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WithReuben Goossens
MaritimeHistorian, Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer & Author
PleaseNote
PLEASENOTE: Photographs & images on this feature are fromthe author’s private collection - Unless stated otherwise.
Page One
Introduction:
Cunard Line WhiteStar Line had a history of many great and wonderful Atlantic liners in the pastand usually they would operate at least three ships on the service, but whenthey commenced planning of what would become the 81,237 GRT RMS Queen Mary in1928, they were looking towards a two ship operation!She was laid down on December 27, 1930, but she was not completed until April15, 1936. The main reason for the delay was that Cunard was in financialdifficulties that were in due course sorted out!
On the very day that the RMS Queen Mary setsail on her maiden voyage on May 27, 1936, Cunard’s chairman, Sir PercyBates, informed his ship designers to commence designing the second ship, butin order to compete with the ever competing European market, especially theFrench liners, such as the magnificent SS Liberty with is grandiose lounges,that this new Cunard liner had to be larger and more modern than even the QueenMary!
Thegreat RMS Queen Mary seen departing from
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Hull
But before thisnew liner could even become a reality, considering what occurred during thetime the Queen Mary was built, there had to be extended negotiations betweenSir Percy Bates and the Government to formulate a formal contract andassistance with finance. Thankfully the Treasury agreed to advance £5 millionPounds to Cunard, and tenders were quickly called out for.The contract was won, not surprisingly, by John Brown & Co, being the verysame builders of the Queen Mary and her order was officially signed on October6, 1936. The next big event was just under two months later, being the officiallaying of her keel that took place in Yard 552 on December 4, and the buildingof hull 552 was underway!
Herewe see her keel laid and her frame well on the way
JohnBrown Image
Wesee a close up of her completed hull
JohnBrown Image
Afine view of the new ship from a distance showing her grandeur over the localhomes!
JohnBrown Image
However, as the building ofthis mighty new ship was well underway, it becameobvious that the German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler and his new ideology of aThird Reich was becoming more and more dangerous. England was by now well awareof the possibility of a great conflict was about to explode, for there were alreadysome terrible things happening in Europe as reports had reached London of manyJews being murdered and later on November 9-10 1938 there was the horrors of Kristallnacht, that saw so many dead and synagogues burned,full of men, women and children locked inside! Thus the situation certainlylooked like it was becoming a serious threat to the rest of
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The Launching of a Queen:
HM King George VI was to launchthe ship that was going to be named after his wife, however for some reason, hewas unable to do so, and thus her Majesty Queen Elizabeth arrived at the JohnBrown shipyards to launch the new Queen Elizabeth on September 27, 1938.
Sceneson the main podium prior the launching, the two Princesses are notable,especially Princess
JohnBrown Image
Thequeen is greeted by Sir Percy Bates of Cunard
JohnBrown Image
The front cover ofthe official launching booklet for the “Queen Elizabeth”
Even though a great war seemed tobe inevitable, but before doing the honours and letting the bottle smashagainst the bow and sending the new ship into the water, Her Royal Highnesschose to speak of peace instead of war. She said:
“The King has asked me to assure you ofthe deep regret he feels at finding himself compelled, at the last moment, tocancel his journey to
I have, however, a message for you from theKing. He bids the people of this country to be of good cheer in spite of thedark clouds hanging over them and indeed over the whole world. He knows, too,that they will place entire confidence in their leaders, who, under God’sprovidence, are striving their utmost to find a justand peaceful solution of the grave problems that confront them.
The very sight of this great ship brings hometo us how very necessary it is for the welfare of man thatthe arts of peaceful industry should continue, arts in the promotion of which
It is fitting that the noblest vessel everbuilt in
While thoughts like these are passing throughour minds we do not forget the men who brought this great ship into being. Forthem she must ever be a source of pride and, I am sure, of affection. Icongratulate them warmly on the fruits of their labour. The launch of a ship islike the inception of all great human enterprises, an act of faith. We cannotforetell the future, but in preparing for it we must show our trust in a divineprovidence and in ourselves. We proclaim our belief that by the grace of Godand by man's patience and goodwill order may yet be brought out of confusion,and peace out of turmoil. With that hope and prayer in our hearts, we sendforth upon her mission this noble ship.”
