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1934 - 1969; The Last Great Atlantic Fleet

Queen Mary (1934 - 1967; 80,774 tons) The construction of the Queen Mary represented the zenith of passenger ship building for Cunard. Plans began for a new record breaking liner to replace the Mauretania as early as 1926. It was not until 1930, however, that Cunard announced that a new 1000 ft, 81,000 ton liner was to be built by John Brown & Co Ltd. The keel of the ship was laid down on 31st January 1931.  The building proceeded well and the launch was scheduled for May 1932. On 11th December 1931 the Cunard Board announced that work on the ship was to be suspended. The world economic depression had hit the shipbuilding industry and Cunard were forced to pay all outstanding bills and lay off the Clydeside workforce indefinitely.  It was during 1931 that Cunard started negotiations to buy out its main rival, the White Star Line. Although these early attempts

failed Cunard entered negotiations with the Government in 1933. In December 1933 an agreement was reached whereby the two companies would merge to form Cunard White Star Ltd and the Government would lend the company £9.5 million. 

The majority of this sum was to be used to complete the Queen Mary and build a sister ship. In April 1934 work began again on the ship. The work was completed by August and the ship was launched on 26th September by Queen Mary. It was then taken to its fitting out berth. 

The work on the ship was completed in March 1936 and it sailed out of the Clyde as far as Arran for preliminary trials. After sailing to Southampton to be painted, the Queen Mary was handed over to Cunard on 11th May. The propulsion machinery of the ship produced a massive 160,000HP and gave it a speed of over 30 knots. She made an inaugural cruise from Southampton on 14th May and then made her maiden voyage, on the Southampton-Cherbourg-New York route, on 27th May. Despite expectations that the ship would try to break speed records on its first voyage, a thick fog destroyed any hope of this. The Queen Mary spent a short time in dry-dock during July whilst adjustments were made to the propellers and turbines. When the ship returned to service, in August, she made a record voyage from Bishop's Rock to Ambrose Lighthouse and took the Blue Riband for the first time from the French liner Normandie. 

The ship went into dry-dock in December and alterations were made to the bulkheads in order to reduce vibrations. By May 1937 the Queen Mary had completed one year's service and had carried a total of 56,895 passengers. In August 1938 it regained the Blue Riband form the Normandie and set new records for both the eastbound and westbound crossings. It made its last pre war commercial voyage from Southampton on 30th August 1939 and then remained berthed at New York until the end of the year whilst it was decided what role the ship would play in the war. 

On 7th March 1940 the newly completed Queen Elizabeth arrived to join the Queen Mary, Mauretania and Normandie at New York. On 21st March the Queen Mary left New York under orders to sail for Cape Town and Sydney. On arrival work began converting the ship into a troopship. The luxury furnishings were removed and tiers of bunks and hammocks were fitted. Although small caliber guns were fitted on the ship its main protection was to be its impressive speed. On 4th May the ship left for the Clyde with 5,000 troops of the Australian Imperial Force on board. She arrived there on June 16th and then sailed for Singapore carrying troops to bolster the defense in view of Japan's increasing threat. After an overhaul there it returned to Sydney and then made trooping voyages between Australia and India for the rest of the year. 

The ship was dry-docked again in February 1941 and then sailed between Australian ports and Singapore and Suez until November. As the Indian Ocean was becoming increasingly dangerous, with war looking imminent in the Far East and Pacific, the Queen Mary sailed to Boston. Here its trooping capacity was increased to 8,500 and she was fitted with heavier calibre guns and anti-aircraft cannons. The Queen Mary's future role was to be on the North Atlantic, however one urgent trip carrying US troops to Sydney was the priority. By late July 1942 Queen Mary had returned to New York. In the following months she sailed to the Clyde and Suez and then returned to the USA with a complement of German POW's. On 2nd August 1942 she began making fast eastbound voyages carrying between 10,000-15,000 US troops at a time. 

