Decline of long-distance line voyages Ocean liner

ss united states of 1952

after war, ships again transferred defeated nations winning nations war reparations. case of europa, ceded france , renamed liberté. united states government impressed service of cunard s queen mary , queen elizabeth troopships during war. ensure reliable , fast troop transport in case of war against soviet union, u.s. government sponsored construction of ss united states , entered service united states lines in 1952. won blue riband on maiden voyage in year , held until richard branson won in 1986 virgin atlantic challenger ii. 1 year later, in 1953, italy completed prestigious ss andrea doria, later sank in 1956 after collision ms stockholm.

before world war ii, aircraft had not been significant threat ocean liners. pre-war aircraft noisy, vulnerable bad weather, few had range needed transoceanic flights, , expensive , had small passenger capacity. war accelerated development of large, long-ranged aircraft. four-engined bombers, such avro lancaster , boeing b-29 superfortress, range , massive carrying capacity, natural prototypes post-war next-generation airliners. jet engine technology accelerated due wartime development of jet aircraft. in 1953, de havilland comet became first commercial jet airliner; sud aviation caravelle, boeing 707 , douglas dc-8 followed, , long-distance travel done air. italian line s ss michelangelo , ss raffaello, launched in 1962 , 1963, 2 of last ocean liners built liner service across north atlantic. cunard s transatlantic liner, queen elizabeth 2, used cruise ship. 1960s, 95% of passenger traffic across atlantic aircraft. reign of ocean liners came end. 1970s, many passenger ships continued service in cruising.

in 1982, during falklands war, 3 active or former liners requisitioned war service british government. liners queen elizabeth 2 , canberra, requisitioned cunard , p&o serve troopships, carrying british army personnel ascension island , falkland islands recover falklands invading argentine forces. p&o educational cruise ship , former british india steam navigation company liner uganda requisitioned hospital ship, , served after war troopship until raf mount pleasant station built @ stanley, handle trooping flights.