HISTORY is believed to have been made when the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth entered Inchgreen dry dock for a refit in December, 1965.

During the operation a radio telephone link was maintained between the dockmaster, Neil McArthur, on shore and the pilot, Captain George Howison from Gourock, on the bridge of the ship.

Dry dock general manager Mr J W Dagleish said: “I understand this is the first time this has ever been used for drydocking vessels anywhere in the world.”

Throughout the morning the pilot and dockmaster were in touch every half an hour, with the dockmaster supplying details of the wind strength, the state of the tide and an estimate of the depth of water over the dock sill.

Captain Howison said: “The drydock system with the dockmaster on the walkie talkie phone, and the ship’s officers being so highly trained, helped everything go to plan more or less.”

Bringing the Queen Elizabeth into the dry dock involved seven tugs supplied by the Clyde Shipping Company and a team of 63 men on shore. A notch had earlier been cut out of the head of the dock to accommodate the liner’s length and rake of her bow.

The operation took place on Saturday, December 11, 1965, which also happened to be the 63rd birthday of the liner’s master, Commodore F G Watts.

His birthday was revealed after the liner was safely in the dock and around 50 press representatives and officials sang a lusty ‘Happy Birthday to You’.

It was his final command before retiring on December 31 after 40 years with Cunard, during which time he served with the Royal Navy in the Second World War.

Appointed commodore of the Cunard fleet in 1963, his superb seamanship was displayed when becoming the first master to dock the Queen Elizabeth in New York without tugs in February, 1964. A prolonged tug strike saw Commodore Watts repeat the feat on three consecutive arrivals.