Editing RMS Queen Elizabeth (section)

==Design and construction==
[[File:Queen Elizabeth Construction.jpg|thumb|left|''Queen Elizabeth'' under construction at Clydebank]]
On the day RMS ''Queen Mary'' sailed on her maiden voyage, Cunard's chairman, Sir Percy Bates, informed his ship designers, headed by George Paterson, that it was time to start designing the planned second ship.<ref>RMS Queen Elizabeth from Victory to Valhalla. pp. 10</ref> The official contract between Cunard and government financiers was signed on 6 October 1936.<ref name=qe>{{cite web |url=http://www.cunard.com/AboutCunard/default.asp?Active=Heritage&Sub=Fleet |title=Cunard Queen Elizabeth 1940 – 1972 |publisher=Cunard.com |access-date=17 May 2012 |archive-date=2 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102204343/http://cunard.com/AboutCunard/default.asp?Active=Heritage&Sub=Fleet |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The new ship improved upon the design of ''Queen Mary''<ref name="cross355">Maxtone-Graham, John. ''The Only Way to Cross''. New York: Collier Books, 1972, pp. 360–61</ref> with sufficient changes, including a reduction in the number of boilers to twelve instead of ''Queen Mary''{{'s}} twenty-four, that the designers could discard one funnel and increase deck, cargo and passenger space. The two funnels were self-supporting and braced internally to give a cleaner-looking appearance. With the forward well deck omitted, a more refined hull shape was achieved, and a sharper, raked bow was added for a third bow-anchor point.<ref name=cross355/> She was to be twelve feet longer and 4,000 tons greater displacement than the ''Queen Mary''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/sister-ship-to-the-queen-mary/query/Queen|title=Sister Ship To The Queen Mary|first=British|last=Pathé|website=www.britishpathe.com}}</ref><ref name=qe/>

[[File:RMS Queen Mary (1936) (51022313917).jpg|thumb|left|Scale models of ''Queen Mary'' (foreground) and ''Queen Elizabeth'' (background) created by John Brown & Company, on display at the Glasgow Museum of Transport.]]
''Queen Elizabeth'' was built on slipway four at John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland, Great Britain. During her construction she was more commonly known by her shipyard number, Hull 552.<ref>RMS Queen Elizabeth, The Beautiful Lady. Janette McCutcheon, The History Press Ltd (8 November 2001)</ref> The interiors were designed by a team of artists headed by the architect [[George Grey Wornum]].<ref>''The Liverpool Post'', 23 August 1937</ref> The staircases, foyers and entrances were constructed by [[H.H. Martyn & Co.]]<ref>{{cite book |author=John Whitaker|year=1985|title=The Best|page=238}}</ref> Cunard's plan was for the ship to be launched in September 1938, with fitting-out intended to be complete for her to enter service in the spring of 1940.<ref name=qe/> [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]] herself performed the launching ceremony on 27 September 1938.<ref name=cross355/> Supposedly, the liner started to slide into the water before the Queen could officially launch her, and acting sharply, she managed to smash a bottle of Australian red over the ship’s bow just before it slid out of reach.<ref>Hutchings, David F. (2003) ''Pride of the North Atlantic. A Maritime Trilogy'', Waterfront.</ref> The liner was then docked for fitting out.<ref name=qe/><ref name=cross355/> It was announced that on 23 August 1939 [[King George VI]] and Queen Elizabeth were to visit the ship and tour the engine room and that 24 April 1940 was to be the proposed date of her maiden voyage. Due to the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], these two events were postponed and Cunard's plans were cancelled.<ref name=qe/>

''Queen Elizabeth'' sat at the fitting-out dock at the shipyard in her Cunard colours until 2 November 1939, when the [[Ministry of Shipping (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Shipping]] issued special licences to declare her seaworthy. On 29 December the engines were tested for the first time, running from 0900 to 1600 with the propellers disconnected to monitor her oil and steam operating temperatures and pressures. Two months later Cunard received a letter from [[Winston Churchill]],<ref name=maxtone359>Maxtone-Graham 1972, p. 358–60</ref> then [[First Lord of the Admiralty]], ordering the ship to leave Clydeside as soon as possible and "to keep away from the British Isles as long as the order was in force".{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}