The most famous ship in the world

Bill Miller took this photograph of the QE2 in April 2008, months before her final voyage to Dubai: "There was huge affection ... and which was mounting by leaps ... by April 2008 when we sailed past the legendary QE2 at Southampton. Tears were already forming. In months, she would be decommissioned by Cunard & sail off to Dubai and new owners. She was then the most famous ship in the world and the most successful super liner ever as well --- having carried more passengers, sailed more miles, visited more ports & made more money than any big liner in history. And even in the end, she was successful --- she fetched a staggering $100 million (but was worth only $5 million or so to scrappers). Yes, hail to the Queen!"

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright Bill Miller. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

QE2 in Bayonne December 1976

Bill Miller took this photo of the legendary QE2 undergoing a refit at the then Bethlehem Steel shipyard annex at Bayonne, New Jersey. A chilly afternoon as he remembers, the date is Dec 1976.

The 1100-ft long graving dock at Bayonne, built by the Navy in 1942 especially for battleships, was used by the Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth in wartime, for the salvaged hull of the Normandie, the confiscated Europa and, on three occasions in the 1950s, theUnited States. 

The graving dock is still in use, but now in private hands & these days servicing mostly big transports of the Military Sealift Command. 

Texto e imagens / Text and images copyright Bill Miller. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia