Queen Mary was the largest ship in the world at that time with the capacity to carry 776 1st, 784 2nd and 579 3rd class passengers. Her maiden voyage from Southampton - Cherbourg and New York May 27th 1936 began the fiercest rivalry ever seen between two liners. Queen Mary’s single gear turbines were capable of 200,000 hp compared to her rival Normandie’s turbo electric machinery developing 160,000 hp. As Normandie had a sleek new hull design, the two ships had a similar top speed.

Before the British ship entered service, the French Line was informed she exceeded 80,000 tons. At that time, Normandie’s upper decks were extended to allow her to regain the title of the world’s largest ship. The redesign increased Normandie’s volume from 79,280 - 83,000 tons. Queen Mary took the Blue Riband on the westbound route from Normandie in August 1936 by increasing the average speed from 29.98 to 30.14 knots. On her return crossing, she broke Normandie’s record of 30.31 knots by averaging 30.63 knots. Normandie increased the records three times in 1937 with her best average of 31.2 knots being set on an eastbound crossing August 8th. Queen Mary regained the westbound record August 8th 1938 with an average speed of 30.99 knots. Six days later, she took the eastbound record with a crossing of 3 days, 20 hours and 42 minutes, averaging 31.69 knots. Normandie’s destruction during World War Two allowed Queen Mary’s records to go unchallenged until the arrival of the liner United States 14 years later.

At the outbreak of World War Two, Queen Mary was painted gray in New York before setting out for Sydney/Australia to be converted to a troopship. After transporting Australian troops to the war in Africa, she was used to carry American troops to Britain. On one voyage alone, she carried around 16,000 servicemen from New York - Gourock/Scotland. Her only incident during the war was when she rammed and sunk her escort, the British cruiser Curacoa. There were only 26 survivors from the warships crew of over 300.

Queen Mary’s return to Cunard in 1947 saw her operated between the Atlantic run and cruising over the following 20 years. She was retired September 19th 1967 after completing 1,001 Atlantic crossings. Queen Mary set out on her final voyage from Southampton - California October 31st 1967. With her being too large to pass through the Panama Canal, she had to travel around the Cape of Good Hope. Queen Mary’s arrival at California December 9th allowed her ownership to be officially transferred to the City of Long Beach. She has since served as a museum and hotel.