RMS Queen Mary
From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)
 Arriving in New York Harbor, June 20 1945,</br>with thousands of U.S. troops | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | April 3, 1929 |
| Laid down: | December 1, 1930 |
| Builder: | John Brown and Company |
| Location: | Clydebank, Scotland |
| Launched: | September 26, 1934 |
| Christened: | September 26, 1934 |
| Maiden Voyage: | May 27, 1936 |
| Fate: | Retired December 11, 1967, taken to California, and permanently docked there. Stripped of motive power, as well as second-class and third-class accommodations. First-class cabins turned into hotel. First-class pool abandoned but still in existence. [1] |
| Status: | Hotel/Restaurant/Museum |
| Current Location: | Long Beach, California |
| General Characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 81,237 gross tons |
| Displacement: | 77,400 tonnes (approx) |
| Length: | 1,019.4 ft (311 m) |
| Beam: | 118.5ft (36.1 m) |
| Draft: | 12,00 m |
| Height: | 181 ft (55.17 m) |
| Main Engines: | 160,000 shaft hp (119 MW) Parsons double reduction steam turbines; max. 200,000 shaft hp (149 MW) steam turbines, 4 shafts |
| Speed: | approximately 30 knots (56 km/h) - 29.5 knots (55 km/h) cruising in service; maximum sustained speed was 32.6 knots (60 km/h) |
| Complement: | 2139 passengers (776 first-(cabin) class, 784 tourist class, 579 third class), 1101 crew |
| Cost: | ?[2] |
RMS Queen Mary was a Cunard Line (then Cunard White Star Line) ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967. Built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, she was designed to be the first of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service from Southampton to New York, in answer to the mainland European super-liners of the late twenties and early thirties. Queen Mary and her slightly larger and younger running mate RMS Queen Elizabeth commenced this two-ship service after their release from World War II troop transport duties and continued it until for two decades until Queen Mary's retirement in 1967.
Contents |
Naming and construction
The ship was named after Mary of Teck, the consort of George V of the United Kingdom. Until her launch she was known simply as Cunard hull No. 534, since the name she was to be given was kept a closely guarded secret. Legend has it that Cunard intended to name the ship "Victoria", in keeping with company tradition of giving its ships names ending in "ia". However, when company representatives asked King George V's permission to name the ocean liner after Britain's "greatest queen," his wife, the former Princess Mary of Teck, announced that she would be delighted. And so, the legend goes, the delegation had of course no other choice but to report that No. 534 would be called RMS Queen Mary. However, this story was denied by company officials, and is probably apocryphal, since traditionally the names of sovereigns have only been used for capital ships of the Royal Navy. It is more likely that the name Queen Mary was decided on as a compromise between Cunard and the White Star Line, with which Cunard had recently merged, who had a tradition of using names ending in "ic".
Construction began in December 1930 on the River Clyde by the John Brown & Company Shipbuilding and Engineering shipyard at Clydebank Scotland but was halted in December 1931 due to the depression. Cunard applied to the British Government for a loan to complete 534. The loan was granted, with enough money to complete the Queen Mary as well as enough to build a running mate, hull No. 552 which became the Queen Elizabeth. One condition of the loan was that Cunard merge with the financially ailing White Star Line, which was Cunard's chief British rival at the time. Both lines agreed and the merger was completed in April 1934. Work on the Queen Mary resumed immediately and she was launched on September 26, 1934. When she sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton England on May 271936, the Queen Mary was the second largest liner in existence at that time (the French liner Normandie being the largest), at 81,237 gross tons and with a length of 1,019.2 feet (311 m). In comparison, RMS Titanic was of 46,000 gross tons and 883 feet (270 m) long.
Early history
There was already a "Clyde steamer" named Queen Mary, so Cunard reached agreement with the owners that the existing steamer would be renamed TS Queen Mary II, and in 1934 the new liner was launched by Her Majesty as RMS Queen Mary.
In August 1936 Queen Mary captured the Blue Riband from the SS Normandie with an average speed of 30.14 knots (55.82 km/h). The SS Normandie reclaimed the honour in 1937, but Queen Mary later reclaimed the riband at an average speed of 30.99 knots (57.39 km/h).
World War II
In late August 1939, the Queen Mary was on a return run from New York to Southampton. However, the international situation led to her being shadowed by the battlecruiser HMS Hood. She arrived safely, and set out again for New York on the 1 September. By the time she arrived, the Second World War had started, and she was ordered to stay where she was, joining her great rival, Normandie. In 1940, the pair were also joined by Queen Mary's running mate Queen Elizabeth. Rather than keeping them bottled up, it was decided to use them as Troopships. So, the Queen Mary left New York for Sydney, where she, along with several other liners, was converted into a troopship to carry Australian and New Zealand soldiers to the United Kingdom. Eventually joined by the Queen Elizabeth, they were the largest and fastest troopships involved in the war, often carrying as many as 15,000 men in a single voyage, and often travelling out of convoy and without escort. During this period, because of their wartime grey camouflage livery and elusiveness, both Queens received the nickname 'The Grey Ghost'. Because of their size and prestige their sinking was such a high priority for Germany that Adolf Hitler offered the equivalent of $250,000.00 and the Iron Cross to the U-boat commander that could sink them. However, their high speed meant that it was virtually impossible for U-Boats to catch them. Once, Germany was nearly successful, until a radio signal was intercepted in that informed America about the situation. The Queen Mary changed course and escaped. On 2 October 1942 Queen Mary accidentally sank one of her escorts, slicing through the light cruiser HMS Curacoa (D41), with the loss of 338 lives.
