S QUEEN ELIZABETH


nd figures


Elizabeth), R09 (Prince of Wales) the same (Queen Elizabeth); ich )


16 (Queen Elizabeth), 2018


many as on HMS Ark Royal or Illustrious – can be embarked as part of a Tailored Air Group. The fixed wing punch will be


provided initially by Harrier GR9s until the F35B Lightning II enters service (its payload is twice that of a Harrier); rotary wing power will be provided principally by Merlins, but given their size and versatility the ships are more than capable of handling Chinooks and future unmanned aerial vehicles. Forward and aft lifts can shift


with embarked air group) T30 gas turbines and 4 x diesel otal of 110MWe miles


p to 40 aircraft: initially Harrier plus Merlin and Chinook


close-in weapons systems, counter seaborne threats


from Peterhead on the north-east coast of Scotland to the shores of north and south Devon. Work on HMS Queen Elizabeth


began in Appledore’s yard in late 2008 with the first steel formally being cut at BAE Systems’ yard at Govan in July 2009. In all, the two vessels will use 80,000 tonnes of steel – that’s three times as much as was required by the re-built Wembley Stadium. In all, six yards are constructing


the aircraft from the flight deck to hangar deck in under 60 seconds. They could also lift the entire combined weight of every man and woman on board. As befits the nation’s flagships


it has taken a national effort to create these two leviathans under the banner of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance – a partnership between industry and the MOD. More than 90 firms are providing parts and equipment


toil on the two ships in the main yards. A further 2,000-plus people are expected to support the effort in the supply chain. On current plans, their work


● Queen Elizabeth dwarfs the 43,000-ton HMS Ark Royal IV – Britain’s last traditional aircraft carrier Eight British warships have


should be completed on Queen Elizabeth by 2016. Her sister is expected to be completed two years later. They are expected to fly the White Ensign for up to 50 years apiece. The carriers draw their titles


sections of the warships: Babcock’s works at Rosyth and Appledore, A&P in Newcastle, Cammell Laird in Birkenhead and BAE Systems’ yards in Portsmouth and on the Clyde. The ships are being pieced


from two of the proudest titles in Royal Navy history. Although only one previous


together at Rosyth dockyard, where an existing dry dock has been expanded to accommodate the leviathans. At the peak of construction,


over 7,000 shipwrights, engineers, electricians, designers, computer experts and ancillary staff will


warship has carried the name Queen Elizabeth – a 1913 battleship which served with distinction in both of the 20th Century’s global conflagrations, notably the Mediterranean and Far East – there have been more than 20 ships to bear the name Elizabeth, tracing their lineage back to the 16th Century. That proud line has earned battle honours from the Armada in 1588 to Guadeloupe in 1810.


been named after the heir to the throne, beginning with a French privateer which was commissioned by the ex-King James and captured by HMS York in 1693. Armed with 14 guns, she was pressed into service as the first Prince of Wales. The name continued through


the ages of sail and steam to the pre-dreadnought Prince of Wales which served in the Mediterranean and Dardanelles, and to the most famous forebear, the King George V-class battleship. In a career lasting not 11


months, the battleship had engaged, wounded – and been wounded by – Hitler’s flagship Bismarck, carried Churchill to a meeting with President Roosevelt in Newfoundland, and escorted a Malta convoy, downing several Italian aircraft in the process. She succumbed to Japanese air assault on December 10 1941 off Malaysia.


St Lucia ......................1778 Groix Island ................1795 Dardanelles ................1915 Bismarck ....................1941 Malta Convoys ...........1941


Battle Honours


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57