On This Day: Queen Elizabeth passenger liner sinks into Hong Kong harbour after catching fire

The RMS Queen Elizabeth was the largest passenger ship in the world when it was launched in 1938.The giant vessel was used to transport troops during the Second World War, before then being turned to commercial use. After being sold to a Hong Kong businessman, it was sent to a HK harbour for refitting - but caught fire on 8 January, 1972. The entire Hong Kong firefighting force spent two days trying to put out the blaze, but the ship turned to its side side and sank to the bottom of the harbour. Remarkably, noone was killed during the enormous fire.The RMS Queen Elizabeth was later used in a scene in James Bond film 'The Man With The Golden Gun' in 1974.