In the early 1950s the Cunard Line started to consider options for replacements for the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Although popular and successful the Queens were built as North Atlantic express liners and with the advent of affordable air travel passenger numbers on the express run between Europe and North America were falling. Their replacement, the Q3, was expected to a vessel of around 75,000 gross tonnage. Instead, after consideration of the changing market, Cunard revised the plans realising a smaller, more efficient vessel, capable of traversing the Panama and Suez Canals and so able to undertake cruises, and able to cross the North Atlantic would be much more viable. So the Q4 was born.
The construction of the Q4 was put out to tender which was won by John Brown and Company, later to be incorporated into the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders. Designated year number 736, the keel of the new vessel was laid on 5 July 1965. The John Brown shipyard had built her predecessors, the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. On 20 September 1967 the Q4 was launched by Her Majesty Queen Eliabeth II. The vessel was christened Queen Elizabeth 2. Following her launch the new ship was fitted out with her boilers and steam turbines and the passenger accomodation installed, which was completed by 19 November 1968. Externally her white and black funnel was a marked departure from Cunard's traditional colours.
On 2 May 1969 the QE2 sailed from Southampton to New York on her maiden voyage, carrying 1,400 passengers, arriving in New York on 7 May. On 9 January 1971, whilst in the West Indies, she rescued passengers from the French Line's Antilles which caught fire after hitting a reef. Dramatically, on 17 May 1972, Cunard received a bomb-threat and ransom demand. A bomb disposal was dropped to the ship 1,000 miles from land. It was discovered to be a hoax and the culprit was subsequently caught by the FBI. Later in 1972 the first set of penthouses were installed aft of the bridge in Southampton by Vosper Thorneycroft; more were added again in 1977 by Bethlehem Steel of Bayonne, New Jersey.
Following the outbreak of the Falkland's War in April 1982 the QE2 was requisitioned by the Government and served as a troop ship (see Key Events). She returned to commercial service in August 1982. Her external appearance was very different, her hull pebble-grey and her funnel repainted in Cunard red and black with two horizontal black lines. Between October 1986 and April 1987 she was converted to diesel-electric propulsion by Lloyd-Werft of Bremerhaven, Germany (see QE2 Key Events). She emerged sporting a "fatter" funnel and a further eight penthouses, installed on the Signal Deck. Two minor refits took place in 1990 and 1992 followed in 1994 by a much-publicised larger, troubled refit by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg.
Into the 1990s the QE2 continued to serve as the flagship of the Cunard Line. She was again refitted in Southampton between November and December 1996 and, following the takeover of Cunard by the Carnival Corporation, at Bremerhaven between November and December 1999. In 2004 Cunard's new Queen Mary 2 became flagship of the fleet and took over much of the transatlantic voyages, the QE2 reverting primarily to cruising. By September 2005 the QE2 became the longest serving Cunarder in history. On 18 June 2007 Cunard announces to sale of the QE2 to Dubai (see Key Events). On 11 November 2008, after her farwell transatlantic and Round Britain voyages, the QE2 left Southampton for the last time.
On 2 April 1982 Argentinian forces invaded the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, the culmination of a dispute over the sovereignty of the Islands. Despite diplomatic efforts led by the United Nations for a withdrawl by Argentinian forces the British Government send an naval and aerial taskforce to retake the Islands, along with South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands which had also been occupied by Argentinian forces.
On 3 May 1982 the British Government requisitioned the QE2 along with another Cunard vessel, the Cunard Countess. In just nine days the QE2 was converted to a troop ship by the Woolston yard of Vosper Thornycroft; many of her fixtures and fittings were removed and her remaining interiors protected as much as possible. Externally refuelling equipment was fitted and two helipads were constructed on the forward deck and over the stern as the QE2's aluminium superstructure was not strong enough to bear the weight of military helicopters.
