Queen Mary Ship

Just as the Great Depression began to take hold in Europe, Cunard-White Star Line began production of the Queen Mary. After a delay of construction between 1931 and 1934, she was the second 1,000 foot ship to enter service, succeeding only to the French Line’s sleek Normandie.

Considered to be the height of British passenger ship building, she earned handsome profits for her owners during her active years. Unfortunately, with the outbreak of World War II, the Queen Mary became idle, docking in New York for six months.

In March, she entered service again as a troopship ferrying troops between Australia and Suez until the United States entered the war. She then began sailing the North Atlantic, escaping German submarines with her speed as her only weapon. Here she was nicknamed “the Gray Ghost.”

The Queen Mary passenger ship was the third largest ever to sail the North Atlantic seaway and faster than any warship in service at the time. On October 2, 1942, the Queen Mary rammed the HMS Curacoa; 346 were lost, only 26 saved as the Queen Mary was not able to standby for a rescue.

The Queen Mary was the height of the British shipbuilding and the for the rest of the world to follow.

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