Queen Mary 2. Queen Elizabeth. Queen Victoria. Three Queens On The River Mersey.

This Article is from NAVALTODAY.COM

Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Victoria.

Two of The Royal Navy’s smallest ships, Patrol Boats HMS Biter and HMS Pursuer,

joined the Cunard Line for its 175th birthday celebrations

on the River Mersey, Liverpool, England.

Photo: May 2015.

Illustration: NAVALTODAY.COM

For the first time, Cunard’s three Queens – Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Victoria – were brought together in the City (Liverpool), where the company began operating in 1840.

It took three years of planning to get the Liners in place and to choreograph their intricate ‘River Dance’ – the three ships were just 130 metres (426 ft) apart – in the River Mersey estuary, which remains a busy waterway.

As a result, HMS Biter and HMS Pursuer were called on to make sure that other vessels didn’t encroach upon waters occupied by the Cruise Ships. The two Patrol Boats were ideal for the role, as they were large enough to be intimidating to other small vessels on the River Mersey, but fast and agile enough to move freely and quickly around.

It was all played out in front of more than one million spectators taking advantage of the May Bank Holiday.

HMS Biter.

Berthed in Tobermory, Scotland,

April 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: SillyWalkLeader.

(Wikimedia Commons)

HMS Pursuer.

The training vessel for Glasgow and Strathclyde

University Royal Naval Unit (URNU),

and based in HM Naval Base Clyde, Scotland.

Photo: 11 January 2011.

Source: http://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk/fotoweb/

Author: Ministry of Defence.

(Wikimedia Commons)