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00:04The 1930s marked the high point for the great ocean-going liners.
00:10These were huge ships that carried thousands of passengers.
00:14The first-class passengers enjoyed the height of luxury and elegance.
00:21Competition was fierce and national pride was at stake.
00:28France's finest ship was the Normandie.
00:31Britain's answer was the Queen Mary.
00:34In an epic contest of speed, they went head-to-head to win the Blue Ribbon
00:39and to be the fastest across the Atlantic.
00:50On December 1st, 1930, work began at John Brown's shipyard Clydebank on a new ship, job number 534.
00:59Like all the ships created before her in this yard,
01:02she would be hand-built by an army of Scotland's finest craftsmen.
01:07And she would only be given a name when she was launched.
01:14But 534 was to be something extra special.
01:18She would be bigger and faster than any ship yet built.
01:22The largest moving structure ever created by man.
01:26She would be a luxury liner of epic proportions,
01:30the new flagship of the Cunard White Star Line.
01:34And she was designed to win the Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic,
01:38the ultimate status symbol,
01:40awarded to the ship making the fastest crossing.
01:43A title in name only, but the holy grail for the great shipping lines.
01:48It was really a marketing thing.
01:50The companies realised people would flock to a ship which held the Blue Ribbon.
01:57They could say they'd travelled on the fastest ship in the world.
02:00It was very prestigious.
02:01That's how you got passengers to sail with you.
02:04Even if it meant knocking off only an hour or so,
02:08to travel on the fastest ship on the North Atlantic was very important.
02:12It put passengers in your ships.
02:17The only way to reach America was by ship,
02:20and the transatlantic trade was big business.
02:23The giant Cunard had to compete in a crowded cutthroat market.
02:30The great liners were symbols of national pride,
02:33each one larger and more luxurious than the last,
02:35in a bid to capture the traffic.
02:40But this great ship, the pride of Britain,
02:43would not have things all her own way.
02:47The French, too, had plans for a superliner.
02:51Eight weeks after Britain started building the vessel
02:53that would become the Queen Mary,
02:55work began on a rival ship at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard,
02:58job number T-6.
03:05The French decided to introduce a liner,
03:08which could beat the foreign opposition.
03:13A fast liner, which would be a five-day ship.
03:18To make a five-day crossing,
03:20the ship would have to achieve a speed of 30 knots.
03:31She, too, would be a Leviathan.
03:34Like the new Cunard, she would be over 1,000 feet long.
03:40The French were also after the Blue Ribbon,
03:42and they were about to create a legend.
03:46These ships would not only be gigantic,
03:48they would be stylish.
03:50Celebrated artists were commissioned to decorate their interiors.
03:53The finest materials would be used
03:55to create two sumptuous, opulent, fabulous ocean liners.
04:03They were literally floating cities.
04:05They were palaces.
04:06But not only had they show the most rudimentary,
04:10fundamental grasp of engineering principles that made it work,
04:13but the scale of the thing zoomed the way up
04:16into the frivolous, the self-indulgent,
04:20the massaging of egos,
04:22it was the backdrop for the elegant and the rich.
04:27And above all, they had to be fast.
04:30Fast enough to win and to keep
04:32the Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic.
04:36But these were dreams for the future.
04:39First came the steel work.
04:51It's a dire place to work,
04:53but it's exciting.
04:55There is nothing to match the excitement.
04:58I'm watching huge furnaces open
05:00and massive beams being pulled out
05:02and bent with hydraulic machines.
05:06And guillotines that slice through steel
05:09that scissors cutting through paper.
05:13Frightening stuff.
05:14And, of course, people get injured and killed
05:17and maimed and blinded on a regular basis.
05:20And the idea of health and safety was just out the window.
05:23It was only sissies that thought about health and safety.
05:29In the shipyard,
05:31you had extraordinarily skilful people
05:33that were battering hammer and required strength,
05:38required physical endurance to be out there
05:40and all kinds of weather, earning money,
05:41tough, hard, wee guys.
05:47As the frame grew into a bewildering labyrinth of steelwork,
05:51the shell plating began to give shape and form to the hull.
05:58The edges of each huge steel plate
06:01were punched with a row of closely spaced holes.
06:08They were then secured by the highly skilled process
06:10of hot riveting,
06:12a craft that was passed down from father to son.
06:17Riveters were literally legends in Clydeside
06:20because of the way this kind of peculiar clan system formed.
06:24Riveters worked in squads.
06:25Basically, you had a right-hand riveter
06:27and a left-hand riveter
06:28because both of them stood on each side of the rivet,
06:31so one swung a hammer to the left,
06:32one swung a hammer to the right.
06:34You had a boy who was in charge of the rivet furnace
06:37who heated the rivets.
06:39And then you had a guy called a hodder-on
06:41who holds on with a great hammer.
06:45The process was the rivet was heated white hot.
06:47It was thrown up to the hodder-on
06:50who would put it through the rivet hole.
06:52He would then hold a great hammer at the back of it
06:54and the left-hand right-hand riveter
06:55would bang on each end of the rivets
06:58to flatten them.
06:59Now, it would take approximately 80-16 hits
07:02to actually flatten one of those rivets.
07:08It was a deafening and exhausting job,
07:11which would be repeated 10 million times
07:14before hull number 534 was finished.
07:18As work progressed rapidly,
07:20the towering structure became a landmark
07:23which dominated Clydebank,
07:24a proud symbol of Scotland's industrial might.
