The 1965 Refit

[Greg Rudd]

One of the things that I could never understand was the economic rationale of the 1965 refit that was supposed to make her suitable for "cruising". For withdraw to take place 3 years later, I would think that the investment must have been "written off" in 1966.  Did the decision for the refit happen under Basil Smallpiece's tenure or was it another decision he was lumbered with from the past like Q3.

Even if she was as successful at cruising as some say, I still couldn't see her lasting past the first oil shock due costs of driving her at 30+ knots.  Or were the plans of the QE "cruising" predicated on running the ship in cruising mode at 20-22 knots and "winding her up" only to avoid bad weather/making up time.