His particular perversion involved cutting hair, leading locals to dub him The Phantom Barber of Pascagoula. Capt. Work began within weeks on the renamed USS Lafayette. Salvaged in 1946 and scrapped. The seizure of the ocean liner SS Normandie at New York in 1940, which later became troopship USS Lafayette (AP-53), ended as a complete diplomatic fiasco. During World War II, Normandie was seized by United States authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette. His crew, gradually augmented over ensuing days, consisted mostly of a skeleton engineering force that number 458 men, "less than half the number required for the efficient operation of the vessel at sea." While only one person was killed in the disaster, the loss of such a prestigious and well-known ship was a tremendous embarrassment to the Navy. The most luxurious liner in the world would be converted, to a troop ship. The afternoon of February 9, 1942 was cold and clear, over the West 49th Street pier. Normandie, renamed USS Lafayette, lies capsized in the frozen mud of her New York Pier the winter of 1942 In the summer of 1941, the Pentagon made plans to invade French islands in the Caribbean, because the presence of the aircraft carrier Béarn and two cruisers under Vichy control posed a threat. America was at war. https://www.historynet.com/the-fate-of-the-ss-normandie.htm https://coololdphotos.com/uss-lafayette-capsizes-in-new-york-harbor A phantom attacker similar to the London Monster stalked the streets of Pascagoula, Mississippi during World War II, preying on women and girls. In February 1942, while undergoing conversion in New York Harbor, USS Lafayette caught fire and subsequently capsized. A mysterious assailant The year was 1942. Robert G. Coman reported as Lafayette's prospective commanding officer on 31 January 1942. The Navy seized the liner in the wake of Pearl Harbor, but not for a carrier. USS Lafayette The ocean liner (83,423 GRT, 1932) Normandie , renamed Lafayette , caught fire, capsized and sank at New York whilst under conversion to a troopship. In 1942, while being converted to a troopship, the liner caught fire, capsized, and sank at the New York Passenger Ship Terminal. https://stampaday.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/the-burning-of-normandie Normandie, renamed USS Lafayette, lies capsized in the frozen mud of her New York Pier the winter of 1942 One man died in the tragedy — Frank "Trent" Trentacosta, 36, of Brooklyn, a Robins' employee and a member of the fire watch.