Until the middle of the 20th century, crossing the Atlantic Ocean by sea was the only way of travelling between Europe and the Americas. Ruling the waves was a symbol of national power, and in peacetime, rule was governed by speed.

Companies and nations competed for the prestigious, Blue Riband which honoured the fastest passage across the Atlantic. It was France and Britain who provided the fiercest competition as both saw the Blue Riband as a sure way to boost national morale.

In 1930, Britain's steamship company Cunard started work on a liner at John Brown's shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland. Known only as Hull 534 (later named Queen Mary), it was to be the largest and most luxurious ship afloat. However, within a year work had been suspended when Cunard felt the full force of the Depression. The symbol of British power became a monument to economic gloom.

Meanwhile, the French company CGT had been working on their super liner, Hull T6 (later named Normandie). They employed a revolutionary hull, designed by a Russian immigrant, Vladimir Yourkevitch and were also determined that their ship would epitomize both style and luxury.

All of France and the rest of the world followed Normandie's progress and in 1935, she lived up to her expectations, winning the Blue Riband on her maiden voyage.

Britain had lost this race, but work had resumed on Hull 534. On 26 September 1934, Queen Mary launched the ship and honoured her with her own name. On 27 May 1936, she set out on her maiden voyage, but failed to win back the Blue Riband due to bad weather. However, three months later she was triumphant, making the first passage in under four days. Britain ruled the waves once again.

Over the next three years, the Blue Riband passed back and forth between the ships until the advent of the Second World War. In 1939, Queen Mary was stripped of luxury and painted battleship grey. She would see out the war transporting over 700,000 troops around the world.

Normandie was also requisitioned but her fate was not so illustrious. In 1942, during her re-fit in New York harbour, a fire broke out when workers tried to remove the lighting from her opulent dining room. As the fire hoses poured water into her, she began to topple and sank. Rusting in the harbour, she was later sold for scrap.

Queen Mary resumed her passenger service in 1947, but by the 1960s, transatlantic air travel could transport passengers en masse in a matter of hours. The days of the great ocean liners were numbered. In 1967, after a total of 1001 crossings, the Queen Mary ended her service and became a floating hotel in Long Beach, California.