End of the Queen Elizabeth

ABOUT 300 shipyard workers, along with their wives and children, were visiting the vessel once known as the Queen Elizabeth, which was anchored just outside Hong Kong's busy harbor. Suddenly the ship caught fire. Most of those aboard escaped without injury while fireboats fought the rapidly spreading blaze. Next day, with her upper decks collapsed and her massive steel hull buckled like so much soggy cardboard, the ship, still burning, keeled over. The Queen had died.

Named after Britain's Queen Mother, the Cunard Line's 83,000-ton Queen Elizabeth was the world's largest and most luxurious passenger liner when she was christened in 1938. The Elizabeth was designed as part of a transatlantic team with the Queen Mary, but her maiden voyage to New York was delayed by the outbreak of World War II. The Elizabeth performed heroically as a troopship, carrying as many as 15,000 jampacked G.I.s on a single voyage. After the war, the elegantly refurbished liner became the last word in gracious living afloat, traveling 896 times between Southampton and New York. Capable of carrying 2,300 passengers and a crew of 1,296, the 1,031-ft. ship was so vast that British Actress Bea Lillie once quipped: ''Say, what time does this place get to England?"

Hurt by jet-age competition, the Queens began losing money, and in the late 1960s both were sold to American investors, who intended to use them as hotels and tourist attractions. After rolling at anchor at Port Everglades, Fla., the Queen Elizabeth was resold in 1970 for $3.2 million to Hong Kong Shipping Magnate C.Y. Tung. Renaming the ship Seawise University (a play on his initials), Tung began refitting her as a combination floating school and luxury cruise ship. With the work about 90% completed, she was almost ready for sea trials.

The fire, which broke out simultaneously in at least three separate areas last week, caused speculation about arson and sabotage, particularly since Tung is an ardent Nationalist, while many workers on the ship are from Communist dominated shipbuilders unions. However, heaps of highly inflammable construction materials still on board could have been the accidental cause. For London insurance companies, the loss could total $8,000,000. For those who loved the ship, the loss was irreparable. Mourned Tung: "We restored her to her former glory. It makes me cry."

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