The Life of QE2 #qe2 #oceanliner #cruiseship #ship #shiplife #cunard #falklandswar #history

Launched: 20 September 1967 by Queen Elizabeth II Maiden Voyage: 2 May 1969 Decommissioned: 27 November 2008 Fate: Floating hotel & museum at Mina Rashid, Dubai Built by John Brown & Company in Scotland for the Cunard Line, she was operated as a transatlantic liner & cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She served as the flagship of the line from 1969 until she was succeeded by the Queen Mary 2 in 2004. Queen Elizabeth 2's maiden voyage (from Southampton to New York) commenced on 2 May 1969 taking 4 days, 16 hours & 35 minutes at an average speed of 28.02 knots. In 1971, she participated in the rescue of some 500 passengers from the burning French Line ship Antilles. On 3 May 1982, she was requisitioned by the British government for service as a troop carrier in the Falklands War. In preparation for war service, 2 helicopter pads were installed, the transformation of public lounges into dormitories, the installation of fuel pipes that ran through the ship down to the engine room to allow for refuelling at sea & the covering of carpets with 2,000 sheets of hardboard. During the voyage to the South Atlantic the ship was blacked out & the radar switched off to avoid detection, steaming on without modern aids. QE2 returned to the UK on 11 June 1982, where she was greeted in Southampton Water by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on board HMY Britannia. The ship underwent conversion back to passenger service, with her funnel being painted in the traditional Cunard orange with black stripes, during the refit the hull's exterior a decision was made to repaint the hull in a light pebble grey which was an unpopular decision, the ship returned to service on 7 August 1982. After multiple mechanical problems instead of replacing the QE2 with a newer vessel, Cunard decided that it was more prudent to simply make improvements to her. From 27 October 1986 to 25 April 1987, QE2 underwent one of her most significant refurbishments when she was converted by Lloyd Werft at their shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany from steam power to diesel. With this new propulsion system, QE2 was expected to serve another 20 years with Cunard. In 1993 the “Keeping Up Appearances” episode "Sea Fever” was filmed onboard with actual passengers as extras & actress Patricia Routledge said this was her favourite episode. On 11 September 1995, QE2 encountered a 27m rogue wave. On 29 August 2002, Queen Elizabeth 2 became the first merchant ship to sail more than 5 million nautical miles at sea. In 2004, Cunard's new flagship, Queen Mary 2 took over the transatlantic route while QE2 began full-time cruising. On 5 November 2004, Queen Elizabeth 2 became Cunard's longest serving express liner, surpassing RMS Aquitania's 35 years. On 18 June 2007, Cunard announced that QE2 had been bought by the Dubai investment company Istithmar for $100 million. QE2 completed her final Atlantic crossings in tandem with her successor, QM2. The ships departed for the final westbound crossing from Southampton on 10 October, sailing tandem & arriving in New York City one final time on 16 October. The Queen Mary 2 docked at the Brooklyn cruise terminal, while the QE2 docked in Manhattan. The two liners departed New York on 16 October for the final eastbound crossing, arriving in Southampton on 22 October. This marked the end of QE2's transatlantic voyages. QE2 was acquired by the private equity arm of Dubai World, which planned to begin conversion of the vessel to a 500-room floating hotel moored at the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai but due to the 2008 financial crisis, the ship was laid up at Dubai Drydocks and later Mina Rashid. In April 2018 the restored QE2 opened to visitors & today operates as a floating hotel in Dubai.