On one of these voyages the ship had the worst collision of her career. When she was approaching the Clyde the Queen Mary required an anti-aircraft escort, amongst these was the cruiser HMS Curacoa. On 2nd October the escort ships were sighted. The Queen Mary was steaming at 28 knots in zig-zag pattern whilst the Curacoa, whose best speed was 26 knots, kept as close as possible. The Queen Mary overtook its escort and then the zig-zag pattern of the two ships converged and Queen Mary collided with the Curacoa close to its stern and sliced straight through the smaller ship. Out of 430 crew members on the cruiser, only 101 survived. Although there was damage beneath the waterline the Queen Mary was able to continue. With over 11,000 troops on board the Queen Mary could not stop to assist and she sailed straight to the Clyde. A long legal battle between the Admiralty and Cunard eventually laid the blame equally on both vessels. 

From October to December 1942 Queen Mary was repaired in Boston and then she returned to the Clyde. On 23rd December Queen Mary left for Cape Town, Suez and Sydney carrying British troops to the Middle East and Australian troops back home. Queen Mary returned in April 1943 and then berthed in New York in May. After this she began a ferry service for US troops which was to be its role for the remainder of the war. The Queen Mary's role in this capacity is the one for which she is best remembered. The end of the war in Europe in May 1945 meant that there was an urgent need to redeploy thousands of US combat troops to the conflict in the Pacific and Far East. The Queen Mary sailed to New York to be refitted and then began the long process of repatriation. In January 1946 she began transporting war brides to their new homes. By May Queen Mary transferred to Halifax to repatriate the wives and children of Canadian servicemen, which continued until September. 

On September 27th, the Queen Mary was handed back to Cunard Line. During its war service she had traveled over 600,000 miles and carried nearly 800,000 people. A ten month refit was then embarked upon at Southampton. Besides being refurnished for the commercial service a new stem was fitted. The passenger accommodation was also altered to house 711 1st class, 707 cabin class and 577 tourist class passengers. Queen Mary made its first post war sailing on July 31st, 1947, from Southampton to New York. Before the end of 1947, however, industrial troubles started to affect the service. Air travel was becoming increasingly popular and after the ship ran aground at Cherbourg on 1 January 1949, many passengers chose to fly to the USA instead. Although the ship was still capable of making fast crossings it was unable to compete with the new American liner United States, and in July 1952 the American ship took the Blue Riband with an average speed of 35.59 knots.

In March 1958 the ship was fitted with Denny-Brown stabilizers. By the beginning of the next decade there was already speculation about the ship's future. In December 1963 Queen Mary made her first cruise, to the Canaries. By 1965 this had become a larger part of the ship's role. A seamen's strike in May 1966 cost Cunard £4 million and spelt the end for the Queen Mary. In 1967 Cobh was added to the ship's Southampton-New York route but by now it was losing thousands of pounds a day. Queen Mary made her last transatlantic crossing on 16th September 1967. There was a large turn out of people to see Queen Mary for the last time.

Queen Mary is now docked in Long Beach California as a floating hotel, a fitting retirement for one of the worlds greatest ships. ^ TOP
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Mauretania II (1939 - 1965; 35,738 tons)

The Mauretania was the first ship to be built for the newly formed Cunard-White Star Line and was laid down on 24th May 1937 as SS No. 1029. She was the largest ship ever to be constructed in an English shipyard at the time. She was launched on 28th July 1938 by Lady Bates, wife of the Cunard chairman, Sir Percy. The ship was designed for the London to New York service and was the largest vessel ever to navigate the Thames and use the Royal Docks. 

The Mauretania made her inaugural voyage from Liverpool to New York on 17th June 1939. After remaining in New York for a week it returned to Southampton. Returning from the next voyage the Mauretania called at Southampton, Le Havre and finally to London where it berthed in King George V Dock in the Thames. 
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On 11th August the ship left for its final pre-war voyage to New York and was then hired by the Government. It was then defensively armed with two 6 inch guns and some smaller weapons, painted battle gray and was then dispatched to America at the end of December. 

For three months the ship lay idle in New York until it was decided to use it as a troopship. On 20ht March 1940 it sailed from New York to Sydney, via Panama to be converted for its new role. This work was carried out in April and in May it left Sydney along with the Queen Mary and Aquitania with 2,000 troops, bound for the Clyde. During the early stages of the war the ship transported Australian troops to Suez, India and Singapore but later it mainly served on the North Atlantic. On 8th January it was involved in a minor collision with the American tanker Hat Creek in New York harbour. 

