Built by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton, the Paris IV was launched on 12th April 1913. The naming ceremony was performed by the Countess of Bessborough, wife of the chairman of the ‘London, Brighton and South Coast Railway’ for whom the ship was built, at a cost of £81,300.
The accommodation for first-class passengers included a large smoking room with a bar on the lounge deck, whilst the second-class dining saloon was on the main deck. The Paris could accommodate 968 passengers and 42 crew. A copy of the city of Paris coat of arms was engraved on her stern.
The Paris arrived in Newhaven on 5th of July 1913 and was registered here 4 days later. The master was Captain Charles Cook and the chief engineer was Robert Alexander Scott. At the time, the Paris was the fastest ship of her type in the world and the first merchant ship to have her screw through a single Michell block. On her trial trip she attained a mean speed of 24.76 knots which was, at that time, a record for her size of ship.
In this video, Harold Lower talks to Peter Bailey about the Paris’ record-breaking crossing on 14th July 1913.
The first video includes sub-titles and an audio described version can be found further down.
Sub-Titled version (click on CC at the bottom of the video to view the sub-titles)
Audio-Described version
