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The real airliner LZ 129 HINDENBURG enabled the most luxurious airtravel for decades. Imagine, gliding through the air while the landscape or the sea below can be seen ... LZ 129 HINDENBURG marks the climax of airship construction. On May 6, 1937, the story of civilian airship ended in a tragedy. In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the largest flying object and has been with the similar sized LZ 130 GRAF ZEPPELIN II the most luxurious of all time. How this came about can be reconstructed logically, a series of fatal physics concatenations . The airship LZ 129 HINDENBURG marks the climax of airship construction. It was in its time the fastest and most exclusive traveling object between Europe and America. The challenges of the construction of the giant of the heaven were immense. by Earl of Cruise LZ 129 HINDENBURG, 1936, in Lakehurst - digital copy of a coloured cover photo, originally by Bill Schneider, published in Dan Grossman´s book ` ZEPPELIN HINDENBURG: AN ILLUSTRATED HI...

s s / te NORMANDIE starting from cold Owners: COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE BUILDERS: PENH Ö ET, St. Nazaire, France   by Stephen Carey © , editing by Earl of Cruise   This document is almost exclusively about the engineering aspects of NORMANDIE , mainly on how to start her up from cold. If you are looking for photos of the passenger spaces, there is a plethora of them on the web, in Facebook groups - Admirers of the ss Normandie , ss Normandie photographic file , The French Ocean Liners / Les Paquebots Fran ç ais , ss Normandie , GREAT LINERS OF THE PAST & PRESENT , and others, Pinterest and in articles about NORMANDIE here in the blog, please see at the end of the article. Using "ss" for NORMANDIE is quite incorrect, as NORMANDIE was a Turbo Electric vessel and not a steamship, therefore NORMANDIE should be adressed as "te".   by Earl of Cruise te / ss NORMANDIE berthed in Le Havre, Gare Maritime May 29th, 1935 - colouring courtesy ...

For liners and the shipping companies movies and films had been a top marketing tool Movies or Films and liners at sea, had been intriguing me since I have read about in my youth in LUXUSLINER - BILDER EINER GROSSEN ZEIT by Lee Server ( THE GOLDEN AGE OF OCEAN LINERS ). But earlier, mot only since my first crossing, I was keen watching movies with liners in it, and disapointed, which was an understatement, when I realized the films have been made in a set ashore in some movie "factory". That was after my first crossing.   by Earl of Cruise an essay in progress `Sabrina´, Humphrey Bogart in the office, while LIBERTÉ is sailing out of New York harbor - screenshot Ocean liners, especially those of the luxury category, had been the location of dramas, love stories, thrillers, suspense and catastrophies sinde film was born, or nearly. In this list, the most descriptions are taken from Wikipedia, as I guess no one can expect having seen all these films ... otherwise I w...

Over years, in my early youth, the QUEEN ELIZABETH was shaping my mind for the perfect ocean liner, despite having made my first experiences with a liner onboard the HANSEATIC (1), ex EMPRESS OF SCOTLAND, ex EMPRESS OF JAPAN. When leaning at the rail of HANSEATIC entering the port, my eyes where every where and I wished to by a camera, I took all in. And when seeing the QUEEN ELIZABETH with my own eyes, the nice behaving young boy turned into a tomboy, that my grandmére was no longer able to tame ... I did draw quite a lot of looks, back then. I found, while on research, this article and thought it interesting publishing in my blog: written and published by John Sheperd at liverpoolships.org editing and comments by Earl of Cruise I ( John Shepard ) joined the CUNARD LINE in March 1962 as an Assistant Purser and sailed the QUEEN ELIZABETH throughout that year, before transferring to the Liverpool-based CARINTHIA in November, where I remained as Crew Purser for the next five...

The CAP express liners of HAMBURG-SÜD, CAP FINISTERRE, CAP TRAFALGAR, CAP POLONIO and CAP ARCONA, are known worldwide for their luxury, renowned service on board and grandeur. Their successors of the 60s, the CAP SAN vessels, have not been that elegant, but truly first class and were known as the "White Swans" of the Atlantic. by Earl of Cruise HAMBURG-SÜD´s SANTA TERESA in Santos - courtesy HAMBURG-SÜD Since its formation in 1871, HAMBURG-SÜDAMERIKANISCHE DAMPFSCHIFFFAHRTS-GESELLSCHAFT ( HSDG or HAMBURG-SÜD ) has evolved from a conventional freight and passenger shipping company into a global operating transport logistics organisation. Today, it ranks among the world's ten largest container shipping lines and is one of the leading providers in the North-South trades. T ill recently it was a member of the successful Oetker Group, one of the largest and best-known family enterprises in Germany. The heirs and owners sold HAMBURG-SÜD to the Danish MAERSK Group ...