Mauretania joined Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and Nieuw Amsterdam on trooping duties from Australia and other colonial countries to war stricken Europe. The four ships traveled in convoy on one such journey, and during this voyage a rare photograph of Mauretania was taken by a Rhodesian soldier, George Frame, from a porthole aboard Nieuw Amsterdam.

Like George Frame, Mauretania survived the war. She  made several further voyages for the British Government returning troops home. This mainly took the ship to Canada and Singapore. On 2nd September 1946 Mauretania returned to Liverpool, was released from British Government service and immediately went into Gladstone Dock to be reconditioned by Cammell Laird & Co. 

After a complete overhaul and refurbishment of the interior, the Mauretania made her first post-war Atlantic crossing to New York on 26th April 1947. After using Liverpool as its home port for the first two voyages it was thereafter based at Southampton. Later that year it began to be used as a cruise ship during the winter months to the West Indies and the Caribbean. These so called 'dollar-earning cruises' assisted the shattered British economy. For the next 10 years it served the Southampton to New York route during the summer and operated on cruises from New York during the winter. 

When Mauretania was taken in for her annual overhaul at Liverpool in December 1957 the opportunity was taken to fit air-conditioning throughout the ship. By 1962, however, she was facing competition from much more modern ships and was beginning to lose money for Cunard. In October 1962 the ship was painted pale green (like the famous Caronia) and the passenger accommodation was adjusted to accommodate 406 1st class, 364 cabin class and 357 tourist class passengers. On 28th March 1963 Mauretania began a new service calling at New York, Cannes, Genoa and Naples. This, however, was a failure and by 1964 she was mainly employed cruising from New York to the West Indies. 

The Mauretania made her final voyage on September 15th 1965. This was a Mediterranean cruise which departed from New York. It was announced that on its return to Southampton the ship would be withdrawn from service and sold. She arrived at Southampton on 10 November and had already been sold to the British Iron and Steel Corporation. On 23rd November she arrived at Ward's ship breaking yard in Inverkeithing, Fife. She was commanded by Captain John Treasure-Jones, who navigated the mud straits of the Forth without tugs. ^ TOP

Queen Elizabeth (1939 - 1972; 83,673 tons) Queen Elizabeth held the title of worlds largest liner  from 1939 - 1996 Queen Elizabeth was the second of the two super liners which Cunard had built for the New York service. After lengthy negotiations between Sir Percy Bates, Chairman of Cunard, and the Government a formal contract for what was known as job 535 was signed on 6th October 1936. The British Treasury agreed to advance £5 million to Cunard and tenders went out for the contract. The contract went to John Brown & Co, builders of the Queen Mary.

The launch date for "535" was scheduled for September 1938 but as the time drew near the political situation across Europe worsened. The launch did go ahead on 27th September but King George VI was unable to attend. Queen Elizabeth was launched by Queen Elizabeth, with Princess Elizabeth by her side. After this the ship went to be fitted out and the completion date was set for the Spring of 1940 but the outbreak of World War II, on 3rd September 1939, meant that the ship would follow a different agenda.

Queen Elizabeth was painted gray and its maiden voyage was cancelled. Over the next few months it was realized that the Queen Elizabeth was not only at risk from German Bombers whilst it was berthed on the Clyde, but was an inconvenience too. On 3rd March 1940 she left her anchorage off Gourock and sailed to New York, arriving on 7th March. It was widely published that she was headed for Southampton - a clever ploy to try and fool axis spies into relaying false information to the Nazi intelligence. The scheme worked, and "Lizzie" arrived in New York safely and without any problems from her untested turbines and propellers.

During March 1940 four of the world's greatest liners, the Mauretania, Normandie, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, were berthed alongside each other in neutral New York City. The Queen Elizabeth remained berthed at New York until  November 13th and then set sail for Singapore, where she was to be serviced and refurbished to commence duty as a troop transport. The refit was completed in graving dock at Singapore and defensive armament was fitted. Internally it was fitted out to carry troops as it had now been requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport. On  February 11th, Queen Elizabeth sailed from Singapore to Sydney, Australia, arriving on February 21st. After the fitting out was completed here "Lizzie" made her trooping debut, voyage to the Middle East and spent the next five months carrying troops from Sydney to Suez, and returning with German POW's. After the US entered the war the Queen Elizabeth sailed to Esquimalt, in Canada, and carried troops to Sydney.

