w/ Darkness Radio
Sun Deck in infrared
By the time Queen Mary reached New York City in September, 1939, World War II had begun. She remained docked there until 1940, when the British decided to employ Queen Mary and similar ships as troop transports. Upwards of 15,000 troops could be transported, albeit quite uncomfortably, at once and the high speed made her practically untouchable by German U-boats. At one point, Adolf Hitler offered the equivalent of $25,000 and the Iron Cross to the U-boat commander able to sink the Queen Mary.
QM's wartime operations consisted of very strict procedures and guidelines. Under no circumstance was she to ever slow down or cease her zigzagging pattern. To do so would leave the much sought after vessel open to torpedo attacks which could have been devastating to the war effort. On October 2, 1942, the H.M.S. Curacoa, a C-class light cruiser with over 400 servicemen aboard inadvertently crossed paths with the Queen Mary. Curacoa was struck at a speed of 28 knots and split in two with 338 British sailors perishing in the incident, some even being sucked into the propellers. The strict guidelines meant that Queen Mary could not slow down or attempt to rescue any survivors and all both crews could do was watch in horror as she steamed away. A number of survivors were later rescued by other ships.
Queen Mary resumed her previous life after the war, but the days of massive ocean liners populating the Atlantic were coming to a close. Air travel was quickly becoming the preferred way to travel and QM retired from service on December 1, 1967. Purchased by Long Beach, California, R.M.S. Queen Mary reopened as a tourist attraction in 1971. The current ship is but a fraction of her former glory, with most of the lower decks having been completely gutted. Many of the first and second class cabins were converted into hotel rooms which remain to this day. The Promenade Deck is the cultural hub of the ship and is home to a restaurant, bar, and several shops.
Unlike our previous trip, this one was aided by a lot of high-tech equipment. We were even lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an apparition in the aft engine room with our thermal camera, something rare indeed.