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.
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.
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-boat s, 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.
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.
'' after a fire.]]
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. 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 sank on January 9 , 1972 . The wreckage was scrapped on the spot in 1975 , before the project could ever be truly realised.
The wreck is briefly shown and commented on in the 1974 James Bond movie '' The Man With The Golden Gun '', where James Bond, traveling from Macao to Hong Kong by Hydrofoil , passes nearby. Bond is later taken to a secret MI6 headquarters located within the wreck.
- 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'' was 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 was 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 perchased 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 would 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 of 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 , 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.
- 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.
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