In 1942 the British Admiralty drew up plans to convert the two Queens into aircraft carriers but these were later abandoned as it was considered that their troop carrying role was too important. In April 1942 the Queen Elizabeth relocated from Sydney to New York. Here the troop accommodation was altered to make its capacity 10,000. In June 1942 she began to make voyages from New York to Gourock and then to Suez, via Cape Town. In August she began a shuttle service between New York and Gourock. Despite the ever present threat of U-boats the ship continued its service unscathed, although the German press stated that a U-boat had hit the vessel with a torpedo on November 11th. 

By the end of the war in Europe the Queens had brought over a million troops to the war zone. The ship's next duty was to repatriate these troops and redeploy troops for the war against Japan which was ongoing for months after Victory in Europe. The repatriation of American troops continued until October 1945 when the Queen Elizabeth was released from US service and allocated to the repatriation of Canadian troops. On the 6th March, 1946 "Lizzie" arrived back in Southampton and was released from British Government service as the need for troop movements had diminished. During the war Queen Elizabeth had carried over 750,000 troops and traveled 500,000 miles. Winston Churchill, stated that the Queens had "shortened the war by a year." "Lizzie" had proved herself! 

The post-war overhaul and refurbishment of Queen Elizabeth was to be carried out both on the Clyde and at Southampton. This overhaul would transform the Queen Elizabeth from a mass troop carrier into one of the grandest luxury liners of all time. On 9th March 1946, before she left for the Clyde, a fire was discovered on the promenade deck. Luckily this was spotted early and  the fire brigade was able to extinguish it, but there was considerable damage to that area of the ship. Although it was never proved, arson was strongly suspected. At the end of March "Lizzie" left for the Clyde. There she was finally repainted in Cunard livery and the machinery was overhauled. By 17th June Queen Elizabeth was back at Southampton for interior refurbishment. It was soon announced that she would make her belated maiden passenger voyage to New York on October 16th, 1946. 

After speed trials and a visit by the Queen, accompanied by Princesses Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, "Lizzie" traveled to Southampton and set out on her maiden passenger voyage to New York. There is little doubt that Queen Elizabeth was a faster ship than Queen Mary, but no attempt was ever made to take the speed honors away from the elder Cunarder. Over the coming months the ship was fully booked and carried many famous passengers. On 17th April 1947 she ran aground on Brambles Bank whilst approaching Southampton in thick fog. Although no damage was done the passengers had to be disembarked and the bulk of the fuel pumped out before the ship could be re-floated. Industrial disputes in 1948 left the Queen Elizabeth stranded at New York for two weeks. By September 1951 she had made her historic 100th Atlantic crossing. 

During an overhaul in January of 1952 the ship's fuel capacity was increased and air-conditioning fitted throughout. Again mysterious fires broke out in several passenger cabins but were easily extinguished. In January of 1955 Queen Elizabeth was fitted with Denny Brown stabilizers. These improvements, however, were not enough to enable passenger liners to compete with air travel and by the late 1950's, due to the Jet airliner, there were more people crossing the Atlantic by air than by sea. On 29th July 1959 the Queen Elizabeth was involved in a collision with the American Hunter, a United States Lines cargo ship. The collision occurred in the Ambrose Channel when both ships were outward bound from New York. During thick fog the American ship struck the starboard bows of the Queen Elizabeth but, luckily, damage to both vessels was only slight and temporary repairs were carried out at New York. 

