| Overall Length: | 1,019.5 ft. (310.74 m.) |
| Gross Tonnage: | 81,237 gross tons (230,039 cu. m.) |
| Transatlantic Crossings: | 1,001 |
| Constructed by: | John Brown & Co., LTD., Clydebank, Scotland |
| Commissioned by: | Cunard Steamship Co., LTD. |
| Keel Laid: | December 1, 1930 |
| Date Launched: | September 26, 1934 |
| Maiden Voyage: | May 27, 1936 |
| Portholes: | Over 2,000 |
| Rivets: | Over 10 million |
| Hull Plates: | 8 ft. (2.44 m) to 30 ft. (9.14 m.) in length; up to 1.25 in. (3.2 cm.) thick |
| Moulded Breadth: | 118 ft. (35.97 m.) |
| Height from Keel to Forward Smokestack Top: | 181 ft. (55.17 m.) |
| Height from Keel to Promenade Deck: | 92.5 ft. (28.19 m.) |
| Height from Keel to Top of Foremast: | 237 ft. (72.24 m.) |
| Number of Decks: | 12 |
| Passenger Capacity: | 1,957 |
| Officers and Crew: | 1,174 |
| Horsepower: | 160,000 |
| Cruising Speed: | 28.5 knots (55.17 km./hr.) |
| Rudder: | 140 tons |
| Whistles: | 3 - Steam type. Two on forward funnel, one on middle funnel. Each over 6 ft,. (1.83 m.) long, weighing 2,205 LB. (1,002 kg.) |
| Lifeboat Capacity: | 145 persons |
| Smokestacks: | 3 - Elliptical in shape; 36 ft. (10.97 m.) fore and aft, 23.3 ft. (7.1 m.) wide |
| Smokestack Height: | Forward: 70.5 ft. (21.49 m.) |
| Middle: | 67.5 ft. (20.57 m.) Aft: 62.25 ft. (18.97 m.) |
| Boilers: | 27 |
| Fuel Consumption: | 13 ft./gal (1 m./l.) |
| Draft: | 39 ft. 4-9/16 in. (12.00 m.) |
| Bow Anchors: | 2 @ 16 tons (16,291 kg.) |
| Anchor Height: | 18 ft. (5.48 m.) |
| Length of Promenade Deck: | 724 ft. (220.68 m.) |
| Length of Anchor Chain: | 990 ft. |
| Weight of Anchor Chain: | 45 tons (45.818 kg.) |
| Anchor Chain Link: | 2 ft. (61 cm.) long, weighing 224 LB. (101.8 kg.) |
| May 27, 1936 | The Queen Mary departs Southampton at 4:33 p.m. on her maiden voyage, arriving in at Cherbourg, France at 8:47 p.m. and departing at 12:39 a.m. the following morning. |
| June 1, 1936 | Arrival at Pier 90 in New York at 4:20 p.m. Crossing time (Bishop Rock to Ambrose Light Vessel): 5 days, 5 hours and 13 minutes. |
Radio Station: The great Cunard liner was launched on September 26, 1935, and it commenced its maiden voyage across the Atlantic 8 months later. When the vessel left Southampton on May 26th, 1936, a broadcast from the ship was relayed by the BBC, and two days later an early morning relay was made. During its inaugural voyage and on several subsequent occasions, the "Queen Mary" made many broadcasts under the callsign GBTT while plying the Atlantic. [Story by Dr. Adrian Peterson]
A total of thirty-two frequencies will be utilised by the Queen Mary. Eleven of these will be used for short-wave communication, nine for radio-telephone, seven for long waves and five for medium waves. There will be a minimum of nine aerial systems consisting of one main-wire span of 600 feet, one auxiliary 150-foot span, three short-wave aerials, three receiving strands and one emergency wire. It is a fair claim of the line that the shipboard equipment is comparable with apparatus usually associated with commercial land stations. The equipment, instead of being centralised in a common radio room, is split up over various parts of the liner. The receiving and transmitting sections are 350 feet apart to permit simultaneous reception and transmissions with less probabillity of mutual interference. (..)
The radio receiving station is situated on the boat deck between the first and second funnels of the three-funnel liner. The radio structure occupies an area of about 800 square feet and contains eight operating positions. Control of all the radio apparatus on the ship is centralised here. The transmitters, although 350 feet farther aft than the receiving units, are operated by remote control.
This large radio-control room contains the radio-telephone exchange, the emergency equipment and the chief business office, for the handling of passengers' radiograms.
The transmitting section contains four large sets, each capable of maintaining continouus communication with both sides of the Atlantic troughout every crossing. [Taken from: The Listener In. Vol. XII. No. 21. May 23, 1936.]
There were relays by the Dutch radio broadcaster AVRO as well. Listen to an off-air recording.
Location: International waters of the Atlantic Ocean
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