Queen Elizabeth

The history and profile of the RMS Queen Elizabeth, acclaimed sequel to the Cunard Atlantic Ferry service, is one of distinction and worthy of special recognition. The Queen Elizabeth brought into being Sir Percy Bates' dream of a two-ship weekly express service between the Empire and the New World. For the Cunard Line though, the ship provided the final say in their conquest of the North Atlantic. The epitome of ocean liner travel from her inaugural voyage to fateful retirement, RMS Queen Elizabeth played out a fascinating and colourful role in the history of the Twentieth Century.

Built for the arts of peace and to link the Old World with the New, 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.

- SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

The jubilant launch of RMS Queen Elizabeth on 27 September 1938 by her majesty Queen Elizabeth, along with princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, would soon be lost amidst the uncertainty of another world war. As Queen Elizabeth was launched, the ominous clouds of war were gathering into the raging storm of conflict. Hitler's wehrmacht had goose stepped into the Rhineland, concessions were made and he was granted possession of the Sudetenland, and his blitzkreig would soon smash into Poland, thrusting Europe into another armed and bloody conflict. As Great Britain was compelled to come to the aid of her allies, the facilities at the River Clyde were desperately needed to repair and refurbish the nations mighty navy vessels. The fitting out of Queen Elizabeth was halted and she was left to wait as the sparks of conflict were fanned into the raging fire of another world war.

With a vicious war raging about her, the still unfinished Queen Elizabeth languished at her fitting out basin, her very existence a threat to her survival. As the ship lay dormant, she became an obvious target for German luftwaffe pilots intent on their missions to undermine British industry and naval abilities. In military circles, a whirlwind of debate tried to utilize a role in which she would best serve the interests of the kingdom. Dismissing a call to break her down for shrapnel, as well as a proposal that would have sold her to America in exchange for war supplies, it was decided she would be best suited to serve as a transport ship - shuttling scores of necessary military personnel from the countries distant colonies to the besieged homefront.

Having decided on her exact role, and with the war ever intensifying, her engine installation was hastily completed and preparations made for sea trials. Her interiors not complete, she left her fitting out basin with sealed orders under the command of Captain John Townley. The preparation for sea trials was a brilliant deception campaign to foil saboteurs and Nazi bombers. Leading many to believe that she was bound for the drydock in Southampton to undergo final outfitting, she was in fact being prepared for a much more daunting and daring task. Having completed preliminary sea trials, the crew aboard Queen Elizabeth were told the day of sailing that a secret and dangerous mission was soon to come, and the opportunity to leave the ship was granted. Fewer than thirty crew members chose to leave. On 3 March 1940 with a crew of 398, Queen Elizabeth headed to sea. Once at sea, Captain Townley opened the sealed orders, which directed him to sail the Queen Elizabeth to New York. There she would be safe from Nazi saboteurs and the bombs of Hitler's luftwaffe.

Having survived the daring and mad four day dash across the Atlantic, Queen Elizabeth created a media sensation following her arrival in New York City on 7 March. The attention was short lived as shortly thereafter, on 20 March, Mauretania slipped out of the city, followed a day later by Queen Mary. Queen Elizabeth was moved to the nearby Todd Shipyards at Hoboken, where her interiors were completed. In November 1940, she sailed to Singapore where defensive armaments and berths were added to make her a large and speedy troop transport. Her trooping duties officially commenced on 13 November and would last through 1946. By 1942 she was certified to carry 15,000 troops, and she was on the Atlantic shuttle route, transporting American GI's to the warfront in Europe.

- SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

In perhaps what was a cleverly designed propaganda campaign, German Information Minister Josepf Goebbels announced on radio in November 1942 that the Queen Elizabeth had been torpedoed by U-704. While the liner reported stopping in the general area where the alleged incident occurred - a serious breech of security as the passenger cargo carried was deemed too essential to risk a potential torpedo attack while stopped on the high seas - no damage was ever sustained by the Queen. Such reports added to the mystique of both Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, and the nick name "Grey Ghost" was given to both as they always arrived at their destination unscathed as reports of their loss circulated among both friend and foe.

In October 1945, Queen Elizabeth completed her final troop repatriation voyage, and was returned to Cunard for civilian passenger duty. During the war she had carried over 750,000 troops and steamed some 500,000 miles. At the end of March 1946, Queen Elizabeth left for the Clyde where she was repainted in Cunard livery and her machinery was overhauled. By 17 June she was back at Southampton for interior refurbishment.

