HMS Queen Mary

Queen Mary at sea with torpedo net booms folded against her side
Class overview
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Lion class
Succeeded by	HMS Tiger
Built	1911–1913
In commission	1913–1916
Completed	1
Lost	1
History
United Kingdom
Name	Queen Mary
Namesake	Queen Mary, consort of George V
Ordered	1910–1911 Naval Programme
Builder	Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow
Laid down	6 March 1911
Launched	20 March 1912
Completed	August 1913
Commissioned	4 September 1913
Fate	Sunk during the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916
General characteristics
Type	Battlecruiser
Displacement	26,770 long tons (27,200 t) normal load 31,650 long tons (32,158 t) deep load
Length	700 ft 1 in (213.4 m)
Beam	89 ft 1 in (27.2 m)
Draught	32 ft 4 in (9.9 m) at deep load
Installed power	42 Yarrow boilers 75,000 shp (55,927 kW)
Propulsion	4 shafts, 2 direct-drive steam turbines
Speed	28 knots (51.9 km/h; 32.2 mph)
Range	5,610 nmi (10,390 km; 6,460 mi) at 10 knots (18.5 km/h; 11.5 mph)
Complement	997 (peacetime) 1,275 (wartime)
Armament	4 × twin 13.5 in (343 mm) guns 16 × single 4 in (102 mm) 2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 9–4 inches (229–102 mm) Bulkheads: 4 inches (102 mm) Barbettes: 9–8 inches (229–203 mm) Turrets: 9 inches (229 mm) Decks: 2.5 inches (64 mm) Conning tower: 10 inches (254 mm)

HMS Queen Mary was the last battlecruiser built by the Royal Navy before the First World War. The sole member of her class, Queen Mary shared many features with the Lion-class battlecruisers, including her eight 13.5-inch (343 mm) guns. She was completed in 1913 and participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight as part of the Grand Fleet in 1914. Like most of the modern British battlecruisers, the ship never left the North Sea during the war. As part of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, Queen Mary attempted to intercept a German force that bombarded the North Sea coast of England in December 1914, but was unsuccessful. The ship was refitting in early 1915 and missed the Battle of Dogger Bank in January, but participated in the largest fleet action of the war, the Battle of Jutland in mid-1916. She was hit twice by the German battlecruiser Derfflinger during the early part of the battle and her magazines exploded shortly afterwards, sinking her with the loss of more than 98 percent of the ship’s complement.

Her wreck was discovered in 1991 and rests in pieces, some of which are upside down, on the floor of the North Sea. Queen Mary is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 as it is the grave of 1,266 officers and ratings.