QUEEN Elizabeth 2
No other liner has sailed more miles or carried more passengers than QUEEN Elizabeth 2. QE2 has her legendary history, but she also has her secrets that only she will know. This timeline helps to put into perspective a sense of her accomplishments, and hopefully a history that can be enriched with stories as time progresses.

QE2 TIMELINE

1964	30	Dec	Contract to build signed by Sir John Brocklebank, Chairman of Cunard, and Lord Aberconway, Chairman of John Brown.
1965	05	Jul	Successfully laid following failed attempt three days earlier.
1967	20	Sep	Launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the presence of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH Princess Margaret.
			The new ship is not named after the Queen but is simply the second ship to bear the name – hence the use of the Arabic numeral 2 instead of the Roman II which the Queen used.
1968	19	Nov	HRH Prince Charles sails on board from the ship yard in Clydebank to drydock in Greenock.
	26	Nov	Sea trials begin, which reveal engine problems.
	23	Dec	Main sea trials and 'shakedown' cruises commence in Greenock. Engine problems develop off the Canary Islands.
1969	02	Jan	Arrives in Southampton for the first time. Six sailings, including the proposed Maiden Voyage, cancelled.
	18	Apr	Cunard formally accepts delivery of the ship.
	22	Apr	Officially enters commercial service with a mini-cruise to the Canary Islands.
	01	May	HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visit at Southampton.
	02	May	Maiden Transatlantic Voyage to New York.
	07	May	Arrives in New York to a tumultuous welcome; Mayor John Lindsay greets the ship.
	29	May	HRH The Duke of Edinburgh again visits in Southampton.
1970	23	Mar	Welcomes her 75,000 Passenger.
		Jun	Crosses Atlantic westbound in a record time of 3 days, 20 hours, 42 minutes, with an average speed of 30.62 knots.
		Oct	Departs on her first long voyage:- 37 days to North America, Africa and South America.
1971	09	Jan	Rescues 501 passengers and crew from the burning French Line cruise ship Antilles in the Grenadines and lands them in Barbados.
	05	Mar	Suffers breakdown for four hours off Trinidad as a result of Jellyfish being sucked into intakes.
	30	Jun	Trafalgar House purchases Cunard and QE2 for £27.3 million.
1972	23	Apr	Arrives 36 hours late in Southampton following one of the worst North Atlantic storms.
	17	May	Extortionist informs Cunard in New York that there are six bombs on board, as QE2 sails to Southampton. RAF Nimrods parachute a bomb disposal team of four into the Atlantic, who are picked up by the ship. No bombs are found. Extortionist is arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
		Oct	First major refit changes external appearance with the addition of ten penthouse suites.
1973	14	Apr	Leaves Southampton on the first of two chartered voyages to Israel to commemorate the state's 25th anniversary of it's founding. Intense security for the ship through the Mediterranean following Arab terrorist threats. On 16 July 1974, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt reveals in a 'Panorama' interview on BBC Television that he personally had countermanded an order given to an Egyptian submarine commander by President Gaddaffi of Libya to torpedo the vessel during the cruise to Egypt.
1974	01	Apr	Losses power after a boiler oil leak. Guests transfer at sea to Sea Venture.
	06	Sat	Rescues six passengers from sinking French yacht Stephanie in the Mediterranean.
	28	Oct	Breaks loose from moorings in Cherbourg and strikes the pier. She suffers a 30 foot gash and is delayed 48 hours.
1975	04	Jan	Sails from Southampton on first World Cruise - a journey of 38,000 miles and 3,965 guests.
	25	Mar	First transit of Panama Canal. QE2 breaks two records – QE2 becomes the largest ship to transit the canal, and she pays the highest toll for the transit.
	04	Dec	Completes her first million miles between Antigua and Boston.
	31	Dec	Bulbous bow holed when she strikes an incorrectly charted rock at Nassau.
1976	26	Nov	IRA plot to blow up the ship in drydock at Southampton foiled. Three men arrested and sentenced to 20 years.
1977	27	Jun	Takes part in the rehearsals for the Jublilee Review of the fleet by HM the Queen.
		Dec	Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth suites added.
1978			Celebrates her tenth year of service, having carried half a million guests to 63 countries.
1980			First transit of the Suez Canal.
1981		Jul	Special screening of the Royal Wedding between the Prince and the Princess of Wales takes place while QE2 crosses the Atlantic.
