IV. Steamship Cutaways

Cutaway longitudinal plans give the viewer a sense of a ship’s internal arrangements from a perspective different from that of an overhead plan view. A common reference tool for naval architects, they were adopted for promotional use by adding color and figures to spaces other-wise identifiable only by name. These plans also opened a window on parts of the ship general-ly not visited by passengers, like the galleys and food storage rooms, engine rooms, crew ac-commodations, and cargo spaces.

In the plans for the Aquitania [59], Normandie [60] and Belgenland [62]—all distinguished in transatlantic service—we see passengers involved in activities from eating and dancing to fencing. The rendering of the smaller Jadotville [61], built for service to the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), shows much the same—but look for the crew’s showers.