07:32But in the Cunard boardroom,
07:34it was another story.
07:39The Wall Street crash of 1929
07:42had triggered a worldwide recession.
07:46Everybody hoped that better times
07:47were just around the corner,
07:49but they didn't come.
07:53The banks lost their nerve
07:55and withdrew finance for the new Cunard.
08:00The government refused to help.
08:02Austerity, not luxury,
08:04was now the order of the day.
08:06Building a ship like that
08:08is a very complicated and long process,
08:10even before you get to lay the first steel.
08:12So the momentum behind that
08:14had already been established
08:16and Cunard proceeds on the basis
08:18that it isn't going to get any worse.
08:20And of course, when it does get worse,
08:22then you've got a completely new set
08:23of problems there.
08:26And they were stuck with this
08:28very expensive ship at Clydebank,
08:30which of course they had to suspend
08:32just one year after the contract
08:34had been signed.
08:36On Friday, the 11th of December, 1931,
08:39all work was halted.
08:42Thousands were laid off.
08:43The local economy collapsed overnight.
08:47If you consider that they'd been employing
08:49about 10,000 people in that yard,
08:51and now the numbers are down to a few hundred,
08:54then it gives you some indication
08:56of the scale of the catastrophe
08:57that happened in Clydebank town.
09:02France was also deep in the grip
09:04of the Depression.
09:06But the French government
09:07was determined to keep
09:08the T-6 project alive,
09:10whatever the cost,
09:11and continue to subsidize the work.
09:14By October 1932,
09:16the French ship was ready for launching.
09:21I was at the launch.
09:23The launch of a big liner
09:25is a magnificent sight.
09:26Any launch is impressive,
09:28but a liner of that size,
09:30yes, it's terrific.
09:32It's formidable.
09:35While the anonymous 534
09:37rusted away on Clydebank,
09:40T-6 was christened Normandie
09:42with a magnum
09:43of the finest French champagne.
09:47I saw it hit the hull.
09:50It was an unforgettable moment,
09:52you know.
09:53And the moment it broke,
09:54the ship began to slide.
09:59Normandie took to the water
10:01in a blaze of publicity
10:03and Gaelic pride.
10:06The launch is magnificent.
10:08The launching is magnificent.
10:10You see the ship on the slipway.
10:12You see it descend gently
10:13into the water.
10:14It slides.
10:16It gliss.
10:17The ship makes a wave behind,
10:19and the people
10:20that got too close
10:21were soaked.
10:22Right up to here.
10:25People standing on both sides
10:26were soaked.
10:28It's magnificent
10:29to see a launch.
10:34In Britain,
10:35there was a public outcry.
10:40Why should the French
10:41be allowed to humiliate us
10:43while our own symbol
10:44of national pride
10:44was left to rot?
10:47The government
10:47finally bowed
10:49to public opinion
10:50and agreed to subsidise
10:51the completion of the ship
10:52that would become
10:53the Queen Mary.
10:56Cunard had lost
10:57two and a half precious years,
11:00but they were back in the race.
11:11A great day
11:12for Clydeside.
11:13Work is resumed
11:14on the Cunard
11:15number 534.
11:17Dockland in Glasgow
11:18is our fleet
11:19and pipers are there
11:20to express
11:21the exuberant feelings
11:22with which the labourers
11:23enter the shipyard
11:24to get to work
11:25on the boat,
11:26as Clydeside has called
11:28the as yet unnamed ship.
11:31With a pipe band
11:32at their head,
11:33the workers streamed back
11:34into John Brown's shipyard
11:35on the 3rd of April,
11:371934.
11:38This mass of humanity
11:40bursting forth
11:41like a great sea.
11:42It's the kind of
11:43turning point
11:44of the tide.
11:45That great tomb,
11:47that coffin
11:47that sat above the town
11:48suddenly turned
11:49into something else.
11:50It became a focus of joy
11:52and a focus of pride again.
11:55Work progressed
11:56at a feverish pace
11:57and in five months
11:58the ship was ready
12:00for launching.
12:03Chair upon chair
12:04from the countless thousands
12:06who have waited
12:06in the drenching rain
12:07to witness the launching
12:08of the 534
12:09greet their majesty.
12:11Then Queen Mary
12:13stepped forward
12:13and christened the ship
12:15in her own name.
12:17I am stepping
12:18to name the ship
12:20the Queen Mary.
12:22The silence over
12:24takes the place.
12:25The contemplation,
12:26just a moment.
12:29And you see this thing
12:30weighing 35,000 tonnes,
12:32you know,
12:32and it moves
12:33and you just,
12:34you know,
12:34it's that first,
12:35you know,
12:36eighth of an inch.
12:37It moves
12:37and your heart
12:38starts to go.
12:45And you can just see everybody,
12:47you know,
12:47management down,
12:48welder,
12:49plater,
12:50the crowd
12:50almost gasping
12:52as this thing goes
12:53because it's a city
12:54on the move
12:55and there is nothing,
12:56nothing like it.
12:57And it's surreal,
12:58it's utterly surreal.
13:04You have this sheer joy
13:06of creating something
13:07that was absolutely gigantic,
13:09that was in essence
13:10absolutely beautiful
13:11and okay,
13:12maybe you've only been
13:13a wee bit of it
13:13but your wee bit
13:14was still in there
13:15and it was solid
13:16and it was measurable
13:17and it was quantifiable.