After the speech there was a pause, whilst shewas presented with an album of photographs of the ship in seen being built sofar. However, just then the microphone went dead, yet Her Royal Highness tookthe pair of gold scissors, the very same one that HRH Queen Mary had used toperform the naming ceremony of her namesake the Queen Mary, and she cut thered, white and blue ribbon and sent the bottle of Empire wine crashing to breakjust in time against the liners already moving bow. With great presence of mindshe said with a strong voice, “I name this ship Queen Elizabeth and wishsuccess to her and all who sail in her,” as the ship continued her wayinto the
TheQueen slips down the slipway
JohnBrown Image
Finallyshe is finally in the water and ready to be completed
JohnBrown Image
Thetug Flying Eagle and other tugs tow the giant Queen to her fit-out berth
JohnBrown Image
There was nodoubt, but the launch was a great success, and as the now officially namedQueen Elizabeth was in the water, she was towed to her fit-out berth on theRiver Clyde. But work had to be suspended frequently, due to the oncoming waras many of the nation's Navy and other ships now required refurbishments foractive duties.
Please Note: Onthis page you will discover many photographs of her exteriors in her variousguises, be they pre war, as a troop ship and as a liner, as well after her aftdecks were extended, etc. However, on Page Two you will find all he interiorimages, as well as a few other photographs. The link to that page is located atthe bottom of this page, and when you have read fascinating history then youwill want to see what she looked like, first in her early days, and then afterher later refits. Enjoy!
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World War Two:
On September 1,1939, was officially day one of World War Two, for Hitler marched into
But some action needed to be taken for shecould be of great use during the war and she could be converted into atroopship. However, this work could not be done in the
TheQueen Elizabeth leaves the
Then on March 3,1940 she left her anchorage without notice and sailed out to sea. To confuseagents and spies, the story had been circulated that this was QueenElizabeth’s positioning voyage to Southampton, but the truth is that onlythe very few ashore in the hierarchy of the Admiralty knew of her truedestination, but not even the captain on the Queen Elizabeth knew anything aswell!
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The Great Escape:
Only once she wasout at sea out at sea, Captain John Townley wasallowed to open his safe and he took out the sealed orders, which told him tohead directly at full speed for New York, which he did with a crew of just 400personnel on board. Not surprisingly, later that day, a squadron of Nazibombers were spotted over the Solent, where the Queen Elizabeth would have beenberthing at that time, had she been heading for
What could be called her first maiden voyageof sorts, but amazingly she did not even had herofficial deep sea speed trials as yet, but her voyage did prove that herengines were working beautifully! The rather dull looking Queen Elizabeth,considering she had been painted in wartime grey, arrived in
QueenElizabeth passes the Statue of Liberty at
ACoast Guard cutter escorts the Queen in the
As no one wasexpecting her, with this being very much a secret voyage, she caused quite asurprise some excitement amongst the maritime community and ship lovers! Manylover her modern look, such as the ship not having a well deck, and her cleanercut bridge that that of the Queen Mary, then there were those two majesticlarge funnels, rather than three. It all meant a new and a more refined packageto the American Maritime community, even though she was in her rather dulllooking livery!
Amazingly, during March of 1940 there werefour of the world's finest liners, such as the Mauretania, Normandie, QueenElizabeth and Queen Mary, were all berthed alongside each other, includingthree of the world’s largest Ocean Liners!
On March 21, theQueen Mary departed
However, Queen Elizabeth remained in
The Queen Elizabeth departed
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Queen Elizabeth the Trooper:
On February 11,1941 she departed
Postcardof the Queen Elizabeth after having been fully fitted out as a troop ship andis now in service
However, one majorproblem was that sailing in this region was very much warmer, if not very hotat times, than what these ships were actually constructed for.They had no air-conditioning and worse still there was hardly any ventilationinside, for that was just not needed on the
But thankfully the Admiralty saw some reasonat last, and by the end of 1941, for finally something occurred that would putboth the Queen’s back on the North Atlantic and that is where they shouldhave been all the time!
Unbelievably, there were even some plans in1942 by the Admiralty who had plans drawn up to convert both the Queens intoaircraft carriers, but thankfully this stupid idea was later abandoned, andthat was only because it was considered that their current role as troopers wassimply far too important as they were able to move huge numbers per ship!
It was in April 1942 that the Queen Elizabethwas relocated from
Afine aerial view of her stern and the over crowding is rather obvious!
