The 1950s was a fascinating decade for the great liners. After the global devastation that had gone before, shipyards were creating one new liner after another, it seemed, to rebuild and renew passenger ship services all over the world. There were the likes of the Kungsholm and Oslofjord from Scandinavia, the French Flandre, a succession of new liners from P&O-Orient, Italian Line, Messageries Maritimes and many more. The era was highlighted by such brilliant, headline-making ships as the speedy United States, breaking records on an unprecedented scale, the engines-aft Southern Cross and the mast-less Orsova. There was a great cast of very popular and interesting passenger liners.