Some 650 members Cunard officers including her captain, Captain Peter Jackson, and crew volunteered to sail with the task force to the South Atlantic. She sailed from Southampton on 12 May 1982, calling at Freetown in Sierra Leone and Ascension Island for refuelling before arriving at South Georgia on 27 May. The 3,000 members of the Fifth Infantry Brigade transferred to P&O's Canberra for the final 1,500 miles to the Falklands.
Surviviors of the HMS Coventry, HMS Antelope and HMS Ardent were embarked for the 6,976 mile journey back home. The QE2 arrived safely in home waters on 11 June 1982 to be greated by the Royal Yacht Britannia. As she arrived into Southampton the sound of QE2's horn reveberated in the air poignantly marking an emotional moment for the surviviors and their families on the dockside, tears of joy for their safe return tinged with sadness for the forty-four miltary personnel who lost their lives aboard the Coventry, Antelope and Ardent.
After her launch in September 1967 the QE2 was fitted out. She was equipped with two steam turbines designed by Pametrada and built by John Brown, each capable of producing 110,000hp. This configuration saw steam was fed to the turbines by three Foster Wheeler ESD 11 design boilers, also built by John Brown. Each boiler was capable of producing 310,000 lbs of steam per hour. The Pametrada turbines provided the QE2 with a service speed of 28.5 knots.
The QE2 had suffered on-going problems with her steam turbines, notably during her sea trials and following her return to service after the Falklands War. Her steam turbines had powered the QE2 2,622,858 nautical miles but they were nearing the end of their life and were proving uneconomical to run and increasingly difficuly to maintain. Cunard embarked on the most ambitious marine re-engineering project to date, converting the QE2 to diesel-electric propulsion. The QE2 sailed to the Lloyd-Werft Shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany, arriving on 27 October 1986, the last steam-powered Atlantic liner.
Dramatically, her funnel was removed to allow some 4,500 tons of machnery to be ripped out. In their place nine MAN B&W 9L 58/64 four-stroke Diesel engines were installed along with nine exhaust gas and two oil-fired boilers. Two mammoth GEC 44 Holland MW Motors were installed, connected to each of the QE2's propellers by a 230ft long shaft. To accomodate the exhaust pipes from her new engines her funnel was enlarged. At the same time key passenger areas of the ship were upgraded, her fixed-pitch propellers were replaced with variable-pitch propellers and the exterior of the ship repainted.
The QE2 emerged on 25 April 1987 rejuvenated after a refit lasting 179 days. Her new engines were capable of 32 knots at full speed and 19 knots full astern, faster than the 18 knot normal crusing speed of Cunard's Queen Victoria. This made her the fastest and most powerful passenger ship in service. With the retirement of the QE2, as with that of Concorde, the world took a backwards step, there is nothing to match them; they remain unsurpassed.
On 18 June 2007 Cunard announced the sale of the QE2 to Istithmar, the investment arm of Dubai World, owned by the Government of Dubai. Plans would see the QE2 berthed at a specially-constructed pier at the Palm Jumeirah Island and operated by Nakheel on behalf of Istithmar. At the time it was also announced that key areas of the ship would be preserved and others restored to their original 1960s decor and a pier-side museum built, containing the QE2's Cunard memorabilia. However, controversially her funnel would be removed and replaced with a glass structure.
Following the announcement from Cunard scheduled a series of farewell voyages, most notably a Round Britain Farewell Cruise and a final west-bound and east-bound transatlantic crossing. Her final voyage, on 11 November 2008, would see her call at Lisbon, Gibraltar, Civitavecchia, Naples, Malta, Alexandria en route to Dubai. Her final voyages were very popular with past passengers and those seeking to experience a voyage aboard the QE2 before her retirement.
On her final arrival into Southampton she briefly ran aground off the Brambles sandback off Calshot delaying her arrival. During the day pleasure craft carried passengers alongside and crowds gathered at every vantage point. As 11 November is Remembrance Day, at 11am, two vintage aircraft dropped a million red poppies above the ship. Later, just before 2:45pm, to commemorate her role in The Falklands War, a Harrier jet carried out an emotional flypast.
