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King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4873, 21 July 1936, Page 2

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THE QUEEN MARY CRITICISED.

An extraordinary criticism of the liner Queen Mary, in which the ship is described as being old-fashioned in design, too slow, and unsuitably engined, has just been made in a scientific paper called “Armchair Science.” The attack is made by Professor A. M. Low, the noted writer on scientific matters. Already his opinions have aroused a storm of controversy. Leading men in the engineering and shipping world heatedly refuted Professor Low’s statements. Professor Low’s arguments are that: — Her gangways and masts are reminiscent of the oldest sailing ships. She should have had internal combustion engines instead of turbines. She should have had a speed of 50 or 60 m.p.h. When these views were placed before Cunard-White Star officials they described the criticism as “ridiculous.” The head of a well-known firm of marine engineers said the attack was based on misconceptions. “The Queen Mary has been designed by the leading marine architects and engineers of the day in co-operation,” he said. '“lt is fantastic to suggest that they have produced a ship which is already out of date. “These experts, after months of consideration, came to the conclusion that turbine engines were the only practicable method of propulsion for the liner.

“That makes funnels a necessity, otherwise passengers and crew would be asphyxiated by fumes “There was never any attempt to make the Queen Mary the sort of freak vessel Professor Low describes. She is the last word in modern engineering and constructional skill.”

In Professor Law’s modern liner the vessel would be entered from the stern. Trains would run into this along a specially constructed drive to their cabins or more along travelling stairways as if ashore. This the marine experts characterised as a “completely unpractical and entirely unwarranted complication.”