Queen Elizabeth 2

As early as 1958, Cunard was discussing the possibility of replacing their ageing Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth with two new liners. A Government Committee was set up to discus the economic viability of the project. In the end, it was decided only one 75,000 tonne liner would be built under what was known as the ‘Q3 Project’ and she would be ready for service in 1966.
In 1963, the plans were altered slightly to allow for a slightly smaller liner to allow for sailing through the Panama and Suez Canels and the ability to cruise as well. John Brown & Co., the same firm to build the original Queen’s, Lusitania, Aquitania and many other famous Cunard liners, won the tenders for building and at a ceremony on July 5th, 1965 the keel plate was laid.
The project, renamed Q4 was designed to have the ship in service by May 1968. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II christened the ship at the launching ceremony on September 20th and announced her name to be Queen Elizabeth 2. The ship was moved to a drydock in Greenock on November 19th and was fitted in preparation for her sea trials.
Due to many technical problems arising, Cunard refused to accept the Queen Elizabeth 2 after her sea trials, sending her back in disgrace to John Brown. When then finally did receive her, her maiden voyage set for May 2nd, 1969, a full year after it was first anticipated. Thankfully though, her maiden voyage and subsequent first year in service was extremely profitable, even though air travel was taking over, and in the first year, Cunard was able to pay off over Ł2.5 million of the Government’s loan virtually immediately.
QE2, as she was and still is affectionately known had her first dramatic encounter with dangers at sea in January 1971 when she received an SOS from the French liner Antilles. She had run aground near Mustique in the Caribbean and leaking oil and fuel inside had caught fire. When the Queen Elizabeth 2 arrived, Antilles was an inferno with her passengers put off in lifeboats. Queen Elizabeth 2 and two other French liners took onboard the passengers that night, and while they were being unloaded at Barbados, the Antilles capsized and sank.
While on a Transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton on the 17th of May 1972, the captain was alerted to a message from a bomber saying that he had hidden an explosive aboard that was timed to go off during the voyage. The ship’s crew searched but nothing was found, so a bomb disposal unit parachuted into the water nearby to search. In the end, the threat was no more than a hoax. The perpetrator was arrested and imprisoned by police, and the bomb disposal unit was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct.
By 1974, Queen Elizabeth 2 was operating profitably as the cruising business expanded, but on April 1st that year while cruising from New York to San Juan, technical problems overcame the ship and the propulsion system shut down. It wasn’t until April 3rd that the Sea Venture came through and took off the passengers while tugs towed the Queen to Bermuda. The repairs that followed meant that the Easter cruise, always a popular affair, had to be cancelled.
The next few years held less Transatlantic voyages and more cruises for the Queen, but on May 3rd, 1982, all that would change and the Queen Elizabeth 2 would join the ranks with many of her cousins by serving Britain in war. When the Falklands were invaded on April 2nd that year, the Queen was headed to New York. On her return to Southampton, she was fitted with more modern communication systems and a helicopter flight deck before heading into the conflict with many troops aboard along with the liner Canberra. Queen Elizabeth 2 never did actually get too involved with the fighting, the thought of losing the ship that bore the name of the sovereign was not one worth considering, and the ship that did much of the more dangerous work was Canberra, as one historian said that it didn’t matter what happened to her ‘as she was only named after the capital of Australia.’ After disembarking her troops and taking on survivors from the HMS Ardent which had been attacked, she headed north again to Southampton before enemy planes could seek her out. On her return on June 11th, work began almost immediately to return her to regular service.
The ship began to develop boiler problems in November 1983, which resulted in the cancellation of a cruise. The following April she ran aground near Athens, and despite being damaged, repairs were swift. October that year held a complete loss of power disabling the ship for two days. It was decided that to increase efficiency, she would be fitted with diesel engines. Lloyd Wrefte in Bremmerhaven undertook this task, refitting the propellers and equipment and placing 9 diesel boilers in the hull. In a matter of 6 months from November 1983 to April 1984, the ship was extensively refitted in her passenger accommodations too. She was returned to service in April after trials in the North Sea.
Today, the Queen Elizabeth 2 remains in service, awaiting patiently the completion of her new runningmate, the Queen Mary 2. After 2004, the Queen will no longer be making Atlantic voyages and instead be relegated to cruising. Whatever the future holds for the Queen Elizabeth 2, we will watch with interest.