Editing Queen Elizabeth 2 (section)

==Development==
[[File:QE2 in John Browns shipyard - geograph.org.uk - 111928.jpg|thumb|''QE2''<nowiki/>'s hull at Number 736 on the slipway, 1967|left]]

By 1957, transatlantic sea travel was becoming displaced by air transit due to its speed and low relative cost, with passenger numbers split 50:50 between them.<ref>Glen. Page 296.</ref> With jets capable of spanning the ocean non-stop replacing prop planes, and the debut of the [[Boeing 707]] and the [[Douglas DC-8|Douglas DC-8]] in 1958, the trend was rapidly increasing.<ref name="PayneP31">Payne. Page 31.</ref> Simultaneously, the aging {{RMS|Queen Mary|3=2}} and ''[[RMS Queen Elizabeth|Queen Elizabeth]]'' were becoming increasingly expensive to operate, and both internally and externally were relics of the pre-war era.

Despite falling passenger revenues, Cunard did not want to give up its traditional role as a provider of a North Atlantic passenger service and  Royal Mail carrier, and so decided to replace the obsolete ''Queens'' with a new generation liner.<ref name="chriscunard">{{cite web |url=https://www.chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-facts |title=QE2 Facts |year=2010 |website=Chris' Cunard Page |access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref>

Designated ''Q4'' during work-up, it was projected to measure 75,000 [[gross register ton]]s, have berths for 2,270 passengers, and cost about £30&nbsp;million.<ref name=PayneP31/><ref>{{cite web |title = A new Cunard Liner |publisher = University of Glasgow |url =https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/archivespecialcollections/digitisedcollections/qe2/anewcunardliner/|access-date =5 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064952/https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/archives/exhibitions/qe2/anewcunardliner/ |archive-date=3 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Work had proceeded as far as the preparation of submissions from six shipyards and applying for government financial assistance with the construction when misgivings among some executives and directors, coupled with a shareholder revolt, led to the benefits of the project being reappraised and ultimately cancelled on 19 October 1961.<ref name=PayneP31/><ref name="TheQE2Story">Cross.</ref>

Cunard decided to continue with a replacement plan but with an altered operating regime and more flexible design. Realising the decline of transatlantic trade, it was visualised that the new ''Queen'' would be dual-purpose three-class ship offering First, Cabin and Tourist passage for eight months a year on the transatlantic route, then as a [[cruise ship]] in warmer climates and during the winter months.<ref name=PayneP31/><ref name="hist1">{{cite web|url=http://members.tripod.com/~Tziper/history.htm |title=Queen Elizabeth 2: History |publisher=Members.tripod.com |access-date=5 September 2022}}</ref>

Compared with the older Queens, which had two engine rooms and four propellers, the newly designated ''Q4'' would be much smaller, with one boiler room, one engine room, and two propellers, which combined with automation would allow a smaller engineering complement.<ref name="PayneP32">Payne. Page 32.</ref> Producing 110,000 shp, the new ship was to have the same {{convert|28.5|kn|km/h}} service speed as her predecessors, while consuming half the fuel. A reduction to 520 tons per 24 hours<ref>Glen. Page 303.</ref> was estimated to save Cunard £1&nbsp;million annually.<ref name=PayneP32/> Able to transit both the [[Panama Canal|Panama]] and [[Suez Canal|Suez]] canals, her {{convert|7|ft|adj=on}} shallower [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|32|ft|1}} would allow her to enter more and smaller ports than the old ships, particularly in tropical waters.<ref name="chriscunard"/>