1982	25	Apr	Maiden arrival into Philadelphia as part of the city's tricentennial celebration.
	03	May	Requisitioned for use by the British Government as a troopship in the Falkland Island's campaign.
	05	May	Arrives in Southampton and immediately undergoes conversion to a troopship, including the installation of three helicopter pads.
	12	May	Leaves Southampton for war with 3,000 troops and 650 crew members.
	26	May	Arrives in the war zone.
	11	Jun	Welcomed home in Southampton by HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on board the Royal Yacht Britannia.
	07	Aug	Hull repainted light charcoal grey and the funnel in the traditional colours of Cunard – red and black (in place of her previous white funnel.)
	02	Dec	HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother visits the ship in Southampton.
1983		Jun	The hull is repainted black, but the Cunard colours on the funnel remain.
		Nov	The Magrodome, sliding glass roof is installed over the Quarter Deck swimming pool.
1984		Apr	By the completion of her World Cruise, QE2 had visited 145 ports worldwide. New York was the most visited port with 325 calls while Southampton was second with 240.
		Jun	The first sea-going branch of Harrod's opens. Located on One Deck, 'D' Stairway.
1985	13	Feb	Cunard charters Concorde to take guests to Sydney, to join QE2 and Sagafjord – both in port together. The Concorde trip breaks the records: 17 hours, 3 minutes and 45 seconds.
	18	May	QE2, Concorde and the Red Arrows photographed at the same time in the English Channel.
1986	03	May	HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother visits the ship in Southampton to mark the 50th anniversary of RMS Queen Mary's maiden voyage in 1936.
	04	Jul	Participates in the centennial celebration of the Statue of Liberty.
	20	Oct	Leaves New York for the last time as a steamship and undertakes Cunard's last crossing of the Atlantic, ending a 146-year tradition.
			QE2's steam turbines had taken her a total of 2,622,858 miles – equivalent of 120 trips around the world.
		Oct	QE2 Undergoes a major refit at Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven.
			Re-engined with 9 diesel engines and totally refurbished at a total cost of £10 million. Appearance altered with bulkier funnel and additional penthouse suites.
1987	29	Apr	HRH The Princess of Wales attends a children's party on board, and Concorde makes a special fly past, to mark the ship's successful re-engining. The first crossing under diesel-electric power commences.
1988	14	Dec	HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother lunches on board to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her launching RMS Queen Elizabeth in 1938.
1989	27	Mar	Chartered by a consortium of Japanese companies for 72 days to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the city of Yokohama.
1990		Jan	- June: Again chartered by the Japanese.
	22	Jul	Arrives in Southampton after completing her fastest diesel crossing in 4 days, 6 hours and 57 minutes at an average speed of 30.16 knots. Sets out on a 'Round Britian' voyage to celebrate 150 years of Cunard.
	23	Jul	Greeted by 60,000 people on her maiden arrival at Cobh, Ireland. Mr. Charles Haughey, the Taoiseach, boards for lunch to mark the event.
	24	Jul	An estimated 1,000,000 spectators greet QE2 upon her maiden arrival at Liverpool.
	25	Jul	Goes home to the Clyde for the first time.
	27	Jul	Royal Review of Cunard and Royal Navy ships at Spithead by HM The Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh on board the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh transfer to QE2 by Royal Barge. The Queen then becomes the first reigning monarch to sail on a commercial liner with guests. Captain Ronald Warwick temporarily assumes command. This was the first time that a Cunard captain had commanded the same ship as his father (Commodore W. E. Warwick was QE2's first captain.)
	09	Aug	Completes 500th scheduled crossing of the Atlantic.
1991	15	Jun	HRH Prince Edward and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh attend a Royal Ball on board in Southampton.
1992	10	May	The Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher lunches on board in Southampton to mark the 10th anniversary of the Falkland Islands Campaign.
	07	Aug	Strikes unchartered rock off North America, all guests transferred ashore and QE2 goes to Boston for temporary repairs. Full repairs made in Hamburg. Returns to service on October 4th.
1993	12	Jun	HRH Prince Edward lunches on board to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Queen's accession.
			BBC's 'Keeping Up Appearances' filmed on board.
	13	Jun	First call at Edinburgh.
1994	08	May	- 13 May: Special silver anniversary crossing to New York.
