Gross Tonnage

81,235 tons (approx.)

Length

1,019 feet

Beam

118 feet

Draft

39 feet 5 inches

Height

237 feet

Passengers

1,957

Decks

12

27 Dec 1930

Laid down

26 Sep 1934

Launched by HM Queen Mary

27 May 1936

Maiden voyage Southampton-Cherbourg-New York. 

Aug: Took the Blue Riband from Normandie, sailing westbound in 4 days and 27 minutes at 30.14kts and eastbound in 3 days 23 hours and 57 minutes at 30.63kts

Sep 1939

After the outbreak of the war Queen Mary was laid up at New York

1 Mar 1940

Commissioned as a troopship and sailed to Sydney, Australia, for conversion

2 Oct 1942

While zig-zagging at speed Queen Mary sliced the stern off her escorting cruiser HMS Curacao with the loss of 338 lives.  At a later court hearing Queen Mary was exonerated

24 Sep 1946

Final trooping voyage Halifax-Southampton.  Sent to John Brown’s for conversion back to passenger liner

31 Jul 1947

First post-war voyage Southampton-Cherbourg-Plymouth-New York

1958

Fitted with stabilizers

27 Sep 1967

Arrived at Southampton at end of her 1,000th, and final, voyage.

Nov: Sold to the City of Long Beach, California, for $3,450,000

10 May 1971

Conversion  completed and opened as a maritime museum, hotel and convention center.  Her machinery was removed

Apr 1978

Put up for sale due to losses said to be $2 million a year.