Normandie.

This is coolbert:

Here yet one more instance of a capsized ocean liner. This during a time of war, that liner, engineered and built to the highest and most advanced technological standards, sunk, capsized, NOT ever being restored to working condition.

"SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built."

The SS Normandie, French ocean liner while BEING REFITTED AS A TROOP TRANSPORT DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [WW2], CAPSIZING AND SINKING WHILE ANCHORED AT DOCK!!

Those ocean liners such as the Normandie when transformed into a troop transport able to transport during a single voyage a divisional size element of troops [10,000 men strong] across the Atlantic with relative ease, sailing alone and not in convoy, the high speed of these liners allowing these ocean liners/troop transports to avoid the U-boat threat!

While undergoing refitting, the Normandie having accidentally caught fire, all measures to extinguish the fire only exacerbating a bad situation, the tremendous weight of water as used to fight the fire causing the ship to flood, list and eventually capsize. The Normandie deemed as NOT salvageable after extensive and ultimately futile efforts to right, raise and put the ship back into operation.

"In 1942, the liner caught fire while being converted to a troopship, capsized onto her port side and came to rest on the mud of the Hudson River at the New York Passenger Ship Terminal. Although salvaged at great expense, restoration was deemed too costly and she was scrapped in October 1946"

At the time I assume all parties involved would have intuitively and instantly suspected German sabotage as the culprit. Reminiscent of the Black Tom explosions from World War One [WW1]. Investigation later determining that the fire was an accident as commonly occurs during construction or refitting of this nature!

More importantly, and this would not have been known to the investigators is that Hitler had given specific orders that prior to American entry into WW2 there was no be no sabotage missions on American territory. Hitler greatly desired to keep the U.S. out of the war and DID NOT want to make an already tense situation worse. NOR, as far as I have read, did the German prior to Pearl Harbor EVEN HAVE AN AMERICAN APPARATUS IN PLACE CAPABLE OF CARRYING SABOTAGE MISSIONS IF AND WHEN THE WORD HAD BEEN GIVEN!

"Enemy sabotage was widely suspected, but a federal investigation in the wake of the sinking concluded that the fire was completely accidental . . ."

That the docks of  New York City became obviously during WW2 a vital military concern - - security of the port facility was turned over to the mafia for the duration of the war, a gentleman's agreement having been made between the U.S. government and those various leaders of organized crime. That there WERE NO further sabotage incidents on the scale of Black Tom for the duration of the war is often cited as evidence of the ruthless nature and efficiency of the mafia!

coolbert.