Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

[PhillyJ]

Note that PoW's No.6 landing spot has been resurfaced.

Good spot, I wonder if that has anything to do with SRVL or just that they got a 3 for the price of 2 deal on the thermal Metal coating.

[inch]

Looking at that great photo with opv above it shows to me how wide the qe class are, not that much shorter in width than the opv .think 80mtr opv in pic as apposed to 73mts ? Just highlights the scale to me .not as wide as other carriers but not bad also

[Jake1992]

Looking at that great photo with opv above it shows to me how wide the qe class are, not that much shorter in width than the opv .think 80mtr opv in pic as apposed to 73mts ? Just highlights the scale to me .not as wide as other carriers but not bad also

Aren’t the only current carriers wide the 2 US classes Nimitz and Ford being 76m and 80m ? Also remember that those messurments are taken that the widest point being the lip of the angled deck where the QEs are 73m over the most of there length.

[Jensy]

Note that PoW's No.6 landing spot has been resurfaced.

Good spot, I wonder if that has anything to do with SRVL or just that they got a 3 for the price of 2 deal on the thermal Metal coating.

That's really interesting. A lot of the early concept images suggested that No.6 spot would be the primary VTOL landing spot, with the others obstructed by dedicated airparking.

Now I think it's fair to say that we're not going to be struggling for parking space for a considerable time, however keeping the 'runway' clear, at least for 'pure' VTOL landings, opens up flexibility for simultaneous launch/landings and maybe even for other fixed wing assets down the line.

Until the QE's first refit it looks like PWLS will be the more capable ship. A shame she's not yet ready to deploy to the far-East instead of her sister.

[SKB]

@PhillyJ
No.6 spot has nothing to do with SRVL, its not on the landing glide path of the runway - unless the poor pilot wants to be eating the back of the aft island.

[Ron5]

Until the QE's first refit it looks like PWLS will be the more capable ship.

What makes you say that?

[Jensy]

Until the QE's first refit it looks like PWLS will be the more capable ship.

What makes you say that?

Operational Bedford array, potentially another heat-treated landing spot, and (everyone's favourite) a third CIWS.

Also I'm assuming a lot of very small and fairly mundane lessons learnt from bringing QE into service have benefited PWLS.

No doubt all of the above will eventually benefit both ships after QE's first refit in a few years.

[seaspear]

Looking at that great photo with opv above it shows to me how wide the qe class are, not that much shorter in width than the opv .think 80mtr opv in pic as apposed to 73mts ? Just highlights the scale to me .not as wide as other carriers but not bad also

Aren’t the only current carriers wide the 2 US classes Nimitz and Ford being 76m and 80m ? Also remember that those measurements are taken that the widest point being the lip of the angled deck where the QEs are 73m over the most of there length.

The P.L.A.N aircraft carrier Shandong is listed with a beam of seventy-five meters and the type 003 of an estimated eighty-five thousand tons may be wider still

[SKB]

[PhillyJ]

Until the QE's first refit it looks like PWLS will be the more capable ship.

What makes you say that?

Apart from the fact that my 'nipper' is on board PWLS to improve their capabilites, I've watched him on COD etcetc and he is a great shot. And we've got 3 CIWS, they haven't.

[CameronPerson]

Looking forward to seeing that flight deck!

[Tempest414]

Will be interesting Hermes carried 26 Harriers and 10 Seakings in the Falklands and the following year carried 22 harriers and 10 Seakings

[Ron5]

Until the QE's first refit it looks like PWLS will be the more capable ship.

What makes you say that?

Apart from the fact that my 'nipper' is on board PWLS to improve their capabilites, I've watched him on COD etcetc and he is a great shot. And we've got 3 CIWS, they haven't.

Kicking myself that I forget our nipper was on PWLS. Of course that makes it the best

[serge750]

Looking forward to seeing that flight deck!

near enough double !! so up in the high 30's airframes ? ( 21, 5 helos, 16 sea/harrier )

6 x merlin onboard now.

Hope there will be some photos in the press of HMS Queen Elizabeth with a full deck

So looking forward to seeing this !!!

[dmereifield]

Looking forward to seeing that flight deck!

near enough double !! so up in the high 30's airframes ? ( 21, 5 helos, 16 sea/harrier )

6 x merlin onboard now.

Hope there will be some photos in the press of HMS Queen Elizabeth with a full deck

So looking forward to seeing this !!!

Might we be getting ahead of ourselves? Perhaps these numbers might join the deployment but maybe not all simultaneously?

[serge750]

I am getting a we bit excited but they did say a full deck

[dmereifield]

I am getting a we bit excited but they did say a full deck

I think we all are!

[Old RN]

If they are saying the largest airgroup since Hermes this would imply it is more than a CVS every carried. What was the peak load of Invincible during the Falklands?

[Tempest414]

If they are saying the largest airgroup since Hermes this would imply it is more than a CVS every carried. What was the peak load of Invincible during the Falklands?

I Think Invincible was 12 Harrier and 12 Seaking and as said Hermes was 24 Harrier and 10 Seaking

[SKB]

[Bring Deeps]

If they are saying the largest airgroup since Hermes this would imply it is more than a CVS every carried. What was the peak load of Invincible during the Falklands?

Surprisingly difficult to confirm without a lot of reading. I think 801 squadron in Invincible started with 8 and 800 squadron in Hermes with 12. Reinforcements were added later but there were also losses so you would probably have to go through the log book to be sure. David Hobbs states capacity of Invincible class as 20 aircraft. The most harriers on the deck I have seen is a photo from 1998 showing 16 on Invincible plus one Sea King.

[SKB]

Complete Harrier/Falklands numbers/squadrons/pilots records here: https://grandlogistics.blogspot.com/201 ... lands.html

[Bring Deeps]

That's interesting. Without doing a forensic exercise it looks like the most number of Harriers embarked by Hermes was 16 to 18.

[Tempest414]

That's interesting. Without doing a forensic exercise it looks like the most number of Harriers embarked by Hermes was 16 to 18.

However in 1983 on Ocean Safari ( Her last Ex in RN Service ) she embarked 12 Sea Harriers + 10 GR3 and 10 Seaking

[Bring Deeps]

A photo of Hermes sailing on 5 April 1982 shows 18 helicopters on deck and 11 Harriers. Assuming one Harrier in the hanger that gives a capacity of at least 30 which coincidentally is the capacity given by David Hobbs for Hermes in 1968.

If it was 32 a year later perhaps that number was exceeded in the Falklands.