Liberté)

References

External links

• Ocean-Liners.com Europa page
• The Great Ocean Liners: Europa/Liberté
• Ocean Express: The story of the Bremen and Europa
• Europa as troop transporter

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