Wheelhouse of the QUEEN ELIZABETH.

photograph

An undated photograph of the wheelhouse of the QUEEN ELIZABETH, with some of the newest ship navigation technology. The wheelhouse had four engine order telegraphs (with the words "full, half, slow," etc. to signal the engine rooms of the captain's orders), plus a fifth telegraph to communicate with the docking bridge at the stern for docking maneuvers. It also had two brass helm steering wheels, with one being a backup in case of malfunction. The binnacle is in front of the helms. The gray metal device with its own wheel is the ship's Sperry Gyro-Pilot, an autopilot device affectionately known as its "Metal Mike." It was installed before the ship's 1946 maiden voyage as a commercial liner. There are funnel-shaped voice pipes hanging from the ceiling for communication purposes. Also visible in the windows is one of the ship's clear-view screens, a round pane of glass that was built to revolve at high speed, throwing off water in a storm so that bridge crew would maintain a small area of clear visibility. This photograph is identical to a photo in in David Hutchings, RMS QUEEN ELIZABETH: From Victory to Valhalla, p. 61, except that ours is in color.