Service timeline
1969
2 May 1969 - The QE2 begins her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York at 12:45pm.
1969
7 May 1969 - The QE2 makes her maiden arrival in New York, accompanied by hundreds of small boats.
1970
23 Mar 1970 - The QE2 welcomes her 75,000th passenger aboard after less than one year in service.
1971
9 Jan 1971 - The QE2 goes to the aid of the French Line cruise liner Antilles (1953) which was on fire.
1971
30 Jun 1971 - The QE2 and the Cunard Line is purchased by the Trafalgar House conglomerate.
1972
17 May 1972 - The QE2 is subject to a bomb hoax and $350,000 ransom demand during an Atlantic crossing.
1973
14 Apr 1973 - The QE2 sails under tight security to Israel to mark the 25th anniversary of the state.
1975
25 Feb 1975 - The QE2 becomes the largest ship and first Cunard Queen to transit the Panama Canal.
1975
4 Dec 1975 - The QE2 sails one million nautical miles since entering service 6 ½ years earlier.
1978
24 Feb 1978 - The QE2 makes her maiden visit to Australia calling at Sydney, berthing at Circular Quay.
1980
7 Mar 1980 - The QE2 makes her first transit of the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
1982
3 May 1982 - The QE2 is requisitioned to serve as a troopship during the Falklands War.
1982
12 May 1982 - The QE2 sails as part of the naval taskforce to the Falklands Islands in the South Atlantic.
1982
11 Jun 1982 - The QE2 makes a triumphant returns to Southampton from the Falkland Islands.
1982
7 Aug 1982 - The QE2 is painted with a light-grey hull, a shortlived and unsuccessful experiment.
1986
27 Oct 1986 - The QE2 is dry-docked to begin the conversion from steam to diesel power generation.
1987
25 Apr 1987 - The QE2's conversion from steam to diesel propulsion is completed at Bremerhaven.
1987
29 Apr 1987 - The QE2 makes her first crossing to New York since her conversion to diesel propulsion.
1990
22 Jul 1990 - The QE2 completes her fastest diesel-propelled transatlantic crossing, averaging 30.16 knots.
1990
22 Jul 1990 - The QE2 takes part in celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the Cunard Line.
1990
24 Jul 1990 - The QE2 makes her maiden arrival into Liverpool, the home town of the Cunard Line.
1990
9 Aug 1990 - The QE2 completes her 500th transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York.
1992
7 Aug 1992 - The QE2 badly damages her hull as she hits rocks off Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
1994
6 Jun 1994 - The QE2 participates in 50th anniversary commemorations of the D-Day landings.
1995
14 Jun 1995 - The QE2 marks a special milestone as she begins her 1000th voyage, departing New York.
1995
10 Sep 1995 - The QE2 encounters Hurricane Luis experiencing 130 mph winds and 90 ft waves.
1996
2 Jan 1996 - The QE2 exceeds 4 million nautical miles at sea, in just short of three decades service.
1997
20 Sep 1997 - The QE2 celebrates the 30th anniversary of her launch by Her Majesty the Queen.
1998
29 Mar 1998 - The QE2 carries South African president Nelson Mandela on an historic voyage.
1999
27 Feb 1999 - The QE2's first captain Commodore William 'Bil' Warwick passes away at the age 86.
1999
3 May 1999 - The QE2 joins celebrations marks 65th anniversary of maiden voyage of Queen Mary.
1999
13 Jun 1999 - The QE2 reaches the milestone marking the equivalent of twenty years steaming at sea.
2001
4 Oct 2001 - The QE2's master, Captain Warwick, conducts the first marriage aboard the QE2.
2002
8 Jan 2002 - The QE2 is the first passenger ship to call at New York following the 9/11 attacks.
2002
20 Feb 2002 - The QE2 resumes her famous transatlantic partnership with British Airways and Concorde.
2002
29 Aug 2002 - The QE2 becomes the first merchant vessel to exceed 5 million nautical miles at sea.
2003
24 Oct 2003 - The QE2 and Concorde pass in mid-Atlantic for the last time before Concorde is retired.
2004
5 Nov 2004 - The QE2 becomes Cunard's longest serving express liner, passing the RMS Aquitania.
2005
4 Sep 2005 - The QE2 succeeds the RMS Scythia (1920 - 1958) as the longest serving Cunarder.