Editing RMS Queen Mary (section)

==World War II==
[[File:RMS Queen Mary 20Jun1945 NewYork.jpeg|thumb|Arriving in New York Harbor, 20 June 1945, with thousands of US soldiers]]
In late August 1939, ''Queen Mary'' was on a return run from New York to Southampton. The international situation led to her being escorted by the battlecruiser {{HMS|Hood|51|6}}. She arrived safely and set out again for New York on 1 September. By the time she arrived, [[Second World War|war]] had been declared and she was ordered to remain in port alongside ''[[SS Normandie|Normandie]]'' until further notice.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

[[File:The three largest ships in the world, New York, 1940 - photographic postcard (3796186285).jpg|thumb|left|''Normandie'', ''Queen Mary'' and ''Queen Elizabeth'' in New York in 1940, docked due to the war|300px]]
In March 1940, ''Queen Mary'' and ''Normandie'' were joined in New York by ''Queen Mary''{{'s}} new running mate {{RMS|Queen Elizabeth||2}}, fresh from her secret voyage from Clydebank. The three largest liners in the world sat idle for approximately two weeks when  ''Queen Mary'' left for [[Sydney]], Australia.<ref name="cross288-289" /> Once there, along with several other liners, was converted into a troopship to carry Australian and New Zealand soldiers to the United Kingdom.<ref name="LegendsofAmerica">
{{cite web
|url=https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-queenmary/
|website=Legends of America
|title=Ghosts of the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California
|first=Kathy
|last=Weiser
|publisher=LegendsofAmerica.com
|date=June 2018
|access-date=5 February 2019
}}</ref>

[[File:Queen Mary forecastle1.jpg|thumb|''Queen Mary''<nowiki/>'s forward superstructure, shown here in Long Beach. When she came to Long Beach, the Sun Deck windows were enlarged and an anti-aircraft gun was placed on display astride the foremast to represent the Second World War days of the liner]]
In the conversion, the ship's hull, superstructure, and funnels were painted navy grey. As a result of her new colour, and in combination with her great speed, she became known as the "Grey Ghost". To protect against [[naval mine|magnetic mines]], a [[degaussing|degaussing coil]] was fitted around the outside of the hull. Inside, stateroom furniture and decoration were removed and replaced with triple-tiered (fixed) wooden bunks, which were later replaced by "standee" (fold-up) bunks.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/94/a3019394.shtml | title=BBC – WW2 People's War – VJ Day – All at Sea}}</ref>

A total of {{convert|6|mi|0}} of carpet, 220 cases of china, crystal and silver services, tapestries, and paintings were removed and stored in warehouses for the duration of the war. The woodwork in the staterooms, the cabin-class dining room, and other public areas were covered with leather.

''Queen Mary'' and ''Queen Elizabeth'' were the largest and fastest troopships involved in the war, often carrying as many as 15,000 men in a single voyage, and often travelling out of convoy and without escort. The Queens' high speed and zigzag courses made it virtually impossible for [[U-boat]]s to catch them, although one attempted to attack the ship. On 25 May 1944, [[German submarine U-853|U-853]] spotted ''Queen Mary'' and submerged to attack, but the ship outran the U-boat before it could do so.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Underwood |first=Lamar |title=The Greatest Submarine Stories Ever Told. |date=2005 |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=1-59228-733-6 |pages=184–185}}</ref> Because of their importance to the war effort, Adolf Hitler offered a bounty of 1 million [[Reichsmark]]s and [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross|Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross]], Germany's highest military honor, to any U-boat captain that sank either ship.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |title=The British Liner Queen Mary |url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-british-liner-queen-mary/ |access-date=13 February 2024 |website=Warfare History Network |language=en-US}}</ref>

On 2 October 1942, ''Queen Mary'' accidentally sank one of her escort ships, slicing through the light cruiser {{HMS|Curacoa|D41|6}} off the Irish coast with a loss of 338 lives. ''Queen Mary'' was carrying thousands of Americans of the [[29th Infantry Division (United States)|29th Infantry Division]]<ref>{{Cite book |title=Beyond the Beachhead |first=Joseph |last=Balkoski |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-0221-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/beyondbeachhead200balk/page/37 37–38] |year=1989 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/beyondbeachhead200balk/page/37 }}</ref> to join the Allied forces in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/13/a2733013.shtml |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120719161618/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/13/a2733013.shtml |archive-date = 19 July 2012|website       = WW2 People's War |title = HMS Curaçao Tragedy |publisher = [[BBC]] |date = 11 June 2004|author = Brighton CSV Media Clubhouse |access-date = 10 August 2009}}</ref> Due to the risk of U-boat attacks, ''Queen Mary'' was under orders not to stop under any circumstances and steamed onward with a fractured [[Stem (ship)|stem]]. Some sources claim that hours later, the convoy's lead escort, consisting of {{HMS|Bramham|L51|2}} and one other ship,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wilson|first1=Edgar Edward|title=Wilson, Edgar Edward (IWM Interview)|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80015884|website=Imperial War Museums|publisher=Imperial War Museum|access-date=27 March 2016}}</ref> returned to rescue 99 survivors of ''Curacoa''{{'s}} crew of 437, including her captain John W. Boutwood.<ref name="WWI">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwar1.com/tripwire/smtw0708.htm|website=St. Mihiel Trip-Wire: July 2008|title=Forever England|first=Andrew|last=Melomet|publisher=WorldWar1.com|date=July 2008|access-date=10 August 2009}}</ref><ref name="HIST">{{cite video|url=http://www.history.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=89667 |title=Queen Mary / Curacoa Crash |work=[[Disasters of the Century]] |publisher=[[History Television]] |year=2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510032506/http://www.history.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=89667 |archive-date=10 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1199.html|title=Allied Warships – Light cruiser HMS Curacoa of the Ceres class|publisher=Uboat.net|access-date=10 September 2012}}</ref> This claim is contradicted by the liner's then Staff Captain Harry Grattidge, who recorded that ''Queen Mary''{{'s}} Captain, Gordon Illingsworth, immediately ordered the accompanying destroyers to look for survivors within moments of ''Curacoa''{{'s}} sinking.<ref>Grattidge and Collier, ''Captain of the Queens.''</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://spiritedqueenmary.com/about-rms-queen-mary/her-captains/ | title=Her Captains • Spirited RMS Queen Mary | access-date=18 August 2019 | archive-date=2 July 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702053112/https://spiritedqueenmary.com/about-rms-queen-mary/her-captains/ }}</ref>

