She was once the fastest ocean liner at sea, the RMS Queen Mary held the coveted title
of the Blue Riband for 14 years after capturing it in August of 1938. She not only won that
title against her fierce French competitor, but in doing so, she regained Britain's pride.
The grand monarch of the sea would eventually lose that title to the SS United States in
1952. Here now, is the story which recounts the fantastic race to capture the Blue Riband.
[Tug boats whistle to each other]
[Seagulls squawk as water laps at the shore. Tug boats continue to whistle]
Between 1838 and 1952, ocean liners had been racing each other on the transatlantic crossing
to prove which passenger line and even which country reigned supreme over the ocean. But
there was also a profitable advantage to proving who was the fastest. Unlike cruise ships,
ocean liners were built to transport passengers from one country to another even in the harshest
weather out at sea. Travelers didn't want to waste more time than was necessary to get
to their destination, therefore the passenger line with the fastest ship generally had the
most business.
Cunard line was famous for building fast ships,
their most successful one yet, the RMS Mauretania was the pride of Great Britain, unfortunately
she would lose the Blue Riband to the German Line's SS Bremen. But Cunard was already planning
its next champion.
"Just look at the giant #534 and see some of the things
that make her the wonder ship of the age.
She represents the supreme triumph of marine architecture and engineering."
Job number 534 which would later be known as the RMS Queen Mary, would
not only be larger than the SS Bremen but would be designed to surpass its speed.
The Queen Mary's construction was halted during the Great Depression and in that time the
French Line unveiled their newest ship, the SS Normandie...
[Horn Blast]
...the largest ocean liner in the world and also arguably
the most luxurious passenger vessel ever to exist.
On her maiden voyage the SS Normandie captured the
Blue Riband, and the British were beginning to fear that their merchant navy was
falling hopelessly behind. The completion of the Queen Mary in 1936
had been reassuring for them, and everyone eagerly awaited the shining moment when their
Scottish-built ship would prove her dominance of the Atlantic.
[Ship's horn bellows loudly with an echo]
In April of 1936 the Queen Mary underwent speed trials ahead of her maiden voyage, it
was during this testing that she reached her fastest achievable speed of 32.84 knots.
Cunard was confident their new ship was up for the challenge.
On May 26th, 1936 the brand new RMS Queen Mary set off for New York on her maiden voyage
loaded with 2,140 passengers, and 1,100 crew. She was averaging 29.1 knots when the ship
was soon troubled with engine vibration, and soot began raining down from her funnels.
This became concerning for her skipper, Commodore Sir Edgar Britten who remembered the dangers
of pushing a brand new ship too hard. For many officers, the tragedy of the RMS Titanic
was still fresh in their memories and out of caution, Commodore Britten ordered the
ship to be slowed. On the last day of the voyage they hit a dense fog bank which required
slowing the vessel even further. Reporters onboard the ship immediately went straight
to the telephones to inform their agencies that the RMS Queen Mary
would not be capturing the Blue Riband
After the Mary's third eastbound voyage to
Southampton she was dry docked for 9 days to correct issues with her turbine, which
Cunard had hoped would solve the issue of her vibration. On her next westbound voyage
the Queen Mary claimed a faster speed than the Normandie but the timing was so close
that it was disputed. She may not yet have been the fastest, but her fully booked accommodations
showed that she was far more popular than her French competitor, in fact,
the Queen Mary was carrying more passengers across the Atlantic than any other ship at sea.
Cunard, however, still wanted the Blue Riband, the fact that the French still held the title
of fastest ocean liner was a great blow to British pride. The Cunard Queen may have been
privately owned, but she was seen as a representation of Great Britain, there was political and
social pressure put on Cunard to win back the ribbon. The British Press accused Commodore
Britten of being overly cautious and not letting the Queen Mary run full out. The public had spoken.
On August 19th, 1936, the Queen set out for
New York and arrived on the 23rd logging a voyage of 4 days, 7 hours, and 12 minutes.
She captured the Blue Riband from the SS Normandie. But it didn't end there, this was the beginning
of the famous competitive rivalry between both ships. The Normandie also faced the same
issue of upholding France's national pride, she tried to win the ribbon back with her
next voyages but was unsuccessful. The press watched eagerly with each voyage to see if
she would beat the Queen's record, but each time they were disappointed. Eventually the
French Line put her in dry dock to replace her propellers with more efficient ones and
this allowed the Normandie to take back the speed record soon after.