The STELLA POLARIS, METEOR and PRINZESSIN VICTORIA LUISE have been in their days the epitome of luxury cruising, a long past era. by Earl of Cruise, text passages from Alan Dumelow in 1900 inaugurated a new type of passenger vessel in Hamburg the PRINZESSIN VICTORIA LUISE .  ss PRINZESSIN VICTORIA LUISE, 1900, HAPAG, the first custom build cruise vessel in history - courtesy co loured by Daryl LeBlanc, Source: Wikipedia ( original seize ) The new vessel is the prototype for cruise vessels and especially all the Mega Yacht named ships, that play to be a Mega Yacht. This new type of vessel was initiated by the foreseeing genius of ALBERT BALLIN . While under construction tout Hamburg was wondering what BLOHM&VOSS was constructing for the genius ALBERT BALLIN, chairman of HAPAG . A common joke was, that he had ordered a privat yacht as he had become great-crazy. The more the small 4,409 GT vessel grew on the helling the more it was looking like a yacht for a supe...

Germany’s two luxury liners, BREMEN and EUROPA , have not only played an important part in their country’s mercantile revival, but have added also an immortal chapter to the history of transatlantic travel. Copy from Shipping Wonders of the World   From part 6 , published 17 March 1936 editing by Earl of Cruise ss / ts BREMEN in her early years - Source: Shipping Wonders of the World/Bundespresse Archiv The PRIDE OF A NATION - the NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD quadruple-screw turbine express liner BREMEN . The keel of this ship was laid in June 1927. Her launch took place in August, 1928. In less than a year later, the Bremen made her first voyage to America, when she crossed the Atlantic from Cherbourg to New York in four days seventeen hours forty-two minutes, thus setting up a new record and gaining the coveted “Blue Riband”. During the passage the Bremen attained an average speed of 27.83 knots. ss / ts BREMEN in her early years - Source: W ikipedia For the pop...

Between May 1928 and August 1939 the luxury day express train RHEINGOLD operated between Hoek van Holland and Basel as a FFD Pullman train of DEUTSCHE REICHSBAHN GESELLSCHAFT (DRG) and MITROPA. The name was mystic and elitarian. by Earl of Cruise   RHEINGOLD, the name of the most luxurious train ever of Germany - detail, own photo On May 15th, 1928 the luxury express train RHEINGOLD started for the first time, connecting Hoek von Holland, Netherlands, and Amsterdamn with Basel, Suisse. Name giving was the legendary treasure of the Nibelungen. This special service for most international travelers was an immidiate success. Advertisment for the RHEINGOLD created by Frank Newbould - collection Earl of Cruise For the most travelers in the RHEINGOLD meant the voyage in the luxury train more than being transported in high comfort. From their soft armchairs they could watch the pitoresque Rhine landscape, with wine villages, vine-growing slopes, forteresses and castles, and th...

NORMANDIE at sea - courtsey coloured by Daryl LeBlanc Le NORMANDIE , the greates ship of France, was a great triumph for the French industry, economy the most gracious ambassador of France - a symbol of cultur and Savoir de Vivre. NORMANDIE never surppassed by any liner. But whom the gods love, they beat him to a tragic ending. In case of NORMANDIE the gods let do their dirty job by careless, ignorant and arrogant US Navy officials and their sub contractors.   by Earl of Cruise   NORMANDIE had 4 years of living and the chance to bring Glitz, Glamour and Luster into a world that was just in front of an abyss since October 1929. Sailing with NORMANDIE , created to cater primarily the First Clas clientele, and enjoying life on board seems to me today, as a Dance on the Volcano, that errupted in 1939. Longitudinal cutaway of PARIS - own collection copy from a CGT broshure ÎLE DE FRANCE , Cie Gle TRANSATLANTIQUE provoking ART DÉCO liner - own collection  ...

The " Dutch TITANIC ", laid down 1912 as STATENDAM, seized by the British Royal Navy to become the trooper JUSTICIA . A new book by historian Tamás Balogh is the first compendium about that liner, that never saw civil service, and was lost during WWI. While TITANIC is ostentatiously called the most luxurious liner, STATENDAM offered luxury features that recalled the grandness of lounges and luxuries of the German Ballin trio - e.g. a Main Lounge two decks high, between the first and second funnel, a two deck high Dining Room, as well a Wintergarden of one and a half deck hight. OLYMPIC Class only offered one deck high salons ... by Earl of Cruise b/w copy from a painting of the intended STATENDAM, the second in the fleet of HOLLAND AMERICA LINE - courtesy Peter Meersman, collector of the original painting The first STATENDAM (10,322 GT) was constructed and inaugurated in 1898 and had been sold to ALLAN LINE in 1911. When STATENDAM II was laid down in Belfast...