USS Lafayette (AP-53)
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 An aerial view of the S.S. Normandie |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Lafayette (AP-53) |
| Builder: | Penhoët, Saint Nazaire, France |
| Laid down: | January 26 1931 |
| Launched: | October 29, 1932 |
| Christened: | October 29, 1932 |
| Acquired: | (By the Navy:) 27 December 1941 |
| Fate: | Caught fire, capsized at Pier 88 in the New York Passenger Ship Terminal in New York City in 1942; wreck remained on site throughout WWII, and was sold for scrap on October 3rd 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 79,280/83,423 gross tons |
| Displacement: | 71,300 tons (approx) |
| Length: | 1,029 feet (313.6 m) |
| Beam: | 119.4 ft (36.4 m) |
| Height: | 184 ft (56.1 m) |
| Draft: | 37.00 ft (11.3 m) |
| Installed power: | Four Turbo-electric, total 160,000 hp (200,000 hp max). |
| Propulsion: | Four 3- (later 4-) bladed, 23 tons each |
| Speed: | Designed speed 29 knots (54 km/h), max speed recorded 32.2 knots (59.6 km/h) |
| Crew: | 1,345 |
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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into SS Normandie. (Discuss) |
USS Lafayette (AP-53) was the name and hull ID number assigned to the French luxury liner SS Normandie following the latter's seizure in New York by the United States after the Fall of France.
Intended for conversion into a high speed troopship, Lafayette caught fire at New York during the conversion process on the night of 9/10 February 1942 and capsized. She was eventually raised again at great expense and floated to the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard for repair, but the job proved too difficult and she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1 October 1945, and sold for scrap 3 October 1946 to Lipsett Incorporated.
For more details of this ship's history, see SS Normandie.
[edit] References
- AP-53 Lafayette, Navsource Online.
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