Again the RMS Queen Mary tried to win back her title but malfunctions prevented her from
competing. Between January and February of 1937, she went into dry dock at Southampton,
having $500,000 spent on repairing her leaky condensers, trying to eliminate vibration,
and correcting her now infamous tendency to roll in rough seas. Finally she was ready
to sail again, this time under the command of her new skipper, Commodore Robert Irving,
he was determined to settle the Blue Riband controversy. He wasn’t the kind of man to
let anything stop him from achieving his goals, one way or another he would win back the ribbon.
However, the extensive work during dry dock still hadn't resolved the Queen Mary’s malfunctions.
By April of 1937, the ship was once again taken to dry dock, this time to replace her
large 35 ton propellers with more efficient ones. Cunard had hoped the new screws would
eliminate the ship's vibration, while Commodore Irving had hoped they would win her the ribbon.
But while the new propellers allowed the ship to run more economically, she was still beset
with vibration issues. To the chagrin of her master, the Queen would need yet another dry
docking in July of 1938 to finally resolve the issues.
[Tug boats whistle to each other]
When the repairs were over, she loaded up with passengers at Southampton, then the ship
set sail for New York...gradually, the Commodore ordered more power from the engines...
[Engines hiss and heavy rumble of gears]
...increasing her speed as she plowed into deeper waters and soon she was splitting the ocean with
the sharp prow of her steel hull. The RMS Queen Mary sailed into New York on August
7th 1938, the duration of the trip was only 3 days, 21 hours, and 48 minutes...she had
beaten the Normandie yet again. And it didn't end there, she also broke the eastbound record
as well, averaging 31.69 knots, a speed which her competitor would never exceed.
Commodore Robert Irving grinned proudly, the RMS Queen Mary had successfully wrested the
coveted Blue Riband from the SS Normandie for the last time. Great Britain was once again reigning
supreme over the Atlantic, and their beloved ship would hold onto that title for the next 14 years.
[Roar of the ocean as the ship plows through it]
July 6th 1952 was a day to celebrate, the
brand new American superliner, the SS United States set sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton
commanded by Commodore Harry Manning. As she caught up to the Queen Mary, Captain
Grattridge announced over the loudspeakers, “The United States on her maiden voyage
is passing to our starboard.” Most of the passengers aboard the Queen Mary were American
and they all rushed to get a good look at the sleek new ship slicing through the swells.
Captain Grattridge ordered Queen Mary's colors dipped and to sound her horn...
[RMS Queen Mary's horn blasts into the distance]
...a salute to the SS United States. When the United States arrived in Southampton,
she had crossed the Atlantic at record breaking speed, having only taken 3 days, 10 hours,
and 40 minutes...averaging a speed of 35.59 knots. It would have been traditional for
an American ship to fly brooms on her mast in a show of victory, but Commodore Manning
said it would be an insult to fly the broom into England,
"Especially since we took the Blue Riband from such a gallant and lovely lady as the Queen Mary.”
Though the Mary would go on to beat her own previous records, she would never be able
to surpass the speed of the SS United States. And despite the new ship being the pride of
America, oddly enough, the Americans themselves still preferred to book passage on the Queen Mary.
What the SS United States and the SS Normandie
had in common is that they both competed against the Queen Mary and assumed if they won the
Blue Riband, they would have the most passengers or be the most popular. But in the end, the
experience of riding in the newest, fastest ship at sea was only a novelty. Passengers
still wanted something that spoke to their desire of comfort, coziness, and charm, and
despite her age, the Queen Mary still had an abundance of all three.
Despite the passing of five decades since these ships were retired from the ocean, two
of them still exist today, the RMS Queen Mary and the SS United States...the last two ships
to hold the prestigious Blue Riband. Both are important ships in their own ways, the
SS United States still holds the title of fastest ocean liner to ever exist and is considered
the pride of the US, a testament to our belief in dreaming big. The RMS Queen Mary is best
admired for her duty in World War II, helping to bring an end to the war and proving to
be an icon of history for people around the world. We shouldn't think about choosing to
preserve one over the other. There's no reason why both can't be saved. For now, it's just
a matter of time until they are restored and shown the admiration and appreciation they
both deserve. The SS United States may be an empty shell
of what it once was, but it is now conveniently a blank canvas from which the new generations
can interpret its history. The Queen Mary, however, still has most of her original interiors
and furnishings, a time capsule of a bygone era, her priceless artifacts and design are
still worth preserving and most of the critical repairs she required in 2017 have already
been completed. She is now in much better shape than many are led to believe, but still,
she awaits more work to be done. She bides her retirement in the mild climate of Long
Beach, California...regal, elegant and beautifully charming. She still remains...
...the Queen of the sea.