Big Lizzie is back! HMS Queen Elizabeth returns to Portsmouth base after sea trials as crew prepare for further training with new F35 Lightning jet
- HMS Queen Elizabeth which set sail from anchor earlier in April to carry out sea training has returned to base
- Ship, which is 280 metres long and weighs 65,000 tonnes, arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base earlier today
- After completing first part of series of trials it will leave soon to carry out flight trials with F35 Lightning jets
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
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Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth which set sail from anchor earlier this year to carry out sea training has returned to base to pick up supplies.
The largest and most powerful vessel ever constructed for the Royal Navy, which is 280 metres long and weighs 65,000 tonnes, arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base earlier today having successfully completed the first part of a series of sea trials.
The £3 billion carrier, which is capable of carrying up to 40 aircraft, is expected to leave soon to carry out flight trials with the high-tech F35 Lightning jets.
The carrier’s departure for the first set of training from Portsmouth was delayed while its 700-strong crew were all tested for Covid-19.
People stood and watched as the Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, which set sail in April, arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base to pick up supplies
Britons gathered at the historic port as HMS Queen Elizabeth made its return to pick up supplied before carrying out further sea tests
The £3 billion vessel, which is 280 metres long and weighs 65,000 tonnes, arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base earlier today
Two members of the ship’s company tested positive and were removed and the ship was allowed to sail on April 29.
Ahead of its return, HMS Queen Elizabeth took to Twitter to state: ‘Flash: Basic Sea Training has concluded successfully. Tomorrow we will proceed alongside to take on the stores necessary to fly; and almost definitely, to catch up on some sleep. Next week though……. Ooft, can’t wait!’
The ship, which has a top speed of 25 knots and a four-acre flight deck, told others on social media that it had ‘successfully defeated’ surface and sub-surface threats.
It posted: ‘Our operations room has been tested over the last period with multiple incoming air, surface and sub-surface threats. Making use of our Merlin helos, a Type23 Frigate and our own CIWS, we successfully defeated all threats.’
It also wrote: ‘We conducted our first assessed night replenishment at sea with our old friend. Whilst others sleep, we replenish fuel in the deep.’
Ahead of the training period, a Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘She will undergo several weeks of training and assessment with the staff of Fost (Flag Officer Sea Training) to ensure the UK can deliver on its commitment to have a Carrier Strike Group ready to deploy from the end of this year. ‘
People line the historic port as the ship, which is 280 metres long and weighs 65,000 tonnes, as HMS Queen Elizabeth returns
Ahead of its return today, the vessel’s Twitter page announced that it had successfully completed its basic sea training
In a series of tweets prior to its arrival, the ship revealed it had successfully defeated all threats and had conducted their first assessed night replenishment at sea
The pilots of the F-35B jets, which can fly at 1,200mph, need to qualify to operate from the flight deck at day and night
The vessel, which is the second ship in the Royal Navy to be named Queen Elizabeth, has a range of facilities onboard including a chapel, a medical centre and a 12-bed ward, staffed with GPs, a nurse and medical assistants.
The ship, which will be able to carry F-35B Lightning II attack jets as well as Wildcat helicopters, also houses five gyms, two free weight rooms and a boxing gym.
In October 2019, F35 Lightning jets, the first to combine radar-evading stealth technology with supersonic speeds and short take-off and vertical landing capability, landed on the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier for the first time, as part of advanced trials with the U.S. military.
Inside Britain’s most powerful warship, HMS Queen Elizabeth
At 280 metres long, with a lifespan of half a century and a flight deck of four acres, HMS Queen Elizabeth is Britain’s largest and most powerful warship ever built.
Here are the facts and figures behind the vessel which was officially commissioned into the Royal Navy December 7, 2017
HMS Queen Elizabeth, pictured, weighs some 65,000 tonnes and has a top speed of 25 knots and a four-acre flight deck
- The aircraft carrier weighs 65,000 tonnes and has a top speed in excess of 25 knots.
- A number of ship building yards around the country were involved in the build – these include Govan and Scotstoun in Glasgow, Appledore in Devon, Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, Wirral, A&P on the Tyne in Newcastle and Portsmouth.
- A total of 10,000 people worked on construction of the ship, made up in sections at yards around the UK and transported to Rosyth, Fife, where it was assembled.
- It is the second ship in the Royal Navy to be named Queen Elizabeth.
- The ship has a crew of around 700, that will increase to 1,600 when a full complement of F-35B jets and Crowsnest helicopters are embarked.
- There are 364,000 metres of pipes inside the ship, and from keel to masthead she measures 56 metres, four metres more than Niagara Falls.
- Facilities onboard include a chapel, a medical centre and 12-bed ward, staffed with GPs, a nurse and medical assistants, as well as a dentist and dental nurse.
- There are also five gyms on the warship which include a cardiovascular suite, two free weight rooms and a boxing gym.
- Regular fitness circuit sessions and sporting activities such as basketball and tug of war are held in the hangar and on the flight deck, with weights and other items stored inside the flight deck ramp.
- The Captain of the ship was Nick Cook-Priest
- There are five galleys on the warship which is where the food is cooked and those on board eat their meals everyday. This includes two main galleys, the bridge mess and an aircrew refreshment bar.
- The distribution network on board manages enough energy to power 30,000 kettles or 5,500 family homes.
- Its flight deck is 280 metres long and 70 metres wide, enough space for three football pitches.
- The entire ship’s company of 700 can be served a meal within 90 minutes, 45 minutes when at action stations.
- Recreational spaces enjoyed by the crew feature televisions and sofas, as well as popular board games including the traditional Royal Navy game of Uckers.
- Each of the two aircraft lifts on HMS Queen Elizabeth can move two fighter jets from the hangar to the flight deck in 60 seconds.
- The warship has a range of 8,000 to 10,000 nautical miles, and has two propellers – each weighing 33 tonnes and with a combined 80MW output of power – enough to run 1,000 family cars or 50 high speed trains.