In the evening hundreds of boats of all sizes took to Southampton Water. At around 7.15pm the QE2 cast off for the last time. Aided by tugs she slowly made her way astern towards Mayflower Park. Just after 9.30pm a magnificent fireworks display illuminated the sky, silhouetting the QE2 against the night's sky, her horn echoing in the night's sky. Then, accompanied by the flotilla of small boats, she slowly sailed down Southampton Water. The final ships turned back for Southampton around 11pm as the QE2 disappeared from sight, gone from her home-port forever.
- 1964
30 Dec 1964 - Cunard and John Brown sign contract to build the QE2. - 1965
5 Jul 1965 - keel laid at the John Brown shipyard on Clydebank. - 1967
20 Sep 1967 - the hull of the QE2 is launched by HM Queen. - 1968
19 Nov 1968 - begins sea trials in the Irish Sea. - 1969
2 May 1969 - maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. - 1969
7 May 1969 - makes her maiden arrival in New York. - 1971
9 Jan 1971 - rescues passengers from blazing cruise liner Antilles. - 1972
17 May 1972 - suffers bomb hoax during Atlantic crossing. - 1973
14 Apr 1973 - sails to Israel to commemorate its 25th anniversary. - 1975
25 Feb 1975 - becomes the largest ship to transit the Panama Canal. - 1975
4 Dec 1975 - completes one million miles travelled since entering service. - 1980
7 Mar 1980 - completes her first transit of the Suez Canal. - 1982
12 May 1982 - sails as part of the naval taskforce to the Falklands. - 1982
11 Jun 1982 - returns to Southampton from the Falklands. - 1986
27 Oct 1986 - start of conversion from steam to diesel power. - 1987
29 Apr 1987 - first diesel-powered crossing to New York. - 1990
22 Jul 1990 - commemorates 150th anniversary of the Cunard Line. - 1992
7 Aug 1992 - badly damaged in grounding off Martha's Vineyard. - 1994
6 Jun 1994 - participates in 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings. - 1995
14 Jun 1995 - begins her 1000th voyage, departing New York. - 1995
10 Sep 1995 - encounters Hurricane Luis experiencing 130 mph winds. - 1996
2 Jan 1996 - exceeds 4 million nautical miles. - 1997
20 Sep 1997 - celebrates 30th anniversary of her launch. - 1998
29 Mar 1998 - carries South African president Nelson Mandela on voyage. - 1999
3 May 1999 - marks 65th anniversary of maiden voyage of Queen Mary. - 1999
13 Jun 1999 - marks the equivalent of twenty years steaming. - 2002
29 Aug 2002 - first vessel to exceed 5 million nautical miles. - 2004
5 Nov 2004 - becomes Cunard's longest serving express liner. - 2005
4 Sep 2005 - succeeds the Scythia as the longest serving Cunarder. - 2007
18 Jun 2007 - Cunard announces to sale of the QE2 to Dubai's Nakheel. - 2008
3 Oct 2008 - commences Farewell Round Britain cruise. - 2008
11 Nov 2008 - final voyage from Southampton into retirement. - 2008
26 Nov 2008 - arrives in Dubai, completing her final voyage. - 2008
27 Nov 2008 - ownership transferred to Nakheel. - 2009
26 Nov 2009 - marks first anniversary of her arrival in Dubai.
After the sale of the QE2 to Nakheel press stories reported the QE2 would be transformed; key parts of the ship restored, her cabins completed refitted and, controversially, her iconic funnel replaced. The global recession appears to have stalled these plans and she now seems destined to move to Cape Town to serve as a floating hotel for the duration of the 2010 Football World Cup.
Despite the succession of larger, newer ships that have succeeded the QE2 the warmth and affection of people around the world towards her remains undiminished and unchallenged. She is a special ship. To those privileged to have worked aboard or sailed as passengers, to her many admirers she has a soul, a heart. To them she will always be the greatest liner in the world.
