SS FRANCE 1962 / Norway MIniature Model Steamship

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Look at this wooden model of the SS FRANCE 1962 which was sold to Norway. It was named Norway's largest cruise ship, 66,000 tons, carrying 2044 passengers, going 34 knots. This information was printed on the aged paper which accompanied this model. Another liner has superseded this record by now. This rare model comes to you from an estate in northern NY. The owner traveled extensively, & perhaps bought this on one of his trips. Perhaps he made it---I don't know. If someone out t DOES, kindly email & share your knowledge. She measures about 4 1/2" long & about 1" high. A lover of the SS FRANCE / Norway --or perhaps a collector of miniature models too,--would probably yearn to add this to a collection. The Wikipedia gives a wealth of information on this FAMOUS FAMOUS vessel: The SS France was the French Line flagship from 1961 to 1974 , combining regular transatlantic crossings - six days and nights - with occasional winter cruises, as well as two world circumnavigations. As the SS Norway she was the flagship of the Norwegian Cruise Line from 1980 to approximately 2001 . ......................... The France's maiden voyage to New York took place on February 3 , 1962 , with many of France's film stars and aristocracy aboard. On December 14 , 1962 , the France carried the Mona Lisa from Le Havre to New York, w the painting was to embark on an American tour. ..........From July 13 to July 26 , 1967 , the France docked at the Île Notre-Dame in Montreal , acting as a secondary French pavilion at the 1967 World's Fair , Expo 67 .[5] She sailed the North Atlantic run between Le Havre and New York for thirteen years. However, by the beginning of the 1970s jet travel was by far more popular than ship travel, and the costs of fuel was ever increasing. The France , which had always relied on subsidies from the French government, was forced to take advantage of these more and more.Using the ship's versatile design to its full potential, the CGT began to send the France on more cruises during the winter, which was off-season for the Atlantic trade. One design flaw, however, was revealed when the ship reached warmer waters: her two swimming pools , one each for first and tourist class, were both indoors; the first class pool deep within the ship's hull, and the tourist class pool on an upper deck, but covered with an immovable glass dome. The latter, perhaps, was the more aggravating in hot weather. She also had limited outdoor deck space, with much of what was available protected behind thick glass wind-screens; useful on the North Atlantic, but frustrating when blocking cooling breezes in the tropics. (The Queen Elizabeth 2 suffered from a similar design flaw as well.)Nonetheless, the France's cruises were popular, and her first world cruise took place in 1972 . Too large to traverse the Panama and Suez Canals , she was forced to sail around Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope . That same year, with the destruction of the Seawise University (former RMS Queen Elizabeth ) by fire in Hong Kong , the France became the largest passenger ship in the world.--------Nonetheless, the France's cruises were popular, and her first world cruise took place in 1972 . Too large to traverse the Panama and Suez Canals , she was forced to sail around Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope . That same year, with the destruction of the Seawise University (former RMS Queen Elizabeth ) by fire in Hong Kong , the France became the largest passenger ship in the world.Still, as the opening years of the decade progressed, the cruise market expanded, seeing the construction of smaller, purpose built cruise ships which could also fit through the Panama Canal. Worse, in 1973 the Oil Crisis hit and the price of oil went from $35 US to $95 US per barrel. When the French government, at the end of the Trente Glorieuses , realised that keeping the France running would necessitate an addition ten million dollars a year, they opted in... read more

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