RMS Queen Mary
In the 1930s, the last of the great ocean liner rivalries was heating up. While Great Britain had dominated the North Atlantic run since 1900, it was facing significant challenges from France, Italy, and Germany. At stake was national pride, as the liners were symbols of their nations: France had the ultramodern, fast Normandie; the Italians had the luxurious Rex, and Germany--recently taken over by the Nazi Party--had the Bremen and Europa, just as fast as the Normandie. Britain was still relying on pre-World War I ships such as Cunard Line's Mauretania and White Star Line's Olympic.
Something had to be done, and fast. The problem was that Britain was feeling the effects of the Depression, and it could afford either White Star's new Oceanic or Cunard's "Hull 534," but not both. To finish both Hull 534 and its planned sister ship, the British government provided the money--provided that White Star and Cunard merged into a single line, which they did in 1934. (The Oceanic was never finished, though it's unlikely that it would have been in any case.) Hull 534 was finally named Queen Mary, for the wife of then-King George V, though rumors abound that this was an accident; the ship was supposedly going to be named Victoria.
The RMS Queen Mary was launched in 1934, and made its maiden voyage in May 1936. It was thought to be something of a throwback compared to the Normandie, but it recaptured the Blue Riband from the French liner in 1936--the Blue Riband was awarded to the ship that sustained the highest speed over the course of a North Atlantic voyage. The Normandie took it back in 1937, only to lose it permanently to the Queen Mary in 1938; the Queen Mary would hold it until 1952, when the Riband was taken by the SS United States (which still holds the record). Besides its speed, the Queen Mary also epitomized British steamship luxury and beauty in its fittings, and while it might not have been as sleek or modernistic as the Normandie or Bremen, it still had graceful lines.
When World War II began, the Queen Mary was headed to New York, and was interned for a short time with her newly launched sister ship, RMS Queen Elizabeth. Both ships departed New York in 1940 for Australia, where they were refitted as troopships, with the luxurious fittings removed and put into storage for the duration. The Queens were so fast that they sailed out of convoy (they would have been forced to slow down to stay with one), and with all the interiors removed, could carry up to 15,000 troops; German U-boats could not hope to keep up with one of the Queens, let alone get into position for a torpedo shot. It was the sea itself that nearly sank the Queen Mary: in 1942, it was hit by a 90-foot rogue wave that heeled the ship over 52 degrees, nearly enough to capsize her, with over 11,000 aboard. In 1943, it accomodated 16,000 passengers, a record that still holds today. Winston Churchill estimated that the Queens moved so many troops that they may have significantly shortened World War II.
After the war, both Queens returned to transatlantic liner service, refitted back to their prewar luxury. However, the days of the ocean liner were fading: it was much faster and cheaper to simply fly across. By the 1960s, Cunard was taking a loss every time either liner sailed. The line hoped to replace both Queens with a new, modern ship--the Queen Elizabeth 2--and so both ships were sold off. There were worries that both would end up at the breaker's yard, but Queen Elizabeth went to a Chinese firm to be turned into a floating school, the Seawise University; sadly, it burned and sank in 1972, likely as a result of arson.
The Queen Mary would have a better ending: it was sold to a firm that would turn it into a floating hotel in Long Beach, California. It arrived there in 1967, and much of the ship was gutted to turn in into a combination hotel and theme park, as much of its engineering spaces and machinery were no longer needed for a permanently-moored ship. The next 40 years would be up and down for the Queen Mary: though a popular tourist attraction, it went through several owners with mixed success in preservation. By 2017, a study revealed that the Queen Mary was in bad shape, with extensive rusting below the waterline, peeling paint, rotting lifeboats, water seepage into the bilge, and poorly maintained flooring. There were genuine fears that the Queen Mary was too far gone to save, or worse, that it would sink at the pier. Ironically, the closure of the ship due to COVID would give the city of Long Beach a breather to begin restoration work, and steady improvements have been made. The ship reopened to the public in early 2023, and is in much better shape than it had been six years before.
Oddly enough, seeing the Queen Mary was not high on my list of things to do in our second California trip in June 2023. However, we ended up having more time than we thought, and I've recently rekindled an interest in ocean liners after reading John Maxtone-Graham's superb "The Only Way to Cross." With that in mind, we left early from our hotel in Mission Viejo and visited the Queen (after getting lost twice, and spotting a coyote running across a busy street in downtown Long Beach). It was definitely worth the extra time, even if we weren't able to go aboard. Conditions could've been better: that whole day was cloudy, cold and drizzly!
Though I've seen a number of cruise ships, I can't say as I've ever seen an actual ocean liner from the classic age of liners before--mainly because the Queen Mary is about the only one left. The restoration team has done an excellent job, and though there is still some rust and chipping visible, it does very much look like the ship just pulled into Long Beach. Two Carnival cruise ships were moored nearby, and the difference between the elegant Queen Mary and rather boxlike cruise ships was night and day. The ship truly comes from a time when elegance was just as important as speed and comfort.
