SS France (1910)

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SS France (1910) was a French transatlantic liner built for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, the French Line. Ordered in 1908 and built at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, she was laid down in 1909, launched on September 20, 1910, and entered service in April 1912. She was the first French liner to have four funnels and four propellers, powered by Parsons steam turbines, which gave her a top speed of about 25 knots. She carried around 2,000 passengers and weighed about 24,000 tons. Her interiors were famously lavish, decorated in Louis XIV style and earning her the nickname “Versailles of the Atlantic.” Highlights included a grand staircase, the Café Terrasse, and the Salon Mauresque.

Her maiden voyage was from Le Havre to New York on April 20, 1912, just after the Titanic disaster. She quickly became a popular luxury liner, but she initially suffered vibrations and rolling. These problems were addressed by adding larger bilge keels and new propellers.

When World War I began, France was requisitioned by the French Navy as an armed merchant cruiser (France IV) but proved too large and energy-hungry, so she was converted to carry troops and then used as a hospital ship. In 1916 she collided with the British destroyer HMS Eden in the English Channel; Eden sank with the loss of many crew, but France rescued the survivors. She later served as a hospital ship at the Dardanelles and then ferried American troops to Europe in 1917–1918. An engine-room explosion in 1918 caused fatalities and significant damage, after which she returned to civilian service in 1919 and was refurbished in 1920.

In 1921 France was no longer the CGT flagship, a newer liner, Paris, taking that honor, but she remained a popular ship. In 1924 she was converted to an all-first-class liner, with boilers converted to fuel oil and crews reduced. She continued across the Atlantic and also did cruising voyages.

The Great Depression reduced demand for transatlantic travel, and France spent more time idle. She was laid up at Le Havre in 1932, and a small fire in 1933 did not help. With CGT building the new flagship Normandie, France was finally retired. She departed Le Havre on April 15, 1935, under her own power to be broken up at Dunkirk, and was scrapped in 1936.