A Brief History
On August 30, 1936, the Blue Riband was awarded to the RMS Queen Mary for the fastest transatlantic crossing. The Queen Mary made its maiden voyage earlier that year, serving until 1967, including transporting troops during World War II, as many as 16,000 passengers on a single trip, a record that still stands.
Digging Deeper
The Blue Riband eventually went to the SS United States in 1952, but the 81,000 ton Queen Mary over a thousand feet long, along with her sister ship, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, were the standard of luxury until their retirement.
Instead of scrapping the Queen Mary, she sailed to Long Beach, California, where she became a museum and hotel. The Queen Elizabeth fared more poorly, suffering a capsizing and fire in 1972 and was scrapped.
Other big ships have been turned into museum ships, especially warships, while some are sunk as artificial reefs or turned into hotels. Some are merely turned into scrap.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Have you visited any museum or hotel ships?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Ellery, David. RMS Queen Mary: The World’s Favourite Liner. Naval Institute Press, 2023.
Maxtone-Graham, John. SS: Red, White, and Blue Riband, Forever. W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.
