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Trivia Contest – August 16, 2013
USS Long Island - Image from the private collection of Reuben Goossens
We thought that our trivia question, “What is the name of the aircraft carrier that became a cruise ship?”, would be tough. Only 5 people responded. Three people gave the answer that we were looking for which was USS Long Island (aircraft carrier) to M/V Seven Seas (cruise ship). One person gave the names of two British aircraft carriers which were converted to the Italian liners Sydney and Roma. This was also a correct answer. The fifth person gave the name of a ship that began its career as a passenger ship and later became an aircraft carrier for Italy during WW2. We also put this into the pool of 5 correct answers.
The Long Island was built as a cargo ship at Sun Shipbuilding inChester,PA. Before completion, she was sent toNorfolk and in 77 days was converted into the United States’ first “baby flattop”. She served throughout WW2 as an aircraft ferry and as a carrier pilot training ship. After the war, she was sold for scrap but at the last minute was sold to a Panamanian Company and sent toItalyfor conversion to an immigrant ship carrying passengers from Italy to Australia.
M/S Seven Seas - Image from the private collection of Reuben Goossens
In May of 1953, she was sent to Bremerhaven, Germany were she was completely rebuilt as the M/V Seven Seas. She sailed for 10 years in the European market. In 1963, she became a college cruiser with instructors from colleges and universities all over the world. Her career ended in 1977 when she was sent to Belgium for scrapping.
Congratulations to our gift card winner, Andrea Swierzy of Philadelphia, PA, whose name was randomly drawn from those who responded.