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PEBBLE GREY HULL
AUGUST 1982 – JUNE 1983
Upon her return to service after her service in the Falklands, the most noticeable ‘change’ by far was the external colour scheme of QE2. Amazingly, the ‘new look’ was on the instruction of Cunard’s Chairman Lord Matthews who had been given the ideas by his wife!! The goal being to give the ‘new’ QE2 a symbolic and exciting appearance.
Hull
• The dark-grey hull was repainted in a light pebble grey that was almost white. The boot-topping remained red.
• The ship’s name and homeport on the bow and stern were painted black.
Funnel
• For the first time, the funnel was redone in the traditional Cunard red with two black bands. Each black band was eight-inches thick (made up of two four-inch strips of tape). Soon after QE2 had re-entered service, the tape was soon flapping about in the breeze!
According to Cunard: “The new colours of the ship, both inside and out, reflect the new spirit of QE2 and her crew while respecting a tradition of luxury and service…symbolic of the lighter, more contemporary flair of QE2…The painting of the funnel in traditional Cunard red and black is to emphasise Queen Elizabeth 2’s continued dedication to the high standards set by her predecessors”.
Red Stripe
The original plan called for a broad red stripe to be painted around the hull – a job that was to have been undertaken in Hong Kong in March 1983 during QE2’s Circle Pacific Cruise. This was never done as the decision to return QE2’s hull to charcoal grey in the next scheduled dry-docking had been made by then
Reaction to the New Scheme
According to noted maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham, 'Liners to the Sun': “I had reservations about it; although putting the company’s colours up on the funnel was long overdue, the pale grey hull seemed a mistake. From a distance, it read white and was not flattering. The Sidney Greenstreet principle was at work: a fat man in a white suit looks fatter. The QE2’s light-coloured hull sprawled and, worse, showed its middle age”.
Experience with the New Scheme
The new pale-grey coloured-hull of QE2 soon proved to be unpractical as well as unpopular. The grey was terribly difficult to maintain in a pristine form and no matter how careful the tugs in ports were, QE2 always lost some of her paint or obtained scuff marks from tugs nudging bows. Evidence of close contact with dockside fenders also always showed. The light colour also always displayed unsightly streaks of rust dribbling down the vessel’s sides from portholes and hawse pipes.
Her external appearance as she circled the Pacific during her 1983 World Cruise drew many criticisms. The fact that this voyage was subject to a ‘Whicker’s World’ documentary by Alan Whicker drove home the poor external condition of the ship when broadcast. A full stem-to-stern clean-up was undertaken halfway during the voyage in Hong Kong.
Back to Black
After a reasonable trail period it was decided by Cunard to return the hull colour to the original colouring during QE2’s scheduled dry-docking at the end of 1983. However the repainting was done earlier during emergency repairs to QE2’s turbines in Southampton between 10 and 27 June 1983.
Hull
• Repainted in the original charcoal grey.
• The ship’s name and homeport on the stern were re-painted white due to the new hull colour.
Funnel
• The Cunard-coloured red funnel remained.
Superstructure
• The khaki painted superstructure on Boat Deck behind the lifeboats and underneath the Bridge was re-painted white for the first time.
From June 1983 QE2 she then wore the traditional colours of the old Cunard ships and more than ever deserved, through livery and [war] action, the title of Queen.
