Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Contains threads on Royal Navy equipment of the past, present and future.
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SKB
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by SKB »

Just remembered a bit from Britain's Biggest Warship....

Royal Navy pilot Nathan Gray was said to be the first F-35B pilot going to land on QE.

But he won't be the first ever pilot to land, that honour went to Merlin pilot Lt. Luke Wraith of 820NAS on 3rd July 2017.

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SKB
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by SKB »


T23 HMS Monmouth (F235) has just left Plymouth to escort QE - see T23 thread.

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SKB
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

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Image
Image

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SKB
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by SKB »

Playing with Google Earth today, I found the QEC ramp and its short/partial runway at NAS Patuxent River. (Photo from 20th October 2013)
NAS Patuxent River 20Oct2013.jpg
Closeup
NAS Patuxent River closeup.jpg
I also found QE and PoW together in Rosyth. (Photo from 7th September 2015)
Rosyth 7Sept2015.jpg
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Opinion3
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by Opinion3 »

SKB wrote:Found an image showing the numbered landing spots.
The green perimeter parking spots for the F35's are good to see as well.

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Gabriele
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by Gabriele »

Playing with Google Earth today, I found the QEC ramp and its short/partial runway at NAS Patuxent River.
That's the so-called "centerfield" base on which most of the F-35B testing has happened. On the asphalt runway at the bottom you can see the deck outline of an LHA of the Tarawa class. Curious they are still using that, since all Tarawas have gone. But perhaps it is still good enough for parking and deck movement practice.

The greenish surfaces are in AM-2 panels. From the bottom towards the top, the Expeditionary Runway for austere USMC ops (if the Tarawa is to scale, it is less a few hundred feet shorter than the 1900 feet that have been reported at times).

Then there is the other AM-2 strip, with a landing pad at one end and the ski jump at the other. Up at the very top, half cut out of the picture, the dark area is the grilled "hover pit" where they did the early VTOL engine tests. There is another AM-2 VTOL pad further up, outside the picture's frame.
You might also know me as Liger30, from that great forum than MP.net was.

Arma Pacis Fulcra.
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

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SKB
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

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Image
Image
Image
Image

SDL
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by SDL »

Those are some great photos

serge750
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by serge750 »

Yeh great photos, lets hope there will be some more over the next few months from westlant18, so looking forward to the f35 trials :clap:

Digger22
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by Digger22 »

Any ideas where they are? Do RN ships have to display AIS in peacetime?

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SKB
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

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Upgrades and rebuilding work on Portsmouth's Victory Jetty, the future home of HMS Prince of Wales, have been halted for six weeks by the Environment Agency, due to concerns that building noise may upset young eels.... :wtf: :crazy:
Full story and video: https://www.forces.net/news/eels-delay- ... rrier-dock

Little J
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by Little J »

But what about the plankton? Will no-one think of the plankton!?!
:lol:

Scimitar54
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by Scimitar54 »

Or the Wales :geek:

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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by benny14 »

Digger22 wrote:Any ideas where they are?
No idea, but RFA Tiderace is still sitting off Plymouth. So they are likely in the channel still.

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SKB
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by SKB »

Image

Timmymagic
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by Timmymagic »

I know the T23's were designed for Merlin, but god thats still a tight fit. Its going to be a whole lot easier on the T26 helideck.


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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by Timmymagic »

Not a bad pic at all...



Ron5
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by Ron5 »

Unfortunately yes.

Written by the BBC defence correspondence.

A fair and balanced viewpoint with 100% fact checking.

NOT.

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RichardIC
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by RichardIC »

Ron5 wrote:A fair and balanced viewpoint with 100% fact checking.
It is fair and balanced, if not quite 100% fact-checked.

Wrekin1410
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

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Apart from it being a great picture what I like is the sense of scale. There are 2 merlins parked up on deck yet they almost disappear. So much I missed them on first viewing.

RNFollower
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by RNFollower »

Any news on Tiderace joining them yet ?

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SKB
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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

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RNFollower wrote:Any news on Tiderace joining them yet ?
Still moored at Plymouth Breakwater according to both MarineTraffic and VesselFinder ?! :eh:
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/ho ... 15/zoom:14
https://www.vesselfinder.com/?imo=9655547

QE supposedly has a 10,000 mile range, thats if she's fully fuelled. Interestingly, a Portsmouth to NYC voyage and back again is 7,000 miles.

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Re: Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

Post by Pongoglo »

Timmymagic wrote:I know the T23's were designed for Merlin, but god thats still a tight fit. Its going to be a whole lot easier on the T26 helideck.
That's not tight - wait till you see a Merlin on BAE's Type 31, now bound to win and as rigged from the start . Mega surprise - not ! Leander they call it, masso corruption of a great British name :-( Boo ! Actually if you see a Merlin in the flesh on a Type 23 it fits very well , and in the hanger too . Great ships the Type 23 and as for their successors, the Type 31 is rapidly becoming a national disgrace and the Type 26 obscenely expensive and seriously under armed. Type 23 upgrades are excellent, role them on as long as we can then rethink everything else - fast.

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