RMS Queen Mary

[spaddad]

Hi ship building peeps,

just watched the TV program  on the QM/HMS Curacao malarky & it got me interested in what modifications, especially weapons fit, the QM underwent. I alrready know about all the silverware & six miles of carpets stuff but I was wondering about what external differences there were with a view to maybe making a model of the QM whilst in military guise,

thanks,

spad

[sanguin]

Google will reveal a lot of images, but in general very few seem to show the details you seek.

There is one book: Gray Ghost: The RMS Queen Mary At War by Steve Harding but even that is light on detail.

Probably the most obvious external features other than the paint job are the degaussing loop around the hull within a steel duct and extra carley floats/rafts on decks.

Unlike the WW1 hospital ships it seems that the QM retained her exisitng lifeboats (or possibly larger ones later in the war but using the existing davits) and relied more on floats, rafts and some smaller boats on the foredeck for emergencies.

Guns were fitted, but they are either airbrushed out by the censor or lost behind the mass of soldiery on the decks for departure or arrival photographs.

Allegedly these were primarily 40mm Bofors type anti aircraft weapons but when these were removed late in the war a 6" gun was left as the sole offensive weapon.

Other than that it was grey paint,usually pale grey although the tops of the funnels were restored to black later in the war.

I have no information about the decks, most aerial views have them covered in troops so nothing is visible.

This may not be of much help but there may be others more learned than me out there who know more.

 

Now if you want to do the Queen Elizabeth in her war service, a lot more information seems to be around.

All the best,

John