In the event, the Cunarder Queen, which was named after Queen Elizabeth, wife of the reigning King, George VI, eluded all marauding aircraft, submarines and other enemy vessels then prowling the Atlantic for prey. She arrived safely on March 7, 1940, to be greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of ten thousand New Yorkers.
The “Queen Elizabeth”, a Sight to See
The “Queen Elizabeth” was a sight worth waiting to see. At 1,031 ft.long , with a gross tonnage of 82,998, she was the largest ship in the world at the time. Like her sister ship, the “Queen Mary” (Queens of the Atlantic: The Cunard Liner “Queen Mary”), she was powered by sixteen steam turbines and driven by quadruple screws.
The “Queen Elizabeth”, however, was more elegant, since she possessed a greater area of clear deck than the “Queen Mary” and only two funnels: the third had been made redundant by the technical improvements which reduced “Queen Mary’s” twenty-four boilers to twelve on the “Queen Elizabeth.”
Statistically, the new Cunarder could boast some impressive figures. She possessed four thousand miles of wiring. Each of her propellers weighed 32 tons and measured 18ft. in diameter, and her two power stations could produce sufficient energy to light a town with three hundred thousand 30-watt lamps.
The “Queen Elizabeth” in World War Two
“Queen Elizabeth” had been intended as a super-luxury passenger liner, but the intervention of war made her first of all a troopship. During Britain’s six year involvement in World War Two, she transported twenty thousand troops at one time between Australia, New Zealand, Malaya, India and Africa.
After the United States entered the war in December 1941, “Queen Elizabeth” was transferred to the Atlantic run, transporting thousands of American soldiers to Britain. By the time her wartime service finished, on March 6, 1946, “Queen Elizabeth” had carried 811,234 men over nearly 500,000 miles.
A Luxury Liner after the War
With the end of the war, the Cunarder Queen returned to Clydebank in Scotland, where she was stripped of her troopship trappings and wartime camouflage. By October 1946, she had been transformed into a luxury liner with 823-first class, 662 cabin-class and 798 tourist-class cabins and on October 16, she left Southampton for New York on her first “civilian” Atlantic crossing.
On board were 2,288 passengers, many of whom had waited eight years for the experience. They had booked their passages at the time of “Queen Elizabeth’s” launch on September 27, 1938. The send-off the Cunarder received on this second maiden voyage more than made up for the furtive nature of the first.
A Triumphant Arrival in New York
As she sailed down the English Channel towards the Atlantic, every other ship that spotted her, from warships to motor launches, paddle steamers to tugs, whistled out a salute. Every aircraft that sighted the “Queen Elizabeth” circled the great ship in greeting.
When she arrived in New York, after crossing the Atlantic in four days, sixteen hours and 27 minutes at an average speed of 30.14 knots, the welcome was hardly less boisterous.
Fire-floats sprayed great banks of water, and the usual noisy chorus of greeting whistles sounded out from every ship in the harbor.
For this joyous occasion, the “Queen Elizabeth” was dressed overall. She remained in New York for four days, during which time she was toured by ten thousand sightseers.
Time takes its Toll
In the years that followed, “Queen Elizabeth” became one of Britain’s greatest dollar earners, topping the popularity poll among Americans and others who journeyed to Europe by sea.
Inevitably, though, time gave the “Queen Elizabeth” a rather old-fashioned look and it became increasingly obvious that the largest liner in the world was no longer the most up-to-date, either visually or in the facilities she offered.
In 1963, the “Queen Elizabeth” began a new career as a cruise liner. That was comparatively brief, though, for she was soon sold to the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida in order to offset losses in running costs.
Fort Lauderdale, which acquired the “Queen Elizabeth” on April 5, 1968, converted her into a hotel and night club. The venture was not a success, however, and in 1970, the Cunarder was sold again, this timeto serve as a floating university.
Disaster in Hong Kong Harbor
Then, on January 9, 1972, the “Queen Elizabeth” caught fire at anchor in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong while awaiting renovations. She sank, a burned-out wreck, at noon next day.
It was an ignominious and saddening end for a great ship that had carried 2,300,000 passengers during 907 Atlantic crossings. Regret at her loss was universal, even among those who had never even seen her.
For the “Queen Elizabeth” was one of those vessels which, in the strange way some ships have, attract affection and admiration and afterwards acquire their own charisma.
Sources
- Williams, David L. Cunard's Legendary Queens of the Sea (Hersham Surrey, UK: Ian Allen Publishing, 2005)(Hardcover - Sep 2005) ISBN-10: 0711029934/ISBN-13: 978-0711029934
- Harding, Stephen : Great Liners at War (Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Tempus Publishing, 2008) ISBN-10: 0752442317/ISBN-13: 978-0752442310.
- TGOL - Queen Elizabeth - The Great Ocean Liners
Brenda Ralph Lewis - My interest in history dates from childhood. I am presently the author of 120 books and hundreds of articles, all on historical ...
