BRITAIN’S “NEW LOOK” LINER GETS READY TO EARN DOLLARS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22820, 15 December 1948, Page 7

BRITAIN’S “NEW LOOK” LINER GETS READY TO EARN DOLLARS

LONDON (By Air Mail)

Britain’s “now look” liner, tlic 34,000-ton Cunard-White Star l Line’s Caronia, the largest ship built anywhere in the world since i the war, is now getting ready for her maiden voyage across the § Atlantic on January 4.

= The Caronia, setting a new fashion 1 in ocean greyhounds with her clipper : bow, single tripod mast, huge oval funs' nel and scientific colour of greens, E represents the show piece of Britain's = post-war shipbuilding programme de- : signed to bring in dollars. E After one round trip to the United = States from Britain, she will go to New : York to spend her first winter cruising ; out of New York down to the West E Indies. : Launched in October, 1947, by Prin- = Elizabeth, the liner has been fitting : out at Clydebank, Scotland, for the past = year. Thousands of workmen have = been clambering about her 714-foot : long hull and streamlined superstrucE ture these last few months working = from plans which promise a new de- : sign for sea living. , i Two Clashes of Passengers = The Caronia has been built expressly = as a dual purpose ship: for trans- = Atlantic passenger traffic and tropical E cruising. On the North Atlantic she = will carry passengers in two classes — E first and cabin. On cruises, she will be I all one class. The liner's yacht-hke de- = sign and colour scheme is unlike that E of any other ship of comparative size - and represents a complete break from 5 the traditional colour scheme of vesI sels of the century-old Cunard Line. = . After the sweeping clipper bows of : the new ship, the most notable features E are her single tripod mast, with a radar = tower behind the bridge, and her lm--1 mensc 125-ton single funnel which = through special interior stiffening = stands unenencumbered by supporting E guys and other reinforcement rigging § familiar to old ships, i Inside the 53-ft. long and 261 ft. wide = oval funnel is a mass of machinery m- = eluding a system which traps soot from = boiler'smoke by washing it into hopE pers for discharge over the ship S side E under the waterline away from passen- = ger decks. : Change in Colour Scheme i The only projections from the funnel i are ths trumpet mouths of the ship's '- sirens which can be heard 6J miles E away. The funnel will keep the = Cunard Line's house colours- of "Cun- = ard" red with a black top rim, but the I rest of the ship above the waterline, = its modern streamlined bridge, superE structure and hull, will be in three I blending shades of green—a striking E contrast to the customary Cunard : colours of a black hull and white super- = structure. E After many colour experiments, the i ship's designers picked light greens as 1 the best colours for the ship when it I cruises in warm climates. The hull = will be light green with a thin ribbon E of dark green above it. Over this .7 will be yet a lightet green extending uoward to the upper decks, boats and davits. Deck houses, the single mast | and the radar tower will be in the pal- : est °reen of all. E Another idea to keep the ship cool—' i or warm—is the use of an asbestos = composition sprayed internally on to s the hull as insulation. The single mast E behind the bridge and a streamlined E funnel clear of all exterior rigging E allow uninterrupted views from the E bridge and large open deck spaces for I passengers. i A feature of the passenger accommoE dation taking advantage of the new deI sign is an "observation lounge," built to = follow the curve of the bridge front : facing out to' sea. = Glass-Covered Promenade Deck 1 A "Lido" with an open air built-in : swimming pool has been created in the 1 after part of the open decks. On the = sun deck, overlooking the Lido, a ver- : andah cafe has a central platform for 1 an orchestra to play for dancing under = coyer in the cafe or on the open sports = deck. Two garden lounges form part ; of the 500-foot long glass-enclosed E promenade deck. Each public room : throughout the ship will be air-condi-E tioned. These include a cinema to seat E 300 persons and two restaurants each : over 90 feet long and with lofty ceil--1 ings, on a special "restaurant deck" ! with seating for 540 persons. = Every stateraam will have a teleE phone and some sections of the accomE modation will be luxury suites with I bedroom, sitting room, servants' room, E baggage room and bathroom. There I will be beauty parlours, hairdressing : saloons and a hospital—all air-condi- : tioned. The laundry, one of the larg- '- est ever installed at sea, will be able : to handle the washing and valeting of j 2000 persons in tropical weather. • An innovation in ship lighting has = been introduced by the joint use of E fluorescent and incandescent power, the i first to provide general and diffused E illumination and the second to bring : out special features of decoration. ExE ports have long been at work on the E interior decoration of the ship. Veneers, : limewood carvings, coloured panelling" : in lacquers, engraved glass, polished = woods, leathers, quilted materials and i bronze, decorative metal work, illumjj inated pilasters and groups of bronze | 'statuary are all used.