By 1962 the steady decline in the number of passengers led to an announcement that the ship would begin cruising the following year. Cruises from New York to Nassau began in February 1963. Dramatic is a word to describe one of "Lizzies" 1962 cruise when a light aircraft smashed into the sea only a few hundred yards from the ship's stern. This occurred south-east of Cape Hatteras and as the pilot was killed all that could be done was to notify the coastguard. In March 1965 it was announced that the ship was to undergo a major overhaul. The work was done in Greenock and involved extensive redecoration and the installation of an open-air swimming pool on the vessels aft decks, as well as extending the superstructure to enclose the aft decking, a technique that would be extensively used on the Queen Elizabeth 2 some 4 years later. The work was completed in Spring 1966 but seamen's strikes immediately after this caused disruption for several weeks. On May 8th, 1967 Cunard announced that the Queen Mary would be withdrawn from service later that year and that the Queen Elizabeth would be withdrawn in Autumn 1968. The fact that the ship was still running at a loss after an extensive refit and that seamen's strikes had cost the company £14 million sealed its fate. 

The Queen Elizabeth made her final Atlantic crossing on 5th November 1968. She had now already been sold to a group of Philadelphia businessmen for £3.25 million. After her final visit to New York under the Cunard banner, "Lizzie" sailed to Port Everglades and opened to the public in February 1969. By the end of the year it had been closed down by the local authorities as a fire hazard, plus it was losing money. In late 1970 the ship was auctioned and bought by C.Y.Tung shipping group in Hong Kong and was intended to become a floating university. "Lizzie" was soon renamed Seawise University (Named by C.Y. after himself "C.Y's" - Seawise... considered amusing amongst the new owners) Seawise University sailed for Hong Kong on February 10th, 1971. Due to machinery problems it did not arrive until July and anchored off Tsing Yi Island near Kowloon. 

Work soon began on a £5 million refit to convert the ship into a university and by January 1972 work was almost complete. The vessel that was once Cunard's flagship was painted white, with buff funnels and a green clover style logo attached. Security on board, however, was lax and on 9th January several fires were discovered in various parts of the ship. The fires spread and the ship burned throughout the night. Soon the ship rolled on to its side and then the hulk continued to burn until it was obvious that the vessel would not be salvageable. It is suspected that arson was the cause. The metal of Seawise was sold to Japanese ship breakers. A tragic end to one of the worlds greatest liners. ^ TOP
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Caronia II (1949 - 1974; 34,183 tons) Caronia was launched on 30th October 1947 by HRH Princess Elizabeth, undertaking her last public engagement before her marriage to Phillip. Caronia could probably be described as the world's first real cruise ship, being purpose built for cruising.  The ship later became nicknamed the 'Green Goddess' because it was painted in a unique livery of four shades of green. Caronia became famous, particularly in the United States, for its world cruises. Caronia was one of the largest ships built during the early years after World War 2.

With her cruising role in mind she was built with a yacht like appearance and also had an open air lido, swimming pool and terraced decks, all of which are design features that survive on modern cruise vessels to this day. Caronia had one mast above her bridge, and the widest funnel ever to go to sea. She had an appealing appearance and was instantly recognizable. 

The ship was completed a year after her launch, and then spent some time in dry-dock at Liverpool before returning to the Clyde for speed and engine trials. Although the Caronia was designed as a cruise ship Cunard intended to employ it on the North Atlantic service during the busy summer months, although she rarely took part on this service. 

The Caronia made her maiden voyage on  January 4th, 1949 from Southampton to New York, via Cherbourg. During the winter the ship made a series of cruises to the West Indies and South America. It was not until January 1951 that the ship made its first world cruise. The voyage called at over 30 ports and terminated at Southampton in the spring. During the ship's transit, however, of the Suez Canal she went aground near the El Ferdan bridge for nearly an hour. Although this delayed traffic through the Canal, luckily Caronia was undamaged. In the summer of 1951 a further cruise, from New York to Europe, was made. 

In December 1952, during the ship's annual refit at a Liverpool shipyard, there was a fire but it was easily controlled by the Liverpool fire brigade. Queen Elizabeth the Second's coronation ceremony, during the summer of 1953, led the Caronia to be deployed in bringing American visitors over to see the spectacle. In June 1956 the ship was again temporarily grounded, this time on a sandbank outside the port of Messina. During the annual refit, at the end of 1956, the ship was fitted with air-conditioning throughout. 

