Although Queen Mary didn’t look as fast as her sleeker, streamlined competitors, such as Normandie and Bremen, the Cunard liner was really a stealthy speedster.
Queen Mary was kind of like a family sedan (saloon) with a hot V8 hidden under her hood (bonnet) that could easily outrace sportier-looking, yet relatively underpowered, competitors.
On 8 August 1938, Queen Mary retook the Blue Riband from French Line’s Normandie, completing a westbound transatlantic crossing in 3 days, 21 hours and 48 minutes at an average speed of 30.99 knots.
Queen Mary first won the Blue Riband in 1936. Normandie took it back in 1937. After Queen Mary reclaimed the Blue Riband in 1938, she held onto it for nearly 14 years, surrendering it to United States in 1952.
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