In August it begana shuttle service between
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Peacetime:
With World War Twohaving finally concluded the Queen Mary was retained in her trooping service,keeping her and all grey livery except that her funnels were once againrepainted in Cunard’s regular Red and black top colour’s. In factshe continued in this role for one further year as she did transported returningtroops and G.I. brides to the
Apparently by the end of the war in Europe,the two
However on March 6, 1946 she returned toSouthampton and the world’s largest passenger liners was released fromGovernment duties as the need for troop movements had diminished. During thewar she had carried transported just 750,000 troops and sailed a 500,000 milesor 804.672 kilometres.
This great ship had never seen a single daybeing the great passenger liner since the day of completion, and now sherequired a massive overhaul and refit to make her the ship Cunard had intendedher to be an Atlantic luxury liner!
This work would be carried out on the Clyde and also at
At the end of March Queen Elizabeth departedSouthampton for the “Firth of Clyde Dry-dock” in
Thiswas taken just before Queen Elizabeth’s sea trails, having been completedand fully repainted in Cunard livery
Whilstwe see The Queen Mary still in hew war colours as she was just concluding herwar duties on this day
Thisvery special photograph was taken on September 27, 1947, and a souvenirpostcard was made from it
Consideringthe great Queen had been for six years of heavy war service, yet, there hadnever been time to take her on an official measured speed trial, but now withthe work fully completed at the Clyde by John Brown and interiors atSouthampton, this was the opportunity to do so, and she departed under thecommand of Commodore Sir James Bisset and she sailedto the Isle of Arran and her trials were finally carried out.
Here we see her grandBridge with her Captain in command!
I have no date forthis image
However, for her trails the shipwas greatly honoured, for onboard was the ship's namesake, no less than HRHQueen Elizabeth herself, as well as her two daughters,Princess Elizabeth and Margaret. During the voyage her Majesty Queen Elizabetheven took the wheel for a short time, whilst the two Princesses recorded thetwo measured runs with their stopwatches that they had been given especiallyfor the occasion. Commodore Sir James Bisset wasunder strict instructions from Sir Percy Bates that the only thing that wasrequired from the trails was two measured runs of no more than thirtyknots and that she was not permitted to attempt to sail a higher speedthan that of the Queen Mary, even though the Queen Elizabeth was capable ofdoing a greater speed, in fact around 32 knots or more! The trails concluded at
Atthe conclusion of her trails she returned to
Advertisingwas going ahead at full steam for
Andlet’s face it: “Getting there is Halfthe Fun!”
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The Trans-Atlantic Liner:
Cunard had alreadyannounced that the world’s largest Passenger Liner ever built wouldfinally depart on her first ever passenger Trans-Atlantic voyage to
Theresult from all the advance media was that the Queen Elizabeth was completelybooked out as were her forthcoming voyages, in addition, if anyone looked atthe First Class passenger lists for a good number of the Atlantic voyages therewould be countless famous passengers, well known names from European Royalhouses, high society, movie stars, great actor’s from the theatre andsome the world’s finest vocalists!
Themoment has finally arrived as RMS Queen Elizabeth departs on October 16,1946 for her official Maiden Voyage to
TheQueen Elizabeth is about to arrive at
Theoriginal photograph was clearer and the
Butthe copy that was passed down to me from my travel agency was badly damaged andI had to clean it up & it looks quite good now!
Photographby the
Obviously,although she had visited
Adelightful early postcard of the Queen arriving at
She sailed on withgreat pride, however, on April 17, 1947 she ran aground on Brambles Bank whilstapproaching
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Queen Elizabeth’s Cargo & Provisioning Procedures:
In order to provide an example, Iwill take
I happen to have a list from Cunard White StarLine and it makes interesting reading: There would be an inventory for 4,100blankets, 31,000 sheets, and the samenumber of pillow slips, 21,000 tablecloths, 92,000 linen napkins, 2,400bathmats, 2,200 afternoon tea cloths,and 7,900 aprons.
