Paris Liner

Paris, a liner built by the French Line, was built in 1913 in Penhoët, France. However, construction would not continue for long - as soon as World War I broke out in 1914, the construction of the ship was halted. The French government soon realized, however, that the country would need every space possible in order to construct new war-ships. On September 12, 1916, the Paris was hurriedly launched to make place for other more devastating vessels. The work on the liner was resumed after the war in 1919.

Two years later, on June 5, 1921, the Paris was completed. She emerged from the shipyard as the largest vessel ever built in France. Now that the ship was completely fitted, the press could catch an eye on what the French Line had meant in 1913, when they talked about the Paris’ interiors. e ship had something of a magic touch, with every possible kind of interiors. You could choose to travel in the standard conservative palace-like cabins, but the ship also featured Art Nouveau and hints of the Art Deco that the Ile de France would boast six years later. The luxury of the ship was something no other liner could claim to have. For starters, most first class staterooms had square windows rather than the usual round portholes. In your cabin you were able to have a private telephone, which was extremely rare on board a ship. Your valet could on the Paris be easy to call for in his adjacent room, rather than in a cabin in the second class, uncomfortably far away. Added to this the Paris, along with the other French liners, was known for her superb food.

The Paris

The kind of luxury available in the Paris' staterooms were astonishing for her time. Note the telephone between the two beds - a novelty introduced by the French.

had originally, as all pre-war liners, been designed with the emigrating Europeans in mind. But as America restricted its immigration laws after the war, the Paris had to aim even more at the rich and famous passengers.
In April, 1929, the Paris had ran aground on the Brooklyn shore, but that did not damage the ship as bad as the fire that broke out on board the ship when she was at Le Havre four months later. The ship’s passenger areas were completely devastated by the blaze’s smoke, and by the great amount of water sprayed by the fire brigade. It took almost half a year to repair the Paris. When she returned she had had her passenger accommodation changed from 2,132 to 1,934. But this occurrence was merely a taste of what would follow.

In 1927, the Paris had been joined by the 43,000-tonner Île de France who featured even more artistic joy than her older ‘sister’. Eight years later, the French Line added the tremendous 79,000-tonner Normandie to their fleet. With this ship and the Île de France (who also had been outdated by the arrival of the Normandie) the Paris was left entirely behind in liner standard. Of course, she was still the third largest vessel in C.G.T. service, but the Normandie was such a novelty that everything else seemed old-fashioned. Even the Queen Mary, who entered service after the Normandie, seemed too conservative.

The fire on board the Paris in 1929 had destroyed much of the ship, but she was still too young for selling to the scrappers. Fires have always been common problems on board old ship and in 1939, the Paris suffered yet another raging blaze. On April 18, at 10.00 p.m., the ship’s bakery on the A-deck started to burn when at Le Havre harbour. The fire spread so fast that the attempts to move the liner out of the quay failed. The Paris was for the moment carrying art treasures destined for New York, which fortunately were all removed from the ship in time and transferred to the Champlain. Five hours after the fire had broke out, the promenade deck cabins were all set on fire for the entire ship’s length. Just as with the Normandie

The Paris burning at the docks in Le Havre.

in 1942, the fire brigade pumped too much water on the ship, who became top heavy due to that the water could not penetrate the lower areas of the ship because of the ship’s closed watertight compartments. In the morning at 09.15, the ship heeled over onto her port side. The still intact funnels and masts trapped the immense Normandie who had been alongside the Paris during the event. The vessel had fallen so badly that righting was impossible. It was clear that there was nothing to do in order to save the Paris. Two days later her funnels and masts were cut off to free the trapped Normandie.

The Paris-Specifications
Length: 764 feet
Beam: 85 feet
Weight: 34, 569 tons
Engine: Steam engine powering four propellers
Speed: 22 knots
Passengers: 2,132 people

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