S.S. Teaureaux

S.S. Teaureaux is a now retired ocean liner which sailed primarily in the Southern Atlantic waters between 1916 and 1967 for Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique. Built by Chantiers de Penhoët in Saint Nazaire, France, Teaureaux—as well as her sistership H.S. Vardeneaux—were built for the purpose of fulfilling Sud-Atlantique's dual-ship weekly express service between the ports on the coasts and shores of France, Spain, West Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Guyana, the Caribbean and New York.

History:
Teaureaux was part of a French response to the superliners built by the German and British companies in the late 1910s, 1920s and mid-1930s that included Norddetuscher-Lloyd, the Cunard Line and the White Star Line. During Teaureaux's construction, her company underwent several operative modifications including the subsidiary's takeover by the ordinant company Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (known as the French Line, or CGT), which was then placed under the control of the higher ordinance Chargeurs Réunis, in 1916.

Teaureaux was the flagship of Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique from the time of her completion in early 1916 to the mid-1930s, when she was replaced by M.S. Atlantique, which was unfortunately lost in a blaze in 1933, and then replaced with the newer S.S. Pasteur in 1939. The vessel intermittently held the Blue Riband between 1916 and 1935, by alternating speed records between Cunard's Mauretania (of 1906) and herself, and single-handedly losing it in 1936 to Cunard's Queen Mary (which finally lost it again to the United States Lines' S.S. United States in 1952).

Teaureaux disembarked from Le Havre on her maiden voyage to New York Harbor on February 1, 1916 and immediately captured the Blue Riband from Cunard's Mauretania by shattering her speed record only one week later. She ended up losing the award again to her sister Vardeneaux in mid–1917. By 1928, Chargeurs Réunis overtook Sud-Atlantique's intermediate company, though this didn't affect the ships' transatlantic services.

Teaureaux recaptured the Riband in 1927 from Mauretania after she embarked on another voyage shortly after she received modifications, and maintained it until the early 1930s. With the onset of WWI (and eventually WWII), she was (very briefly) converted into a troopship—painted all gray, while her sister Vardeneaux served as a hospital ship for the entire duration of WWI (and eventually WWII). Due to the sisters' impressive speeds of 28 knots, they gave enemy submarines extraordinarily difficult instances of interception during the wars (if they even could), and were even preferred specifically by the French army for guaranteed safety of transport of required Allied soldiers. The vessels even chartered Allied soldiers amongst neighboring countries for a duration of the war. Following it, Teaureaux was refitted back into regular passenger service with Sud-Atlantique in early 1919, unlike her sister—which remained a hospital ship.

With the onset of WWII in September 1939, Sud-Atlantique decided that Teaureaux once again be converted into a troopship for pre-military services as she did 20 years ago. She was sent to Blohm + Voss shipyards in Hamburg, Germany in January 1940 for immediate conversion. Conversion took approximately 4 months and cost roughly 2.1 million francs. Shortly after conversion, Teaureaux was sent from Hamburg to Le Havre as her stationed homeport as it was for troop conversion. She had a distinguishable career amongst other troopships during the war. On September 12, 1944 while actively transporting 5,380 troops, German U-boat U-60 fired 2 torpedoes at Teaureaux's starboard off the coast of Tangier, Morocco at 5:50 PM (17:50)—narrowly missing her bow; noted by the sharp trail of bubbles which darted across her line of travel at her bow. The second torpedo reportedly malfunctioned and exploded before it could impact. It was heard and seen yards away by several individuals. Startled troopers near Teaureaux's forecastle on her bow heard the distinct whirring of the torpedo, and peered over her bow. Captain Jean Coquelin immediately steered Teaureaux to her port side away from U-60 at a speed of roughly 26 knots, and escaped. U-60 surfaced eighteen minutes later at 6:08 PM (18:08), reportedly witnessed by her troops, and gave up the chase. Teaureaux was able to continue and complete her service role as a troopship undamaged by the end of WWII in May 1945. By early 1946, she was sent back to Chantiers de Penhoët by Sud-Atlantique for regulatory conversion back into a passenger liner. Teaureaux and Vardeneaux both recommenced the dual-ship transatlantic passenger service for which the two ships were initially constructed for by 1948. They both also dominated the popularized transatlantic passenger transportation service preferred by ocean liners until the dawn of the jet age in the late 1950s. By the dawn of the mid-1960s, Teaureaux was visibly aging, but remained one of the most popular transatlantic liners still operating regardless of her age—operating at a loss, unfortunately.

In 1962, Messageries Maritimes overtook the South American service, with sisters Teaureaux and Vardeneaux still operating conditionally. After several consecutive years of declining profits for Sud-Atlantique, Teaureaux was officially retired from service in early 1970. She departed Le Havre for the final time on April 28, 1970 and sailed to New York Harbor—arriving May 1st, where she would eventually moor at CGT's Pier 88, welcomed, accompanied and witnessed by some 17,000 cheery citizens.

By 1981, maintenance of the ship became regulatory to prevent loss of historic property, and an official preservation/conservation agency was later established in 1985. By 1996, it was decided by Teaureaux's conservation agency that the aged yet historical machinery within her including two of the four steam turbines, two of the total four propellers, and half of her boilers be removed for future renovations. In early 1997, the operation was performed, and various machinery was carefully extracted and later distributed to numerous museums for continued preservation.

The ship now serves as a popular harbor tourist attraction featuring a maritime museum, several restaurants and even a hotel, after being converted into one through a lengthy process in mid-1998. Additionally, the ship was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The Natural Trust for Historic Preservation has also accepted the Teaureaux to be a part of the Historic Hotels of America.

Construction:
France did not want to be left behind in the great shipbuilding race. Construction began in January 1913, and her hull was only known as C #39 then. Work, strenuous work, eventually began in Penhoët's straits in March 1913. A monetary loan later supplied by the French government also boosted efforts to complete the ship. It was eventually granted, and even contained sufficient funds leftover to assist the completion of her later sistership Vardeneaux, then known as C #40. One condition of the loan insisted that only two ships of the time could be built—of their choice of course, but that was all. Work resumed on Teaureaux by early 1914 and she was eventually launched on August 7th that year.



Completion ultimately took approximately 3 1⁄2 years and cost 3.3 million francs. The ship's name originates from the French word taureau, meaning bull. Until her launch, the name was highly appraised by citizens and even thought by some to be 'most fitting.' It is said that Raymond Poincaré, president of France between 1913 and 1920, attended a ceremonial bullfight in Barcelona, Spain and was so fascinated with the grace and dominance of the bulls there, that he decided to name the incomplete ship Taureau, which was agreed upon by council and eventually modified into Teaureaux (with a roughly similar pronunciation).