After this the Caronia began to cruise from New York across the Atlantic to Cape Town and then return via Japan and the Pacific. It was on the ships second cruise on this route that it struck and demolished a light tower at the entrance to Yokohama port, whilst leaving Tokyo Bay. This occurred on April 14th, 1958. Immediate repairs were necessary and the US Navy allowed the ship to use Yokosuka dockyard. Subsequently Cunard were also involved in a lengthy legal action which resulted in them paying a large amount of compensation for the damage. 

In 1959 the Caronia visited the Soviet Union calling at Yalta on the Black Sea. In October 1965, in an effort to compete better with the Scandinavian and Dutch cruise ships, such as Oslofjord and Sagafjord, Caronia was redecorated and refurbished at Belfast. In addition a large lido deck and new open air swimming pool were built. Caronia also had the aft decks enclosed with screens that would be extensively used on Queen Elizabeth 2's aft decks. The decline in the cruise market, however, meant that this was not enough passenger support and Cunard announced that the Caronia would be withdrawn from service in early 1968. The Caronia's last voyage was from New York to Southampton, leaving on November 17th, 1957. 

After remaining in Southampton for some time the ship was sold to a Yugoslavian company, Domus Turist. Their intention was to use the ship as a floating hotel at Dubrovnik. Due to technical problems, however, this transaction was never completed and on 24th May 1968 it was resold to the Panamanian company, Star Shipping. It was renamed Columbia and sailed to the Piraeus in July to be refitted. Whilst undergoing this overhaul in Greece it was again renamed, Caribia. 

The new owners promised to use the ship for cruising and despite several delays, the ship left New York on February 11th, 1969 on an inaugural 14 day cruise. Despite complaints from most of the passengers the ship left on a second cruise on February 28th. During this cruise a steam pipe split, killing one crew member, and cutting the ships power, leaving her drifting. After 20 hours temporary repairs were made and the ship returned to New York. The rest of the ships cruise itinerary was cancelled and it remained docked at New York.

A Turkish national eventually bought the ship but was never able to raise the finances to refit it. For the next 5 years the Caribia remained at New York. In spring 1974 it was sold to Taiwanese ship breakers and left New York on 27th April for Kaohsiung, towed by the ocean tug Hamburg. Problems began when the ship took on a list near Honolulu but, after temporary repairs, it continued the journey. On 12th August the ships were off Guam battling a tropical storm. The Hamburg's generator failed 3 miles from Apra Harbour and the captain decided to cut the towline. The Caribia drifted towards the breakwater and looked as though it may make a normal entry to the harbor when it suddenly altered course and crashed into the tip of the breakwater. The ship broke up on 14th August, after being pounded by stormy seas. The stern section slipped into the entrance to the harbor. The ship that was Caronia refused to be scrapped! ^ TOP
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Sylvania (1957-1968; 21,989 tons) Sylvania was the last Cunard ship built for the Canadian Run. Sylvania was the last of the Saxonia sisters, and is highlighted here due to her long and successful life. She was built for the Cunard Line's Liverpool to Eastern Canada service by the John Brown yards of Clydebank, Scotland in 1957 and maintained this route with her sister ships until the Jet aircraft rendered the Saxonia class obsolete.

Cruising was the answer for the Sylvania and after an overhaul which included the vessel being painted white, and the Cunard name plate attached to her aft superstructure she begun her new life as a cruise vessel.By 1968, her life with Cunard was drawing to a close. Sylvania was sold to Sitmar Cruise Line later that year and renamed Fairwind. 

She remained in Southampton for a short time, along side her sister Fairland (ex Carinthia). The liner was later rebuilt for the U.S. Cruise market. She was briefly named Sitmar Fairwind before the Sitmar group was sold to P&O in 1988. The ship that was Sylvania was assigned to the companies Princess Cruises and renamed Dawn Princess where she remained until 1993.

The year 1993 saw the vessel sold to the V Group of Monte Carlo, where she was renamed Albatros (pictured), appropriately named after the grand seabirds. For years she sailed under the V Group flag, and specialized in charter cruises for German tourists. Sadly she was retired in 2003. ^ TOP

Sylvania information submitted as part of the "Share your Ship Initiative" in 2004.
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