RETURN TO HOME PAGE About Us List by Country Gallery FAQ's Contact Us    

NEW ARRIVALS

CUSTOM MODELS SECTION

TALLSHIPS  MODERN YACHTS CLASSIC SPEED BOATS OCEAN LINERS SAILING BOATS FISHING BOATS BATTLE SHIPS HALF-HULLS WALL PICTURES DISPLAY CASES COMMERCIAL SHIPS NAUTICAL FURNITURE

SS EUROPA

This model is hand-crafted from wood with planks on frame construction and painted as the real ship. Model comes with a display base, a brass name plate and ready for display, not in kit form.

 

Item Code

Specifications

Packing Volume

CS1803P 94L x 12W x 34H (cm) 37L x 4.72W x 13.38H  (inch) 0.10 m³ = 3.63 ft³

SS Europa Model Ship, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

Ship model SS Europa ready for display, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

Hand-crafted SS Europa Model Ship, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

Hand-made scratch build SS Europa Model Ship, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

SS Europa Model Ship Stern View, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

SS Europa Model Ship with Lights, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

Light ship SS Europa, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

SS Europa Bow View, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

SS Europa Model Ship mid Deck View, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

Wooden Ship Model SS Europa, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

SS Europa Model Ship Deck View, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

SS Europa Model Ship Lilo Deck View, scale SS Europa model ship, ship model SS Europa, wooden ship model SS Europa, hand-made ship model SS Europa with lights, display ship model SS Europa, SS Europa model, woodenshipmodel, woodenmodelboat, gianhien, gia nhien co., ltd, gia nhien co model boat and ship builder

 

Suggest: Display case to preserve the model from dust

Picture of the ship in the display case is just for illustration purpose.

HISTORY

SS Europa, later SS Liberté, IMO 5607332, was a German ocean liner built for the Norddeutsche Lloyd line (NDL) to work the transatlantic sea route. She and her sister ship, Bremen, were the two most advanced, high-speed steam turbine ocean vessels in their day, with both earning the Blue Riband.

After World War II French line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique was awarded the Europa as a war prize to replace the destroyed SS Normandie, which had caught fire and capsized at her moorings while interned by the United States in New York City. Europa was refitted at Le Havre and rechristened the Liberté, serving until the arrival of the SS France in 1961 as the premier liner in the Compagnie's fleet. She was laid up in 1962 and scrapped at La Spezia, Italy, in 1963.

Construction

Europa was built in 1929 with her sister ship SS Bremen to be the second 50,000–gross ton North German Lloyd liner. They both were powered with advanced high-speed steam turbine engines and were built with a bulbous bow entry and a low streamlined profile.

Europa and her slightly larger sister ship were designed to have a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, allowing an Atlantic crossing time of 5 days. This enabled Norddeutsche Lloyd to run regular weekly crossings with two ships, a feat that previously required three.

The launching of Europa took place at Blohm & Voss shipyard, Hamburg on Wednesday, August 15, 1928. Europa was intended to be completed in spring 1929. However, on the morning of 26 March 1929, a fire broke out while still at the equipment dock. The fire raged all day long and it was not until the evening when the fire was under control. The ship's turbines were damaged heavily and also the remainder of the ship had been significantly damaged. After long discussions between builder and shipping company, it was decided to repair the ship. Within eleven months the ship was finished and completed on February 22, 1930. The cause of the fire has never been clearly identified.

Blue Riband

Europa made her maiden voyage to New York on 19 March 1930 taking the westbound Blue Riband from SS Bremen with the average speed of 27.91 knots and a crossing time of 4 days, 17 hours and 6 minutes. During the voyage many of her passengers were disturbed by the soot coming out of Europa's low funnels. The problem was corrected by raising the funnels by 15 feet, though decreasing her low profile. After they were raised, there were no more complaints. She held the Riband until Bremen recaptured it in June 1933.

Aircraft

Like Bremen, Europa had a small seaplane launched from a catapult on her upper deck between the funnels. The airplane flew from the ship to a landing at the seaplane port in Blexen. The pilots and technicians gained experience later applied to equipping German warships with on-board aircraft.

The catapult was removed from both Bremen and Europa after a few years of service, because it was too expensive and complex.

World War II

Europa was inactive for most of World War II. There were plans to use her as a transport in Operation Sea Lion, the intended invasion of Great Britain, and later conversion to an aircraft carrier. None of these plans came to pass, and in 1945, she was captured by the Allies and used as a troopship, sailing as the USS Europa (AP-177). The United States claimed the ship as a war prize on 8 May 1945 and gave the vessel to the US Navy, which commissioned Europa 25 August 1945 with Captain B. F. Perry in command. Europa cleared Bremerhaven on 11 September 1945 for Southampton, England, where she loaded 4,500 homeward-bound American troops, arriving in New York City on 24 September. After alteration to increase her troop-carrying capacity, she made two voyages to Southampton to bring US servicemen home to the United States. She sailed from New York once more, on 15 March 1946, bound for Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, and Bremerhaven, where she moored on 24 March.

Europa suffered from small fires caused by the removal of the ship's original high-quality fittings and installation of inferior replacements to compensate for material shortages in the war effort. Also, several serious hull cracks were discovered. The vessel was decommissioned on 2 May 1946 and delivered to the State Department on 8 June 1946. She was later transferred to France in partial payment of war reparations.

French Line

After World War II French line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique was awarded the Europa as a war prize to replace the destroyed SS Normandie, which had caught fire and capsized at her moorings while interned by the United States in New York City. Europa was taken to Le Havre for refitting - which proved fraught with difficulties. On December 8, 1946 a storm caused her to break free from her moorings and she collided with the wreck of Paris, causing significant damage to her hull. She was raised in April 1947 and towed to the Chantiers de l'Atlantique Shipyard in Saint-Nazaire to complete her refitting. She suffered some further damage when the ship caught fire once again in October 1949, resulting in damage to some of her passenger space. Finally, on August 2, 1950, wearing CGT black-topped red funnels in place of NDL yellow, she made her maiden voyage to New York under her new name, Liberté. After five years and two near disasters the crossing was uneventful, and she went on to serve as the premier transatlantic liner in the French Line fleet until the arrival of the 66,000-ton SS France in 1961. Liberté was laid up in 1962 and scrapped at La Spezia, Italy, in 1963.

Liberté was featured prominently in the Jane Russell film The French Line. Liberté made an appearance in the opening credits of the 1953 movie How to Marry a Millionaire, as well as the 1954 classic film Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, in the final scenes of the film.

back to top To Top of the Page

RETURN TO HOME PAGE