Obviously Wednesday it would be a completereversal to a day earlier, as new baggage would arrive as well as the newpassengers, but more so the ships massive amount of provisions required for theAtlantic voyage. The requirements were for the freezers and the massivestorerooms for the five day voyage meant some 20 tons of meat, 4,000 chickensand ducklings, 20 tons of fish, 70,000 eggs, 4,000 pounds of tea and coffee, 30tons of potatoes, 4,000 pounds of vegetables, 600 crates of apples and oranges,4,000 gallons of milk, 3 tons of butter, 2,000 pound of cheese, 10,000 poundsof sugar 60,000 bottles of mineral water, 10,000 bottles of fine wines, 40,000bottles of beer. In the Galleys there were over 800 saucepans and even anelectric stove that was 16 feet long. A breakfast menu could include 20 typesof cereal, 18 kinds of bread and rolls and 15 different jams and marmalades.Cunard was most proud about their bacon and the ever spoke of it in theirpublicity material that they had 8 different kinds of bacon available forbreakfast. Thus all this would come on board on Wednesday. Also it would be onWednesday that Queen Elizabeth would on some 7,000 tons of bunker fuel.
In relation to cargo, it is true that everymajor Cunard liner carried some cargo, be it baggage, but also mail, diplomaticitems, antique cars, famous artworks, but and alsogold bouillon.
By September 1951 the Queen Elizabeth had madeits 100th.Atlantic crossing. Despite being a huge success many asked why did she never break any of the speed records, for that wasdone by the Queen Mary. But what people did not know that Cunard White Starchairman Sir Percy Bates demanded that the Queen Elizabeth compete against theQueen Mary’s “Blue Riband” speed record of 1938 of 31.69knots, and that is why she was not permitted to go over thirty knots during herspeed trails! Of course later the great American liner, the SS United States tookthe “Blue Riband”speed record of 1952! Although the Queen Elizabeth wascapable of a good 32 knots!
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Overhauls and Refits:
During January1952 she received an overhaul as well as the ship's fuel capacity beingincreased and finally air-conditioning fitted throughout the ship. However,once again several mysterious fires broke out in several of the passengercabins but thankfully were quickly extinguished and completely refurbished.Then in January 1955 came one of the more welcome additions, regardless of hersize, but to be fitted with Denny Brown stabilisers was a godsend during thosewinter months! But, times were’a’changingas slowly people were taking to the sky as planes became a status symbol withthe wealthy, and First Class traffic was the bread and butter for Cunard Line!Thus even these improvements, were not quite enough for these grand luxuriouspassenger liners to compete with air travel, and by the time of the late 1950ssadly, now there were more people crossing the
Awonderful bow angle taken from the air of the RMS Queen Elizabeth
Things did not getbetter as on July 29, 1959 the Queen Elizabeth was involved in a collision withthe ‘American Hunter,’ being a United States Lines cargo ship. Thecollision occurred in the Ambrose Channel when both ships were outward boundfrom
There was no doubt that the great QueenElizabeth became the ship to sail on in the 1950s and 60s and besides Royaltyit would be the British, European and especially the American greatest artistsof their time who would book on her, and of course they would make sure thatthey were not only seen on her but photographed by the media, as we will see inthe photographs below!
Herewe see the Duke and duch*ess of Windsor ready to board the Queen Elizabeth withone of their pug dogs
Thiswould have been in the late 40s or at least before 1952
Thetalented and sublimely beautiful Elizabeth Taylor with her dogin her arms is seen with her husband Conrad “Nicky” Hilton
Asthe great Queen is ready to depart, we see at her railings from left to right:
Frederick Brisson, his then wife wonderful Rosalind Russell-Brisson, Gregory Peck and his wife Mrs. Peck
Thelovely Vivien Leigh and one of the greatly talented Lawrence Olivieron board the Queen
In those daysto be invited to the Captain’s Table was a very special honour andregarded as one of the great social events. Forthose from the world of high society it was ver muchexpected to be invited one or another of these special dinners! If there wasant Royalty on board, be it from one of the European countries they would dineat this table, like other important guests, whilst should there be BritishRoyal guests, then they usually would dine with the Captain in his privatespacious Dinning Room. Thus in those days this table was only available to siximportant guests and should there be more a second event would be held.
In the photograph below we see the six fromleft to right clockwise from the ships Captain Charles Musgrave Ford are; Lady Enisdaleand Lord Enisdale, Mrs. MacDonald and Mr. IanMacDonald, Captain H. Harrison-Wallace and Mrs. Harrison-Wallace.
Here we see theCaptain’s Table with his official guests as per above list!
From 1960 onwards, she receivedprogressive improvements and modernisations to all three classes that sawlounges, cabins and general facilities improved.
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Queen Elizabeth the CruiseShip:
But the decline inpassenger numbers became so great, that at times there were more crew than passengers on board the ship, in fact on one voyageconsidering there was a crew of 1,200, there were only 200 passengers on board.Considering the situation in 1962 Cunard made an announcementthat the Queen Elizabeth would commence cruising in 1963.
