Famous and infamous Ocean liner

ss deutschland of 1900



ss france of 1961

the construction of ocean liners result of nationalism. revival of power of german navy stemmed clear affirmation of kaiser wilhelm ii of germany see country become sea power. thus, ss deutschland of 1900 had honor bear name of mother country, honor lost after ten years of disappointing career. rms lusitania , rms mauretania of 1907 built of british government desire united kingdom regain prestige sea power. ss united states of 1952 result of desire united states government possess large , fast ship convertible troop transport. ss rex , ss conte di savoia of 1932 constructed @ demands of benito mussolini. finally, construction ss france of 1961 result of charles de gaulle s desire build on french national pride , financed french government.

some liners did gain great popularity. mauretania , olympic had many admirers during careers, , retirement , scrapping caused sadness. same true of Île de france, scrapping aroused strong emotion admirers. similarly, queen mary popular british people.

maritime disasters , incidents

the ss andrea doria sinking in 1956

some ocean liners infamous today because of sinking great loss of lives. in 1873, rms atlantic struck underwater rock , sank off coast of nova scotia, canada, killing @ least 535 people. in 1912, sinking of rms titanic, took approximately 1,500 lives, highlighted overconfidence of shipping companies in ships, such failure put enough lifeboats on board. safety measures @ sea reexamined following incident. 2 years later, in 1914, rms empress of ireland sank in saint lawrence river after colliding ship. 1,012 people died.

among other famous sinking of rms lusitania in 1915, resulted in loss of 1,198 lives , provoked international outcry, , of ms georges philippar, caught fire , sank in gulf of aden in 1932, killing 54 people. in 1956, sinking of ss andrea doria, loss of 46 lives, after collision ms stockholm made headline.

in 1985, ms achille lauro hijacked off coast of egypt members of palestinian liberation front, resulting death of 1 of hostages being held hijackers. in 1994, caught fire , sank off coast of somalia.