THE QUEEN MARY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 142, 18 May 1936, Page 2

THE QUEEN MARY

A FAMOUS SHIP. MAINTAINING BRITISH TRADITIONS. Interest in the Queen Mary is shared in every part of the Empire and indeed throughout the world. No other ship' built in this country has made such a wide appeal, says the London Times. Visitors from the Dominions have considered it a point of honour to visit her at Clydebank, if possible, during her period of construction. From the day of, her launch'—. and christening by Queen Mary, who was accompanied at the ceremony by King George, and who by personal choice gave her own name to the liner, the progress of the ship has been watched with ever-growing interest. The King visited her at the beginning .of March and expressed the hope that he might see her again before she goes into commission. The Queen Mary was begun earlier than the Normandie. She was laid down in 1930. Almost immediately tho full force of the economic hurricane fell upon the world, and the work on the S.'jl, as she was at first called, was suspended for three years. When tho clouds began to lift the Government promised the support of the nation’s restored credit in the resumption of the enterprise, and since that time the work of construction has fulfilled the best traditions of British shipbuilding. The Queen, in launching the vessel on September 26, 1934, wished her God-speed in the following words: “I am happy to name this ship ‘Queen Alary.’ I. wish success to her and to all who sail in her.” King George spoke of tho liner as “no longer a number on the books, but a ship with a name in the world, alivo with beauty, energy, and strength.” His concluding words were; “She has been built in fellowship among ourselves; may her life among great waters spread friendship among tbo nations.” SPEED AND ECONOMICS. Whether the Queen Alary will recapture for Great Britain tho Blue Riband of the Atlantic which, at the moment, is held by tbo . Normandie and Franco lias been a matter of public speculation. Tho attitude of the Outlaid White Star directorate has been that they are interested not in blue ribands but in a ship that has been designed to pay her way. The Queen Alary and a sister ship arc intended to do between them the work which in tho past needed three smaller vessels —tho maintenance of a regular weekly service summer and winter alike across tho North Atlantic. A writer in tho special number published by the Times to commemorate the launch of the Queen Alary calculated that to fulfil her weekly journey across the Atlantic and have time to turn round her average open sea speed must be slightly in excess of 28 knots. She will bo expected to achieve this performance regularly and in all weather.' An interesting suggestion lias been made that the Queen Mary might make an attempt to break the record for the Atlantic crossing on her second trip from this country. It is tvident that there will be no attempt oil the maiden voyage, as the ship is due to leave Southampton on May 27, but the return trip from New York is not scheduled to start until June 5. The liner’s second trip from Southampton, however, is to start on ednesday, June 17, and she is duo to leave Now York on the return trip exactly a week later, Wednesday, Juno 24.

80,773 TONS. It was officiallly announced recently that the Queen Alary has a gross tonnage of 80,773. . The directors of the Cunard AMnte Star Company made no attempt to bring tho measurements of their ship as first planned up to those of the Normandie. The overall length ol tho Queen Alary is 101811, that of the Normandie, with her sloping stem and stern, 1027 ft. At the' water line the Queen Alary is the longer ship. The displacements, which means the weights of the two vessels when they were launched, were 37,000 tons for the Queen Alary and 27,000 tons lor the Normandie. The 25 public rooms m the Queen Alary are unusually large. The firstclass dinging-room, stretching from side to side of the vessel, will hold 900 passengers at one sitting, and has a 30ft-high roof. The enclosed promenade deck, which measures approximi itely 1250 ft in length, has been fitted throughout with hundreds of shipside windows. The huge public rooms and the hundreds of luxurious state rooms will make the Queen Mary the most comfortable ship in tho world. A SUNSHINE SHIP. The liner will be essentially a sunshine ship with many windows, thus permitting the use oi daylight instead of artificial light. The shopping centre of the vessel is situated in the main hall, where there will be shops, occupied by outfitters, tobacconists, and florists, and there will be 12 showcases, some of them 25ft in length. An additional attraction will be a large decorative fountain. Aliles of telephone wire have been installed for the most complete telephony system ever found on board a ship, and it will permit of ship-to-shore telephony. There are even two telephone kiosks on board irom which long-distance calls may be made. Aliles of wiring have also been installed lor the internal broadcasting system, which includes amplifiers in the public rooms. . - . c ii Wood panelling is a feature ol the decoration of most of the public rooms, anil many of the state rooms, and no fewer than 50 varieties of wood have been used for this purpose. Alany ot these woods have never before been used in ship decoration and they range in variety from the well-known ash, oak, and walnut, to rarer varieties such as betula, patapsko, makore, and zebrano. REDUCED VIBRATION. Housed in separate water-tight compartments, the engines have a horsepower of 200,000. Vibration has been reduced to the minimum by mounting the entire engine units on rubber blocks. In addition, a new type oi vibi ation-proof apparatus has been installed round the cabins in the vicinity of the single rooms. This comprises small angles of steel equipped with springs, and it has been tested mth excellent results. A new safety device for tlie protection of the look-out has been provided for the first time in any British vessel. Instead of glass wind screens ox canvas dodgers, the front plates on the stream-lined bridge have been curved forward just below the lookout’s eye level, and a baffle plate has been fitted in the curve, forming an upward funnel. The result will be that wind hitting the bridge will he deflected straight upwards and will pass harmlessly over the look-out s head.