H.M.S. QUEEN ELIZABETH |
From 1938 to 1961 the Queen Elizabeth was The World's Largest Ocean Liner. Built for Cunard Shipping Co. by John Brown & Company Ltd. Clydebank, Scotland. She was 1,031 feet long, 118 feet wide and weighed 83,673 tons.
Provisioning the Queen Elizabeth was designed to be quick and thorough. In New York she was rarely docked for more than 24 hours. For
The Queen Elizabeth was retired in October of 1968. It had been intended to make the retired Queen Elizabeth the American East Coast version of
Jimmy Frost ~ Curator & Model Shipwright |
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Because of the Nazi uprising of 1940 she was a target for sabotage and Nazi bombers. She was painted Gray, and Southampton England prepared for her arival, but under strict Allied secrecy, she sailed a zig-zag course for New York. She sailed in such haste that some of her workers on board found themselves on a free trip to New York. In New York she was prepared as a troop transport. She could carry up to 15,000 troops in a single trip. The troops would sleep in shifts on the limited bunks. On June 16, 1946 she was returned to Cunard for restoration to her original cruise ship luxury.
example; arrive New York tuesday morning, unload 2,000 or more passengers and their luggage. Tuesday night load and unload 31,000 sheets and pillow cases, 21,000 table cloths, 92,000 cloth napkins,24,000 bath mats, 2,200 tea cloths, 4,100 blankets 7,900 kitchen aprons and 7,000 tons of fuel.
Giant freezers and storerooms for a 5 day crossing of the Atlantic would hold; 20 tons of meat, 4,000 chickens and ducklings, 20 tons of fish, 70,000 eggs, 4,000 pounds of tea and coffee, 30 tons of potatoes, 10,000 bottles of wine, 60,000 bottles of mineral water, 40,000 pounds of vegetables, 4,000 gallons of milk, 3, tons of butter, 10,000 pounds of sugar, 600 crates of apples and oranges, 2,000 pounds of cheese and 40,000 bottles of beer. All of this plus 2,283 new passengers and their luggage would be loaded and by Wednesday afternoon she would set sail for England.
the Queen Mary. In December 1968 the Queen Elizabeth was sent to Port Everglades, Florida. There she was to be transformed into a hotel, shopping mall, museum and convention center. Nothing came to pass except mismanagement, scandals and court battles. So she sat, rusting in the hot Florida sun. A Japanese scrap dealer tried and tried to buy her but no one wanted to sell her for scrap. Everyone agreed she was far to important for the scrap pile. In 1970 a Taiwanese shipping tycoon C. T. Tung bought her for restoration and conversion into a combination cruise ship-floating university. Renamed Seawise University she was sent to Hong Kong for extensive alterations.On January 9th, 1972 nearing the end of her renewal, The Queen Elizabeth caught fire (up to 20 fires). She turned into a blistering inferno. Overloaded with firefighter's water, she capsized the next day. Arson has never been ruled out. The japanese scrap dealer once again reappeared and won the contract to cut up her remains. By 1974 H. M. S. Queen Elizabeth was gone. A tragic end for such an outstanding ship.
On October 25th, 1997 the 
Queen Elizabeth model was moved into her new berth here at Original Benjamin's. The Queen spent eight months in restoration by our curator and shipwright Jimmy Frost who's attention to detail is absolutely incredible. From the Mohagany hand rails, solid wooden doors, authentic rigging, tennis court to the interior and exterior lighting this is one work of art you must see on your next trip to Myrtle Beach!