13:20But with that enormous bond,
13:22just in that split second,
13:23the whole of that society
13:24just merges together.
13:26It's a birth.
13:44Hull number 534
13:45had become the Queen Mary.
13:48Now,
13:49she had to be fitted out.
13:50The fitting out,
13:51of course,
13:52takes another year and a half
13:53to complete
13:54and when you're fitting out
13:56a ship like that
13:57then it's just
13:58a vast army
13:59of different trades,
14:00plumbers,
14:01electricians,
14:02carpenters,
14:03you name it,
14:03they're all in there.
14:04Interior decorators,
14:06plasterers for beautiful
14:07coving and ballrooms
14:09and glaziers
14:10and people who make
14:10stained glass windows
14:11and just enormous
14:13amounts of skills
14:14actually all focused
14:15in building this city,
14:17you know,
14:17this luxurious city
14:19that was going to
14:20sail the seas.
14:22Meanwhile,
14:23in France,
14:24work was already
14:25well advanced
14:26as another army
14:27of craftsmen
14:27installed an even
14:29more lavish interior
14:30on the Normandie.
14:43This ship is designed
14:45to be the biggest,
14:46the fastest.
14:47It's built into
14:48the teeth of the Depression
14:49at the cost of something
14:51like $60 million
14:52in 1932,
14:54which is a lot
14:55of money today.
14:56So there was
14:57a big investment
14:58and it represents
14:59the finest
15:00in French art,
15:02French engineering,
15:03French cuisine.
15:06On the Normandie,
15:11we didn't make economies.
15:13We didn't seek
15:14to economize
15:15on the materials,
15:16the design,
15:17etc., etc.
15:18We made whatever
15:19was most beautiful.
15:21We were not concerned
15:23with the price
15:24or with the consequences.
15:25You can say
15:26that Normandie
15:27was a luxury liner,
15:29a first-class liner.
15:32Every piece
15:33of gold-colored
15:35metal on the ship
15:36that you saw
15:37was 24-karat gold-plated,
15:39which is just
15:40unbelievable.
15:44It had been
15:45traditional
15:46for a liner's
15:47public rooms
15:47to mimic the interiors
15:49of grand hotels
15:50and stately homes.
15:51But the Normandie's
15:53designers wanted
15:54a modern feel
15:55and created
15:56an entirely new
15:57interior style.
15:58This was not a building,
16:00it was a ship,
16:01and proud of it.
16:08She had taken
16:09more than four years
16:10to build,
16:11but at last,
16:12Normandie was ready
16:13to make her bid
16:14for the blue ribbon.
16:16A new ship,
16:18the pride of France,
16:19sails on her maiden voyage.
16:24The world has waited
16:25for this moment,
16:27and the question
16:28asked again and again
16:29is,
16:30will this 80,000-ton
16:31streamlined giant
16:33rest the blue ribbon
16:34of the Atlantic?
16:36Perhaps she may,
16:37but then we in Britain
16:39are waiting
16:39with eager longing
16:40for our own champion,
16:42the Queen Mary.
16:46At 6.19pm,
16:48on May 29, 1935,
16:51Normandie left
16:52her home port
16:52of Le Havre
16:53and set sail
16:54for America.
16:5650,000 people
16:57gathered on the
16:58quayside
16:58to see her off.
17:01Accompagnons
17:02le paquebot géant
17:03au cours de cette
17:03première traversée.
17:09At 10am
17:10on the morning
17:11of May 30,
17:12Normandie passed
17:13the Bishop Rock
17:14lighthouse
17:15off the Cornish coast,
17:16which marked the start
17:17of the timed run
17:18across the Atlantic.
17:22French line
17:23stated they were
17:23not out to break
17:24the record
17:25on the Normandie's
17:26first trip,
17:27but there was
17:28a growing sense
17:28of excitement
17:29on board
17:29as her speed
17:30steadily increased
17:31to more than 30 knots.
17:33No liner
17:34had ever travelled
17:35at this speed before.
17:40It really was amazing
17:42and to move that ship
17:43through the water
17:44at something
17:45over 30 knots,
17:46I mean,
17:47you could water ski
17:48behind that ship,
17:49it was that fast.
17:52The Normandie's
17:53secret weapon
17:54was her revolutionary hull.
17:56It had been designed
17:57by an unknown
17:58naval architect,
17:59Vladimir Yurkovich,
18:01a refugee
18:01who had fled
18:02communist Russia
18:03in 1919.
18:07Conventional hulls
18:08like the Queen Mary's
18:09had a straight-edged bow
18:11to cut through the water.
18:14But Yurkovich created
18:16a radical new shape,
18:17a curved bow,
18:19which bulged out
18:20at keel level,
18:21but actually cut the water
18:22more efficiently.
18:25The Normandie
18:26was really revolutionary
18:28in almost every respect,
18:30whereas the Queen Mary
18:31was evolutionary.
18:33Normandie had this
18:34vast turbo-electric
18:36power system
18:37where steam turbines
18:39produced electricity
18:40and then electric motors
18:42would drive the propellers.
18:44And it's what we use today
18:46in modern cruise ships.
18:51Until the Normandie,
18:53funnels were vertical,
18:54straight.
18:56With the Normandie,
18:57we had an entirely original,
18:59aerodynamic shape.
19:01There were three funnels,
19:03but in reality,
19:04the third funnel did nothing.
