The final completed section of the Navy’s next-generation aircraft carrier,
HMS Queen Elizabeth, is today sailing around the
Scottish coast to join the rest of the ship.
The aft island, which will control flight deck operations by her F35 jets, Merlin helicopters and other aircraft, was carried down
the Clyde on a sea-going barge to head for
Rosyth on the east coast.
GOD speed to the final section of the Navy’s next-generation aircraft carrier.
Two workers from the BAE yard at Scotstoun raise their hard hats in salute as the aft island of HMS Queen Elizabeth – the biggest warship ever built for the Royal Navy– heads down the Clyde. Over the coming days, the 753-tonne structure will make its way around the Scottish coastline, finally arriving in Rosyth where it will be attached to the leviathan’s flight deck towards the end of the month.
From this island – the official designation in the gigantic jigsaw that is the future carrier is Upper Block 14 – all of Queen Elizabeth’s flight deck operations will be directed.
The block is home to Flyco – Flying Control, effectively the carrier’s equivalent of an airport control tower. It is slightly heavier and larger than the forward island (home to the bridge) installed in April: 52m (170ft) long, 14m (46ft) wide and 31m (101ft 6in) high. Inside are some 110 compartments, 1,000 pipes and 44km (27 miles – or just longer than a marathon) of cabling. “This marks a great achievement for the team here on the Clyde,” said BAE’s Angus Holt, overseeing the firm’s production of blocks for Queen Elizabeth and her sister Prince of Wales.
“It’s a real credit to their hard work and skill that the block was completed ahead of schedule – and to an exceptional standard – demonstrating the pride and drive among the team to deliver the nation’s flagships.”
Once the island is in place – lifted by the huge Goliath crane which dominates the north shore of the Forth – Queen Elizabeth will stand taller than Niagara Falls at 56m high (183ft) After it’s been installed, however, it doesn’t quite complete the Queen Elizabeth jigsaw. Still to be added are her ski ramp to launch her F35 jump jets and a few final sponsons to finish the flight deck.
In a few weeks’ time, the team from the Aircraft Carrier Alliance will begin to give the carrier her battleship grey appearance; right now she’s a mish-mash of colours, with the flight deck a very un-RN-like crimson.
Although the islands are painted grey, they’ve yet to have the final coat of paint applied. Indeed, the only part of the ship which is in the final livery are the window frames on the forward island – and that’s because the panes had to be installed.
In all, Queen Elizabeth requires 1½ million square metres (over 16 million square feet) of paintwork… which is slightly larger than Hyde Park.
