RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth at Cherbourg, France, in 1966
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| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name: |
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| Namesake: | HM Queen Elizabeth, consort of King George VI, The Queen Mother |
| Owner: |
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| Port of registry: |
Liverpool (1940–1968) Nassau (1970–1972) |
| Route: | Transatlantic |
| Ordered: | 6 October 1936 |
| Builder: |
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| Yard number: | Hull 552 |
| Way number: | 4 |
| Laid down: | 4 December 1936 |
| Launched: | 27 September 1938 |
| Christened: | 27 September 1938 |
| Maiden voyage: | 3 March 1940 |
| Identification: | Radio Callsign GBSS |
| Fate: | Fire-damaged and partially dismantled, vessel's remains covered over on seabed in Hong Kong Harbour in 1975 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage: | 83,673 GRT |
| Displacement: | 83,000+ tons |
| Length: | 1,031 ft (314.2 m) |
| Beam: | 118 ft (36.0 m) |
| Height: | 233 ft (71.0 m) |
| Draught: | 38 ft (11.6 m) |
| Installed power: | 12 × Yarrow boilers |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 28.5 kn (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph) (service) |
| Capacity: | 2,283 passengers |
| Crew: | 1,000+ crew |
Liverpool (1940–1968)
RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. With her sister ship Queen Mary she provided luxury liner service between Southampton in the United Kingdom and New York City in the United States, via Cherbourg in France. She was also contracted for over 20 years to carry the Royal Mail thus enabling her to carry the prestigious Royal Mail Ship (RMS) designation, as the second half of the two ships' weekly express service.
While being constructed in the mid-1930s by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, she was known as Hull 552 but when launched, on 27 September 1938, she was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth, who was then Queen Consort to King George VI and in 1952 became the Queen Mother. With a design that improved upon that of Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth was a slightly larger ship, the largest passenger liner ever built at that time and for 56 years thereafter. She also has the distinction of being the largest-ever riveted ship by gross tonnage. She first entered service in February 1940 as a troopship in World War II, and it was not until October 1946 that she served in her intended role as an ocean liner.
With the decline in the popularity of the transatlantic route, both ships were replaced by the smaller, more economical Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969. Queen Mary was retired from service on 9 December 1967, and was sold to the city of Long Beach, California, US. Queen Elizabeth was sold to a succession of buyers, most of whom had adventurous and unsuccessful plans for her. Finally she was sold to a Hong Kong businessman, Tung Chao Yung, who intended to convert her into a floating university cruise ship. In 1972, while undergoing refurbishment in Hong Kong harbour, she caught fire under mysterious circumstances and was capsized by the water used to fight the fire. In 1973, her wreck was deemed an obstruction, and she was partially scrapped where she lay.
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