LINER'S TRIALS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22421, 18 May 1936, Page 12

LINER'S TRIALS

SPEED OF QUEEN MARY GREAT INTEREST SHOWN TESTS ON FIRTH OF CLYDE [from our own couiikspoxdf.nt] LONDON, April ID Although no official figures have been divulged, unofficial timings taken from the Arran shore while the Queen Mary was traversing the measured distance at lull speed indicate that she attained a speed of 32.84 knots. As tin l French liner Xormandie's record speed is 'JO.OS knots, it is expected that the Queen Mary will recapture the blue riband ol the Atlantic with ease, says a special correspondent of the Times in a message from Glasgow. Since her alterations, however, it is claimed that the Normandie is capable of extending herself to .'52 knots, so that a keen contest is assured when both vessels go into commission this summer. Ihe Queen Mary, however, will have something in hand over and above her official record, and her builders are confident that she will prove herself the fastest merchant ship afloat. Enormous interest was manifested in the Queen Mary's trials, but she avoided would-be spectators on Saturday morning when in the grey light of dawn she left her anchorage off Gouroek and was steaming over the measured distance of two miles oil the Arran coast shortly after six o'clock. A thick mist hung over the island and the sea, and heavy rain fell during the morning. Later in the day, however, the weather cleared, and spectators had a magnificent view of the Queen Mary as she carried out her tests. Liner's Huge Wash

The first hint to the people in Arran that the trials had begun was the thuiuler of the liner's wash on the foreshore. A hligo wave about 10ft. or 12it, high swept from the vessel and broke with great force on the shore. Between 6.10 and 8.15 the liner passed over the measured distance five times, and it was estimated that her average speed on these runs was about 30 knots. She appeared to be heavily ballasted, as her waterliue was just visible, and the conditions were almost ideal, the sea being practically dead calm. The large crowds of spectators who quickly gathered commented on the absence of noise from the Queen Mary, and this was all the more noticeable because a destroyer had passed over the measured distance on the previous with considerable fuss ami noise from her engines. During the forenoon and the afternoon the liner again passed over the course 10 times, making 15 runs in all, and it was on her second last run that she seemed to attain her maximum speed. After her mooring tests she headed down the Firth and appeared to be engaged on turning tests. Each double turn on the measured mile took practically an hour to complete, and the Queen Marv presented a striking picture of grace and beauty as she sped past the spectators, swinging round in a wide arc after each run as gracefully as a motor-launch. Excursion steamers followed her down the river, and aeroplanes hovered overhead, while the roads on the mainland were almost completely blocked by cars, whose owners watched the progress of the liner through glasses. Tugs Tossed About

Two tugs, one containing the official photographers, were tossed about like cockle-shells in the wash of the great liner as she swept past, and at times their hulls were completely hidden from those on the shore by the height of the waves set up by the liner. After her final run over the official course she again headed down the Firth, and did not return until about 5 p.m., when she was seen about seven miles out from the shore making for the Tail of the Bank. Among the officials who were on board during these trials were Mr. Stephen Pigott, managing-director of John i Brown and Company, and Mr. Donald Skiffington, the shipyard director.

Thousands of visitors welcomed the Queen Mary when she returned to Gourock in the evening. An escort of hundreds of cars convoyed her all along the coast road from Largs, and thousands of people had congregated on the Ashton shore, road and Gourock Pier, from which passengers swarmed on hoard the pleasure Steamers which sailed round the liner to give them a close \;iew. Trains and omnibuses continued to pour thousands of visitors into the town from nil parts of Scotland, and cars were streaming into Gourock at the rate of .3000 an hour, even after the vessel had left. Steamers plied from Greenock, Gourock, Craigendoran. and other resorts farther down the Firth. ,and a modest estimate of the number who sailed round the Queen Mary last night is about 15..000. As dusk fell the great vessel was floodlit, and she presented a picture of great beauty.