19:06The third funnel
19:07was purely aesthetic.
19:10You know,
19:10in the third funnel,
19:11there were the dog kennels.
19:15It had a magnificent exterior,
19:20really lovely.
19:23It was different
19:24from other ships.
19:25Its funnels,
19:26its bow,
19:27everything about this ship
19:28was new.
19:36At 11.02,
19:38on the morning
19:39of June the 4th, 1935,
19:40the Normandie
19:42passed the Ambrose Light
19:43off New York,
19:44the finishing point
19:45for the blue-ribbon course.
19:47She had made the crossing
19:48in just four days,
19:50three hours,
19:50and two minutes.
19:52A new record.
19:56As she proudly steamed
19:58into New York harbour,
19:59a giant blue pennant
20:01streamed out
20:01from her masthead.
20:04Normandie arbores
20:05le ruban bleu.
20:06Normandie,
20:08le plus grand paquebot
20:08du monde.
20:09French line
20:10had clearly come prepared
20:12for a victory celebration.
20:15The blue ribbon
20:16was no longer
20:17just a title.
20:18It was a flag
20:1930 metres long.
20:22One for every knot
20:24of speed
20:24to reflect the glory
20:26that was France.
20:34Now, it was Scotland's turn.
20:37On the 24th of March,
20:391936,
20:40the Queen Mary
20:41left her birthplace
20:42on Clydebank,
20:43ready to avenge
20:44Britain's lost honour.
20:45And then that ship
20:46suddenly leaves,
20:48you know?
20:48And, you know,
20:49it's about to fulfil
20:50its purpose.
20:51Then they sort of
20:51pull it out of the dock
20:52and it turns round,
20:53you know?
20:55But it's not for you.
20:56The very second
20:57it leaves that dock,
20:58it's a way for another life.
21:00It was a luxury trade.
21:02You'd served a purpose.
21:03You'd done your bit.
21:05It now belonged
21:06to those who could afford
21:07to grace the decks.
21:10And it is never
21:11going to return
21:12because you can't
21:13get it back up
21:13the river again.
21:14That's it.
21:15It is gone forever.
21:18A year after
21:19the Normandy
21:20had captured
21:20the Blue Ribbon,
21:21the Queen Mary
21:22prepared to set out
21:23on her maiden voyage
21:24from Southampton.
21:26One of those
21:27lucky enough
21:27to get a ticket
21:28was Heather Beagley.
21:31It was so
21:32fantastically popular
21:34and such a landmark.
21:36Everybody wanted
21:37to go on it
21:38if they could afford it
21:39and it was rather
21:40like going to the moon
21:41or something like that
21:42in those days.
21:4514-year-old Heather
21:46was still at school
21:47and everything
21:48depended on getting
21:49permission from
21:49her headmistress.
21:52But of course
21:52it was tremendously
21:53exciting when a letter
21:55came from her
21:56to say,
21:57yes, I could go.
21:59It would be
21:59an education in itself
22:01and she wished
22:02she was coming too.
22:04I'm happy and gay
22:06because I'm sailing away
22:08I've booked my trip
22:09for the U.S.A.
22:12I'm the finest ship
22:13in the world
22:15The Queen Mary
22:17How'd you like to come with me?
22:19Well, when we approached it
22:21you can't really see
22:23the whole ship
22:24because it's so
22:25fantastically big
22:26you've never seen
22:28a building
22:29let alone a ship
22:30as big as that.
22:31And so
22:32you look to the left
22:33and you look to the right
22:34and you cannot believe
22:36there's a ship
22:36quite as big as that.
22:48And there were
22:50hundreds, thousands
22:51of people lining
22:52the quay
22:53and bunting
22:54and flags
22:55and ships
22:55and hooters
22:56and everything
22:57you could imagine.
23:00At 4.30pm
23:02the Queen Mary
23:03cast off
23:03from the dockside
23:04in Southampton.
23:12Cunard staunchly denied
23:14that they were
23:14after the speed record
23:15as the Mary
23:16began her crossing.
23:18Few believed them.
23:20There was this great
23:21feeling of patriotism
23:23and there was
23:24a great rivalry
23:25to win the Blue Ribbon.
23:27Everybody wanted it
23:29to do well
23:30and it was very important
23:32to the British
23:32that we went faster
23:34than anybody else.
23:35It's a wonderful feeling
23:37naturally
23:37going out to sea
23:39you've probably
23:41put her on half a head
23:42until you get
23:43a few miles away
23:43and then ring off
23:45full a head
23:46for New York
23:46and tell the engineers
23:48to build up
23:50to 176 revolutions
23:52a minute
23:52which you know
23:53is over 29 knots.
23:57It is a great feeling
23:59of exhilaration.
24:05As the Queen Mary
24:06headed out
24:07into the Atlantic
24:07her passengers
24:09had time
24:09to explore
24:10their new surroundings.
24:11Well you have
24:12a little feeling
24:13of home
24:14in your cabin
24:15and there you feel
24:17you're safe
24:18and you know
24:18where you are.
24:20But when you go
24:21walk about
24:23you have no idea
24:24where you are
24:25because there are corridors
24:27stretching in front of you
24:29as far as you can see
24:30there are innumerable
24:32companion ways
24:33which you walk up and down
24:35there are lifts
24:38it's just like a world
24:40that you're going
24:40to get lost in.
24:42The whole ship
24:44was most glamorous.