In December 1942, the Queen Mary was hit by a 23 meter (75 foot) wall of water while carrying 15,000 American troops from New York harbor to Southampton, England. The ship nearly capsized, but the occurrence was kept secret at the time. An account of this crossing can be found in Walter Ford Carter's book, "No Greater Sacrifice, No Greater Love." Carter's father Dr. Norval Carter, part of the 110th Station Hospital on board at the time, wrote that at one point the Queen Mary "damned near capsized." "One moment the top deck was at its usual height and then, swoom! down, over, and forward she would pitch."
After World War II
After the war, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth dominated the transatlantic passenger trade. Queen Mary was retired from service in 1967 and Queen Elizabeth in 1968. RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) took over the transatlantic route in 1969. And in turn, QE2 was replaced in 2004 by RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2).
The Queen Mary in Long Beach
Since her retirement in 1967, the Queen Mary has been permanently docked at Long Beach, California on the west coast of the United States. Accompanied for many years by Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose, the ship now serves as a hotel, museum, tourist attraction, and for-rent site for events. There are also several restaurants on the Queen Mary, and is especially well-known for the Sunday brunch.
The Queen Mary is also said to have ghosts on board. Many areas are said to be haunted. People report hearing little children crying in the nursery room and a mysterious splash noise in the drained first class swimming pool. In 1966, 18 year old fireman John Pedder was crushed by a watertight door in the engine room during a drill, and his ghost is said to haunt this area.
On February 23, 2006, the Queen Mary 2 saluted its predecessor as it made its port of call in Los Angeles Harbor while on a cruise to Mexico. The event was covered heavily by local media, although much international media was there also. This brought much needed attention to the first Queen Mary, which, in the past several years, has faced financial difficulty.
The Queen Mary's original wireless radio room has now been converted to a powerful amateur radio station with the call sign W6RO ("Whiskey Six Romeo Oscar"). Volunteers from a local amateur radio club are there most of the time, and the radios can also be used by other licensed amateur radio operators. [3] [4]
Trivia
- Fiona Apple's video for "O' Sailor" was shot on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.
- The movie The Poseidon Adventure was partially filmed on the Queen Mary, and the miniature Poseidon used in the film's special effects shots was a scale model of the ship. Parts of SOS Titanic were also filmed onboard the Queen Mary.
- The Queen Mary has been featured in many other movies, such as Pearl Harbor and several other films.
- From 1988 to 1992, the ship was leased from the City of Long Beach by media congolomerate The Walt Disney Company, and was to be integrated into a planned theme park in Long Beach, until the plans fell through and the company used an "early out" clause to terminate its lease. Those plans influenced the subsequent development of Tokyo DisneySea, which prominently features a "ship" resembling the Queen Mary.
- In the third season finale of Arrested Development the Bluth family has their celebration at their patriarch George Sr.'s innocence on the Queen Mary. Gee's wife Lucille, in the end of the episode, activates the ship and drives it out to sea to avoid being arrested by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Although greatly exceeded in size by her new namesake RMS Queen Mary 2's 151,200 gross tons, Queen Mary, with a significantly deeper draft, is the heavier ship, with a dispacement of over 77,000 tons compared to the newer ship's approximately 76,000 tons.
- In the B-movie Tidal Wave: No Escape, Harve Presnell destroyed the Queen Mary with an artificial tsunami.
Specifications
- 81,237 gross tons
- 1,019.4 ft (311 m) overall length, 118.5 ft (36.1 m) beam.
- Speed: approximately 30 knots (56 km/h) - 29.5 knots (55 km/h) cruising speed in service; maximum sustained was 32.6 knots (60 km/h)
- Power: 160,000 shaft hp (119 MW) steam turbines; max. 200,000 shaft hp (149 MW) steam turbines
- Engines: Parsons steam turbines (double reduction geared), four screws.
- 2139 passengers: 776 first-(cabin) class, 784 tourist class, 579 third class, 1101 crew.
- RMS Queen Mary is at coordinates {{Coord/display/{{{display|inline}}}|1={{Coord/input/{{#ifeq:{{{4|}}}||dec|{{#if:{{#switch:{{{8}}}|NE|NW|SE|SW=y}}|dms|{{#if:{{#switch:{{{3{{{6}}}|NE|NW|SE|SW=y}}|dm|{{#if:{{#switch:-118.189791|NE|NW|SE|SW=y}}|d|ERROR}}}}}}}}|1={{{1|}}}|2={{{2|}}}|3={{{3|}}}|4={{{4|}}}|5={{{5|}}}|6={{{6|}}}|7={{{7|}}}|8={{{8|}}}|9={{{9|}}}|format={{{format|}}}|name={{{name|}}}}}}}}|{{{4|}}}|format={{{format|}}}|display=inline,title|name=RMS Queen Mary}}
- WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
- Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Maps or Windows Live Local
References
- Cunard Line, Ltd., John Brown and Company archives.
External links
- Official Queen Mary website
- Queen Mary Photo Page
- RMS Queen Mary
- The Great Ocean Liners
- Queen Marys Meet
- Queen Mary Maritime Heritage Page
- Queen Mary Long Beach Editorial
Categories: British cultural icons | Clyde built ships | Long Beach, California | Museum ships | Ocean liners | Passenger ships of the United Kingdom | Registered Historic Places in California | Scottish cultural icons | Ships of Scotland | Steamships | Tourism in California
