In 1882 the new vessel was laid down at Vicker’s Shipbuilding Company in Barrow-in-Furness in Great Britain. She had a projected gross tonnage of over 6,000 tons – the largest ship in the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. At the time of the launch, the vessel had been named Normandie. On February 19th 1883 the Normandie was ready for her trials. During these she managed to reach a very impressive top speed of 17.25 knots. For the maiden departure to New York from Le Havre on May 5, 1,066 people were on the passenger list. The first major accident for the Normandie occurred in October the same year. When entering Le Havre after a crossing, she accidentally hit and sank the brig Alliance. In 1886 a new set of CGT-liners entered service. They were the La Champagne, La Bourgogne, La Gascoigne and La Bretagne. To fit in with these, the French Academy persuaded CGT to give the ship the name La Normandie. Yet another dreadful accident including La Normandie happened on January 23, 1892. When the liner was about to leave Le Havre she rammed and sank the tugboat Abeille 9. The accident demanded the life of nine crewmen from the tug. A major refit was done to La Normandie in the winter between 1893-1894. She had her engines converted into triple expansion at the Penhoët shipyards. The conversion required the ship’s two funnels to be lengthened and given horizontal tops, giving the vessel a new profile. Two of the four masts were removed making La Normandie resemble a true steamship, leaving the days of sail entirely behind. She remained in service until 1911 when she was considered too old and was scrapped.

Specifications
459 feet (142.1 m) long
48 feet (14.9 m) wide
6,283 gross tons
Steam engines capable of 7,200 horsepower, powering a single propeller
15.75 knot service speed
Passenger capacity of 1,109 people