At 65,000 tons and 932 feet long, the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier is taller than Nelson’s Column and considerably wider than the M25 at its widest point.
She generates enough energy to power Swindon, she can produce 500 tons of fresh water a day — and travel 500 miles a day, too.
Above all, she will be able to deliver 36 F-35 Lightning strike fighters and 1,000 troops from the largest piece of British sovereign territory afloat.
Her sister ship, the Prince of Wales, is already in production, though it has still not been decided whether she will be operational, mothballed or sold.
Each ship, which has a life expectancy of around 50 years, will be fitted out with more than three million metres of cable and it will have enough power to light up a small town.
This week, the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, described the project as a feat of engineering to match the London Olympics.
You could say much the same about the price - more than £6 billion for the pair. And that does not include the planes.
Each 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four-acre military operating base, which can be deployed worldwide, operating the F-35 Lightning II and a number of types of helicopter. At full capacity, the carrier will be able to launch an aircraft every 30 seconds.
They will be versatile enough to be used across the full spectrum of military activity, from war fighting to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
HMS Queen Elizabeth will have 679 permanent crew and capacity for 1,600 crew members when fully operational.
The ship features a new style of 'twin island' command points - one at the front for steering and one at the back for aircraft direction. Thanks to the cutting-edge technology on board, commanders on the bridge will be able to see 250 miles away.
The carrier's range is said to be 10,000 nautical miles and the ship is fitted with a long range 3D radar that is capable of tracking more than 1,000 targets at once or spotting a tennis ball travelling at 2,000 miles per hour.
The Queen, using a bottle of whisky, has ushered in a new era of British naval power by naming the Royal Navy's biggest ever ship after herself.
In a ceremony at Rosyth Dockyard in Fife,the Queen gave the signal for a bottle to be smashed against the hull of the 65,000-tonne vessel, confirming its title as HMS Queen Elizabeth.
The monarch, wearing pale blue, spoke of her pride at being associated with the Royal Navy, and called the huge ship a 'magnificent achievement'.
In the run-up to the Queen's action the red arrows made a dramatic flypast in front of dignitaries including the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prime Minister.
Earlier First Sea Lord George Zambellas, the head of the Royal Navy, described the ship as 'a steel-clad phoenix' which will give rebirth to British sea power when it becomes fully operational in 2020.
At the naming ceremony, Her Majesty said: 'In sponsoring this new aircraft carrier, I believe the Queen Elizaberth, a flagship for the Royal Navy, will be a source of inspiration and pride for us all.
'The Lord High Admiral, the Duke of Edinburgh, joins me in congratulating all in the Aircraft Carrier Alliance on this magnificent achievement and wishing the first ship's company well in the time ahead.
'Wherever this ship may serve, whatever tasks may be asked of her, let all those who serve on her know that on this day she was blessed with the prayers of us all for her success and for her safe return to calm waters.
'I name this ship Queen Elizabeth, may god bless her and all who sail in her.'
The naming of the warship comes five years after the first metal was cut on the vessel and 33 months after the first section entered the dry dock at Rosyth to begin being put together.
She generates enough energy to power Swindon, she can produce 500 tons of fresh water a day — and travel 500 miles a day, too.
Above all, she will be able to deliver 36 F-35 Lightning strike fighters and 1,000 troops from the largest piece of British sovereign territory afloat.
Her sister ship, the Prince of Wales, is already in production, though it has still not been decided whether she will be operational, mothballed or sold.
Each ship, which has a life expectancy of around 50 years, will be fitted out with more than three million metres of cable and it will have enough power to light up a small town.
This week, the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, described the project as a feat of engineering to match the London Olympics.
You could say much the same about the price - more than £6 billion for the pair. And that does not include the planes.
Each 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four-acre military operating base, which can be deployed worldwide, operating the F-35 Lightning II and a number of types of helicopter. At full capacity, the carrier will be able to launch an aircraft every 30 seconds.
They will be versatile enough to be used across the full spectrum of military activity, from war fighting to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
HMS Queen Elizabeth will have 679 permanent crew and capacity for 1,600 crew members when fully operational.
The ship features a new style of 'twin island' command points - one at the front for steering and one at the back for aircraft direction. Thanks to the cutting-edge technology on board, commanders on the bridge will be able to see 250 miles away.
The carrier's range is said to be 10,000 nautical miles and the ship is fitted with a long range 3D radar that is capable of tracking more than 1,000 targets at once or spotting a tennis ball travelling at 2,000 miles per hour.
The Queen, using a bottle of whisky, has ushered in a new era of British naval power by naming the Royal Navy's biggest ever ship after herself.
In a ceremony at Rosyth Dockyard in Fife,the Queen gave the signal for a bottle to be smashed against the hull of the 65,000-tonne vessel, confirming its title as HMS Queen Elizabeth.
The monarch, wearing pale blue, spoke of her pride at being associated with the Royal Navy, and called the huge ship a 'magnificent achievement'.
In the run-up to the Queen's action the red arrows made a dramatic flypast in front of dignitaries including the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prime Minister.
Earlier First Sea Lord George Zambellas, the head of the Royal Navy, described the ship as 'a steel-clad phoenix' which will give rebirth to British sea power when it becomes fully operational in 2020.
At the naming ceremony, Her Majesty said: 'In sponsoring this new aircraft carrier, I believe the Queen Elizaberth, a flagship for the Royal Navy, will be a source of inspiration and pride for us all.
'The Lord High Admiral, the Duke of Edinburgh, joins me in congratulating all in the Aircraft Carrier Alliance on this magnificent achievement and wishing the first ship's company well in the time ahead.
'Wherever this ship may serve, whatever tasks may be asked of her, let all those who serve on her know that on this day she was blessed with the prayers of us all for her success and for her safe return to calm waters.
'I name this ship Queen Elizabeth, may god bless her and all who sail in her.'
The naming of the warship comes five years after the first metal was cut on the vessel and 33 months after the first section entered the dry dock at Rosyth to begin being put together.
Source : DailyMail ,A.C.Alliance
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