The Liberte and Ile De France are seen together in this shot from the 1950’s. It was probably not common for both ships to be in the same port together, since they maintained a tandem schedule that saw the two ships sailing from opposite sides of the Atlantic at any given time.

Ile De France, loaded with all of her military cargo on the stern, heads for France on 1 May, 1940. She will reach Cherbourg on the 7th, and discharge all of her cargo upon arrival. After refueling, she will depart for Sydney, Australia via Cape town. France would fall to the Nazi’s on the 10th,

The Ile De France sits at a pier off Staten Island in April, 1940. She is taking on military cargo that included bomber parts, and tons of sheet copper and brass bars. After being fully loaded, the ship will sail on the first of May.

Identification Data (Source: marhisdata.nl) Year built: 1882 Category: Passenger-/cargo vessel Propulsion: Steamship Type: Passenger-/cargovessel Type Deck: Spar deck Masts: Three masts Rig: Several auxiliary sails. Material Hull: Iron Decks: 3 Construction Data Shipbuilder: John Elder & Co., Glasg

Two days after the previous picture was taken, the Ile De France departed New York bound for her home port in France. The three uncrated bombers can be seen on the upper sports deck aft. The Ile had already been earmarked by the French Government for troopship duty in Australia, and shortly after

The Ile De France is shown on 29 April, 1940, docked at a pier on Staten Island, where she had been moved to allow other French liners to use the facilities at the company’s pier 88 on the Hudson. The crew has completed painting the ship’s upper works a dark gray and her funnels were painted black.

The French Lines Ile De France departs New York in late August, 1939. It will be her last peacetime departure from the port for many years to come. She appears to be being assisted by an early diesel powered member of the Moran Fleet.

The Normandie is seen leaving Le Havre early in her career, with the Ile De France docked in the background,

CGT's elegant Ile De France is seen in her twilight years crossing the English Channel in this fine painting by artist John Stewart

Post-war maiden crossing, Le Havre-Southampton-New York

Those flying to Europe passed over a wonderful thing...

Profile drawing of Ile de France

Ile de France - dining salon

Here's another view of some of histories greatest North Atlantic Liners docked together in New York on 16 September, 1939, just days after the start of World War 2. Only three of these five liners would survive the conflict.

Although the view is a bit hazy due to a still persistent fog, the Andrea Doria is seen on 26 July, 1956, at around 8:00 in the morning after being rammed the previous night by the Swedish liner Stockholm. The picture was taken from an outbound and unidentified ship that was passing through the are

French liner ILE DE FRANCE at Fremantle, Western Australia, 1941.

Idealised look at Ile's postwar rebuild...

This postcard shows the Normandie entering the dry dock at her home port of Le Havre in 1938. The three stacker docked on the left is the Ile De France. Despite the 10,000 ton difference between the two ships, the Ile is often mistaken for the three funneled French Liner Paris in this image, becau

The Ile De France and Aquitania sail along in convoy while serving together in the Southern Hemisphere in late 1941. The ships are arriving back in Sydney.