NEW GIANT LINER

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19897, 28 May 1936, Page 14

NEW GIANT LINER

LAUNCHING OF THE QUEEN MARY

A STATELY SHIP. I PRIDE OF THE NATION. WORLD-WIDE INTEREST. l Described by King George V at her launchingr as “the stateliest ship now In being,“ the Cunard White Star“ lincr IJuvcn .\lar). \\'illt'll vummrncerl her mnirlmi Voyage }estr:ril:i.\', is the embodiment of the prestige of Great Britain's mercantile marine. t She was the \first British merchant ship launched in the presence of the King and Queen, and the first to be named and launched by a Queen of England. No ship ever built has been the focus of such world-wide interest and publicity. Principal Dimensions. , Regarding the size and speed of the Queen Mary, it has been stated by Sir Percy Bates. chairman of the Cun—ard White Star Line, that they are no greater than considered essential (or the ship to maintain, in conjunction with one other similar ship, a regular weekly service between Southampton and New York. The principal dimensions of the Queen Mary are as follow:—Length (overall), 1018 feet: breadth, 118 feet; depth from keel to top of superstructure. about 135 feet; depth from keel to top of forward funnel, 180 feet; gross register, 80,773 tons. , The hull structure comprises 12 drrks from HIV .‘un (tech down to the lower decks. The ship has two hottoms. an inner and an outer, with an intervening space of nearly six ,feet, divided into numerous watertight compartments. On either side of the double bottom rise the two shells, an inner and an outer skin running the‘ full length of the machinery spacesl in places to a height of nearly 40} feet. The ship's hull contains some 160 watertight compartments, the main subdivision comprising 18 watertight bulkheads. The total weight of metal in the hull and machinery will exceed 50,000 tons. Many of the hull castings are the largest and heaviest ever made. The stern-frame weighs 190 tons, and the rudder castings 110 tons. The rudder itself weighs over 140 tons. The ship carries four sixteen-ton anchors. and the total weight of chain cable is almost 150 tons. Whereas the giant French liner Normandic is propelled by four screws driven by turbo-electric machinery developing 160,000 shaft horse-power at full power, the Queen Mary has four propellers driven by four s'ets of geared turbines rated at 200,000 shaft horse-power. - The. total weight of the ship when launched was 35,500 tons. and the weight of sliding \\H}:~ and make-up 1200 tons, making a total weight on the ground ways of 36,700 tons, the heaviest in the history of shipbuildmg.

(N THE BRIDcE. i —— i A RESPONSIBLE POST. ] __ l CAPTAIN OF THE LINER. . Captain Sir Edgar Britten, R.N.R.,i Commodore of the Cunard-White Star \ fleet. is the first commander of the} Queen Mary. 1 Sir Edgar’s home is in London. Hc‘ is sixty-one years of age, and was appointed Commodore of the Fleet in February of this year. Sir Edgar is one of the few can tains who hold a master’s certificate for both sail and steam. Apprentioed in 1892, he remained in sail for ten years. In 1901 he joined the Cunard Company as fourth officer on the Ivernia. In 1913 he was appointed to the command of the Phrygia, then was transferred to the Lusitania as staff captain, and in 1913 was given command of the Campania. During the war he was engaged in transport and hospital ship duties. SAF EST VESSEL AFLOAT. TWO SHIPS IN ONE. 160 \\'ATEl‘i-TIGHT COMPARTMENTS Nothing that science or experience can conceive has been left. undone to make the Queen Mary the safest vesHe] that has ever sailed the seas. She is practically two ships in one —that is to say, she has two bottoms and two hulls for a height of about 40 feet. Between the inner and 'thc outer bottoms there is more than enough room for a man to walk upright. while between her double sides there is a safety space of many feet. This, like the bottom, is divided into scores of watertight compartments. Altogether there are 160 of these, while 18 water'tight bulkheads subdivide the vessel as a whole. More than 10,000,000 rivets give ‘strength to the ‘hull made of special high elastic-limit steel plates anything from Bft. to 30ft. in length. i Largest Ever Constructed. l The rudder weighs 140 tons, and is the largest ever constructed for any ship. It is so big that engineers can enter through doors in the side and carry out an inspection of the inter: ior. \Vithin the hull there are 12 decks and altogether accommodation has been provided for over 3,000 people, the population of a fair-size town. In the 24 huge lifeboats there will be room for every man, woman and child aboard the ship. Never has any liner put to sea with so many lifeboats hanging from its davits. These boats are all

equipped with Diesel engines—in addition to oars and sails—and each has room for 145 people—more than the full complement of passengers in the first (Zunardcr Britannia when she voyaged across the Atlantic. Steel Lifeboats. Like everything else in connection ,with the Queen Mary, these lifeboats are the result of careful experiment Constructed of steel and with an engine capable of driving them at six knots, their main dimensions are: Length 36 feet Breadth 12 ~ Depth 5 ~ Two of the boats carry wireless equipment, and two others are provided with such powerful engines that they are veritable speed boats. Thesc are for use should anyone fall overboard from the liner. All are carried in the Queen Mary in such a way that they can be launched by one man in a few seconds, the engines starting up before they touch the water. Fire Detectors. l Fire-risk is one that is practicallyl non-existent in the Queen Mary. No‘ one can strike a match, smoke a pipe, or even flick an automatic lighter in an unauthorised place without the ohiccr of the watch being immediately aware of it. i 'l’hroughout the ship extraordinarily :«lv-licale lirc detectors have been ini ; lulled and theyfiignal to the bridge : ihr- i-XilL'L location of any uncontrolled ‘ llumc. i On that, instant by pressing a butliun the WkllCl‘llQerel' can flood the : "scene of the outbreak" with fire ex- ! iinguishing gases. That is only one iprecaution. Everywhere in the ves- ‘» sol are high-pressure water-mains. for i fire fighting in charge of trained , mcmbers of the crew, some of whom are always on duty. Against the navigating hazards of "rho .\‘m-lh Atlantic the ship has been :IIIUVILICKI with every possible appliUllCL‘. i 'lho latest scientific instruments—;nnmng- them the gyro compass, robot i licimsmun, hydro-electric steering l‘.-mun Nllillllrilllli' :‘lfi—llliliilllg' npparullls iflnll \\‘il'ch'ss direction finder are in.:lullcd—\\'hilc a powerful wireless ini>lu|liiliun \\ill kccp lill‘ bridge in—--1 humor] of the state of the weather in all parts of the ocean. l‘ittlc Risk From Collision. As for the risk of collision the results of such a happening, no matlcr its magnitude, would be almost negligible so far as safety is concorned. .»\s already explained. there is a .‘tlpf'l'lfll safeguard in the form of a i mntinunus bulkhead of more than us- ' mu] strength well inside the outskin of 1 mi ship on eiihcr side. [he spam between the shell and the mai‘slwud is divided into many com» anilincnl , so that damage from col- , Fun can be immediately localised. 'l‘wu powerful scarchlights are also : suridcd for navigation or emergency iuul there is an independent lighting wlllllll‘llfl‘li should the ordinary iniaillmion fail.