RMS Queen Elizabeth

RMS Queen Elizabeth was a steam-powered ocean liner of the Cunard Steamship Company. She first entered service as a troopship for World War II, and later served in her intended role as an ocean liner until her retirement in 1968.

Construction

The Queen Elizabeth was launched at the John Brown & Company shipyard at Clydebank, Scotland, on September 27, 1938, and retired from service in 1968. Queen Elizabeth was the largest passenger steamship ever constructed and held the record for the largest passenger ship of any kind until being surpassed in 1996 by the Carnival Destiny. The ship was named for Queen Elizabeth, the wife of King George VI of the United Kingdom and queen consort at the time it was built.

"The Breakout"

Having been launched only a year before the outbreak of World War II, the ship was still being fitted out at the start of the war. Because of her vulnerability to being bombed while still on the Clyde, it was decided that the ship should be moved. It was announced that she would sail for Southampton to complete fitting out. On March 3 1940, the Queen Elizabeth sailed - however, on opening his sealed orders, the ship's Master, Captain Townley, found he was to take the Queen Elizabeth to New York. At the time she was due in Southampton, the city was bombed by the Luftwaffe. On arrival in New York, the Queen Elizabeth found herself moored alongside her running mate Queen Mary and the Normandie, the only time all three of the world's biggest liners would be pictured together.

Troopship

Refitted for naval use in Singapore and Sydney, the Queen Elizabeth and its running mate, the R.M.S. Queen Mary, were used as troop transports during the war. Their high speeds allowed them to outrun hazards, foremostly German U-boats, allowing them to travel without a convoy. During its naval career, Queen Elizabeth carried more than 750,000 troops and sailed some 500,000 miles.

Liner

Following the end of the war, the Queen Elizabeth was able to be put to the use for which she was built; as part of Cunard's two ship, twice weekly service to New York. Together with the Queen Mary, and in competition with the SS United States they dominated the transatlantic passenger trade until their fortunes began to decline with the advent of the faster and more economical jet airliner in the mid 1950s. For a short time, the Queen Elizabeth served a dual role; when not plying its usual transatlantic route, it operated as a cruise ship travelling between New York and Nassau. Cunard retired both ships by 1969 and replaced them with a single, smaller ship, the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (the QE2). Although christened by Queen Elizabeth II, the QE2 was actually named after Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, queen consort of George VI of the United Kingdom, being the second ship to bear the name.

Final years

In 1968, the Queen Elizabeth was sold to a group of Philadelphia businessmen who intended to operate the ship as a hotel and tourist attraction (similar to the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California) in Port Everglades, Florida. Losing money and forced to close after being declared a fire hazard, it was sold in 1970 to Hong Kong tycoon C.Y. Tung.

Tung, head of the Orient Overseas Line, intended to convert the ship into a university for the World Campus Afloat program (later reformed and renamed as Semester at Sea). Following tradition of the Orient Overseas Line, the ship was renamed Seawise University, as a play on Tung's initials.

However, during the conversion, the vessel was gutted by a fire that broke out at different places onboard, believed to be arson, and toppled in shallow water on January 9, 1972. The wreckage was scrapped on the spot in 1974-1975, before the project could ever be truly realised.

The wreck was featured in the 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun, and was portayed in the film as a covert base of operations for the British secret service.

Timeline

January 31, 1968 – Cunard officially announces that the Queen Elizabeth will soon be retired.
April 16, 1968 – It is officially announced that the Queen Elizabeth will become a tourist attraction, similar to what became of the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. The Queen Elizabeth would be moored between piers 24 and 25 for approximately six months before being towed stern first to its final home along Ellen Drive, about a mile south of piers 24 and 25. This would be completed by January 1969 in Port Everglades of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
November 28, 1968 – The Queen Elizabeth departs Southampton on her last voyage to Port Everglades.
December 7, 1968 – The Queen Elizabeth arrives along the coast of Florida, but takes a tour along the coast of Florida so final preparations can be made for the piers at which the Queen Elizabeth will be moored.
December 8, 1968 – In the morning hours, the Queen Elizabeth arrives with great fanfare into Port Everglades. At 11:54AM EST, the Queen Elizabeth is completely settled into its temporary six month home between piers 24 and 25.
January 1969 – The Queen Elizabeth settles into its permanent home along a parking lot that runs parallel to Ellen Drive in Port Everglades.
February 14, 1969 – The Queen Elizabeth officially opens its doors to the public, incidentally on Valentine's Day.
May 1969 – Cunard, who still oversaw operations of the Queen Elizabeth in Port Everglades, becomes displeased with revenue and offers the Queen Elizabeth to the highest bidder to break even from debt.
July 19, 1969 – Cunard officially departs as the "parent" of the Queen Elizabeth, selling it to the group of men who originally oversaw the original founding of the Queen Elizabeth with Cunard in Port Everglades.
August 1969 – It is discovered that a security guard aboard the Queen Elizabeth set four fires during the month of August inside the ship to receive attention for discovering them. The small fires were all put out with little and easily reparable damage to the interior of the ship.
October 31, 1969 – A fifth fire is discovered and extinguished on the Queen Elizabeth.
November 11, 1969 – Port Everglades Fire Chief John Gerkin is shocked after touring the Queen Elizabeth with the poor safety measures taken by staff aboard the Queen Elizabeth, which could endanger the welfare of the ship, staff, and tour groups. Days later, he influences the closure of the Queen Elizabeth to the public.
December 1969 – The Queen Elizabeth reopens to the public.
Winter 1970 – The owners of the Queen Elizabeth are faced with a multitude of debt.
May 25, 1970 – Approximately 70 mph winds during a hurricane cause the Queen Elizabeth to snap her mooring lines and drift approximately one hundred feet into the Intracoastal Waterway before being warped back into her berth by Navy crews of nearby vessels.
September 9, 1970 – The Queen Elizabeth is put up for auction. Its owners are buried in debt.
September 16, 1970 – The Queen Elizabeth is opened for the last time to the public in Port Everglades.
September 17, 1970 – After being purchased by C.Y. Tung of Hong Kong, the Queen Elizabeth is officially closed to the public.
January 1, 1971 – After a change in ownership and in crew, the Queen Elizabeth is prepared for its journey to Hong Kong.
February 10, 1971 – The Queen Elizabeth, now renamed the Seawise University, departs Port Everglades for Hong Kong. The voyage will take six months due to mechanical problems on the ship.
August 1971 – The Seawise University arrives in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour and is docked in water outside the harbour's piers as it is converted into a floating university.
January 9, 1972 – After suffering the stress of water and fire that began earlier in the day on what is now believed to be arson and sabotage by the People's Republic of China, the Seawise University collapses onto its side in the afternoon.
1973 – Footage is filmed of the wreck of the Seawise University for the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun as the structure that houses the MI6 headquarters.
1974 – The Man with the Golden Gun debuts in theaters worldwide.
1975 – The Seawise University is scrapped on the spot.

References

Butler, D. A. (2002). Warrior Queens: The Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth in World War II (1st ed.). Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books.
Galbraith, R. (1988). Destiny's Daughter: The Tragedy of RMS Queen Elizabeth. Vermont: Trafalgar Square.

External links

Maritimematters.com: The ELIZABETH in Florida

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