In the 1930’s, the Président Doumer was one of the jewels of the French navy. Named after the President of the Republic who was killed on May 7, 1932 in Paris, it is a luxury liner, equipped with diesel engines. It was launched on Sunday, January 22, 1933 at the shipyards of the Société Provençale de Constructions Navales in La Ciotat, near Marseille, in the presence of the children and grandchildren of Paul Doumer and the former President of the Republic, Alexandre Millerand.
This liner was intended for the Indochina and Indian Ocean lines of the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes. It was designed to accommodate 872 passengers of all classes in the best conditions of comfort. 150 meters long, 19,5 meters wide, it could take up to 14,820 tons in full load and had a total power of 8,100 HP with two reversible 4-stroke engines.
A complete success, the first launching of the President Doumer required a very particular precision to maneuver the ship within the small picturesque harbour of La Ciotat, which offers only an extremely small water surface. In this contexte, each ceremonial launching was a spectacle for locals and tourists alike, who crowded the quays of the old port of La Ciotat, even risking getting their feet wet from the movement of the hull.
The ship made its first departure on June 6, 1933 aiming at the Far East, but was forced to stop in the Yemeni port of Aden on June 21st due to engine damage. After temporary repairs, she returned to Marseilles on July 7th from where she left on November 15th. In 1938, her engines were supercharged, increasing her power to 10,200 hp and her speed to 19 knots. That same year, she was repainted white and permanently assigned to the Far East line.
On May 29, 1940, she was requisitioned by the British forces in Ismailia in Northern Egypt. Among the French crew, 6 officers, 68 crew members and 20 military sailors decided to stay on board. The others, several hundred men, opted to join the Vichy forces and were repatriated to France. Under new management of the UK-based shipping company Bibby Bros & Co, the liner joined the Free French Naval Forces under the command of Jean Mantelet.
In October 1942, she was incorporated into convoy SL 125, composed of 37 merchant ships and their escorts, which left Freetown on October 16th. From 27 to 30 October, eight German submarines attacked the convoy between the Canaries and Madeira. President Doumer was their tenth victim. It sank under the assaults of the U-604, on 30 October in the early evening. The Norwegian cargo ship Alaska took in 48 survivors before being torpedoed in turn by U-510 during the night of 30 to 31 October. 260 of the 345 passengers were reported missing, including the commander, the chief officer and the chief mechanic.
Until recently, the ramp that was used to launch the President Doumer still existed in the old harbor of La Ciotat. The shipyards have now been reconverted into a construction and maintenance site dedicated to large pleasure yachts.