RMS Queen Mary
In the 1930s, the last of the great ocean liner rivalries was heating up. While Great Britain had dominated the North Atlantic run since 1900, it was facing significant challenges from France, Italy, and Germany. At stake was national pride, as the liners were symbols of their nations: France had the ultramodern, fast Normandie; the Italians had the luxurious Rex, and Germany--recently taken over by the Nazi Party--had the Bremen and Europa, just as fast as the Normandie. Britain was still relying on pre-World War I ships such as Cunard Line's Mauretania and White Star Line's Olympic.
Something had to be done, and fast. The problem was that Britain was feeling the effects of the Depression, and it could afford either White Star's new Oceanic or Cunard's "Hull 534," but not both. To finish both Hull 534 and its planned sister ship, the British government provided the money--provided that White Star and Cunard merged into a single line, which they did in 1934. (The Oceanic was never finished, though it's unlikely that it would have been in any case.) Hull 534 was finally named Queen Mary, for the wife of then-King George V, though rumors abound that this was an accident; the ship was supposedly going to be named Victoria.
The RMS Queen Mary was launched in 1934, and made its maiden voyage in May 1936. It was thought to be something of a throwback compared to the Normandie, but it recaptured the Blue Riband from the French liner in 1936--the Blue Riband was awarded to the ship that sustained the highest speed over the course of a North Atlantic voyage. The Normandie took it back in 1937, only to lose it permanently to the Queen Mary in 1938; the Queen Mary would hold it until 1952, when the Riband was taken by the SS United States (which still holds the record). Besides its speed, the Queen Mary also epitomized British steamship luxury and beauty in its fittings, and while it might not have been as sleek or modernistic as the Normandie or Bremen, it still had graceful lines.
When World War II began, the Queen Mary was headed to New York, and was interned for a short time with her newly launched sister ship, RMS Queen Elizabeth. Both ships departed New York in 1940 for Australia, where they were refitted as troopships, with the luxurious fittings removed and put into storage for the duration. The Queens were so fast that they sailed out of convoy (they would have been forced to slow down to stay with one), and with all the interiors removed, could carry up to 15,000 troops; German U-boats could not hope to keep up with one of the Queens, let alone get into position for a torpedo shot. It was the sea itself that nearly sank the Queen Mary: in 1942, it was hit by a 90-foot rogue wave that heeled the ship over 52 degrees, nearly enough to capsize her, with over 11,000 aboard. In 1943, it accomodated 16,000 passengers, a record that still holds today. Winston Churchill estimated that the Queens moved so many troops that they may have significantly shortened World War II.
After the war, both Queens returned to transatlantic liner service, refitted back to their prewar luxury. However, the days of the ocean liner were fading: it was much faster and cheaper to simply fly across. By the 1960s, Cunard was taking a loss every time either liner sailed. The line hoped to replace both Queens with a new, modern ship--the Queen Elizabeth 2--and so both ships were sold off. There were worries that both would end up at the breaker's yard, but Queen Elizabeth went to a Chinese firm to be turned into a floating school, the Seawise University; sadly, it burned and sank in 1972, likely as a result of arson.
The Queen Mary would have a better ending: it was sold to a firm that would turn it into a floating hotel in Long Beach, California. It arrived there in 1967, and much of the ship was gutted to turn in into a combination hotel and theme park, as much of its engineering spaces and machinery were no longer needed for a permanently-moored ship. The next 40 years would be up and down for the Queen Mary: though a popular tourist attraction, it went through several owners with mixed success in preservation. By 2017, a study revealed that the Queen Mary was in bad shape, with extensive rusting below the waterline, peeling paint, rotting lifeboats, water seepage into the bilge, and poorly maintained flooring. There were genuine fears that the Queen Mary was too far gone to save, or worse, that it would sink at the pier. Ironically, the closure of the ship due to COVID would give the city of Long Beach a breather to begin restoration work, and steady improvements have been made. The ship reopened to the public in early 2023, and is in much better shape than it had been six years before.
Oddly enough, seeing the Queen Mary was not high on my list of things to do in our second California trip in June 2023. However, we ended up having more time than we thought, and I've recently rekindled an interest in ocean liners after reading John Maxtone-Graham's superb "The Only Way to Cross." With that in mind, we left early from our hotel in Mission Viejo and visited the Queen (after getting lost twice, and spotting a coyote running across a busy street in downtown Long Beach). It was definitely worth the extra time, even if we weren't able to go aboard. Conditions could've been better: that whole day was cloudy, cold and drizzly!
Though I've seen a number of cruise ships, I can't say as I've ever seen an actual ocean liner from the classic age of liners before--mainly because the Queen Mary is about the only one left. The restoration team has done an excellent job, and though there is still some rust and chipping visible, it does very much look like the ship just pulled into Long Beach. Two Carnival cruise ships were moored nearby, and the difference between the elegant Queen Mary and rather boxlike cruise ships was night and day. The ship truly comes from a time when elegance was just as important as speed and comfort.