The Queen Mary is considered by many as the pinnacle of British passenger shipbuilding. The canard Line's Star Flagship, Queen Mary, was laid down for construction as the Great depression gripped Europe, rendering circumstances unfeasible for ship building. Thus, the construction was held up from 1931 to 1934. The thousand foot passenger ship was built to trump its French rival to the crown of luxury, the Normandie. One of the most appealing characteristics of the Queen Mary was her great speed. Coupled with great luxury and comfort, this factor earned amazing profits for her owners until the outbreak of the Second World War, which found her in a New York Harbor. After being idle for half a year, the Queen Mary re-entered service as a troopship, traveling unescorted from New York to Sydney. Ferrying troops between the Suez and Australia until the United States decided to take part in the fight, the Germans reportedly offered a quarter million reward for sinking this ridiculously fast passenger boat which their submarines could not keep up with. With its speed and finesse along the waters, the Queen Mary bested any warship afloat and adopted the nickname, ''the Gray Ghost.'' The third largest passenger ship ever to set sail in the North Atlantic seaway, and the largest to survive, the Queen Mary is one of the recent reminders of the artistic and industrial genius that dominated the North Atlantic Ocean for over a century. Tonnage: 81,237 GT (gross tonnage) Displacement: 81,961 tonnes length: 1,019.4 ft (310.7 m) or 965 ft (294.1 m) B.P. beam: 118.5 ft (36.1 m) height: 181 ft (55.2 m) draft: 39 ft (11.9 m) propulsion: 160,000 shaft hp parsons double reduction steam turbines max. 200,000 shaft hp steam turbines, 4 shafts speed: approximately 28.5 km (52.8 km/h/32.8 mph) service speed. Capacity: 2139 passengers: 776 first (cabin) class, 784 tourist class, 579 third class crew: 1101 crew.
