In April 1973 the iconic Cunard cruise liner ‘Queen Elizabeth 2’ (QE2) steamed out of Southampton docks on a private chartered cruise. Her voyage would take her through the Mediterranean Sea to Israel to mark the 25 th anniversary of the founding of the Israeli state. The risks were high though, with an increase in terrorism around the world, particularly targeting Israelis, and there was considerable hostility from other regional states. There was a clear concern about the security of passengers onboard, which is why when the QE2 sailed, she was carry 29 heavily armed Royal Marine members of the Special Boat Section (SBS) as both overt and covert passengers onboard to deal with any threat. This is the story of that operation, known as OP WILMOT. UK MOD © Crown copyright The QE2 was chartered to sail on 15 April from Southampton with around 700 passengers onboard, many of whom were believed to be American. The plan for the cruise involve calls at Lisbon, call at the ports of A...
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