History of the Queen Mary Ship

Construction on the Cunard Line's Queen Mary began in 1930 at the John Brown shipyard in Scotland, but work ceased during the Depression from 1931 to 1934. When construction resumed in 1934 Queen Mary of Britain declared the ocean liner her namesake. In 1936, the Queen Mary was completed. She began her first voyage in May of that year. Commissioned to be one of the most elegant ships of the time, the Queen Mary was a luxurious form of transportation for the upper class, but she was later turned into a ship for transporting troops in World War II.

Function

The Queen Mary carried more than 800,000 troops for the war and made 13 journeys to transport more than 22,000 war brides and their children to North America.

Significance

After her war duty and 1,000 transatlantic voyages, the Queen Mary was sold to Long Beach, California, in 1967 to become a museum, extravagant hotel and major tourist destination.

Features

The Queen Mary is 1,000 feet long, has 12 decks and can carry almost 2,000 passengers. The craft also features two swimming pools that were constructed for first- and second-class tiers, but are no longer in use.

Fun Fact

As she was used as a wartime ship and was the location of several deaths over the years, many have speculated that the ship is haunted.

Famous Ties

The notorious "door 13" in the engine room of the Queen Mary was used in the 1972 film "The Poseidon Adventure."

Resources

• Queen Mary website