The Blue Riband
The great liners do battle
Mauretania’s
thirty-year grip on the Blue Riband ended in 1929 when Bremen claimed the prize.
The German shipping industry had slowly rebuilt itself after the
end of World War 1 in 1918 and could now build ships capable of
challenging the best Britain could produce – not on size but on
speed. ![[18837] 'United States'](/images/20065_tcm4-23171_tcm4-60833.jpg "[18837]")
 United
States |
French Line saw the new confidence of German shipping and wanted to
strengthen their position on the Atlantic. They ordered the first
80,000 ton liner – Normandie. She was fitted
with the latest inventions – reversible turbines driving electric
generators – making her extremely manoeuvrable, and a hull shaped
to produce very little wake. She did take the Riband on her maiden
voyage to America and passengers were presented with commemorative
medallions – French Line were clearly confident that she
would take the prize!
Meanwhile, ship No 534 was laid down in a Glasgow shipyard in 1930.
Launched in 1934, she is better known as Queen Mary. The ‘Mary’ did
not take the Blue Riband from Normandie on her maiden
voyage due to foggy weather, but did wrest the prize later in 1936.
By averaging 30 knots, her more powerful engines meant she became
the first ship to cross the Atlantic in less than four days.
Realising the publicity available through the Riband, French Line
challenged Cunard and the Riband swapped between the two liners for
the next few years.
Cunard never
publicly admitted to going for the Blue Riband. They highlighted
their record for safety and comfort – any emphasis on speed would
damage their reputation. When Queen Mary did win the
Riband, Cunard refused to accept the Hales trophy. An American
competitor was about to steal the Riband from the Eropean shipping
greats. On 3 July 1952, United States departed New
York on her maiden voyage. Many expected her to go for the record –
passengers with cabins located over the screws had been moved to
other parts of the ship that did not suffer from vibration. On
board were 1600 passengers, including the daughter of the US
President.
United States made good
speed, even through a thick bank of fog, because she was one of the
first ships to have radar. On the third day out of New York, she
passed the Queen
Mary sailing in the opposite direction. The ships dipped
colours in courtesy as they passed [listen]. When the ship
passed the finish line at Bishop’s Rock, England, President
Trueman’s daughter, pulled the horn and passengers danced on deck
in the pouring rain. United States was the
first US-owned ship to win the Blue Riband for a century, in a time
of 3 days 10 hours. The captain of the Queen Mary sent a
telegram: “Welcome to the family of big liners on the Atlantic”.
She is the longest continuous holder of the Blue Riband - her
record standing for nearly forty years. The competition for the Blue Riband and speed across the
Atlantic drove the development of steamships. In less than 100
years, vessels crossing the Atlantic had grown from wind-powered
sailing ships to 80,000-ton ocean liners. After the Second World
War (1939 – 45), passengers were increasingly turning to jet
aircraft that could carry them across the Atlantic in hours, not
days.
|
