On #ThisDayInHistory in 1932, the finest French #OceanLiner ever built, #SSNormandie, was christened and eased down the slipway at #ChantiersDePenhoët, in #SaintNazaire, France. One of the largest liners ever, she is widely regarded as the most beautiful and innovative.

On #ThisDayInHistory in 1939, the #SSNormandie (on the left, pictured beside #RMSQueenElizabeth) arrived in New York, never to sail again. She was left there to keep France's prized flagship safe, but the US later seized the ship & quickly destroyed it through sheer incompetence.