Look at Life - Shopping for a Queen - RMS Queen Elizabeth 1959

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Look at Life - Shopping for a Queen - RMS Queen Elizabeth 1959 From the Look at Life Volume One - Transport series.

The video shows the RMS Queen Elizabeth arriving at Southampton and the task involved in replenishing the stores of this 83,000 tonne cruise liner in 1959.

The RMS Queen Elizabeth was launched in 1938 and made her maiden voyage in 1946.
She was a troopship during the 2nd World War. Her high speed allowed her to outrun hazards, principally German U-Boats, usually allowing her to travel outside a convoy. During her war service as a troopship, Queen Elizabeth carried more than 750,000 troops and sailed about 500,000 miles.

Following the 2nd World War, she was refitted and furnished as an ocean liner. Together with Queen Mary and in competition with the American liners SS United States and SS America, Queen Elizabeth dominated the transatlantic passenger trade until their fortunes began to decline with the advent of the faster and more economical jet airliner in the 1950s. As passenger numbers declined, the liners became uneconomical to operate in the face of rising fuel and labour costs. For a short time, Queen Elizabeth attempted a dual role in order to become more profitable; when not plying her usual transatlantic route, which she now alternated in her sailings with the French Line's SS France, the ship cruised between New York and Nassau. For this new tropical purpose, the ship received a major refit in 1965, with a new Lido deck added to her aft section, enhanced air conditioning, and an outdoor swimming pool. With these improvements, Cunard intended to keep the ship in operation until at least the mid-1970s. However, the strategy did not prove successful, owing to the ship's deep draught, which prevented her from entering various island ports, her width, which prevented her from using the Panama Canal, and also her high fuel costs.
Cunard retired Queen Elizabeth in 1969 and replaced her with a smaller ship - the more economical Queen Elizabeth 2.

In 1968, Queen Elizabeth was sold to a group of American businessmen from a company called The Queen Corporation (which was 85% owned by Cunard and 15% by them). The new company intended to operate the ship as a hotel and tourist attraction in Port Everglades, Florida, similar to the planned use of Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Elizabeth, as she was now called, opened to tourists but it was not to last. The climate of Southern Florida was much harder on Queen Elizabeth. The ship was forced to close after losing money and being declared a fire hazard. The vessel was sold at auction in 1970 to Hong Kong tycoon Tung Chao Yung.

Tung, the head of Orient Overseas Line, intended to convert the vessel into a university for the World Campus Afloat program. The ship was renamed Seawise University. It took several months to sail from Florida to Hong Kong due to problems the the ship's engines. With the £5 million conversion nearing completion, the vessel caught fire on 9 January 1972. The ship was completely destroyed by the fire, and the water sprayed on her by fireboats caused the burnt wreck to sink in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.
The wreck was featured in the 1974 James Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun" as a covert headquarters for MI6. Q's labs also are in the wreckage of this ship.

General Information

Owner - 1939-49 - Cunard White Star line
1949-68 - Cunard Line
1968-70 - The Queen Corporation
1970-72 - Orient Overseas Line
Port of Registry - Liverpool - (1940-1968)
Nassau - (1970-1972)
Builder - John Brown & Company - Clydebank Scotland
Length - 1031ft
Beam - 118ft
Height - 233ft
Draught - 39ft
Installed Power - 12 x Yarrow boilers
Propulsion - 4 x Parson single-reduction geared steam turbines
4 shafts, 150,000 kW
Speed - 28.5kts
Capacity - 2283 Passengers
Crew - 1000+

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