24:48All the materials
24:49were of the best
24:51best quality
24:52they could find.
24:53It amazes me
24:54at the time
24:54of the recession
24:55that they could afford it
24:56but everything
24:58was mahogany
24:59or maple
25:00or rosewood
25:02or some very good wood.
25:06beautifully done
25:07and everything
25:09was of the best quality.
25:11Chandeliers
25:12wonderful lighting
25:14up lighting
25:17which was very modern
25:18for those days
25:19just fantastic.
25:22Big bronze doors
25:25bronze surrounds
25:26to the doors
25:27everything shining
25:30and bright
25:30and polished.
25:32and the style
25:34of it
25:35was the epitome
25:36of Art Deco
25:37which was just
25:38the fashion
25:39at that moment.
25:43Each night
25:44Heather recorded
25:46her impressions
25:46in her diary.
25:48Wednesday
25:48May the 27th
25:511936
25:53I'm in room B
25:55136
25:56with three other ladies
25:57it is very exciting
25:59because this is
26:00the maiden trip
26:01of the Queen Mary
26:04went to sleep.
26:06The Queen Mary
26:07was about to make her bid
26:09for the blue ribbon.
26:19New York bound at last
26:21the Queen Mary
26:22on her maiden voyage.
26:25She represents
26:26the restoration
26:26of Britain's supremacy
26:27on the seas.
26:29With her goes
26:29the hopes and pride
26:30of a nation.
26:31May fortune bless her
26:32in all her voyages.
26:40Deep down
26:41in the bowels
26:42of the ship
26:42the huge engines
26:44continued to drive
26:45the Queen Mary
26:45forward at 30 knots.
26:49This was where
26:50the blue ribbon
26:50would be won or lost
26:51and Cunard knew it.
26:56Without the benefit
26:57of the Normandese
26:58revolutionary hull
26:59their solution
27:00was to pile on
27:01the horsepower.
27:04Now they were in a race
27:05with the French
27:06and of course
27:07they didn't know
27:08what the French
27:08were going to do
27:09so the Cunard company
27:10had to ensure
27:11there was an extra
27:12margin on Queen Mary
27:15to make sure
27:15that come hell
27:16nor high water
27:17they would win
27:18the accolade
27:19on the North Atlantic
27:20and have the fastest ship.
27:21Cunard were able
27:22to develop the engines
27:24up to 210,000
27:25shaft horsepower.
27:28Twelve decks up
27:29far from the roar
27:31of the turbines
27:31all that horsepower
27:33was controlled
27:33at the touch
27:34of a lever
27:34by the captain
27:36and his navigating
27:36officers on the bridge.
27:39The feeling
27:41of going at 30 knots
27:42and passing
27:44everything else
27:45that you could see
27:45going in the same direction
27:47was a wonderful feeling.
27:51As the Mary
27:52passed the halfway point
27:53the signs were good.
27:55She was proving
27:56to be just as fast
27:57as the Normandie.
27:58It looked as if
27:59the blue ribbon
28:00could be about
28:01to change hands.
28:05But as the Queen Mary
28:06neared the coast
28:07of America
28:07she ran into fog.
28:14On the bridge
28:15her captain
28:16faced an agonising dilemma.
28:18The whole world
28:19was watching
28:20and confidently
28:21expected a new record.
28:24But the loss
28:25of the Titanic
28:26only 24 years earlier
28:28still haunted
28:29the Cunard
28:29White Star Line.
28:31Another maiden voyage
28:32to disaster
28:33was just too awful
28:34to contemplate.
28:35Very reluctantly
28:37the Queen Mary's
28:38captain
28:38ordered the engine room
28:39to reduce speed.
28:43The blue ribbon
28:44slipped
28:44from her grasp.
28:50The Ambrose light
28:51was passed
28:52in four days
28:53five hours
28:54and 46 minutes
28:55almost three hours
28:56slower
28:57than the Normandie.
28:59The French nation
29:00breathed
29:01a sigh of relief.
29:03Everybody
29:04wanted it
29:05to go faster
29:06than anything else.
29:08We all hoped
29:09they'd beat the record
29:10and they didn't.
29:13The Queen Mary
29:14may not have won
29:15the blue ribbon
29:16but her welcome
29:17as she steamed
29:17into New York Harbour
29:19was, if anything,
29:20even more ecstatic
29:21than the Normandies
29:22one year earlier.
29:30The reception
29:31in New York
29:32was way beyond
29:34anything we'd seen
29:35as a farewell
29:36in Britain.
29:37The people of New York
29:39got wildly excited
29:40about it.
29:42Never discount
29:43the American taste
29:45for royalty.
29:46I mean,
29:46it's alive and well.
29:48If she had been named
29:50the Nelson
29:51or something like that,
29:52probably wouldn't have
29:53had the same reception
29:54as the Queen Mary.
29:55The skyscrapers,
29:57of course,
29:57were fantastic
29:58and we saw
29:59the Statue of Liberty
30:00as we came in.
30:02The fire ships
30:03came out
30:04and played
30:05all their hoses
30:06in welcome.
30:07That I found
30:08very exciting.
30:12The Queen Mary
30:13was a huge hit
30:14with the Americans
30:15and passengers
30:16flocked
30:16to travel on her.
30:17But the French
30:18still held
30:19the blue ribbon
30:20and the world
30:21waited for Cunard's
30:22next move.
