NIGHT COLLISION

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 22612, 18 May 1945, Page 3

NIGHT COLLISION

THE QUEEN MARY

CUT CRUISER IN TWO

LOSS OF 335 LIVES

(United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Received May 18, 3.15 p.m.) LONDON, May 17 Details of one of the worst naval disasters of the war—a collision between the Queen * Mary (81,235 tons) and the 8709 ten cruiser C'uracoa in October, 1942—wi1l be revealed in the Admiralty Division of the High Court on June 12, says the Daily Express. The case will be outstanding in maritime history, The liner cut the cruiser in two, with only ten survivors, 335 officers and ratings being lost. The disaster happened at night. The Queen Mary, which is the second largest ship afloat, the Queen Elizabeth being 85,000 tons, suffered only slight damage and no casualties. Treasury officials acting fbr the Admiralty today applied to the High Court to hear claims for the dependants against the Cunard Line amounting to £750,000. The case is likely to continue for several months, with witnesses coming from all parts of the world. The Queen Mary’s regular sailings were uninterrupted. Temporary repairs were carried out at Greenock and a new bow fitted on the liner when she went back to New York. The Daily Telegraph’s Glasgow correspondent says the Queen Mary, escorted by two cruisers, was travelling all out for the Clyde with 15,000 American troops aboard when the look-out man raised a U-boat alarm. The Queen Mary immediately wheeled to starboard. The Curacoa simultaneously raced toward the U-boat and the 80,000-ton liner, travelling at 30 knots, crashed full into the cruiser. Nothing could have withstood such a shock. An eye-witness said the Queen Mary simply “tramped over the warship.” The liner could not stop to pick up survivors but raced on at full speed. There was a great dent in her bows when she arrived at the Clyde and it was obvious that there had been a serious -mishap, but the full story was not known until survivors of the Curacoa were picked up.