The maiden passenger voyage of Queen Elizabeth to New York was set for 16 October 1946. After speed trials and a visit by the Queen, accompanied by Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, Queen Elizabeth travelled to Southampton and set out on her maiden passenger voyage to New York. She had defied the fury of Hitlerism and survived the darkest hours of the world war and would become, together with her sister, one of the most popular and famous liners on the Atlantic route.

The aversion to all that was old and the attractiveness of modernity to 1960's society was a large factor in the demise of the transatlantic liners. Air travel, too, and it's imposing shadow of competition bore down onto the shipping companies, forcing them to find new ways to update their aging fleets image to the public.

By the early 1960's, both the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were both showing losses. The Jet airplanes were beginning to topple the Cunard Line in it's conquest of the North Atlantic run. For the first time in thirty years, the Line was faced with a fierce competitor.

By 1965, Cunard Line began plans for a liner that would soon replace the Queen Mary. The Queen Elizabeth was sent into drydock for major overhauls and updating that was intended to keep her on the Atlantic well into the mid 1970's and for a time be a running mate for the successor to the Queen Mary. The Queen Elizabeth was redecorated throughout with modern soft furnishings and given a new lido deck and stern outdoor swimming pool. Complete air conditioning was installed throughout the ship and more cabins were given private facilities.

After the refit, the Queen Elizabeth continued in a dual role. While still crossing the Atlantic, she would also embark on cruises in between trips to and from England. Even with her new deployment, the ship was still beginning to amass enormous losses.

In 1968, the Cunard house flag was lowered aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth. Sold to the highest bidder, she was berthed in the still undeveloped Port Everglades in Florida for use as a floating hotel, museum, and convention center. Sadly, after two years, attendance grew increasingly poor and the ship was again in financial difficulties. The ship began to suffer under money-poor conditions and quickly began to deteriorate in the harsh Floridian weather.

In 1970, the ship was sold at auction to her final owner Mr. C. Y. Tung, a Taiwanese shipping tycoon. Renamed 'Seawise University' the ship was to be converted for use as a mobile university, a learning center that toured the world. The ship was laid up in Florida for a time to repair damage to her boilers and engines, for water had intruded during her time at Port Everglades. The ship was to sail under her own power the complete voyage to Hong Kong where she would undergo her transition from Liner to University. The voyage from Florida to Hong Kong was plagued with difficulties and massive mechanical failures. The ship that defied German bombers on her secret dash to New York during World War II, was now limping pathetically to her new home in foreign waters.

In Hong Kong, thousands of laborers descended upon the Queen Elizabeth to carry out the task of converting the ship. The ship was stripped down and built back up. Modern equipment was installed to ensure safety at sea, and certain areas of the ship were given a decidedly 'oriental' decor.

On January 9, 1972, the ship was still in Hong Kong harbor and nearing completion. She was scheduled to sail for Japan soon for a dry-docking and then onwards to her maiden voyage. But such was not to be. The whole of Hong Kong was awakened that day the massive funeral pyre of the Cunard Line's greatest achievement. The Queen Elizabeth, now Seawise University, was quickly ablaze from stem to stern as suspicious fires broke out throughout the ship. Fireboats quickly arrived to attempt salvation, but by this time it was to be a losing battle.

With the Elizabeth's fire suppression systems still incomplete and inoperative, there was little to keep the flames from engulfing her luxurious wooden interiors. The decks and passageways which once played host to the likes of Winston Churchill and HM Queen Elizabeth, were now engulfed and consumed by the raging fire. The ship's metal superstructure melted and caved in on itself as she began to slowly capsize from the massive amounts of water being pumped aboard her by the frenzied fireboats. There was little to do but wait for the end to come.

Today, there is little to remember the RMS Queen Elizabeth. Certainly ephemeral remains are scattered about the world in items and photographs but the existence and experience of the ship itself, remains only in the fading memories of her alumni passengers and crews. Their anecdotal stories bring to life a bit of her illustrious past and give a brief glimpse into the character and personality of life aboard.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 now carries on the tradition left behind by the Cunarders of old. One can now find aboard the QE2, a storyline of artifacts and paintings of the Queen Elizabeth. Pieces of her artwork adorn the interiors and even crew members still remain in service aboard the new ship. It is reassuring that at the end of the twentieth century, the memory of what was indisputably one of the most indelible transatlantic liners has not faded from being.