The last of three programmes
On one dull winter's day in 1940 the Queen Elizabeth slipped away from the Clyde to join her sister ship Queen Mary in New York and for the next five years the liners had a less glamorous but vitally important role to play. The Normandie was tragically lost by fire in New York and with peace the Queens ruled the Atlantic. But the lengthening shadows cast by transatlantic aircraft finally brought an end to an era.
Robert Wall concludes the story of the liners.
Film editor PETER HYNT Producer JOHN COLEMAN