She departed on her very first pleasure cruisein February 1963 from
Fareand sailing schedule for February to December 1964, after which she wouldcruise in
Then in March 1965it was announced that the Queen Elizabeth would be receiving a major overhaul.She arrived in
This is a superb areal imagelooks at her new extended aft decks and her new swimming pool. I took it from a1967 Cruise brochure from my collection. Sadly these days, modern cruiseships just do not have such spacious open deck spaces, and many do not evenhave a full walk around Promenade Deck anymore! The photograph is from the author’s privatecollection.
RMSQueen Elizabeth arrives at
Photographby the
Thus soon shesailed looking simply splendid with her new aft section and her interiors werebetter than ever before and from all reports passengers fell in love with thegreat Queen Elizabeth all over again, and bookings were doing quite well. But,costs and her rather deep draught was a big problem, for she simply could notget her anywhere near some of the most popular ports and islands, and that isjust where so many people desired to go, for they had heard of these places inadvertisem*nts in brochures from other cruise companies and other ships visitedthere on a regular basis, thus that caused a bit of a problem for Cunard, butit could have been worse, but there was big competition from Italian and otherlines from around the world, but not by other English ships!
In this rather uniquephoto we see the both the great RMS Queen Elizabeth and
the SS United States, whichThankfully remains with us today, and she will be restored in duecourse!
I would assume thatthis excellent photograph was taken sometimes in the mid sixties.
Thisphotograph was sent in by a supporter, but the photographer is unknown -*Please see photo notes at bottom of page!
Then suddenly therewas an official announcement on May 8, 1967 that the RMS Queen Mary would bewithdrawn from duties later that year and on August 18 that year she was soldto the city to
There was one big problemthat had been ongoing for Cunard, and it waswith great sadness that it was also announced on the very same day of the QueenMary’s announcement of her demise, on May 8, 1967 that the QueenElizabeth would also be withdrawn, but much later in 1968. Some have asked,“What in reality was the final nail in the coffin for the greatQueen?” Let me try to explain what was a huge problem of the times, forafter her massive refit in 1965 that was followed by the various seaman strikesthat was so common in those days, this cost Cunard White Star Line a mammoth£14 million Pounds, and let’s face it that kind of money is hard torecover for that is a massive loss, especially in the nineteen sixties, thussadly it would be the seaman’s union’s doing that aided in killingthe great RMS Queen Elizabeth before her time! I am all for the sailor, alwayshave been, but I am afraid there are some unions that have a great deal toanswer for, shame on them! Here in
If you wish to view the R.M.S.Queen Elizabeth’s’ Deck Plan, may I suggest that you visit thefollowing excellent Website on her,
but on this one in particular youwill also discover her entire deck plan!
http://www.rmsqueenelizabeth.com/DECKS.html
Please ensure that your pointer is pointed directlyon the RED letters to open each deck - I did find that “C Deck”did not open!
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The Queen’s lastAtlantic voyage and at Port Everglades
The great liner,the RMS Queen Elizabeth made her rather sad and final Atlantic crossing fromSouthampton to
Herewe see the great Queen arriving at Port Everglades on December 1968
Thisphotograph was together with the article shown below
Photo sent in byRussell L. Weaver and article found by WendyLueder when going through old newspaper clippings
The purpose of the great linerbeing in Port Everglades was become a convention centre and a major touristattraction and she was partially opened to the public in February 1969.
Page one of an article in the“Florida Profile issued in March or May 1969
Sent in by Russell L. Weaver and article found by Wendy Lueder when going through old newspaperclippings
Herewe see the Queen Elizabeth berthed at Port Everglades in November 1969
This image was sent inby a supporter, but the photographer is unknown - *Please see photo notes atbottom of page!
However months later, on July 19she was sold to Queen Ltd of Port Everglades, and she was simply rename “
Above & below: this the“the
However, just after a year of trading, inAugust 1970, Queen Ltd went into bankruptcy and soon the liquidators placed thegreat Queen up for auction!
