Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
271
As the fastest troop carriers afloat, they easily eluded the enemy, but their evasive maneuvers
were also at high speed. The
Queen Mary
accidentally cut a light cruiser in half on October 2, 1942,
leading to the death of 338 sailors. Fearful of enemy submarines, the
Queen
could not stop to search
for survivors.
In December 1942, while carrying 15,000 American troops to England, she was hit broadside
with a rogue wave estimated at 90 feet. Lifeboats were damaged and windows were broken on the
bridge. The ship listed more than 50 degrees, and later study suggested that she very nearly capsized.
This event prompted Paul Gallico to write
The Poseidon Adventure
, which was filmed in part on the
Queen Mary
.
When the war ended in 1945, the ship had to be rebuilt on the inside to undo the modifications
made for troop carrying. It also needed painting. While in military service, it had served as Winston
Churchill's headquarters at sea, and had been painted gray to camouflage it from the German sub-
marines. “The Gray Ghost” had carried over 800,000 troops to battle areas, but now she was headed
back to civilian service.
The
Queen
Mary
sailed the transatlantic route until 1967, when transatlantic air travel by jet
forced her to retire. Japanese scrap merchants bid for the iron and steel, but the City of Long Beach
won with a bid of $3.45 million. The
Queen
Elizabeth
was retired in 1968, to be replaced by the
Queen Elizabeth 2
in 1969. Still in service, the
QE2
was joined by the
Queen Mary 2
in 2004.
After the
Queen
Mary
arrived in Long Beach, it had its insides modified once more to serve
as a floating hotel, restaurant, shopping area, and museum. Engines, boilers, generators, the water
softening plant, and all the other machinery inside have been taken out to make it more functional
as a destination. The
Queen Mary
is located at the south end of the 710 Freeway, on the water in
Long Beach.
The Queen Mary
1126 Queen's Highway
Long Beach, California 90802
(562) 435-3511
