The SS ''Princess Anne'' was a Virginia Ferry Company (VFC) steam ship that plied the route across

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

between Little Creek, near

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

, and Kiptopeke Beach, at the southern end of the

Eastern Shore of Virginia The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties ( Accomack and Northampton) on the Atlantic coast detached from the mainland of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is sep ...

. She was known for her

streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...

superstructure designed by

Raymond Loewy Raymond Loewy ( , ; November 5, 1893 – July 14, 1986) was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by ''Time'' magaz ...

, which attracted the attention of the newsreels and the nautical press. In 1993, she was sunk as an

artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing S ...

and

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chri ...

site off the coast of

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populatio ...

History

The ship was designed by Raymond Loewy in 1933 Greif, Martin. (1975) ''Depression Modern: The Thirties Style in America''. New York: Universe Books. p. 103. for the Virginia Ferry Company, a subsidiary of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

for whom Loewy had done a great deal of design work.Bush, Donald J. (1975) ''The Streamlined Decade''. New York: George Braziller. pp. 48–49. Using the hull of an older ferry from within the VFC's fleet as a basis, he created a

superstructure that Christopher Innes has described as possibly influenced by

Norman Bel Geddes Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer. Early life Bel Geddes was born Norman Melancton Geddes in Adrian, Michigan and was raised in New Philadelp ...

' 1932 Streamlined Ocean Liner. The paintwork emphasized the sleek form with one unbroken line flowing from stem to stern. The ''Princess Anne'' entered service on 9 July 1936, plying the route between Little Creek (then in Princess Anne County) and Kiptopeke Beach, Virginia, across the

, a distance of around 21 miles. ''The Nautical Gazette'' recorded the event under the headline "The Svelte "Princess Anne" Makes Her Debut", describing her as "ultra-modern". A Universal Newsreel showed her under way. In 1940, the ''Keystone Motorist'' described her, with the SS ''Delmarva'', as one of "two of the largest motor transports in the world". The ferry service across the Chesapeake Bay ended after the

Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel The Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel (CBBT, officially the Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge–Tunnel) is a bridge–tunnel that crosses the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay between Delmarva and Hampton Roads in the U.S. state of Virginia. It opened in ...

opened in April 1964. Four of the seven ferries operated by the Virginia Ferry Company were acquired by the

Delaware River and Bay Authority The Delaware River and Bay Authority or DRBA is a bi-state government agency of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Delaware established by an interstate compact in 1962. The authority operates the Delaware Memorial twin suspension bridges, th ...

, including the ''Princess Anne'' which was renamed the SS ''New Jersey'' after which she traveled between

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay fro ...

, New Jersey and

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre ...

, Delaware. The ship was originally in length but on an unknown date she was cut in half and lengthened by the insertion of an additional hull section, giving her a new length of . A set of black and white photographs from 1940 showing

migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...

s waiting to board at the Little Creek end of the ferry and travelling on board is in the collection of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

. In 1993, she was sunk off the coast of West Palm Beach, Florida, as an artificial reef and scuba diving site. She sits at a depth of approximately 100 feet and can be located at 26° 47.60' North latitude and 80° 00.20' West longitude.

Gallery

Pictures taken in 1937: File:SS Princess Anne ferry 1937 01.jpg, Bridge File:SS Princess Anne ferry 1937 02.jpg, Streamlined funnel File:SS Princess Anne ferry 1937 03.jpg, Streamlined superstructure File:SS Princess Anne ferry 1937 04.jpg, Superstructure

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Anne 1936 ships Ferries of Virginia Raymond Loewy Streamliners Art Deco ships

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links