In shipbuilding, as in aircraft-cohstruction, improvement is perpetual, and the
latest model is likely always to be the most efficient. The " Queen Mary " was completed in 1936, the " Queen Elizabeth " in 1940 and the " United States," which has triumphantly broken all records on her maiden voyage, in 1952. That does not for a moment detract from the merits of her designer, her constructors or her master, but it is legitimate to believe that a new Cunarder of comparable size might run the American liner very close. But meanwhile we surrender the blue riband, and no one can deny that we have done it with good grace. Congratulations have been universal and generous and manifestly sincere. British liners have been supreme on the Atlantic for a century; we have no need to grudge honour to the Americans for their temporary or per- manent success. One question of interest is the effect increased speed at sea may have on competition with air- transport. Four days is not much to spare out of life, and if a four-day crossing from New York to a European port became normal the temptation to exchange the comfort of a liner for the speed of an aeroplane might be sensibly
Previous page
