Compagnie Maritime Belge Ocean Liner Postcards

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Compagnie Maritime Belge
Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo





This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of the Compagnie Maritime Belge. My intention is to show all the passenger ships of the postcard era, plus a selection of typical freighters. My thanks to Danny Van der Hauwaert for helping me fill many of the gaps.

Belgium required a passenger fleet mainly to trade with her African colony, then known as the Belgian Congo. Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo (CBMC) was formed in 1895. After absorbing Lloyd Royale Belge in 1930 it became the Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB). Their ships were all small in size, the largest being around 13000 gross tons.


Ships on this Page:-
Albertville (2) - (1898-1904)
Albertville (3) - (1906-10)
Albertville (4) - (1912-23)
Albertville (5) - (1928-40)
Albertville (6) - (1948-73)
Anversville (1) - (1899-1906)
Anversville (2) - (1912-18)
Baudouinville (1) - (1939-44)
Baudouinville (2) - (1950-57) Thysville (2) from 1957
Baudouinville (3) - (1958-61) sold to P&O
Bruxellesville (1) - (1898-01)
Bruxellesville (2) - (1906-09)
Bruxellesville (3) - (1909-12)
Charlesville - (1951-67)
Copacabana - (1937-xx)
Elisabethville (1) - (1910-17)
Elisabethville (2) - (1922-46)
Elisabethville (3) - (1949-68)
Gandia - (1907-xx)
Gouverneur Galopin - (1946-52)
Grisarville - (1940-xx) sister of Baudouinville (1)
Jadotville - (1956-61) sold to P&O
Leopoldville (2) - (1897-1901)
Leopoldville (3) - (1904-09)
Leopoldville (4) - (1910-14)
Leopoldville (5) - (1929-44)
Leopoldville (6) - (1948-67)
Mar Del Plata - (1938-xx)
Pays de Waes - (1912-xx)
Philippeville - (1899-1906)
Piriapolis - (1938-40)
Thysville - (1922-48)
Thysville (2) - (1957-) ex-Baudouinville (2)

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Compagnie Maritime Belge
Fleet List


An official CBMC postcard of one of their ships embarking workers at Banana.
Banana is a seaport and a township in the Bas-Congo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the Atlantic coast.
The port is situated on the north bank of the Congo River's mouth.






Leopoldville (2)
(CBMC: 1897-1901)

Leopoldville (2) was sold in 1901 to Elder-Dempster and renamed Sekondi. She was then sold on in 1910 to the Bombay & Persia S.N. Co. and renamed Khosrou.


Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert






Albertville (2)
(CBMC: 1898-1904)

Albertville (2) was sold in 1904 sold to Elder-Dempster (African SS corporation) and renamed Aro. She was sold on in 1914 sold to the Admiralty.


Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert






Bruxellesville (1)
(CBMC: 1898-01)

Bruxellesville (1) was built for Soc. Maritime du Congo (later Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo) in Middlesborough in 1898. Her career with with the Belgian company was short, since she was sold to the Woermann Line in 1901, and renamed Alexandra Woermann, operating from Hamburg to West Africa. She was taken over as reparation after WW1, and sold to the Wilson Line as the Calypso, running between Hull to Scandinavia and the Baltic. During the summers of 19332-36, she operated cruises to Denmark and Norway. Calypso was scrapped in Belgium in 1936.


Bruxellesville (1) in Belgian service.
Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



Alexandra Woermann, ex-Bruxellesville (1) in Woermann Line service.



Official Wilson Line as the Calypso when operating cruises to Denmark and Norway.







Anversville (1)
(CBMC: 1899-1906)

Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert







Philippeville
(CBMC: 1899-1906)

Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert







Leopoldville (3)
(CBMC: 1904-09)











Albertville (3)
(CBMC: 1906-10)

Albertville (3) was sold in 1910 to Elder-Dempster and renamed Elmina (3). In 1928 she was sold on to M.Hardy and renamed Iphigenia.


Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert







Bruxellesville (2)
(CBMC: 1906-09)

Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert







Bruxellesville (3)
(CBMC: 1909-12)




Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert







Leopoldville (4)
(CBMC: 1910-14)

Leopoldville (4) was built for the Compagnie Maritime Belge in 1910. She was sold to Elder-Dempster in 1914 and renamed Abinsi. She was scrapped in 1933.












Elisabethville (1)
(CBMC: 1910-17)

























Although entitled Elizabethville, this ship has two large ventilators behind the funnel, as does Leopoldville (4).







Albertville (4)
(CBMC: 1912-23)




This card is titled Anversville (2), but is actually Albertsville (4).







Anversville (2)
(CBMC: 1912-18)







This card is totled Anversville (2), but is actually Albertsville (4).