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SS Seawise University:
The great ChineseShip Owner Mr. C.Y. Tung, who over the years obtained many fine liners andoperated them all successfully, he heard late in 1970 that the great ex QueenElizabeth was up for auction thus he decided he wanted her for his new floatinguniversity! Being the successful bidder under the name of Seawise FoundationLtd, the
Elizabeth,renamed Seawise University is seen just prior to her departure from PortEverglades
Thisimage was sent in by a supporter, but the photographer is unknown - *Please seephoto notes at bottom of page!
SSSeawise University departs Port Everglades for
Thisis a new item found in the local new paper detailing the ship being “aflop” locally
However, duringher rather unexpected lengthy voyage the SS Seawise University encounteredongoing boiler problems, therefore she did not arrive in Hong Kong until Julyand upon arrival she was placed at anchor just off TsingYi Island near Kowloon, for it would be there where she would be converted tohr new owners needs!
The
Mr. C.Y. Tungdesired to utilise the great ship in a dual role, as a floating university, butalso as a luxury cruise ship. With this in mind, work soon commenced with amassive £5 million Pound (for the day overhaul and refit of the ship into auniversity and cruise ship. Thousands of labourers descended upon the ex QueenElizabeth to carry out the task of converting the ship.
The
Photographeris unknown - *Please see photo notes at bottom of page!
The ship wasstripped down and built back up. Modern equipment was installed to ensuresafety at sea, and certain areas of the ship were given a decidedly‘oriental’ décor. By December 1971, the work was close to beingcompleted, thus there was great happiness in the Tung family and all that hadworked so hard on board, for they had done a very good job indeed!
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Tragedy Strikes the oldQueen!
From all reportsthat I have heard, the security on board was close to non existent, forlet’s be honest, the only people that came on board were the workers andstaff, visitors had to have an official pass, and there were several securitymen on board, but it was far from being a CIA operation, for the ship was atanchor and not at a berth!
On January 9, 1972, the ship so close tocompletion and she was scheduled to sail for
Then on January 10, the great lady commencedto keel over to starboard as the hulk continued to burn and smoulder for over aweek. There was just one casualty, but the
SeawiseQueen is seen ablaze in
Photograph
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Below, is the text of a Letter sent fromHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to Mr. C.Y. Tung.
“Clarence House.
S.W.1.
13th January 1972.
Dear Mr Tung,
I am to tell you how deeply distressed QueenElizabeth the Queen Mother is at the disaster which has overtaken the liner which was launched by Her Majesty and bore her name. Eversince Her Majesty learnt of the plans you had for
Yours sincerely,
Martin Gilliat.
Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother”
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An enquiry in July 1972confirmed that it had been the work of an, or arsonists, however thecriminal(s) was never found. In December 1973 it was decided to scrap the hulkand Japanese breakers would do the job. However, during this time, the wreckwas used during the filming of the 1974 James Bond movie “The Man With the Golden Gun” that portrayed the ship as theMI6s Hong Kong’s headquarters.
SeawiseUniversity seen keeled well over in
Photographby & © Barry Loigman
But then there wasthe ship's final protest on November 5, 1975 when she rolled over and shespewed out several tons of oil that polluted the surrounding waters as well assome of the beaches. The official position of wreck is: 22°19.717'N 114°06.733'E? / ?22.328617°N114.112217°E, also? / the RMS Queen Elizabeth held the title of “largest passengershipwreck,” well that was until the recent MV Costa Concordia disaster in2012.
I was sent this item of interest by one ofmy readers, although I am unaware of its source:“Parker pens produced a special edition of 5,000 pens made from materialrecovered from the wreck in a presentation box and these are highly collectibleTwo of the ship's fire warning system brass plaques were recovered by a dredgerand these are now on display at The Aberdeen Boat Club in Hong Kong within adisplay area about the ship. The charred remnants of her last ensign were cutfrom the flag pole and framed in 1972, and it still adorns the wall of theofficers' mess of marine police HQ in
Although a great deal of the Grand ex RMSQueen Elizabeth was scrapped and removed, a remnant did remain and you may ask– “Where is the that part of wreckage today?” Thefollowing is from the
Almost exactly a quarter of a century after amystery blaze destroyed the Queen Elizabeth in
Reclaimed land on which the terminal will bebuilt is to extend over the area where the wreck of the once majestic linerlies.
Arsonists who started the fire off Tsing Yi Island on January 9, 1972, have never beenidentified.
And the reason why she was set alight asshipping boss C.Y Tung, the father of Chief Executive-designate Tung Chee-Hwa, moved to turn her into a $30 million floatinguniversity has never been explained.
