warspite1
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From: England
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quote:
ORIGINAL: brian brian
I think Normandie would qualify on the 2 clues, but it was not a warship per se, just a big pre-war French cruise liner that rolled over and sank in New York harbor early in the war. Can't remember the exact cause, but it wasn't the Axis.
Warspite1
[4245 Transport]
.P World in Flames uses two main types of naval transport counter: Transport
(TRS) and Amphibious (AMPH). The way in which these counters are used depends to
an extent on what optional rules are in play. However, as a general rule, TRS
represent the types of ship that were used to transport men and material from one
friendly port to another, while AMPH represent the specialised shipping that
could land men and material on a hostile shore.
.P TRS not only include troopships but also other vessels that kept the troops
fighting overseas supplied. These vessels include tankers, munitions ships and
other cargo carrying vessels.
.P At the outbreak of World War II the United States merchant fleet was the
second largest in the world. The US Government had set up the United States
Maritime Commission (USMC) in 1936 to oversee production of merchant shipping and
to ensure that the US merchant marine replaced its ageing fleet with modern
vessels. In 1939 the US merchant fleet had just over 8.5m of gross tonnage,
spread across just under 1,500 vessels. There were around 55,000 Americans
employed in the fleet in 1939.
.P Upon the US entry into the war in December 1941, the fleet expanded rapidly
as, under USMC guidance, the shipyards of the US churned out the vessels required
to support the Allied war effort across all the oceans of the world. The famous
Liberty ships - built to a standard design to aid mass production, alone numbered
two thousand seven hundred vessels.
.P Separate to the USMC, the Government set up the War Shipping Administration,
and it was the job of this organisation to ensure that the required number, and
the right type, of existing civilian vessels were requisitioned to serve with the
US Navy or army.
.P The men required to crew these ships was to grow approximately four-fold
during the years 1939-45.
.P This projection of US industrial might was needed most in the North Atlantic,
as the German U-boat fleet threatened not only to starve the United Kingdom into
defeat, but furthermore, to seriously undermine Allied military operations
overseas. It was only from 1943 that the number of merchant ships built by the
Allies - mostly in the US - outstripped losses.
.P Like the British merchant marine, their counterparts in the US suffered more
losses proportionally than in any other service. Over 9,000 US merchant sailors
were to lose their lives during the Second World War.
.P This write-up looks at a "what if" ship; a transport that could have been
employed by the United States, had she been converted as planned.
.P
.B Name: USS Lafayette
.B Engine(s) output: 200,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 32 knots
.B Main armament: Unknown
.B Gross Tonnage: 83,423 tons
.B Thickest armour: Not Applicable
.P The SS Normandie began life as a luxury transatlantic liner. She was built in
the early thirties for the French company, Compagnie General Transatlantique and
she sailed for New York for the first time at the end of May 1935.
.P Normandie won the prestigious Blue Riband trophy - for the fastest
transatlantic crossing - on that very first voyage; recording a time of four
days, three hours and two minutes. It was the first time a French ship had won
the Blue Riband, taking the record from the Italian vessel Rex, and she would
dispute this honour with the RMS Queen Mary over the course of the next few
years.
.P Her peacetime career did not last very long. On the 1st September 1939 Germany
invaded Poland and, two days later, the British and French declared war on
Germany; the Second World War had started.
.P During that fateful weekend Normandie was in New York harbour, where she was
interned by the US authorities; she never left New York under her own steam
again.
.P Her French officers and crew were allowed to remain aboard Normandie, but when
the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, an act quickly followed by
Adolf Hitler's declaration of war on the United States, the fate of Normandie
came into sharp focus. The US authorities took control of the liner and she was
formally handed over to the US Navy for the purposes of converting her to either
a troopship or an aircraft carrier. Ultimately the decision taken was that
Normandie be used as a troopship.
.P This was an entirely sensible decision given the sheer number of men that
would need to be transported from the US to Europe in the coming months and
years. The Normandie compared in size to the Queen Mary, and the British liner
was to prove able to carry almost 17,000 men (an entire division) in one voyage
alone; a record for any ship.
.P It was decided to re-name Normandie USS Lafayette; a shrewd political move
given that the Marquis de La Fayette was a Frenchmen who had served in the
Continental Army with distinction during the American War of Independence. Her
official classification was AP-53, reflecting her forthcoming role as a
transport.
.P After acceptance by the United States Navy, she was then offered to, and
accepted by the US Army on the understanding that the US Navy be responsible for
her conversion, albeit to the Army's specification. In another turnaround she was
then offered back to the Navy.
.P All this back and forth debate cost a number of wasted weeks. In addition to
this, there was much disussion about the timescale for her completion. A tight
deadline of the 14th February 1942 was given and would not be moved. No doubt
this general level of confusion combined with a ridiculously tight timescale
contributed to what happened on the 9th February. Stray sparks from a blowtorch
started a fire that quickly spread, sending flames throughout the ship.
.P In the early evening, the fire was thought to be under control but the ship
took on an ever increasing list and eventually had to be abandoned. She capsized
in the early hours of the following morning and rested on her port side with half
the ship visible above the shallow water. 1 man had died in the attempt to save
the burning ship but a great many more were injured.
.P There have been claims that her destruction was caused by sabotage, but the
most likely cause of the fire was a simple accident.
.P Although Lafayette was raised in August 1943 and work began on re-building
her, it was quickly realised that the task was too big and that there were too
many other pressing projects to be dealt with; a very sad end to a fine ship.
.P SS Normandie / USS Lafayette was scrapped in 1948.
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