30:27Three months later,
30:28on only her
30:29sixth round trip,
30:30the full force
30:31of the Queen Mary's
30:32engines was unleashed
30:33as she raced
30:34her way across
30:34the Atlantic
30:35in just under
30:36four days.
30:37Three hours faster
30:39than the Normandy.
30:41A victory for Britain.
30:51Privately,
30:52Cunard knew
30:52that winning
30:52the blue ribbon
30:53was great for business.
30:54But in public,
30:56they played
30:56the safety card
30:57and firmly denied
30:58any interest
30:59in speed records.
31:01Their chairman
31:02announced that
31:02they did not wish
31:03to encourage a race.
31:06And speed
31:07came at a price.
31:09A schedule speed
31:10of 28 and a half knots
31:12costs a great deal
31:13of money.
31:14But if she,
31:15for some reason,
31:17had to go up
31:17to something like
31:1831 knots,
31:19the oil fuel consumption
31:21was unbelievably high.
31:23So you didn't go up
31:24to that speed
31:25because it cost
31:26too much money.
31:29Cunard's victory
31:29was followed
31:30by an informal truce
31:31and both liners
31:33settled down
31:33into the routine
31:34of running a regular
31:35service across
31:36the Atlantic.
31:45The Normandie
31:46might have lost
31:47the blue ribbon
31:47but she still
31:49had a magic
31:49all her own.
32:03The world
32:04that the passengers
32:04experienced
32:05was all about
32:06service
32:07and unashamed luxury.
32:12In good weather,
32:13an Atlantic crossing
32:14could be a glorious
32:15five-day cruise,
32:17bracing walks
32:18around the open deck,
32:20breathing in the sea air
32:21and playing a daily
32:22round of deck sports
32:23in the sunshine
32:23or simply doing
32:28nothing at all.
32:30The pleasure of being
32:34at sea
32:35and on the move,
32:36that's a pleasure,
32:37a real pleasure.
32:40A ship is alive
32:42and you never know
32:43what may befall you.
32:45You are a very small
32:46thing in this universe
32:47when you cross the ocean.
32:54And if you wanted
32:55refreshments,
32:56cigarettes,
32:57something to read,
32:58there was always
32:59a steward close by
33:00to oblige.
33:09When the sea air
33:10became a little
33:11too bracing,
33:12you could retreat
33:13below deck
33:13to be amazed
33:14by the grand interiors,
33:16which had helped
33:16to make the Normandie
33:17twice as expensive
33:19as the Queen Mary
33:20to build.
33:26For the fabulously rich,
33:28there were suites
33:29of rooms
33:29with panoramic windows
33:30and sun decks.
33:34For those who were
33:35merely rich,
33:36there were cabins,
33:37smaller but finished
33:38to the same exacting standards.
33:42But it was the
33:43grand salons
33:44which really took
33:45the breath away.
33:47You had a huge
33:50dining room,
33:5222 meters longer
33:53than the hall of mirrors
33:54at Versailles.
33:56It was quite impressive
33:57and 9 meters 50 high.
34:02The main dining salon
34:04with its walls
34:05of engraved glass
34:06could accommodate
34:07over 700
34:07at a single sitting.
34:15The food was the
34:16basic thing
34:17for the passengers.
34:18They ate well,
34:19the boat was
34:20comfortable,
34:21it went fast enough.
34:22That's the main thing.
34:24That's all they want
34:26and good service.
34:32It was easy
34:33to fall under
34:34the Normandie's spell,
34:35losing all sense
34:36of time and place.
34:38The air of unreality
34:40was increased
34:40on several crossings
34:41when the crew
34:42actually outnumbered
34:43the passengers
34:44for the Normandie
34:45often ran half-empty
34:47and never made a profit.
34:50She represented
34:52the glory of France
34:53and the French taxpayer
34:54picked up the bill.
34:58And suddenly,
34:59the spell was broken.
35:01There was the Statue of Liberty
35:02in the skyscrapers
35:04of Manhattan.
35:05The dream
35:06was over.
35:14Two days later,
35:16another select group
35:17of passengers
35:18would enter
35:18the fairytale world
35:19of the Normandie
35:20for the return voyage
35:21to Europe.
35:23But most people
35:24simply couldn't afford
35:25to travel on her.
35:27Many of those
35:28who could
35:28found her style
35:29overpowering
35:30and actually preferred
35:31the Queen Mary's
35:32more sedate atmosphere.
35:34We take particular pleasure
35:36in presenting
35:36the ship's dance orchestra
35:37under the leadership
35:38of Bunny Roe.
35:49The Queen Mary
35:50may have cost
35:50half as much
35:51as the Normandie,
35:52but she could still
35:53dazzle her passengers.
35:55Her grandest room
35:56was the first-class
35:57dining saloon,
35:59the largest single room
36:00ever seen
36:01on board an ocean liner.
36:02Rich wood
36:03and elaborate lighting
36:04created a warm
36:05and lush interior,
36:07quite unlike
36:08the Normandie's
36:08glittering palace
36:09of gold and glass.
36:15The room's centrepiece
36:16was a gigantic map
36:18of the North Atlantic,
36:19which indicated
36:20the Queen Mary's position
36:21as she sped
36:22across the ocean.
36:26The dining room
36:28was really magnificent,
36:30absolutely splendid.
36:32The decor was fantastic.
36:35Everything was glamorous
36:36and really best quality.