Early CT9 consultancy studies raised concernover the effect the wreckage might have on the project and shipping in thearea.
But now, with only months before the beforethe head of the famous shipping family takes control of the territory, themystery of his late father’s pride and joy is to be buried forever.
In the coming months the section of Tsing Yi will become reclaimed land, eventually housing thesouthern berths of CT9.
The Port Development Board’s commercialconsultant Peter Glass said: “Original studies looked at the wreckage ofthe Queen Elizabeth as a possible problem but that is no longer the case. Thereclaimed land will extend over the area where her wreckage is sited.”
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Statistics:
Bulder: JohnBrown and Company
Slipway: 4 – Hull number 552.
Laiddown: December 4, 1936.
Launched: September 27, 1938.
Maiden Voyage 1: March 3, 1940, entering her wartime duties.
Maiden Voyage 2: October 16, 1946, being her first ever passengers service!
GrossTonnage: 83,673 GRT - 82,996 in 1965. 16,881 d.w.
Length: 300.94m - 987.4ft.
Breadth: 36.14m - 118.6ft.
Draught: 12.07m – 39.6ft.
Engines: Parsons single reductionsteam turbines, by John Brown – 160,000 SHP.
Screws: Quadruple screws.
Speed: 29 knots – Max 32knots.
Passengers: 2,283passengers.
823First Class, 662 Cabin Class and 798 Tourist Class.
Crew: 1,296.
Names: 1.Queen Elizabeth. 2. Elizabeth. 3.Seawise University.
1.1939–1969. 2. 1969–1970. 3. 1970–1972.
Owners: 1939-1949: Cunard White StarLine.
1949-1968: Cunard Line.
1968-1969: The Queen Corporation.
1969-1970:Queen Ltd.
1970-1972:C.Y. Tung - Seawise Foundation Ltd,
Partof Queen Elizabeth’s engine room
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The Other Queens
The replacement for the two olderliners came in the form of a far more modern liner, being the RMS QueenElizabeth 2, or the ship that became so lovingly known worldwide as the QE2!This wonderful looking steamship was launched by HRH Queen Elizabeth II onSeptember 20, 1967, and she sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton to NewYork on May 2, 1969, whilst the ex RMSQueen Elizabeth was still berthed in Port Everglades.
Thelong and sleek Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) seen as built
The 63,868 GRT QE2had a troubles from the start as she suffered problems during her Media andagents run in voyage, as Cunard put it mildly “teething troubles”with her steam turbines. Thus her official delivery was delayed by four months.Later she received new engines and became a motor ship, thus became a far moreeconomical ship, as well having fewer problems in the future! In additions, shehad a number of looks from her slim line tall black funnel encased by a whitesleeve that surrounded it with only the forward part showing, but this wouldaid the removal of any smoke from the decks. Her hull colour changed fromblack, shell grey and a royal (dark) blue. Her funnel also changes where thewhite received the red and black stripes, but later she was given a shorter,thicker new funnel that made her a better-balanced looking ship. In additionluxury suites with verandas were added topside and her aft decks extended.
Thefinal version of the QE2 is seen at
Photoby & © the author
Over time shebecame one of the most popular cruise ships in the world, and operated herannual around the world cruise visiting both
Thegreat Queen Elizabeth 2 photographed during her final visit to
Photographby & © Alex Naughton
The QE2 left
Above& below: The author took these two photographs of theQE2 at
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MV Queen Elizabeth:
OK, let me behonest from the outset, I absolutely loathe this allAmerican designed
We need to understand that Cunard has alwaysbeen mostly owned by the Americans with some English ownership, but it hasalways been portrayed as being ever so frightfully British!But that has now been totally changed, for today Cunard is wholly owned by theAmerican Carnival Corp, that is a company that has, whatwe may say has no class, or style and sadly this is a company that has just asingle mind-set. You may ask, well what is that? It is simply this: How toextract or fleece every single Dollar or Pound out of theirpassengers! That is how they have designed all their new ships and they will dojust that.
