Across the Sea to War by Peter Plowman

Author:Peter Plowman [Plowman, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781922013132
Publisher: Rosenberg Publishing
Published: 2012-07-04T16:00:00+00:00

A stern view of Queen Elizabeth anchored in Sydney Harbour.

On 3 April, Queen Elizabeth met up with an old American four-stack destroyer of World War I vintage, USS Alden, which was supposed to escort the liner. However, the old warship could not maintain sufficient speed, even when told to maintain a straight course while Queen Elizabeth followed a broad zigzag pattern. This almost produced tragedy, as just before midnight the helm on Alden became jammed and the warship began to drift helplessly in the moderate seas. Just at that moment, Queen Elizabeth was converging on the destroyer as part of her zigzag course and was headed directly for the stern of Alden. Just when a collision seemed inevitable, the lights aboard Alden were turned on and the huge liner made a sharp turn, missing the warship by 75 yards.

Queen Elizabeth arrived in Sydney on 6 April, passing the outward-bound Queen Mary off Sydney Heads, then going to her usual anchorage off Bradleys Head. The huge liner remained in Sydney almost two weeks, departing for the last time on 19 April on a voyage to Fremantle, Simonstown, Rio de Janeiro and New York, where she arrived on 24 May. Little more than a week later the Queen Elizabeth was again carrying troops, this time some 10,000 Americans at a time, on their way to Europe.

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