How the Allies used the Cunard Queens to win World War II.

Sir Winston Churchill said Cunard’s Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth reduced the length of World War II. They did it by carrying more than 16,000 people per voyage!
But how did two ocean liners achieve this feat?
Built to carry 3,200 people, during WWII years the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth transported more than 16,000 people per crossing.
The Queen Mary entered service first, in 1936. By 1938 Queen Mary was celebrated as the world’s fastest ocean liner having captured the coveted Blue Riband.
A sister ship - Queen Elizabeth - was set to join Queen Mary in passenger service by 1940. But due to WWII, the Queen Elizabeth was sent to New York in complete secrecy - even before the ship was officially complete!
Once there, the liners were laid up in New York awaiting orders. The Queen Mary was requisitioned by the British Admiralty in March of 1940, while the Queen Elizabeth was called up in November that same year, for military service in World War II.
Converting the ships:
While RMS. Queen Elizabeth hadn't yet been completed as a passenger liner, Cunard’s Queen Mary had been in active service for several years, with her last peacetime voyage leaving her berthed in New York.
The first thing that took place aboard - while the Queen Mary was alongside in New York - was the removal of the majority of furniture, carpets and art, as well as anything that resembled the ship’s luxurious.
Externally the ship was painted grey, while the Queen Elizabeth had already had a similar paint job before she left John Brown Shipyard in Scotland.
RMS. Queen Mary sailed for Sydney, arriving in the harbour on 17 April 1940. She was sent to the Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Company where the rest of the conversion work was undertaken.

The Queen Mary’s public spaces were repurposed. Space was of a premium aboard, and every area was utilised - even the first class swimming pool was redesigned, with bunks installed here!!
RMS. Queen Mary’s large First Class dining room became the main mess hall - due to its large size - while officers were welcomed into the smaller and more intimate tourist class dining room.
The majority of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth’s cabins didn’t have private bathrooms. But the shared bathroom facilities were enlarged, as were the galleys in order to accommodate the increased passenger capacity.
While Queen Mary was refurbished in Sydney, the Queen Elizabeth underwent a similar conversion in Singapore.
Structurally, both Queens were altered with reinforced protective covers on the bridge windows, sand bags utilised aboard to protect vulnerable areas and the installation of degaussing coils to reduce the risk of contact with sea mines.
The two Cunarders were fitted with anti-aircraft guns - though in reality their speed of over 30 knots was their primary defence against enemy attack.
At the end of the conversion the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were able to carry up to 10,000 troops each.
When the United States of America entered World War 2, the Cunard Queens were redeployed to the North Atlantic troop service, to aid preparations for the D-Day landings.
As the need to move troops increased, both ships were altered to up carrying capacity even further, with both Queens regularly transporting over 15,000 people.
The Queen Mary holds the record to this day for the most people ever carried on a ship - 16,683 on a single crossing!
It was this massive trooping impact - and the advantage it gave the Allied War Effort - that led Sir Winston Churchill to acknowledge these great Cunarders as having helped to shorten the war - saying:
“Built for the arts of peace and to link the old world with the new, the queens challenged the fury of Hitlerism in the battle of the Atlantic. Without their aid, the day of final victory must unquestionably have been postponed.”
Images:
Ref 1: Most images in this video Rob Henderson & Doug Cremer Collection. This includes the original thumbnail image. (Thumbnail arrow Matt Scribner CC. Attribution via Adobe Spark).
Ref 2: Queen Elizabeth \ Public Domain bit.ly/3h2Gn6Y
Ref 3: Oasis of the Seas \ Baldwin040 \ CC BY SA 3.0 bit.ly/31OCeNj
Ref 4: Queen Elizabeth \ Public Doimain bit.ly/3kCZtm6
New Thumbnail: USN / Public Domain: bit.ly/2RMRc5h
2023 Thumbnail: Imperial War Museum / Public Domain: bit.ly/3K1BtXi
Music: RUclips Audio
More videos:
QM Launch Video: • How Queen Mary beat th...
QE Maiden Voyage Video: • How the World's Bigges...
Further Reading:
- The Story of Cunard's 175 Years: amzn.to/34bv1Kj
- 180 Years of Cunard: amzn.to/3kLuzrZ
#history #maritimehistory #QueenMary #queenelizabeth #winstonchurchillquotes #wwii #wwiihistory