Gross Tonnage

83,673 tons (approx.)

Length

1,030 feet

Beam

118 feet

Draft

38 feet

Height

233 feet

Passengers

2,283

Decks

12

Dec 1936

Laid down

27 Sep 1938

Launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth

2 Mar 1940

Completed after the outbreak of war and sailed in secret from the Clyde to New York, where she was laid up.  En route, whilst maintaining radio silence, she met the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth

1941—46

With all her furnishings stored in San Francisco Queen Elizabeth was used as a troopship with a capacity for 20,000 troops.  She carried 811,324 during her wartime career and steamed 492,635 miles.  She returned to her builder for refitting

16 Oct 1946

Made her first true commercial voyage from Southampton to New York

1955

Fitted with two sets of stabilizers

5 Apr 1968

Sold, after 907 crossings, to The Queen Ltd of Fort Lauderdale and sailed on Nov 28 to Port Everglades as a tourist attraction.  Her new owners went into liquidation after a few months

1970

Purchased by C.Y. Tung of the Orient Overseas Line for £1,333,000.  She was converted, at Hong Kong, into a floating university at a cost of £5 million and renamed Seawise University

Jan 1972

The conversion was completed. 

Jan 9-10: Caught fire in Hong Kong harbour and finally capsized onto her side.  No lives were lost but the wreck had to be dismantled as it lay.