RMS Queen Mary

Naming and construction

The ship was named after Mary of Teck, the consort of George V of the United Kingdom. Until her launch she was known simply as Cunard No. 534, since the name she was to be given was kept a closely guarded secret. Legend has it that Cunard intended to name the ship "Victoria", in keeping with company tradition of giving it's ships names ending in "ia". However, when company representatives asked King George V's permission to name the ocean liner after Britain's "greatest queen," his wife, the former Princess Mary of Teck, announced that she would be delighted. And so, the legend goes, the delegation had of course no other choice but to report that No. 534 would be called RMS Queen Mary. However, this story was denied by company officials, and is probably apocryphal, since traditionally the names of sovereigns have only been used for capital ships of the Royal Navy. Another story states that the name Queen Mary was decided on as a compromise between Cunard and the White Star Line who had a tradition of using names ending in "ic".

Related Topics:
Mary of Teck - George V of the United Kingdom - Cunard - ''Victoria'' - Britain - Royal Navy

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Construction began in December 1930 on the River Clyde by the John Brown & Company Shipbuilding and Engineering shipyard at Clydebank Scotland but was halted in December 1931 due to the depression. Cunard applied to the British Government for a loan to complete 534. The loan was granted, with enough money to complete the Queen Mary as well as enough to build a running mate, which became the Queen Elizabeth. One condition of the loan was that Cunard merge with the financially ailing White Star Line, which was Cunard's chief British rival at the time. Both lines agreed and the merger was completed in April 1934. Work on the Queen Mary began again immediately and she was launched on September 26, 1934. When she sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton England on May 271936, the Queen Mary was the second largest liner in existance at that time (the French liner Normandie being the largest), at 81,237 gross tons and with a length of 1,019.2 feet (311 m). In comparison, RMS Titanic was of 46,000 gross tons and 883 feet (270 m) long.

Related Topics:
December - 1930 - River Clyde - John Brown & Company Shipbuilding and Engineering - Shipyard - Clydebank - Scotland - 1931 - Depression - ''Queen Elizabeth'' - April - 1934 - September - 26 - Southampton - England - May 27 - 1936 - ''Normandie'' - RMS ''Titanic''

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