36:40We were at a dining room table,
36:41of course,
36:42a round table
36:43with a vase
36:45of beautiful red roses
36:46in the middle.
36:47The food was very good
36:49and, of course,
36:50I'd never seen menus
36:51like it in my life.
36:53I'm sure at dinner
36:55in the evening
36:55it would have been
36:56at least six courses.
36:58And it was delicious
36:59and one had
37:00a little bit
37:01of everything
37:01because in those days
37:03it seems incredible now
37:05and I don't know
37:05why we weren't
37:06all enormously fat.
37:08You had a proper meal
37:09at lunchtime
37:09and you had a fabulous
37:10dinner in the evening.
37:12If you were a steward,
37:14which the majority
37:15of the crew were,
37:16you started at the bottom
37:17and you worked up.
37:18You were good
37:19in third class,
37:20you would get promoted
37:20to second class
37:21and so on.
37:22And, of course,
37:23these stewards
37:23all lived by their tips.
37:26Tips was the business
37:27and that's how
37:27you made your money.
37:29Their wages
37:30were a pittance
37:31but if you were
37:32a good steward
37:33in first class,
37:34you would pay off the ship
37:35with more money
37:36in your pocket
37:36than some of the senior
37:37officers on the ship.
37:43After dinner,
37:44you could take it easy
37:45in one of the grand lounges
37:47or dance the night away
37:48to the strains
37:49of the Queen Mary's
37:50very own orchestra.
37:55through some friend
37:56of my father's
37:57I was introduced
37:58to a man
37:59who was 43
38:02and he and I
38:03danced every evening
38:06and that was great
38:08and I heard
38:10the other ladies
38:11in my cabin one night
38:12when I was supposed
38:13to be asleep say,
38:15I don't know
38:16how that girl
38:17managed to find
38:18a gigolo, do you?
38:19And I thought
38:20this was a very funny word
38:21which I'd never heard
38:22before.
38:23So I said to my mother,
38:26what's a gigolo?
38:28And my mother said,
38:30a very nice man, dear,
38:32who's good at dancing.
38:35The Queen Mary's blue-ribboned
38:37status and five-star service
38:39made her the most popular ship
38:40on the North Atlantic.
38:42She was flying the flag
38:43for Britain.
38:46But the French
38:47had not built the Normandy
38:48to be a runner-up.
38:49All that money
38:50had been spent
38:51to create a world leader
38:52and that meant
38:53recapturing the blue-ribboned
38:55at any cost.
39:09At the start of 1937,
39:11the Normandy was in dock
39:13for her winter refit.
39:15By the way,
39:16the Normandy
39:16is being fitted
39:17with new propellers.
39:18There isn't any definite
39:19news as yet,
39:20but does it mean
39:21that the Normandy
39:21is going to renew
39:22her challenge
39:22for the blue-ribboned
39:23of the Atlantic?
39:25It did.
39:28The Normandy
39:29promptly regained
39:30her title,
39:32shaving 55 minutes
39:33off the Queen Mary's
39:34record time.
39:37Now,
39:38she looked unbeatable.
39:40Even the British newsreels
39:42couldn't resist
39:43singing her praises.
39:46Using her new propellers
39:47for the first time,
39:48the 83,000-ton Normandy
39:50has crossed the Atlantic
39:50just over a quarter
39:51of a knot faster
39:52in the best time
39:53of the 80,000-ton Queen Mary.
39:55So now France
39:56claims the blue-ribbon.
39:57Congratulations, Normandy.
39:59How about it, Queen Mary?
40:02In July 1938,
40:04the Normandy
40:05made her 100th crossing
40:07of the Atlantic.
40:08But this was to be
40:09the high point
40:10for the Normandy.
40:11The tide was about
40:12to turn against her.
40:19The very next month,
40:21the Queen Mary regained
40:23the Blue Ribbon
40:24with a crossing speed
40:26just half a knot
40:26faster than the Normandy.
40:29In the best sporting tradition,
40:31Normandy's captain
40:32sent a cordial message.
40:34Bravo to the Queen Mary
40:36until the next time.
40:41But world events
40:42were catching up
40:43with the transatlantic
40:44passenger business.
40:48In Europe,
40:50Adolf Hitler's Germany
40:51was beginning
40:51to threaten the peace.
40:53Refugees were soon
40:54streaming west
40:55across the Atlantic
40:56to the safety of America.
40:59Americans thought it safer
41:00to stay at home
41:01as Europe braced itself
41:03for war.
41:12On the 23rd of August 1939,
41:15the Normandy
41:15left Le Havre
41:16on her 139th
41:18Atlantic crossing.
41:24A week later,
41:26the Queen Mary
41:27left Southampton
41:27with a full load
41:29of passengers.
41:30As she approached
41:31New York,
41:32the news reached her
41:33that Britain
41:33had declared war
41:34on Germany.
41:42For five months,
41:43the great rivals
41:44Normandy and Queen Mary
41:46were laid up
41:47side by side
41:48in New York.
41:49On March 21st,
41:51the Queen Mary,
41:52now wearing a coat
41:53of battleship grey paint,
41:55slipped her moorings
41:56and left the Normandy
41:57behind
41:58as she headed off
42:00for Australia
42:00to be fitted
42:01as a troop ship.
42:06within two months,
42:08France had been
42:09overrun by Hitler's forces
42:10and suffered
42:11a crushing defeat.
42:14The once proud Normandy
42:16was marooned.