Later that year, from 8–14 December 1942, ''Queen Mary'' carried 10,389 soldiers and 950 crew (total 11,339).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Queen Mary – Specific Crossing Information – 1942|url=http://ww2troopships.com/ships/q/queenmary/crossings1942.htm|access-date=3 April 2021|website=ww2troopships.com}}</ref> During this trip, on 11 December, while {{convert|700|mi|km}} from [[Scotland]] during a gale, she was suddenly broadsided on her starboard side by a [[rogue wave]] that might have reached a height of {{convert|28|m}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 August 2021 |title=RMS Queen Mary Pt 2 |url=https://opposite-lock.com/topic/22523/rms-queen-mary-pt-2 |access-date=16 February 2024 |website=Oppositelock |language=en-US}}</ref> An account of this crossing can be found in Carter's book.<ref name="LeviR"/><ref>''No Greater Sacrifice, No Greater Love'', William Ford Carter, Smithsonian Books, Washington, 2004, p. 55</ref> As quoted in the book, Carter's father, Dr. Norval Carter, part of the 110th Station Hospital on board at the time, wrote in a letter that at one point ''Queen Mary'' "damned near capsized... One moment the top deck was at its usual height and then, swoom! Down, over, and forward she would pitch." It was calculated later that the ship rolled 52 degrees, and would have capsized had she rolled another three degrees.<ref name="LeviR">{{cite web |url=http://thefutureofthings.com/column/1005/the-wave-that-changed-science.html |title=The Wave That Changed Science |website=[[The Future of Things]] |access-date=11 June 2013 |last=Levi |first=Ran |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823234657/http://thefutureofthings.com/column/1005/the-wave-that-changed-science.html |archive-date=23 August 2013 |date=3 March 2008}}</ref>

From 25 to 30 July 1943, ''Queen Mary'' carried 15,740 soldiers and 943 crew (total 16,683),<ref>{{cite web|title=How Two Ships Helped End WW2|url=https://chrisframe.com.au/post/626585620528168960/how-two-ships-helped-end-world-war-ii|access-date=16 August 2020|website=chrisframe.com.au}}</ref> a standing record for the most passengers ever transported on one vessel.<ref>{{cite web|title='Queen Mary: Timeline|url=http://www.queenmary.com/history/timeline/|access-date=15 November 2017|website=QueenMary.com|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612052039/http://www.queenmary.com/history/timeline/}}</ref> This was only possible in summer as passengers had to sleep on deck.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 January 2017|title=RMS Queen Mary's War Service: Voyages to Victory|url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2017/01/16/rms-queen-marys-war-service-voyages-to-victory/|access-date=29 April 2021|website=Warfare History Network|language=en-US}}</ref>

During the war, ''Queen Mary'' carried British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] across the Atlantic three times for meetings with fellow Allied forces officials. He was listed on the passenger manifests as "Colonel Warden".<ref name="Churchill">{{cite book|last=Lavery|first=Brian|title=Churchill Goes to War: Winston's Wartime Journeys|publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]]|year=2007|page=213}}</ref> On one crossing in 1943, Churchill and his staff planned the [[Operation Overlord|Normandy Invasion]] and he signed the D-Day Declaration aboard.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Celebrities and Political Dignitaries |url=https://queenmary.com/history/stats-fun-facts/celebrities/ |access-date=13 February 2024 |website=queenmary.com}}</ref> Churchill later stated that 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.”<ref>{{Cite web |title=Celebrities and Political Dignitaries |url=https://queenmary.com/history/stats-fun-facts/celebrities/ |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=queenmary.com}}</ref> By the war's end, ''Queen Mary'' had carried over 800,000 troops and traveled over 600,000 miles across the world's oceans.<ref name="auto2"/>
[[File:RMS Queen Mary in New York Harbour (50524304982).jpg|left|thumb|''Queen Mary'' at [[New York Harbor]]]]
[[File:Queen Mary 1965 (332754147) (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|221x221px|''Queen Mary'' in 1965]]