Elisabethville (2)
(CBMC: 1921-30 - CMB: 1930-40)

Elisabethville was originally built in 1921 by John Cockerill Shipyards, Hoeboken, Belgium as the for Cie Belge-Maritime Du Congo.
8178 Gross Tons, 439 Feet long 57 Feet wide Steam quadruple expansion engines, twin screw Service Speed: 14 Knots 700 one class passengers

History 1921 Elisabethville, Cie Belge-Maritime Du Congo, Antwerp 1930 Cie. Maritime Belge, Antwerp 1940 MOWT Troopship, Managed by Lamport & Holt, Liverpool 1946 Cie. Maritime Belge 1947 Empire Bure MOWT managed by Lamport & Holt Line, Liverpool 1950 Charlton Star, Charlton SS Co London (CHANDRIS) 1958 Maristrella AJ & DJ Chandris, Liberia
1960 Scrapped at Osaka

Postcard of Elisabethville (2)
Click to open larger image in new window



Postcard of Elisabethville (2) interior
May be Elisabethville (1) ?



Postcard of Elisabethville (2) interior
May be Elisabethville (1) ?



Official photographic postcard of Charlton Star
Scan: Dimas Almada
Click to open larger image in new window







Thysville
(CBMC: 1922-30 - CMB: 1930-48)











Albertville (5)
(CBMC: 1928-30 - CMB: 1930-40)

Albertville (5) was built at St Nazaire in 1928, and was a 15 knot quadruple expansion steamer of 10338 gross tons. Between 1936/37, Albertville (5) was rebuilt in Antwerp with a lengthened forepart. Additional low-pressure turbines were added to increase speed to 16.5 knots. Albertville (5) reappeared in April 1937 as an attractive modern-looking liner with one funnel. Unfortunately her career was short-lived, since she was sunk off Le Havre by German aircraft in June 1940.


Postcard of Albertville (5) at Antwerp.



CMB photograph of Albertville (5).



CMB photograph of Albertville (5) after rebuilding in 1937.







Leopoldville (5)
(CBMC: 1929-30 - CMB: 1930-44)

Leopoldville (5) was built by Cockerill of Hoboken (Belgium) in 1929, a similar ship to the French-built Albertville (5), but with many detail differences so that identification is easy. Like her "sister", she was rebuilt in Antwerp between 1936/37, re-entering service first in January 1937. She was used as a troop transport by the British in WW2, and was hit by a torpedo from U 486 whilst carrying 2200 troops between Southampton and Cherbourg on December 24th 1944. Half the troops were transferred to the destroyer Brilliant, which sailed to Cherbourg with the intention of returning for the rest. Unfortunately a bulkhead failed and Leopoldville (5) sank quickly with the loss of 808 lives.


Real Photographs card Leopoldville (5) as built.
Click to open larger image in new window



CMB photograph of Leopoldville (5) after rebuilding in 1937.
Click to open larger image in new window



Postcard of Leopoldville (5) at Antwerp, after rebuilding in 1937.







Copacabana (CMB: 1938-??)
Piriapolis (CMB: 1938-40)
Mar del Plata (CMB: 1938-??)

A class of three pre-war sisters built in Hoboken in 1938, each of 7380 gross tons and 132.55 metres in length


One of the three pre-war sisters in Antwerp.



Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert







Baudouinville (1)
(CMB: 1939-44)








Gouverneur Galopin
(CMB: 1946-52)

Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert







Albertville (6) (CMB: 1948-73)
Leopoldville (6) (CMB: 1948-67)
Elisabethville (3) (CMB: 1949-68)
Baudouinville (2)/Thysville (2) (CMB: 1950-61)
Charlesville (CMB: 1950-67)

A class of five sisters of 10901 gross tons built between 1948 and 1950 by Cockerill of Hoboken. Baudouinville (2) was renamed Thysville (2) in 1957 to release the name for the new Baudouinville (3).


Company postcard of Albertville (6).



Company postcard of Elizabethville (2).



Company postcard of Charlesville.
Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



Postcard of Charlesville.
Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert







Jadotville (CMB: 1956-61)
Baudouinville (3) (CMB: 1957-61)

Jadotville and Baudouinville (3) were the last passengerships built for Cie.Mar.Belge, which had a very short life before being sold to P&O as the Chitral and Cathay in 1961, operating from UK to the Far East. In 1970, both sisters passed to P&O subsidiary Eastern & Australian Steamship Co, servinf between Australia, the Far East and Japan. Chitral was scrapped in 1975, but Cathay was sold for further use, becoming the Shanghai of China Ocean Shipping Co.

Complete history of Baudouinville


Baudouinville (3) in Belgian ownership.
Scan: Danny Van der Hauwaert



J.Arthur Dixon postcard SS.2163 of Chitral.
Photo: © Beken & Son, Cowes.



J.Arthur Dixon postcard SS.2510 of Cathay.
Photo: © Beken & Son, Cowes.



Chantry Classics postcard CC/S26 of Shanghai (ex-Cathay).
Photo: © Paul Morgan.



Card from an official postcard set of Shanghai.
Scan: © Ken Murayama.
More images from this postcard set
Click to open larger image in new window





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