Titans Of The Sea
Hampshire Life|December 2019
HMS Queen Elizab eth and her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales look set to meet in Portsmouth Harbour this Christmas writes Sebastian Oake
Titans Of The Sea
It has been a busy autumn for those aboard the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth. At the end of August, it left its Portsmouth home for the eastern coast of the US for a lengthy exercise involving British fast jets taking off and landing on her deck for the first time.

The deployment, known as Westlant 19, saw seven F-35B Lightning II multi-role stealth strike aircraft, plus Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, tested under realistic war-fighting conditions. Accompanying the carrier were the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon, also Ports mouth based, the Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland and the support tanker RFA Tideforce.

It has been an exciting, emotional time for the ship’s company, including commanding officer, Captain Steve Moorhouse. He says: “To command any warship is a privilege but to be able to command HMS Queen Elizabeth during this pivotal phase of her capability development is a real honour. As we increase the scale and complexity of our training and testing, so the potency of this extraordinary ship continues to grow.”

That the Queen Elizabeth is awe-inspiring is without argument and perhaps it should be for £3.1bn. It is 280 metres long – around 27 double-decker buses – and weighs 65,000 tonnes, three times the size of the previous generation of Royal Navy carriers comprising Invincible, Illustrious and Ark Royal. The flight deck is four acres in area – enough to accommodate three football pitches – providing space for 40 aircraft to operate while the ship keeps moving at up to 27 knots. A typical operational strike force might be a mix of 24 F-35Bs and 14 Merlin helicopters, although other helicopters including Wildcat, Chinook and Apache could also be used, depending on the mission.

Esta historia es de la edición December 2019 de Hampshire Life.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición December 2019 de Hampshire Life.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE HAMPSHIRE LIFEVer todo
Southampton's first Michelin star?
Hampshire Life

Southampton's first Michelin star?

Newly opened southeast Asian restaurant, Blue Jasmine, could have all the right ingredients to claim the coveted title

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2020
This GIRL CAN
Hampshire Life

This GIRL CAN

Tracy Edwards MBE paved the way for women in sport with her boat Maiden. Now, 30 years on, she’s showing women around the world that they can do something amazing too

time-read
5 minutos  |
November 2020
The good ship LIBERTY
Hampshire Life

The good ship LIBERTY

A call out on Instagram saw this Overton artist being included in the iconic Liberty Book

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
For KING & country
Hampshire Life

For KING & country

Can someone be born into greatness? We share the story of one of Britain’s most underrated monarchs, Henry III

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
Doing it for THEMSELVES
Hampshire Life

Doing it for THEMSELVES

Multi-tasking sisters Iman and Yasmine El Sheik have just launched their new haircare brand Divinely Made, set to transform curly locks across the country

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 2020
The Bear Ladies
Hampshire Life

The Bear Ladies

Julie Tatchel and Amanda Middleditch from Bear It In Mind in Hythe regularly have viewers in tears with their bear restorations on the BBC hit show, The Repair Shop

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
A walk in Wonderland
Hampshire Life

A walk in Wonderland

A New Forest walk in the footsteps of Alice Hargreaves, the inspiration behind Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
Creature comfort
Hampshire Life

Creature comfort

From growing up with Hampshire racehorses to caring for dogs and cats at home, Clare Balding’s love of animals has seen her through good times and bad

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
A rare find
Hampshire Life

A rare find

Hampshire’s diverse habitats attract all of Britain’s six native species of reptiles

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2020
A friend in need
Hampshire Life

A friend in need

Margot has met a kindred spirit to share her renovation horror stories

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 2020