42:20In December 1941,
42:22America entered the war
42:24and the mothballed Normandy
42:25was requisitioned
42:27by the US government
42:27for conversion
42:28into a troop ship.
42:32The ship is then
42:33stripped of all
42:34its possessions,
42:35all of the furniture,
42:36fixtures,
42:37equipment,
42:38all of the artwork,
42:39the murals are dismantled
42:40and taken off the ship.
42:42There were 2,500 van loads
42:44of material
42:45taken to government warehouses
42:47and the law required
42:49that it had to be sold.
42:52Then, disaster struck.
42:54A careless workman
42:56burning through steel work
42:57in the Grand Lounge
42:58accidentally set fire
43:00to a pile of life jackets.
43:01The blaze quickly
43:03got out of control.
43:04And then they have
43:05a terrible time
43:06because they don't know
43:08how to operate
43:08the fire control system.
43:10They're going
43:11three compartments away
43:12with buckets of water,
43:14tripping, falling,
43:14dropping in the water
43:15and this fire
43:16begins to really rage
43:18in the Grand Salon.
43:20Soon, the upper part
43:22of the ship
43:22was burning fiercely
43:24and hundreds of tons
43:25of water were pumped in
43:26to fight the flames.
43:29But the fire
43:30continued to spread
43:31while the weight of water
43:33trapped on the upper decks
43:34began to unbalance
43:35the ship.
43:36Thousands of sightseers
43:38watched in horror
43:38as she began
43:39to list alarmingly.
43:43Among them
43:44was the Normandese
43:44original designer
43:45Vladimir Yurkovich,
43:47who was now working
43:48for the American government.
43:50He frantically tried
43:51to explain
43:52to the U.S. Navy officials
43:53that he could stop
43:54the ship rolling over.
43:57Yurkovich's answer
43:58is to open the seacocks
43:59and let the water
44:00come in
44:01and let it settle down
44:02on the bottom,
44:03which is not very much
44:04below the keel,
44:05and let it rest there
44:07and then pump it out
44:08and save the ship.
44:09Nobody would listen to him.
44:12The Navy was in charge.
44:14And less than 12 hours
44:16after the fire broke out,
44:18the mighty Normandie
44:19snapped her mooring ropes
44:20and slowly rolled over.
44:23The pride of France
44:24was reduced to a smoking wreck
44:26and her legendary duel
44:28with the Queen Mary
44:29was over.
44:32Tragic loss,
44:33I think it's sort of
44:35a metaphor for the times.
44:36Fighting its way
44:37into existence
44:38through the Depression,
44:39this glorious existence
44:41through the 30s,
44:43the glamour
44:44and sort of hedonistic
44:45life aboard ship,
44:46and then all of a sudden
44:48the cataclysm.
44:50And in the world society,
44:51we saw the same thing.
44:52We saw the World War II
44:54had changed forever.
44:58A boat will always lose
45:00some of its popularity
45:01with time.
45:03At first,
45:04it's very well known,
45:05a celebrity,
45:07and then towards the end,
45:08it loses some of its aura.
45:11But when the Normandie
45:13went in the flower
45:14of its youth,
45:15very young,
45:16it hit the French
45:17very hard.
45:18And that's why
45:19its memory still lives
45:21in the hearts and minds
45:23of the French people.
45:32The Queen Mary
45:34survived the war
45:35and carried thousands
45:36of troops safely
45:37across the oceans
45:38of the world.
45:39On one trip,
45:40she carried no less
45:41than 15,000 American troops
45:43to the European battlefront.
45:47When victory came at last,
45:49she was refitted
45:50as a passenger liner
45:51once again
45:51and spent many profitable years
45:53sharing the Atlantic run
45:55with her younger sister,
45:57the Queen Elizabeth.
46:03By the 1960s,
46:05air travel was beginning
46:06to dominate
46:06the transatlantic
46:07passenger business.
46:09The ocean could now
46:10be crossed in hours
46:11rather than days,
46:12and Cunard's profits
46:13began to suffer.
46:18after 31 years of service,
46:20the Queen Mary
46:21was withdrawn in 1967
46:23and sold to an American company.
46:27Today,
46:28she is a floating hotel,
46:30permanently moored
46:31at Long Beach, California,
46:33the sole survivor
46:35of the great pre-war
46:36transatlantic liners.
46:43There's so many aspects
46:46actually imbued
46:47in the ship itself
46:48that it's a symbol,
46:50it's enormously complex,
46:52but its symbolism
46:52goes from the minute,
46:54the mundane,
46:55the trivial,
46:56all the way through
46:57to the grand
46:57and the glorious
46:58of an empire.
47:00And I think that's why
47:01it holds that kind of magic.
47:02And of course,
47:04she is Scottish,
47:05she was built here.
47:07We built that ship,
47:09we built that ship here.
47:10Don't you forget it,
47:11lads, you know?
47:13But her arch-rival,
47:14the Normandie,
47:15has long ago
47:16passed into legend.
47:21I still dream
47:22about the Normandie.
47:24Oh yes,
47:24it was a really
47:26sensational ship,
47:27but oh well,
47:28it's gone now.
47:29We're going.
47:37For three incredible years,
47:39from 1936 to 1939,
47:43these two great ships
47:44ruled the waves.
47:46Together,
47:47they created the golden age
47:49of the ocean liners
47:50in their heroic quest
47:52to be the fastest
47:53across the Atlantic.
48:05.
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