FRANCE (1952) Compagnie Generale Transatlantic "Flandre" Ship 50mm Bronze Medal 53.57 grams with Cardboard Case
Obverse: Female figure seated over arms of Flanders, facing right, different object relating to this region to the left, to the top and bottom FLANDRE / MARCEL RENARD
Reverse: FRENCH LINE / COMPAGNIE / GENERALE / TRANSATLANTIQUE
Edge: triangular mark of Arthus Bertrand BRONZE
Flandre was the CGT's first new ocean liner since World War II. She began her maiden voyage on 23 July 1952. It was considered a failure, as she suffered mechanical failures throughout the voyage. First, impurities in her bunker oil clogged her fuel lines. This rendered her essentially "dead in the water" for four hours while her fuel filters were cleaned out and her boiler furnaces restored to normal. This was repeated later in the voyage, after which Flandre's captain chose to reduce speed for the remainder of the voyage.
On arrival at the Quarantine Station at New York, she suffered a short circuit in her main electrical switchboard causing a near-complete loss of power. Nearly three hours later, she had enough power restored to raise her port anchor. A further three hours were required to raise the starboard anchor for her to continue.
Unlike most ocean liners' maiden arrivals, where they receive the traditional fireboat welcome while sailing under their own power, Flandre arrived in New York Harbor and received the traditional welcome while under tow by four Moran tugs, and running only one of her own twin propellers. Her funnel put out thick clouds of smoke, seeming to almost be straining as it was doing so. She was initially blowing her whistle as she arrived under tow, but after the whistle failed due to her limited power, the ship's siren was substituted. This lacklustre arrival garnered her the nickname "Flounder" by Manhattan dockers.
Flandre's return voyage was delayed to allow engineers to repair her engines. Following her return to France, all of her 1952 sailings were cancelled, and she returned to her builders for thorough repairs. Repairs would take six months, and she returned for the 1953 sailing season.
In her CGT career, her passenger configuration was changed several times, with Flandre running on the transatlantic route for nine months out of the year, and three months cruising with her near-sister Antilles. In 1967, she was withdrawn completely, and was sold to the Italian firm Costa Cruises, who renamed her Carla C.
The Compagnie Generale Transatlantic series of medals is an attractive group, with interesting contributions not only from Marcel Renard, but also Raymond Delamarre, Jean Vernon and Maurice Delannoy.
Inv7601
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