Genuine ship lovers and maritime experts willall know that Vista Class ships are the most criticised ships in the world, andmy many friends who are respected maritime engineers and ship designers aroundthe world, who have built some of the finest ships, although I must say, sadlythere are dwindling, but they all say the same thing. These ships are the mosthideous vessels to hit the water and that include the RCI giants, which arejust not ships at all! Thus Cunard built that ugly and phoney Queen May 2,which is in reality an oversized Vista Class ship that has a flat stern, butthey welded on a rounded dummy stern for looks, but her real stern can be seenat the waterline! Then they even did the typical Disneyland thing and paintedin black looking deck forward of her superstructure, so that for afar she couldlook like the old Mary with her decks forward, do they think we are all mad? Itis just black paint! Then came the MV Queen Victoria which is 100% Vista andshe was followed but the almost identical MV Queen Elizabeth, also a VistaClass square box, or what is known in most circles as an apartment (Condo)block!
Above& below: The hideous looking MV Queen Elizabeth, noneed to say anything else!
TheAmericans certainly do no justice to the grand Dame RMS Queen Elizabeth and thedelightfully beautiful QE2
Personally,I believe that no further ships with the name of “Queen Elizabeth” should have been built!
Certainlynot a Vista Class ship, which is like invite Her Majesty to a ClassicalConcert, but have the “Sex Pistols” play Mozart!
Departing
I am not sayingthat their interiors ate not beautiful, for obviously they are, otherwisepassengers would not book! But, as you know Carnival is so good at adding somany optional extras everywhere, optional dinning, optional this and that, wewill add tipping to your account every single day, thus we will take yourmoney. Yes, you can lower the amount if you wish, but be assured that yousteward will have a list of every passenger, and he will know just what theyhave given, thus, if you think, he does not know, well guess what, they do. Itis just that the company does not tell you this, but I will! Then there aremany other features that they will push and push for you to spend on, be it theart auctions, the Spa and every day the shops will have special’s thatare never really specials!
This non Cunard styleship departed on her maiden voyage on October 12, 2010.
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In Conclusion:
Although we havebriefly covered the wonderful RMS and then the cruise ship MV Queen Elizabeth2, which was without a doubt one of the last great linersbuilt and a fine ship, and she did the company proud! The QE2 gave manya wonderful ocean voyages and provided them the experience of a lifetime! Shewas the last Queen to be built that I will never sail on, not even ifCarnival/Cunard would give me a free deluxe suite on her, would I go for she isa disgrace to the great company it used to be, for it was a company with classback then. But tragically Cunard and its previous American owners completelysold out lock stock and barrel to Carnival a company that just does notunderstand what class is! Another company that sold to Carnival is HollandAmerica Line (HAL), however, they did something totally different to Cunard,P&O UK and Princess ships, etc, who just sold out! HAL, although the didsell to Carnival, but they retained their complete independence and their shipswill remain registered in Rotterdam Holland, not like the Cunard and the othercompany’s, which are all being re registered in the Bahamas! HAL willretain their Dutch staff and Indonesian and Pilipinocombination crew, which works so well! In addition, they arenot sold or marketed by Carnival, but by
The great 1939 RMS Queen Elizabeth was a true and a genuine beauty, a ship with a wonderful silhouetteand a grandiose stature. Just looking at the Queen gave you that intense desireto board her and roam her interiors, especially her wonderful lounges. She wasa true British Beauty from bow to stern!
As I have stated earlier Page Two isdedicated to her interiors and a few other images, which I know you will enjoy!
But let me close this page by remembering thisgreat liner, for I am sure she is and will be remembered for all the rightreasons, be it for her brave and admirable wartime duties, or her excellentliner services, and in her latter days as a wonderful cruise ship! Shecertainly was the finest of the old stock of great ships, and I for one, and Iam sure you the reader will never forget her!
Theperfect photograph to conclude this page!
RMSQueen Elizabeth is seen departing on another voyage; do you not wish you couldbook a voyage on her today?
FarewellWonderful Queen, the QE2 did well to Continue theTradition in a Modern way
Butthe R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth was Special and she will Neverbe Forgotten!
INDEX:
Page One The History Page withImages.
PageTwo Interiors& much more!
PageThree Advertisem*ntsand Brochures.
“Blue Water Liners sailing to the distant shores.
I watched them come, I watched them go and I watchedthem die.”
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Photographs on ssmaritime and associate pages are by the author or from theauthor’s private collection. In addition there are some images that havebeen provided by Shipping Companies and private photographers or collectors.Credit is given to all contributors. However, there are some photographsprovided to me without details regarding the photographer/owner concerned. Ihereby invite if owners of these images would be so kind to make them-selvesknown to me (my email address may be found on www.ssmaritime.com only), in order that due creditmay be given.
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