On February 9, 1942, the SS Normandie — arguably, the most beautiful ocean liner ever built — caught fire while being converted to a troopship, having been seized by U.S. authorities and renamed USS Lafayette. Although the fire had been declared to be under control late that afternoon, early in the morning of February 10,  the 1,029-foot (313.6-meter) long liner capsized onto her port side and came … Continue reading The Burning of ‘Normandie’