	22	May	Albert Reynolds, Irish Toaiseach, visits in Cobh.
	04	Jun	Leads flotilla of ships commemorating 'D' Day, reviewed by HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (as well as other world leaders) on board Royal Yacht Britannia. Sails past the Normandy beaches. Dame Vera Lynn and Bob Hope are on board.
	20	Nov	Arrives in Hamburg for extensive refit which includes the removal of the Magrodome.
	17	Dec	HRH Prince Andrew guest of honour at lunch on board in Southampton to mark the return to service. Controversially, QE2 sails to New York with workmen still on board.
1995	03	May	- 10 May: First call at Plymouth as part of VE Day Celebration.
	14	Junt	Leaves New York for Southampton on her 1000th voyage, having sailed 3.8 million miles and carried 1.7 million guests.
	17	Jul	HRH Princess Anne lunches aboard in Edinburgh. Leads the Tall Ships out of the Firth of Forth.
	13	Oct	- 25 Oct: Special episode of 'Coronation Street' filmed on board.
1996		Jan	Begins 20th World Cruise from New York covering 53,000 miles and 38 ports and 4 continents.
	02	Jan	QE2 completes her four millionth mile at 21.00GMT, the equivalent of sailing around the world 185 times.
	28	Sep	HRH Prince Edward attends a Royal Ball on Board in Southampton.
	22	Nov	Goes into A&P Yard in Southampton for a £12 Million refit.
1997	04	Jan	Marks the 75th anniversary of Cunard's first World Cruise (Cunard's Laconia in 1922) with her own World Cruise departure from New York.
	20	Sep	30th anniversary of QE2's launching by HM The Queen.
1998	29	Mar	- 31 Mar: South African Nelson Mandela (accompanied by future wife Grace Machel) sails from Durban to Cape Town. A Gala Dinner held on board for the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund held on board in Cape Town. Mandela writes in QE2's guest book “Traveling on QE2 was an unforgettable honour and pleasure.
	03	Apr	A consortium led by Carnival Corporation purchases Cunard from Kvaerner for $500 million.
	01	Aug	Visits the Orkney Islands for the first time.
	30	Oct	Visits Malta for the first time.
1999	14	Apr	Celebrates the 30th anniversary of her first transatlantic crossing with a special birthday party in Southampton.
			In 30 years QE2 has made 1,159 voyages, sailed 4,648,050 nautical miles and carried over 2 million guests.
	13	Jun	QE2 marks another milestone in her 30 year career at sea: at 15.00 hours while en route to Madeira to Southampton, she exceeds 179,296 hours steaming time. This equates to exactly 20 years (including four leap years).
	12	Nov	- 10 Dec: QE2 undergoes a £19.5 million refit at Lloyd Werft Shipyard in Germany.
	13	Dec	QE2 is positioned off Barbados to welcome the third millennium. A special rendezvous with Cunard's 'new' Caronia (on her inaugural voyage) takes place.
2000	04	Jan	Proclaimed “British Icon of the 20th Century” in one of the exhibitions in the Millennium Dome.
			Embarks on her first World Cruise of the Millennium – 124 nights (Southampton – Southampton).
			John Brown, principal naval architect of all three Cunard Queens is knighted in the Queen's New Years Honours List.
		Jul	Two Pidgeons stowaway on QE2 and make headline news when handed back over to their owners in Southampton.
			Chartered to a travel company for use as a hotel for golfers taking part in the Open Golf Championship in St. Andrews.
	18	Aug	Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Rt. Hon John Prescott, visits in Southampton.
		Nov	Line Voyages to Cape Town introduced.
2001			Both QE2 and Caronia recall the 1940s & 50s when their 2001 schedules are linked to allow guests to cross the Atlantic on a Queen and transfer to a Caronia cruise to the Baltic, Mediterranean or Canada prior to rejoining QE2 for the trip home.
		Mar	QE2 officiates the opening of the new cruise terminal in Dubai.
		May	- June: Two transatlantic crossings (3 May and 6 June) commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Maiden Voyage of RMS Queen Mary. The May crossing includes a performance by Larry Adler who also performed on the Mary's Maiden Voyage.
	11	Sep	The attack on the World Trade Center resulted in QE2 being diverted to Boston as the American terminus for the remainder of her 2001 transatlantic season.
	04	Oct	Captain Warwick conducts the wedding service for his daughter on QE2 while in Boston; the first wedding to take place on board.
		Nov	November & December:- Undergoes further refurbishment and refitting at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven.