Construction Europa was built in 1928 with her sister ship to be the second 50,000–gross ton North German Lloyd liner. They both were powered with advanced high-speed steam turbine engines and 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, an operation that previously required three. The
Europa was launched at
Blohm & Voss shipyard,
Hamburg on Wednesday, August 15, 1928.
Bremen was launched the following day.
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 and was only brought under control in the evening. The ship's turbines were damaged heavily in addition to significant damage to the remainder of the ship. 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 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. 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).
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. She was raised in April 1947 and towed to the
Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët 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. After five years and two near disasters the crossing was uneventful. Sailing the Le Havre – New York route, and she went on to serve as the premier transatlantic liner in the French Line fleet until the arrival of the 66,000-ton 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 film
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. ==Fate==